Movin' On Up

Since our last post, several changes have taken place in the Ussery household. We met our new 'niece', puppy Fergie, owned by my brother and sister-in-law. Jack moved out of the crib and into his bunk bed. John turned 28, I grew a few more inches out front, and Jack was a messy eater. Okay, so maybe one of those isn't really a change at all.


Here's Fergie! Isn't she a beauty? Matt and Melissa got her when she was only 4 pounds, but in this picture she's actually grown a bit, believe it or not! Jack couldn't figure out if he liked her or the crate better. Scout and Fergie also got along quite well during their initial meeting. I think Fergie was more aggressive with Scout than he was with her. She definitely could hold her own! I would show you a picture of them rolling around and playing, but they were playing on our carpet and I was not wanting to post a picture to broadcast how dirty it's gotten. My 'nesting' phase has kicked in and our carpet seems to be the target of most of my frustrations these days. Go figure.

John turned 28 on the 23rd. We celebrated with a party that wasn't really a party because he wouldn't let me call it that, at Hampton Lake. This was his birthday cake. In case the image isn't clear, it's a Harley Davidson cake with "Happy Birthday, John....On a wing and a prayer" written on it. It seemed to fit my HOG-ridin' hubby perfectly.

This picture doesn't show it, but Jack was actually pedaling on his own for the first time. Since then, we've yet to see him do it again, but at least we know his knees will hinge and he can make the motion of pedaling. He enjoys ringing the bell more than riding, but he does like to suddenly jerk the handles side to side while I'm pushing him. He likes that I freak out and the thrill of almost falling into a storm drain.

And here it is: the BIG BOY BED!!! Jack's little head is poking out of the covers at the top. He's done really well with the change over. He did start getting out of the bed in the mornings and after his naps, but after some scolding and time out, we think he understands that he needs to wait for us to come get him. We need to get a baby gate anyway to keep him from escaping during the night should he choose to.

Here's Jack in an apple ride at the outlet mall. We took him there the other night so we could purchase some new pajamas for him. He was sick of us trying to cram his over average 23 month size head into 12 month old pajamas. Poor kid. He doesn't have to wear high-waters anymore either. Thanks Carter's outlet!!!

Here's the belly at 32 weeks and my bad to the bone pregnancy face. I had a doctor's appointment today. Everything looks good. Heartbeat was good and strong. He's kicking me all over the place, and my doctor said she was pleased with my weight gain, which is all I needed to hear. That's a miracle. Especially for a box like me.

This was breakfast on Saturday morning. Jack had his food all over the place, but it was too funny not to take a picture of. He's busier than ever, running everywhere, climbing everything and trying to say different things. The newest trick is 'singing' "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" which sounds like, 'whoa, whoa, whoa boap....blah blah blah blah blah...and then he'll raise his voice high for the 'merrily, merrily, merrily' part, but the words are not there at all.

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer!

Weddings Galore!

This weekend was the end to the out of state weddings for the Ussery, Jrs. We were near Charlottesville, Virginia for Jason and Lauren's wedding, and we had a great time. A lot of John's friends from childhood were at the wedding with their wives. It was so much fun to catch up and see everyone, especially since we didn't have Jack tagging along. My parents came to Bluffton to watch Jack, which was so nice. Thanks, Mimi and Poppy!



As usual, I managed to escape the entire wedding ceremony and reception without a good picture of the bride and groom together. I somehow always get pictures of the first dance, but it's either showing the bride or groom's back, which is okay if it's the bride because you get a good dress shot, but this time, I got Jason's backside. Not to say you didn't look fabulous in your suit, Jason, but I wanted a good one of Lauren, too. Instead, here's a picture of some of the guys: John, Trevor, Jason (groom), Seth and Phillip. On the day of the wedding, we went to a local lake there called Lake Sherando, which was so much fun. It reminded me of the summer camp I never went to. Camp Mundo Vista, which I did go to, had a pool. The lake, as Laura Leigh put it, was very "Parent Trap"-esque. The Haley Mills version. Unfortunately Virginia was also experiencing skin melting temperatures while we were there, but the lake was a nice break.



Don't ask me how I got this picture but didn't manage to get a picture of the bride and groom. I wouldn't be able to give you an answer. But isn't this table setting beautiful? They had the reception at Veritas Vineyard, a local vineyard in the Virginian countryside (which is so pretty). I loved all of the colors that they used to accent the whole wine/grape theme.



Here's John and Preggers. I guess this is about a good a time as any to tell you the funniest story of the weekend. On Saturday, a friend of the bride's family hosted a bridal luncheon for the bridesmaids and the groomsmens' wives. The food was great and the company was better until one particular conversation I had with a lady I had just met.

It went like this:

Lady I had JUST MET: "I bet you're having a boy, aren't you?"

Erin: "Actually, yes, I am. How can you tell?"

Lady I had JUST MET: "I can tell because I had 2 sons and I carried just like you."
(Lady and Erin pause. Erin thinks conversation is over. Wrong.)

Lady I had JUST MET: ".....You know...spread all out. Not really a big stomach, just kind of big all over. Like a box."

LIKE A BOX! Can you believe that? Not surprising that what she said does carry some truth, but that she had the guts to call a spade a spade to a girl she had never laid eyes on. It was incredible! The other girls at the table all looked at me and at each other really quickly like, "What the heck is the protocol for this type of situation?" Do we laugh, do we cry, do we disagree with her, do we nod and risk losing Erin's friendship forever? I'm telling you, it was amazing. I spent the rest of the weekend letting everyone know what had happened, because it was just that good of a story. (Sorry for those of you reading who heard me tell everyone. I know it's old now.) I seriously didn't know what to do. So I didn't do anything. Just sat there, very boxlike.



This is the same picture we posted last time, but Matt cropped it and changed the color some. It was just too cute not to post.

Cars = Everything Important

Isn't this a great picture? This is a photo from the Gardner/Kincaid/Williams/Ussery Vacation that we took to Garden City Beach last week. We had great weather, lots of eyes and hands to take care of Jack, and tons of fun. It's been tradition to go annually for say 126 years I think:) Actually, I have no idea how long our family has vacationed at this beach, but it's long enough to be anticipated for the whole year. Very low key and very fun. Thanks, Brian, for taking these great pictures!!!


While in Myrtle Beach, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to visit the local Nascar Cafe. Jack has a new infatuation with everything Cars, so we thought if he were to behave at any restaurant, then it would be this one. And we were right. He ate most of his food, all of his ketchup, and was rewarded with two turns at the kiddie Nascar ride. He loved it.

After the Nascar Cafe, we stopped in at one of the million Eagle's, Wings or Pacific stores (can't remember which one) because John saw a '4 T shirts for $10' sign. He couldn't pass it up. So we ended the night by purchasing a beautiful assortment of Myrtle Beach T shirts. You can only imagine how awesome these T shirts are. The group favorite was the one John wore, which was bright orange, sleeveless and said "Myrtle Beach Bike Week: On a wing and a prayer" We don't even know what that means, but we LOVE IT!!!!


During the day, Jack spent most of his time on the beach or in the pool. He's still a little wary of the waves rolling in, but overall enjoys his time out there. He spotted a ride on toy car down the beach on Day 1, which he couldn't ignore, so....guess who has one of their very own now? We actually just took a stroll down the street in it. He loves it!


Here's the Gardner/Ussery crew. Not as great of quality as Brian's camera, but still a nice picture! I tried to use Jack as a belly distraction, but, as you can see, that didn't pan out as planned.

Jack did so well this year during family photo night. We realized that he would smile and clap as long as everyone else did. So, we all looked really cool standing on the beach, yelling and clapping while all wearing matching outfits!:) The things we do for a smile....But this picture shows why it's worth it, right?

In going along with the car theme, which can't really be ignored because our lives are consumed with cars these days, John took Jack on this ride at Broadway at the Beach. Jack LOVED it. He loved it so much that he screamed when he got off. After 2 turns, we called it quits though. He could have stayed on until he vomited, or until one of us vomited watching him.

This picture was taken yesterday at Hampton Lake. John had a great idea for us to take out a Duffy boat and cruise around the lake while we ate our lunch. It was a lot of fun. The only disaster was that Jack threw Lightening McQueen, his favorite Cars toy, over the side. We already have a replacement, and therefore, our sanity back.

I'm thinking about sending this picture to the Duffy boat manufacturers, because if I can drive this thing, then anyone can.

Recent Funny Jack Stories

1. Yesterday Jack was taking a nap and I was on the computer. The TV was off, no radio on so I could hear when he woke up. Never heard a cry or noice, but I did hear the distinctive sound of his bedroom door handle turn. My first thought, albeit psychotic and extremely paranoid, was "OH NO!!!! Someone has come into the house and is going into Jack's room!!!" Wrong. It was someone coming out of Jack's room, and that someone was JACK! AHHHHH!!!! He crawled out of his crib for the first and hopefully only time in his life. He didn't look or act excited like "Yeah, look what I just did...FREEDOM!" He quietly walked out and started looking for his cars which is what he always does. I picked him up, took him in his room, and told him how scary that was for Mommy that he had climbed out and that if he wanted out of his crib he needed to call for me. We'll see how that 'talkin' to' works. If not, he'll be transitioning to his big bed, which is one of those sad/happy things for a mom.

2. Today we went to the mall for Jack to play on the indoor playground because it was raining. After 5 minutes some 10 year old (who shouldn't have been playing on the kiddie toys) clobbered Jack. Of course he cried, but he was not injured or anything. Then...horror of horrors, he sees another boy there who has the same Tow Mater car toy that he has. Of course he assumes that he's the only kid in the world with that toy and that obviously this other child has stolen his. So, Jack looks at me and says "Uh oh." It was funny to think what could have been going through his mind...."Uh oh, I've lost Mater forever?"...."Uh oh, will I ever get him back?".....or...."Uh oh, I'm gonna have to kick this kid's tail right here and now."

3. After the mall, Jack was hungry (and so was I, of course). We're out of lunch food at home, so I did the horrible mother thing and stopped at a Drive Thru. So blame me if Jack ends up on the next Super Size Me movie. Anyway, we pulled up to the window, I rolled it down and Jack says, "Fries, please. Thank You", which sounded more like "Frithes peas, daydoo". Hilarious!!!!