27

John turned 27 on Sunday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOHN!!! To celebrate, Jack wore this hat all day. You can see how excited he was about it. Actually, we went to dinner at Mi Tierra's to celebrate, and John is the on who donned a sombrero. However, he happened to walk into the room a minute ago and banned that picture from being posted on the web, printed on any form of paper, or seen by anyone in any form whatsoever. John had a fun day: church, friends visiting in town, work out in the afternoon, dinner with friends and family that night, and some really cool gifts! The picture above was taken at Party Town where I was buying some birthday party supplies for Jack. They had a luau section, and somehow this Huck Finn-style hat made it into that department...and onto Jack's head.



The friends who were visiting over the weekend were Charles, Katherine and Caroline Gouch. Charles and Katherine attended UNC with John and me. We had such a great time with them. Their daughter, Caroline, is 6 1/2 months old. Isn't she a beauty? Not only is she beautiful, she's also very active and very advanced for her age. She's crawling, pulling up on things, and cruising. Amazing for such a young baby! She's basically doing everything Jack is doing, minus some of his babble and words. John developed a complex about Jack being delayed, but I think I finally convinced him that Caroline is just way ahead of the game.



Today is Tuesday, so that meant Kim, Shelby, Jack and I had our usual outing to Sippin' Cow Cafe. Yummy as always. I was telling Kim that I take virtually the same pictures of Jack and Shelby sitting in their high-chairs week after week, but they're so cute together that I can't help it. This photo is proof of what a camera hog Jack has become. I was trying to get Shelby by herself in the picture, but look who had to lean in for some camera action. Isn't Shelby such a cutie? It's funny the number of times that Kim and I are asked if they're siblings, or twins even. Makes me wonder what they think we are. Hmmm....



I just got off the phone with my Dad, and I was telling him how clingy Jack has been to me lately. No separation anxiety when he's with other people or anything. It's more when I'm around and trying to do things in the house that he seems to whine and want to be held. This picture was taken today after I finished walking Scout. When I left the house with Scout in tow, Jack immediately crawled to the door and started screaming. I turned around and instantly, he's smiling and okay. We played this back and forth game until I decided it was probably cruel, let Scout do his business, and came back to the door. This is what I saw. Cute little face, smiling, just waiting for me to come through the door. Don't you love it?!? Can you read his shirt? It says "Most Likely To Succeed". Maybe so!

John's packing for his trip as I type. He's taking our camera, so there may not be any postings for a while. Because he's taking the camera, though, he has promised (among many things) that he will post a blog of his own when he returns. Among the other promises were: cleaning out the garage, a trip of mine and Shannon's (Phillip's wife) choice next year, making a video of Jack, and hiring someone to clean the house once a week for 25 years. When he returns and denies that he ever promised the latter, we'll blame it on the persistent lack of oxygen he's experienced. Deal?