Creepy Crawly

Announcement: Jack is the weird kid in our StrollerFit class. Yesterday during the floor routine where we let the little ones run/crawl free, Jack sat in the middle of the floor and made this strange sound that was similar to a growl, but had a tad bit of scary mixed in. It was so creepy! Occasionally he'd pause for a moment to crawl around and find something disgusting to put in his mouth, but then he'd resume making the scary growl noise. I could see the other mothers giving each other knowing looks, taking mental notes as to why they would never schedule a playdate with Jack Ussery. He can be creepy afterall. On the drive home I thought about how completely normal John and I are, and how strange that we would produce an abnormal child. Then I started recalling some recent snapshots from an ordinary evening in the Ussery household, and it hit me! If Jack is a goofball, it's because his parents are insane! We're nuts!






First of all, we dress Jack like an animal. See here, he's dressed like a duck. He's looking at his feet as if he's thinking, "What happened?!?!?!?!?!" Maybe his creepy growl is his interpretation of one of the animals he has been dressed as. Maybe? Secondly, I act like Scout is one of us. I have been known to kiss him on the mouth and of course I kiss Jack, so maybe something was passed on. Last, look at John. Nice form, huh? So, Jack, we're sorry buddy. You are your parent's son.

Before anyone gets angry, of course we don't think Jack is strange. We just wanted to post these funny pictures. The StrollerFit story, however, is true, and the pictures were from a pretty typical evening in our home. We surely do have fun!!!

Beach Bums

We all had a busy week, so we decided to end it with a nice, relaxing day at the beach. But really...taking a 8 month old to the beach proves to be a challenge! I got some practice earlier in the week when I took Jack to see his Mema and Deda (my grandparents-Mom's side), who were visiting for the week on Hilton Head. He got to show them all of his new tricks, and they enjoyed being with him so much. Unfortunately, I was a bad picture taker and only got pictures of Jack with a Mema or Deda arm or leg here or there in a picture. We'll be sure to get some better pictures when we see them again, which is this coming weekend! Memorial Day in Greensboro. At least for Jack and me. John's busy with work and his training. Still no pictures of the pack on his back, but he's continuing to train pretty fiercely!



So, yesterday was spent on the beach with Jack, John, Genie (Gigi) and Jeffrey. Trying to be good parents, John and I slathered (is that a word?) sunscreen all over Jack. But, he ended up getting some of it in his right eye, which set the afternoon off to a poor start. If that's ever happened to you, you know it hurts like the dickens, and we all know how badly 'the dickens' hurts. We tried putting him in the water. He cried. We tried letting him play with his stacking cups. He cried. Finally, the burn must have worn off and Jack seemed to enjoy himself. Gigi had fun with him in the water (see above pic). Jack kept making these high pitched "ahhhh" sounds. We interpreted that as positive feedback.

We've realized recently that Jack is very protective of his hands. He does not like anyone, not even his mother, touching his hands. Maybe he's a germiphobe. By the way, that is not a word. I looked it up. Hope everyone reading is doing well!

You Scream, I Scream

As promised, here are some more of the great Jack pictures that Susan Jones took. These are just a few of our favorites. (Out of 300+, it's hard to narrow it down.) This profile shot gives a good look at Jack's cheeks. Believe it or not, there has been a significant decrease in their size. By the way, Jack's dinner last night included: an entire Lil' Entree, small jar of veggies, large jar of fruit, bits of a chicken breast and bread. Maybe the cheeks will be back in full bloom soon?

Mother's Day was a hit in every way. Jack had his baby dedication at church in the morning. He made us proud by being the loudest baby on stage. About two minutes into the dedication, Jack eyed the bottle that the baby girl beside of us was drinking from. It was all over from that point. Jack stretched his arms out and tried to leap from John's grasp and began to cry/moan. Even his favorite light up ducky toy could not soothe him. We had lunch at Truffles with both sets of parents and my mom's parents, Jackie and Jeffrey. The day concluded with a trip to Outside Hilton Head (Jordan, the workers asked how you were doing and were excited to hear that you would be back soon.) and dinner at the Old Oyster Factory with John's parents, Jeffrey and Grandma Catherine. We gave her a picture of Jack for Mother's Day. I don't think I've ever seen her smile so big.


Jack's latest trick is screaming on command. The command is that one of us will scream first. Then it becomes a contest. We'll scream. Then Jack screams. So on and so forth until something else catches his attention. Poor Jack doesn't have a chance when it comes to competitiveness. He's just got it. Not sure if competitive drive is a dominant or recessive trait, but we're pretty sure that John and I both passed on whatever it is. Hope all of you reading are doing well. Happy late Mother's Day!

Awesome

We took Jack to Susan Jones' house this week, and she took some awesome pictures of him! This is just a taste. I'll post more later. My parents just pulled in the driveway! Gotta run!

Wet Laundry

Doesn't Jack look like such a big boy sitting there on the lawn chair, sipping from his cup? It's amazing to John and me how quickly Jack is growing and changing. Tonight we dropped his crib bed from the high, baby position to the low, too big position. I know it sounds crazy, but changes like that make us sad! We're thrilled that Jack is growing and developing on track, but we hate to see him leave that baby phase. Same thing goes for his teeth. We think we've broken some ground (or gums) on that front. Sunday we were able to see white, calcium filled teeth tops. Today all we could see were swollen gums again! What's the deal? Can they retract like that? Anyway, back to how the appearance of teeth are sad....I was telling my Mom the other day that my crazy brain was thinking, "Once Jack gets teeth, he'll never not have teeth again". And in my 1st time mom brain, that was a real tragedy. What gives?


Jack continues to try his best to gnaw his way through the toothless state that he's currently in. He's given up on his thumb and has taken the 'more is better' method by sucking three fingers instead. You can see his Peek-a-Blocks in the background. Those are one of his favorite toys right now. The others being the ceiling fan (only for observation of course), stacking cups (he likes to knock them down), and Baby Tad (the hermaphroditic frog that sings and talks).

Now...here's a really good picture. Jack had gotten out of the pool on Sunday, and after I finished drying him off, I looked down, and there was the most pitiful butt shot I had ever seen. His rear looks like a bag of wet laundry. So what did we do? We recorded it of course! This is future rehearsal dinner ammunition. But isn't it the cutest little booty you've ever seen?

Hope you're all doing well! Happy Mother's Day to all the Mamas out there!

Kenya Come Home Soon???

FIRST PICTURE:

JACK: Hey, Mommy! Aren't Aunt Jordan and Uncle Trevor coming home soon?

MOMMY: Why, yes, son. They'll be home in June. Are you exicted to see Jordan and meet Trevor?

JACK: YEEEEE!!!! (see picture)




SECOND PICTURE:

JACK: Wait, Mommy. You said they're in KENYA?!?!?!?!?!

MOMMY: Well, yes. That's where they are now. Since you're obviously the most brilliant child in the universe, would you please place your slobber-drenched hand over Kenya so I can know that you understand what I'm telling you?

JACK: ok.


Just an ordinary day in the Ussery home. Tomorrow...quantum physics.

Back to Africa...Check out www.starfishafrica.org. Trevor and some of his college friends started the organization. Yes, we're proud!!! Can't wait to see you two!

Worthless Aside: Since the Africa geography lesson this afternoon, I've had Toto's song "Africa" playing nonstop on the radio in my head!

Elemonater

Nothing particulary exciting to divulge in this blog. We had a great weekend. Saturday, John worked and Jack and I worked out. Jack and I also went to see my friend, Marianne Dean, in Savannah. She and her husband, David, are moving to "SOUTHEAST ASIA" (some of you are laughing at that for good reason) in August. They'll be there a minimum of three years, so I don't know when we'll see one another again! She was heading through Georgia and decided to give us a call. So glad that she did. Unfortunately, we yacked the whole time and didn't stop for any pictures. Jack was in Marianne's wedding last May, in utero. We joked that he was the only bridesman.

Sunday was such a relaxing day for us. We went to church at the "late" 11am service because Jack slept until 8am! The sermon was on child-rearing and how to love your children biblically. Here are some points/pledges that we really took note of and pray that we will incorporate into our parenting:

1. I openly accept my child, giving her/him a sense of security. (Psalm 139:14-15)
2. I express appreciation to my child, giving her/him a sense of significance. (Matthew 3:17)
3. I show affection to my child, giving her/him a sense of acceptance. (1 John 4:7)
4. I make myself available to my child, giving her/him a sense of importance. (Hebrews 4:16)
5. I provide accountability for my child, giving her/him a sense of responsibility. (Ephesians 4:16)
After church, John watched "the man" while I went to a baby shower for Jamee Reed (the wife of John's ex-business partner and buddy, Rich Reed). They're having a girl, Abigail, in July! Another for Jack to choose from!!!! WHOO HOO!!! We then had small group at our house last night where we discussed marriage. So, after a day of tackling how to be a good parent and then a good spouse, we hit the hay! Jack was a trooper through the entire day. He got a little rowdy during small group, but we think that's because he enjoys a crowd. He's a showboat. Just like his Dad. :) Speaking of Papa J, he's officially started training with the backpack of weights on! No pictures yet, but maybe I can sneak one of him someday soon. John says he feels ridiculous wearing the pack in the gym. For those who don't know he's training for a climb, I'm sure he does look a little strange. Then again, there are gym attenders who bring their pet parrots while they're working out. Strange, I know, but it happens.

The posted pictures were some from the weekend. Apparently Jack enjoys lemons!!!