Beachin' It

John, Jack and I have been out of town this past week to Surfside Beach, SC. That's right. We live and vacation at the beach. Different beaches, however. But it's all worth our while to see our family and to actually enjoy the sand and ocean, which we do way too little of at home. My family takes an annual vacation to the Surfside/Garden City area, and I'm pretty sure this was the Gazillionth Annual Trip. Jack enjoyed himself so much. He loved eating the sand, kicking his feet in the waves, and being picked up by any family bystander at the mere sound of a whimper. John and I were able to relax, read books, play Bocce, and get something we haven't had in two years: A TAN!!!!! It's a pleasure to look down at your feet and not have your skin match the color of your toenails, which is usually an ugly shade of purple/beige.



In between swimming, eating sand, and napping, Jack took some time just to chill. We didn't think it was possible, but his hair did seem to lighten even more, and he managed to get a tad bit of sun. Don't worry, no sunburn. What kind of mother/nurse would that make me? And for those of you who have children and like to take them outdoors, Aveeno makes excellent sunscreen for babies. It's 45 spf, but it's so thick it could be 4 spf and probably still work. It doesn't quite have the beachy aroma of Coppertone, but at least we're not slowly baking out child for a good scent, right?


Jack had his first carousel ride on Friday night. He enjoyed the lights, rotation, and creepy circus-like music that are staples of any legitimate carousel. John brought up a funny remembrance of riding carousels when he was younger. He said it taught him at an early age about discontent. He remembers sitting on a carousel stallion embellished with jewels and fancy designs wondering if he'd be happier on the ostrich or lion. And heaven forbid you mistakenly choose one of the stationary animals that does not bob up and down. Boy, those kids were big dorks, huh?



We were so glad to be away last week for a refreshing getaway, but it is nice, too, to be back home in our own beds. Jack has enjoyed the familiarity of his crib so much that he slept until 9:45 this morning! I'm considering vacationing for another week just so we can return and have one morning of sleeping in again! Hope all of you are doing well! Sorry it's been so long since we've written!

"Baw"

On Sunday June 11th, 2006 at approximately 11:00am, Jack Ussery said his first word: "Ball". John and I went to Walnuts after church, and while we were waiting for our food, Jack was paying special interest to his Dora the Explorer disposable placemat. He kept putting his finger on a picture of a beach ball that's on the mat, so in an effort to teach him what he was pointing too, I started saying "ball" over and over again. Jack started staring at me, specifically at my mouth, and after about five to six times of me saying "ball", he very deliberately said it back to me. It was more of a 'baw' sound. He did not perfectly say the "L" consonant, but he DEFINITELY said ball. John and I freaked out. He has yet to say it since because I don't think he knows what happened. He simply was repeating me, but it made us so happy! And what a great first word!


"Ball" is hands down a better first word than "bail," which is exactly what it took to get jj redick out of jail this morning. A DUI! A stinkin' DUI! Just when jj was out of the duke basketball program, and I had begun training my brain that I don't have to dislike him as much anymore, he goes and does something dumb like this. So I can't like him. Again. And before certain readers who say they are UNC AND duke fans start furiously google-ing "UNC basketball alumni who have been incarcerated", I already know who they are (at least most of them:) and that they, too, have committed terrible acts. But in honor of what this blog stands for (Jack loving and duke disliking), and how previous duke-bashing actually got someone to comment, I couldn't let this mug shot go unnoticed.

Onto a more sobering topic...Jack is not well today, so pray for him. He had a high fever last night and this morning. Dr. Thomas took a peek at his ears this morning for me, but everything looked good. He's got a virus that's been going around with symptoms of high fevers and a sore throat. Poor baby! John and I hate so much that he's not feeling well, but it has been nice to cuddle with Jack without him squirming all over the place. He watched almost half of the Brazil/Croatia matchup (see appropriate soccer themed picture above) with me today, sitting in my lap the whole time. It was sweet.

They're Baaaack

Jordan and Trevor arrived safely from Africa this past Wednesday. John, Jack and I had the pleasure of picking them up from the airport, and this is a shot of Trevor seeing Jack for the first time, EVER! Isn't that neat? I think Jack was a little bigger and a little more active than Trevor expected. If I recall correctly, Trevor said Jack was fat. And he is. We're okay with that. We're all so excited to have them back in the states, and especially thrilled about having them here for the summer! Welcome home!!!



Jordan and Trev were thoughtful enough to bring back a special present for Jack. Is this not the funniest thing you've ever seen? We keep referring to it as a "baja", but I'm pretty sure that's not what they're called in Africa. I'm not actually sure what they call it in Africa, but if it's not the word for "ridiculously funny", then it's a shame.



Jack went to a birthday party today for Justin, one of his buddies from StrollerFit. The little tike screaming is the birthday boy himself. All of this hoopla his parents went through just for him, and how does he repay them? By screaming! I'm sure we'll get ours at Jack's first party. No, I'm certain of it. And we'll post a picture. Just like this one. The little girl beside of Jack is Emma and the crawler behind him is Charlie. Just a few of Jack's posse.



Do you recognize these faces??? It's Tim McGraw and Faith Hill!!! I went to their concert on Tuesday with Ann Jacoby, a friend of mine from work. It was so much fun!!! I recommend seeing them if you ever get the chance or if you just ever have the urge to watch a bunch of rednecks mouth every single word "Red Ragtop" and start believing that the lyrics are their story. I actually have pictures of such folks. If it's a rainy day in the blog world, I may pull them out of the archives.

By the way, the UNC baseball team just beat Alabama 8-7. They hit a 2-run homer to win in the bottom of the 9th. Now I'm not the biggest baseball fan on the planet, but that kind of ending is awesome. GO HEELS!!!!!...and Jackets!

Collage

It's been many moons since the last blog...well...almost 1/2 a moon anyway. Here's a picture collage of what has taken place with the Usserys. Jack and I went to Greensboro two Fridays ago and stayed until this past Wednesday. Unfortunately, on my rush packing job, I forgot to take the camera charger, so...not many pictures from Greensboro. John and Scout held the fort down at home. Here are some fun pictures from the past 12 days.






























Explanations of Photos (Top->Bottom, Left->Right)

About two weeks ago, John and I were standing in our living room when we turned and there was Scout, sitting just as he is in this picture. The 'cape' you see on his back is a bathmat that he has decided to tote around the house like Linus does his blanket. We have no idea how he got the mat on his back like this. These past nine months of deferred attention have taken it's toll in the poor guy. We surely do love him though. Scout continues to be Jack's #1 play buddy.

On Friday, my Aunt Lisa, Uncle Tim, and Cousin Adam (along with Adam's friend, Tanner) stayed overnight as a pitstop on their way to Disney. John and I got a preview of what it will one day be like to have a 9 year old boy in the house. 24/7 nonstop energy! (We could use a boost of that ourselves.) Jack enjoyed watching the whirlwind of activity, but enjoyed his breakfast even more! Adam was so sweet to feed his cousin.

Papa Johnny came to see Jack on Friday after work. Jack got a kick out of the belly tickling. John and I were waiting for a post-dinner vomit disaster, but fortunately Jack inherited his mother's stomach and was able to hang on for the ride.

This picture was taken yesterday after discovering that Jack has a thing for brushing his tooth. Aunt Lisa was brushing her teeth with a battery operated toothbrush and Jack was mesmerized. Thanks for sharing your brush with Jack, Lisa! I think we got all of the formula and drool residue washed off!

Also yesterday we headed to Savannah to watch Jeffrey play baseball. Their team won 6-1 and it was great to get a taste of what next year's trips to GT will be like. Jack behaved so well at the game! He sat in Gigi's lap for most of the game (see next picture) and played with his red ball and her necklace. Necklaces seem to be a huge help when trying to entertain a child.

This next picture is kind of a big deal because....drum roll......Jack is crawling!!!! Like foreal crawling. Not that crazy crawl, crawl, face plant pattern anymore. He'll crawl all over the place and he seems to be picking up speed! Jack enjoys the sound and feel of the tile in our house unfortunately. He's no longer a carpet dweller.

Last picture...Jeffrey and his #1 fan at the game yesterday!

Sorry to all 3 of our blog readers for such a slack display of blogs over the past while. It's hard when you're out of town! Oh, and by the way....Trevor and Jordan are coming home this Wednesday! Pray for safe travels for them. Toodles.