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!!!

Big Guy

It's official. Jack is huge. I took him by the office yesterday and measured him.

Here are the stats:

Length: 29in = 95 %ile
Weight: 21lb 8 oz (with a wet diaper on) = 75-90%ile
Head circ.: 18.25% = 90%ile

So, he's a boy and it's fun that he's big, but let me tell you...it just does something to a mother's heart to pack up clothes that her baby has outgrown so quickly and have to buy new ones in bigger sizes. All mom's go through it, right? It's just my first time, and I'm bummed about it! However, the clothes are still very cute. Even in the huge sizes! The only alarming thing about his growth is that, since Jack's six month visit (2 months ago), his head measurement has jumped from the 25%ile to the 90%ile. What happened?!?!?! We're explaining it with exponential brain growth and rapid brain development. Of course:)

Sorry we haven't posted a blog in a while. Life has been busy. But busy with good things. Jack is continuing to do more things, play harder, and he's even made one little crawl movement. Usually he just rocks on his hands and knees, but two nights ago he made actual progress across the floor. Apparently the whole crawling thing proved to be slightly overrated to Jack, so he hasn't made any efforts to do it again.

Speaking of efforts, John and I are trying to be more of an outdoorsy/athletic family. We've both been exercising on our own, but have included evening family time mixed with something to increase the heart rate a little. Last night's activity started with a jogging stroller jog down the beach. We made it about 50 yards because the tide was in and didn't leave much room for running. Plan B was running the bike path through Port Royal. Jack was in the jogging stroller. John was pushing Jack, and I was just trying to breathe. Other than the sprinting and shorter amounts of running we do at StrollerFit, this was the first time I have actually jogged since giving birth. Holy toledo. I think when the baby is born, all of your endurance, athleticism and heart health is birthed as well. John kept looking back at me giving me the thumbs up sign, which at the time I interpreted as, "Way to go, Erin. I'm proud of you." But when we finished and I saw what I looked like and heard how loud my breathing was, I think the thumbs up was to initiate any sort of response from me because John probably thought I was dying. To be honest, there was one point during the run where I wanted to die. However, we all finished the path, Jack seemed to enjoy himself, and John was relieved to feel like he hadn't even exercised because of the great cardio shape that he's in. (Still training. Still motivated. Still proud of him!)


Jack is eating more foods than he was last week. We've successfully tried deli meats, which he loves. He's had chicken pie, real sweet potatoes, Nutra Grain bars, cheese, and pizza. He will eat anything. Including his toes, which are his new favorite sucking toy. At least they're available. Here's a photo of Jack at the Fresh Market. Jack, Gigi and I took a trip there on Monday. He loves riding in the cart. Unfortunately, the Fresh Market carts are smaller than normal grocery store carts, so half of the time was spent making sure he didn't manage to flip out of the thing! Even if he had, I'm sure his 90%ile head could have taken the spill. But we won't test that theory.

My Buddy, Carter

Jack met his buddy, Carter, for the first time this weekend. Carter is the son of Phillip and Shannon Galbreath. John grew up with Phill, so it's an awesome experience to raise our children together. It's really cool, too, that they're both boys! I imagine they'll spend lots of time together in the future...probably getting into trouble with one another. Phill, Shannon, and Carter were here for Easter. We were able to hang out with them on Saturday at the Usserys. Thanks for coming down here to meet us, Carter! What a great picture of the Galbreath and Ussery boys, huh? Lots of blue!

Here's a funny one of Jack and Carter. Jack is being rude and blowing bubbles, which is probably not the best first impression a kid can give, but....that's Jack. Carter looks like he's thinking, "Who's this crazy lady taking the picture. That's not my mom." We look forward to spending time with you all in the future (hopefully near future!).




Okay, so this picture just had to go on the blog. Aren't baby yawns the cutest things ever? This was about as out of hand as Carter was for our visit with him. What a good baby! See you soon!!!


My parents were also here for the weekend which is always a blessing. It's great for them to be able to spend time with Jack, of course, but I'd be lying if I said the two extra pairs of hands weren't a huge help! Thanks, Mimi and Pops/Grandad, for all the changed diapers, meals fed, and time you entertained Jack. We know you didn't mind. Unfortunately, I was a lazy camera taker and didn't get any pictures! What a dodo.

Jack's newest thing this week is getting on all fours and rocking back and forth. Maybe he'll crawl soon. I find myself saying, "I don't think he'll ever crawl." Not because he should be by this age or anything, but it gives me this cushion so that if he really doesn't ever crawl, I can say that I knew it. That's dumb. Maybe he will crawl. Who knows? Either way, he's WILD. This lil' man doesn't stop except for naps, even though he fights those for a while. He is constantly flipping over, scratching everything (which is how he explores with his hands), and babbling. Today I left the room for a second while he was on his changing table (STRAPPED IN). When I came back, he was on his side with his head propped up with his hand, like a model. Funniest thing I've ever seen. But apparently not as funny as his clothes are to him. That's right. Jack thinks his clothes are funny. Everytime I stand in front of his closet with him, he smiles and laughs at his clothes. At first I thought it was from the doors opening and the unusual sound that they make. I've tried it since with the doors already being open, and he still laughs. What a funny boy!

Sorry it's been a while, blog readers. I left my camera at the Usserys since Saturday, and have been lost without it. Hopefully, my new camera is being fixed at the Canon shop. It was supposed to be here today, but...no camera! Oh, the agony! Bye, everyone!

First Loss

We lost the Easter bonnet contest by one vote. DAGUMMIT! But it was hilarious to see the kids in their hats. The winner (Max) had a really unique bonnet covered entirely with Easter basket grass, and unlike Jack, he wore the hat the whole time without fussing. Jack's hat lasted about 10 seconds, and that's being generous. As we were leaving StrollerFit, I gave Jack the "your product is only as good as its promotion" talk and taught him a little lesson. Simply put, Jack did not work it, but isn't this picture SO FUNNY? This was taken at StrollerFit. The other picture was the trial run last night in his high chair. I may be wrong, but I think he hated it both times.




Jack is getting to be a little prankster these days. Last night while I was cooking supper, he kept fake coughing and pretending that he was choking. Whenever I would look at him, he'd grin and laugh. It is pretty funny when he does it, but I can't get used to his jokes and quit checking on him. He may be really choking one day!!! He's very close to crawling, I think. Jack will get his butt up in the air and kind of rock on his knees. His latest discovery is that he can pull the bumper pad off of his crib and chew on it.

John is continuing to train for Mont Blanc. He's up to 5 days a week of cardio instead of 4 days. He's working hard selling real estate as always. Check out their website: www.usseryrealestategroup.com. The newest community is Hampton Lake. (www.hamptonlake.com) Make sure you check it out cause it's going to be incredible. Maybe it will get more visitors to come down and see us???? Speaking of which, as the weather gets warmer and more beautiful, wouldn't you like to come see it for yourself? Just want you all, family and friends, to know you're welcome to come for a visit anytime! We'd love to see you!

Too Cool for School

Here is the latest form of child abuse: Baby Bandz. Jack received his pair in the mail today. What was supposed to be an online purchase of a stroller bug net turned into an additional purchase of sunglasses. Isn't he STYLIN?!?!?! Surprisingly, Jack seemed to get used to them on his head and didn't mess with them. We'll see how long that lasts. We also put the bug net to use tonight on our evening family stroll. Seeing him in the stroller with the cage netting reminded John and me of that John Travolta movie where he had some immunodeficiency that forced him to live in a germ-free bubble. But when Jack started screaming about five minutes into our walk only to continue screaming throughout the entire walk, we realized that maybe his netting should be sound proof as well. By the way, teething is not fun. At least tending to babies who are teething is not fun. Pray for Jack's gums. They're killing him.

Jack had his first kiss today. That's right. Seven and a half months, and he's already flirting and being flirted with. Kim Reed and I took Jack and Shelby to lunch today and out of nowhere Shelby leaned over, grabbed Jack's hand, and kissed it. Cutest scene ever. But for once in my life, or Jack's life, rather, I didn't have the camera. So, you'll just have to picture it in your mind. Oh, and Shelby also said "Jack." It came out like "Jaaa", but we knew what she meant.

Hope you're all doing well! Tune in soon for more pictures of Jack. He's entering his first contest tomorrow: "Best Baby Bonnet" with our StrollerFit group. We're having the regular class and then an Easter party afterwards. Cross your fingers that he'll win!

Peeps and Hobos

Happy Sunday everyone! Hope you are all doing well and are gearing up for Easter. Not in the Peeps candy and Easter basket sort of way, but in the way that Christ died and rose from His death! Indeed, Peeps are yummy and Easter candy is by far the best of all seasonal candies, but I think overcoming death takes the win. Especially when it was for us. Unfortunately, Jesus dolls are hard to come by, so here is Jack with his bunny that Mema and Deda gave to him. I'm not sure if you've seen the Hallmark commercials with these bunnies on them, but they're so cute. There's a little chick that pops out of the egg and sings a song. Thank you, Mema and Deda, for the bunny! Jack LOVES it! (This paragraph is showing up in blue and underlined. Not sure why and I can't seem to change it!)



John, Jack, Scout and I took a long walk this evening, which was part fun and part disaster. The fun part was that it was 6 o'clock PM and still light outside. I think the springing forward idea is swell. The Ussery family believes that God inspired whoever makes that decision to do so just for us because He knows we freak out whenever we get to be outside together. Another fun part was just being together as a family! Here comes the disaster part. (I'm being dramatic when I say disaster.) See Scout in this picture? He's lying down. In the road. Halfway through our walk. That's because he still hasn't learned what a choke collar is and how it works. John held Scout on about 6 inches of leash thinking after a couple of miles that he would catch on. Nope! He panted the entire way, and also never completely got used to the stroller being with us. He's scared of the stroller like he is of every other piece of machinery, equipment, living, non-living, and movable thing. So here we are trying to include Scout in our evening stroll, but to him it was a 2 mile death march on a trail of horrors. By the way, pray for Scout. We think he's depressed. We're afraid that the 7 months of diverted attention to Jack have finally caught up with him and he's sad.



After the stroll, I thought it would be a good time to bathe Jack. Not because of the bugspray from our walk, but because of the rice cereal, carrot and blueberry food build-up on his face. Jack is already to the age where he HATES getting his face wiped off. So, after several wipes and many screams, I usually give up and say, "That's good enough." But the remnants that don't get caught in those semi-wipes eventually add up until Jack looks like a hobo. Today was a hobo kind of day. So he got some bath time and loved it!

Gators and Ice Water

Remember the "Bracket" blog where I wrote something obscure about Florida winning the championship? Well...there you have it. But...the irony of it all, is that I didn't even have Florida winning. I just thought I did. Transposed the tiebraker score on ESPN and had Texas beating FL by 4. In my heart, I thought it was FL all the way and told everyone embarrassingly that I chose them to win, so that's what counts, right???? Unfortunately not. I even stayed up to watch the game, cheering my heart out for the Gators....all to see this morning online that I had TX winning. GEEZ!!!!!

Today was a busy one for the Usserys. John worked out this morning and worked hard all day at his job. (Workout update: Five days a week of 45 min cardio and wt. training.) Jack and I had StrollerFit this morning. The class was close to my work, so I swung by to see how much Jack weighs. He's about 21 pounds (with clothes on and a wet diaper) and he's 27 3/4 in long! What a big'n! We went to lunch with Kim and Shelby, and most of the time we were there, Jack stared at Shelby like he was amazed by her beauty. He also ate her food. (See picture).

This afternoon, John and I took Jack to Berkeley Hall to take some pictures. We noticed how beautiful the flowers were while driving through the other day and thought we'd take advantage of the backdrop. To our dismay, they dug all the flowers up to replace them! Wouldn't you know it? And we couldn't figure out why, because the flowers were perfect. Almost Giada perfect. So, we carried Jack out to the lawn in front of the big pond along with props and different wardrobe options. However, after 78 pictures, we only got a handful of him smiling and about 100 bug bites to boot. The picture at the top is one of the cute ones from this afternoon.

Then.....we went to dinner. Out to dinner because someone conveniently forgot to put supper in the oven. Oopsie. Picture a young family with a cute, little baby sitting happily in his high chair. Then picture the helpful dad reaching over to clean the baby's face and instead, knocking a large cup of ice water all over the baby. Hear the baby screaming so loudly everyone turns and gives dirty stares. Guess what family that was tonight? The Usserys!!!! John felt so badly about it, but the upside was that we had the wardrobe changes that never got used at the dug-up flower garden photo shoot. After the ice water mishap and a dry change of clothes, Jack was all smiles. The picture is too bright, but check out his crazy face! That's our boy!

Family Weekend

Uncle Matt and Aunt Melissa came for a visit this weekend! Jack was thrilled to have some other faces to look at and respond to other than ours. He woke Matt and Melissa up each morning with squeals and grunting, and we're pretty sure they had fun playing with him. How great it was to have two extra sets of hands around as well! Thank you for visiting! We had so much fun while you were here.


This picture is of John and Jack making faces in Jack's new tent. We pitched the tent at Berkeley Hall and had an afternoon of fun in the sun with Uncle Matt and Aunt Melissa. Jack enjoyed his tent except for the 15 minute screaming fit he had while fighting his nap. The nap eventually won and Jack slept for a couple of hours. He swam in the indoor pool again and loved it.






Saturday night, the Usserys had us over for dinner. Thank you, Gigi, for having us and for the yummy food! Great Grandma Catherine was there and had fun feeding Jack his food. She said she couldn't keep up with him, but she did just fine. Jack seemed to really enjoy his time with her.


The only downer of the weekend was saying goodbye to Jordan. Aunt Jordan left today to return to South Africa. We miss you already! Can't wait to see you and Uncle Trevor in two months! Have fun in Kenya and write when you can. This picture was taken at the Usserys and it pretty much sums up the fun that Jack and Jordan had with one another. Two nights after this picture was taken, Jack fell asleep in Jordan's arms. It was sweet. I would post a picture, but the red eye reduction didn't work and makes Jordan look like a demon. Which she's not. The opposite, really.


Sunday evening concluded with a sunset cruise with our small group from church. We took the boat from the Usserys house to Shelter Cove in search of ice cream, but there was none. However, we improvised and drove to the ice cream store after the boat ride. And...I fully recommend the "Birthday Cake" ice cream from Brusters. The best. Ever.

So, we had a busy weekend. I'm about to fall asleep as I type. It's a mix of springing forward, sleeping less and a little bit of depression from the Lady Heels losing in the semis to Maryland. Congrats, Heels, on an incredible season.

Perks

Over the past few days, I've become aware of more cool things about being a parent. Here they are:

1. Line fronting. Anyone will let you "front" them in line. Grocery stores, clothing stores, Target (the mother of all stores). Anywhere. And it's not "Native American Fronting" which was popular among grade school age children during my glory days and referred to by a different title. It's straight up 'you go first' fronting. I like that! And...it gives Jack someone to look at behind him while he's sitting in the buggy.

2. Baby Life Vests. That's right. If I didn't have Jack now, I wouldn't even know that they make life preservers for children less than 30 lbs. Jack and I went to Boater's World this afternoon in search of a life jacket for him to have when we go on the boat. The guy at the store suggested that Jack would probably be into the "Child" jacket (which starts at 30 lbs) in another month or so. He said this even after I told him he currently weighs 20 pounds. Holy cow, that guy thinks babies gain 10 pounds in a month or so! Needless to say, we found a vest for Jack's size and it was so funny. Poor kiddo was up to his ear in flotation device rolling around the floor of Boater's World.

3. Baby smells. Jack's room has a distinct scent to it that is wonderful. Probably all thanks goes to the great invention of the Diaper Genie. You can't describe it the scent. I wish you could bottle it. It's just the smell of Jack and it's yum-o.

4. Conversation with strangers. No matter where you are, there's at least one baby lover around you. This person will usually seek you out and talk to you. It's nice to have conversation with someone while John's ordering the food or you're trying to occupy a fussy 7 month old.

So, parenthood is amazing. Jack just had about the most adorable 20 minute exchange of bubble blowing, lip-smacking (his newest trick), babbling with John and me. He's always the best before bedtime. I wish you all could see it. Hope you're all doing well!

Jordan

Jordan's home!!! At least for the week she is. She got in yesterday around noon and will be staying until next Sunday. We're so happy that she's here! John picked her up from the airport, and we were all able to spend the afternoon and evening with her. She and Gigi Genie are off to Boston for a few days to hopefully find a job and an apartment for when she and Trevor move there in August. They won't be close, but it's closer than Africa! Jack can't wait to visit them and go to a Red Sox game. John and I aren't too upset at the thoughts of future visits either.

Yesterday Jack and I attended our 2nd StrollerFit class. He is 2/2 of winning the loudmouth of the group award. One mother looked at me and said, "Don't worry. Mine was the fussy one last week." The bad thing was that Jack wasn't even fussy. That was his happy yelling. I fear that we might get kicked out of StrollerFit if he has a bad day!

Jack is getting to the size/age where he's a little too big for his baby bathtub, but he's a little too wobbly to sit in the big tub. Today we improvised and put him in the shower with John. You can see that John had his trunks on because it would be "weird" to wear nothing. I don't think that we'll be doing this again because 20 pounds of slippery flesh is very difficult to hold and properly clean. Nonetheless, it was fun for once and good for this picture of Jack sucking on John's shoulder.

They're Baaaack!

We're glad to announce that Gigi Genie and Uncle Jeffrey returned from their two month's stay in Puerto Rico. Johnny and Jackie are back as well from their to and from ventures. Jack was excited to see his family after they were gone for so long. We visited them yesterday afternoon all had dinner together as well. Jack performed his tricks, bubble-blowing, rolling around on the ground, and sitting. We're so excited to have the Usserys back home, safe and sound and with facial hair. Check out Jeff's unshaven face. Nice, huh?

Jack and I had a first today. We went to StrollerFit class. It's an aerobics class where you take your baby in the stroller with you. We ran, jumped, sprinted, stretched and did isometrics and band-work together. For most of the class, the babies face you in their stroller while you exercise. And you know how a lot of people make statements like "I wonder what babies are thinking?" I'm pretty sure today Jack thought that I was going to die. During parts of the class, we count in Spanish and sing different songs to the babies while we're exercising. Well, being the only first timer of the group, my singing only came out in spurts because I was just trying to breathe. We'll definitely be going back to StrollerFit. It was a great workout, and Jack seemed to enjoy it. I think he was laughing at me, not with me.


This picture was taken last week. While I was organizing Jack's closet, he was playing in the floor with some of his toys. Next thing I knew, he was nowhere to be found. Well, actually, I assumed he had to be under the crib since it's the only thing tall enough for him to roll under, and yep, there he was. Under the crib. With his mouth wide open. Not sure why he was doing that, but he did it until I pulled him out from under there. What a funny guy.

This has nothing to do with Jack or any other Ussery, but...do any of you ever watch The Food Network? There's a cooking show called "Everyday Italian" on there with a host named Giada? I know my roomies, particularly Erin McHall, know about Giada. Well, Everyday Italian is on right now as I type, and I'm reminded once again of Giada's beauty, cooking skills and seemingly good fashion. Oh, and by the way, she happens to also be about as close to perfect as you can get, and it's 100% annoying. Isn't it, Erin McHall? She says words perfectly, breaks eggs perfectly, and can measure out exactly 3/4 cups of orzo without a measuring cup. Not because she's a chef and that's her business, but because she has perfect measure. It's like perfect pitch but for cooks. She could look at a handful of cooked rice and tell you it's 1.16 cups and then convert that into the uncooked rice measurement, which only Giada knows. Sickening.

Blowout!!!

The title of this blog is "Blowout." Now, for those of you who are NCAA fans and/or personal friends or family of mine, you may have initially thought that this was written before UNC played George Mason as a joke of how bad UNC was going to beat the unheard-of school. Good thing I didn't name it Blowout for that reason because UNC was beaten by GEORGE MASON today. Holy cow, I almost cried. Okay, so maybe I did cry, but only a little. What a terrible end to a great season. I guess with such a young team we should be very proud of the overall effort and spirit of them. And we are. Go Heels! You're still #1 in our book. While we're on Tourney talk....it has been fun (outside of GMU) watching a lot of underdog teams win. However, it does leave a nice little path for you know who to come sailing through to the finish. Stinky.


And speaking of stinky....check out this picture. Doesn't it look like Jack took a massive, destructive, fire-inducing dump? Instead, this is the result of what happened when John and I almost burned the house down yesterday. My Mama and I went shopping during the afternoon, only to return to a driveway wet from recent hosing, a charred lamp from Jack's room sitting in the driveway, as well as these flame-streaked shorts. So, we put two and two together and figured out there had been a fire! Smart, aren't we? Mama (Mimi) had bought Jack a bunch of clothes, but this pair of denim shorts we had set aside because they looked too big. The plan was to try them on Jack and return them if they were a no-go. However, the plan began to go awry when I set these shorts on top of the lamp in Jack's room because there was no room on his changing table. Mistake #1. Mistake #2 occurred when John turned on the lamp while Mama and I were gone. After a while, he and my Dad smelled something burning. John ran into Jack's room where he didn't see any smoke, but he did notice the shorts on top of the lamp. John jerked the shorts off the lamp and smoke went everywhere, the windows in Jack's room were opened and a spray down of the lamp and shorts ensued in the driveway.


Now...here are the good things...1. The house did not burn down. 2. Jack was not in his room when this happened. 3. We never leave the lamp on when Jack's sleeping so there is no possibility that this could have happened when Jack was sleeping. (One of those parent things we think about to make ourselves feel better.) 4. The house now smells like toasted marshmallows.

Obviously John and I both made mistakes in fire safety. When I pulled in the driveway, my heart sank, thinking about what an idiot I was to put anything on top of a lamp, but then I felt better when I realized John had turned the lamp on. Whew! I wasn't 100% to blame! But, I still made the courtesy, "I'm so sorry. This is my fault!" comment to John...to which he replied with a curt "it's okay." And it wasn't an "it's okay" like 'it's okay...everything is fine....jack is fine....no worries." It was more an "it's okay that you're insane and didn't listen to anything you were ever taught about fires." Don't worry...I'm not revealing anything that John and I haven't discussed. We don't use the blog to air our marital communications. It's just an effort to make light of a situation that could have potentially been horrible. Praise the Lord nothing caught on fire except for a pair of jean shorts.


The best thing about this weekend was that Jack's Mimi and Grandpa Gardner came to see him! That's my parents for those who are curious. They arrived Thursday night and were able to stay until this afternoon. They took care of Jack and Scout and made both of them very happy all weekend. Here's a great picture of Jack with his grandparents. Thanks for coming to visit me, Mimi and Pops/Pop/Pipi/Poppy/Grandad/Whatever you want to be called. I love you! See you at Easter!!!

Bracketology

Another beautiful day in Bluffton, folks! It started off a little rainy, but by the end of the day, Jack and I had spent a lot of time outside, and we went on a walk with our neighbors, Susan and Ian. Jack screamed half of the time, but it was nice to get out of the house nonetheless. Unfortunately, no pictures from the stroll, but here's a cute one from yesterday morning.

This March is no different for me. The NCAA bracket is here, the emails for pools are sent, and again, I choose the dumbest teams to win. We're entering two pools each this year. One with the Usserys and Smiths, and the other with a gazillion other people whom I don't know. Either way, when it's over, they'll all know I'm a moron. Do you know who I have picked to win it all? On one, Florida. On another, Memphis. WHAT IN THE WORLD AM I THINKING? The picks were chosen this afternoon online with Jack in my lap. He hit the spacebar several times which made some choices for me, and I left them there! Each year after my horrible bracket fails miserably, I promise myself and my pride that I'll think it through, research the teams, and then make educated guesses next year. Inevitably, the choosing turns into "Ooh..Gonzaga...Yeah, that sounds good." And heaven forbid I EVER put duke past the Great Eight no matter what their record is, and of course UNC makes it to the Final Four if not the very end. Geez. There's always that little voice in my head that says, "Man, how cool will I be when Florida beats everyone and it's the Cinderella Story of a lifetime...." Right. Oh well. Here's to bracketology and those who actually put time into it. Either way, it's so much fun and by filling out a bracket, you find yourself actually caring about schools like Oral Roberts. Worst school name ever. Thanks, Pratt, for pointing that one out to me.

John's work-out update: March began 40 minutes of cardio. Still no weights in a backpack, but he's getting there! He's working out Mon., Tues., Thurs., and Frid. mornings. Encourage him if you get the chance. Jack and I are proud of his dedication!

Church, Jeep, Beach, Boat

Another great day from start to finish. Jack decided that waking up at 7am was overrated and that waking up at 5:30 would be more fun. He played in his crib until we got him out at 7. What a happy child! We found that the 5:30 rude awakening was the result of a dirty diaper. Dirty in the #2 kind of way. Can you blame him? Would you sleep through that? Geez. This picture was added to show off his big boy outfit. Isn't it cute?

Church was extra good today. There was a guest worship leader who did an awesome job and a guest speaker. The speaker is the leader of an India based mission group called GFA: Bridge of Hope. They put underprivileged children into homes and schools. I didn't realize it until today, but India still works under the caste system, where the population is organized into different categories: priests, soldiers, merchants, farmers, etc. Most of these children fall below all of these groups into the "dalits" group which means 'broken people.' They and their parents basically have no rights at all. Many of them die from murder or starvation and their children have nowhere to go. This organization hopes to rescue these children before they die themselves. The schools are taught by Christian teachers, so the children hear the Gospel and then go tell their relatives about it. John and I are proud to sponsor one of these children now. His name is Bhidhyananda Saru Magar. I wish I could show you his picture. What a cutie. Please pray for him and his family that they would come to know Christ!



When church was over, John picked up Jeffrey's Jeep and brought it home. John was sure to get some pictures of Jack sitting in the Jeep. He wanted him to get used to the feel of it or something like that. Looks like he's getting the hang of it pretty well, huh? This is such a funny picture. You could sense this certain car-loving guy thing coming from Jack already. Incredible.



The beach was 3rd on our list. We parked at the Westin and enjoyed about an hour and a half of beach time with Jack. This was our first time taking Jack during warm weather and during the day, you know...during normal beach weather, so we were anxious to see how he did. Jack was great! He loved looking at the waves crash, as much as waves crash at Hilton Head. He liked the feel of the squishy sand on his feet but he did not enjoy his hat that I made him wear. (see above picture) John and I got a lot of 'exactly how old ARE they' looks, which is fine. The older I get, the more incredible that feels. Oh, and also while we were at the beach, we were looking for Sarah Jessica Parker. She was spotted on the island this week by a friend of ours, in Walmart no less! We didn't see her, though.



Last but definitely not least was the boat ride we took with the Reeds. Jack was awakened from his 3rd car nap of the day (sorry kiddo), but he was pretty good for the trip. The weather was great, the company even better. We look forward to many cruises like this, and hopefully to many more sunny days spent outside with family and friends. Aren't Shelby and Jack so cute? Hope everyone had a good weekend!

PS Adam, thank you for your sweet phone message the other night. John and I were so proud that you were watching the game and pulling for the HEELS!!! We both gave Jack and Scout hugs and kisses from you as requested! We think you need to come visit us SOON!!! It was such a joy to hear your voice. Hope to see you soon, buddy! We miss you and love you very much!

Sunny Day

I wish every day could be like today. Sunny skies, warm temperatures, and a happy baby! There would be one change, though...UNC would have defeated Boston College instead of losing to them. What a bummer. After an ugly win last night against UVA, we just couldn't pull out a victory today. Hopefully the loss will shake the team up a bit and get them ready for the big dance. (Losers always say stuff like that don't they?) Is everyone filling out a bracket this year? We recommend it. It's fun.

John had to work today, so I guess that makes the 2nd change I would have made. But it was a very productive day for him, which is good. While John worked, Jack and I shopped. We went to the yard sale at Hilton Head High School. I say "the" yard sale because apparently it's a big deal every year. There were so many people there! We didn't find any treasures, but Jack had the best time people watching. We went to Home Goods as well where we bought a book for Jack, a stuffed fish with HUGE lips that he thought was funny, and a trash can for his room. When John got home, we finished watching the game, and went to dinner at Amigos. All in all nothing majorly exciting happened, but just a very satisfying day and evening spent with our little family. Hopefully tomorrow will be even better. Maybe we'll hit the beach!

The picture above is the best, isn't it? There's Jack in his new carseat with the most unbelievable track suit on the planet. Thanks, Trevor and Jordan, for giving it to us. Jack gets noticed a lot more when he's wearing it, which is definitely what we're aiming for. But, with more notice comes more random people who approach us and put their dirty paws directly on his face. Have you parents out there noticed that adult strangers touch your babies' faces and the stranger children grab at your babies' hands? Maybe I wouldn't be so aware of it if I didn't work in a germ pool and if John wasn't using antibacterial gel every 10 seconds. John has made a name for himself at our church because of his germ phobia. He tries different tactics each Sunday to avoid shaking the greeter's hand. He'll hold Jack in one hand, a Bible in the other or the diaper bag and Jack in other hand. Sometimes he gets away with it. He swears it's not everyone, but it's just the greeter because the greeter has had so many hands to shake. You can see it on other church member's faces when they approach us..."Oh, man, it's that guy who has the hand shake fear thing." They usually throw up an awkward wave or pat John on the arm with the back of their hand. We're the weird couple.

This has nothing to do with anything else (much like most of the blog postings), but I'm watching Larry King Live right now, and that poor guy looks like he's about to keel over! Is he alright? Anyway...hopefully we'll have some pictures from the beach tomorrow!!!

Happy Birthday, Gigi!!!

Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday, Dear Gigi!!! Happy Birthday to you! Today is Jack's Gigi's Birthday, and she's celebrating with her hubby, Jeffrey, Jackie, brothers and sisters-in-law in Puerto Rico. This picture of Jack on Gigi's shoulder was taken close to Halloween. There's no way her shoulder could take all the weight now! Gigi has been gone to PR for almost two months now, and Jack says he wants to see her soon! Today he mumbled out a few of his favorite things about Gigi. He said...

1. He likes that she is really good at basketball and that she can teach him, too.
2. He likes her secret coded emails that only he can translate.
3. He likes it when she rubs his forehead in little circles.
4. He likes knowing she's coming home soon!

Happy Birthday, Gigi! Hope that you are partying it up in Puerto Rico!!! When you get home, we'll be sure to take more pictures of you with Jack. We realized that we have very limited shots of any of Jack's grandparents! They are pretty much all of Jack with toys, Jack with Scout, Jack smiling, eating...but usually alone!

Today was a busy one for the Usserys. Wake up, work, workout, Bible Study, grocery store, sleep. Jack's was pretty much the same minus work, workout, Bible Study, and grocery store. Throw in some eating, bubble blowing, and rolling on the floor and you'd pretty much have it. Good night blog readers. Hope you have a great start to a fun Friday!

Crazy in the Face

Not long after Jack was born, we discovered that he would freak out if we blew in his face. Probably because he couldn't breathe. Understandable, right? Now his lungs have developed a little more, and he's able to take the blowing in the face game. This picture is the result of it. Jack's eyes kind of cross, and he gets the craziest look on his face. This was our entertainment last night over dinner. Hopefully he enjoyed it as much as we did.



Yesterday, Jack and I attended playgroup again. Why we call it playgroup when the children aren't old enough to play yet, I don't know. It's more like 'Moms get out of the house before they are committed' group. But, some serious rolling does take place. Here is Jack with his newest pal, Carson Rowe. Carson is two months old, and he's adorable! His parents, Matt and Dana, grew up on Hilton Head as well. We're excited about our boys playing together now and in the future. Whenever I take these pictures, I think about them one day being used in yearbooks and stuff like that. I LOVE IT. Don't you love Carson's hair? Jack is obviously feeling a little self conscious with his shiner next to Carson's dark locks.

I was ashamed today to see that the "Bluffton Today" puts horoscopes in their newspaper. Today as I read a few of them, I was reminded of how much bologna they are. (You're asking yourself why I read it when it's bologna, aren't you?) I think the folks who write these are feeling a little less confident these days. Aren't they usually little warnings shedding some light into the future to tell us what's up ahead? Like "Charm will work wonders for you today. You will be in demand and very influential." But now...the definitives have turned into 'no-duhs.' Here was my horoscope today. (Hold onto your socks because they're about to get knocked off). "If you make some physical changes to your home then you will feel good." What kind of horoscope is that? Can you use an If-Then statement in a horoscope? Of course if I made physical changes to my home I would feel good about it. Who paints a room, hangs some pictures and doesn't feel good about it? That's like saying "If you can't swim and you jump in a lake today, you're gonna die." Alas, the absurdity of horoscopes abounds. Unfortunately the absurdity has arrived in Bluffton.

Elated and Water-Logged

Told you it would be better when we beat duke at cameron! And on Senior night! The Tarheels completely ruined Senior night at Cameron. Wow. My fingers felt like they had magic powers when they just typed that. Holy cow, John and I are so happy about the win we can hardly think straight. The excitement of the game put us in a trance last night. We were saying things that didn't make sense or were either meant to be witty but didn't come out right. For instance, when Frasor hit one of his 3-pointers, John yelled "whipped cream supreme", and later referred to Frasor as his "little, white hero!" The things I yelled actually did make sense, but they were mostly derogatory (and ridiculous) comments against the devils. "Quit showing the stupid fans and show the GAME!!!!" "If I see one more clip of jj redick during a time out, I'm gonna throw up!" Tyler Hansbrough was amazing, wasn't he? I wonder how our Heels' freshmen feel after outscoring the seniors of the #1 ranked team in the country. But, it wasn't the Tarheel's athleticism, hustle, coaching or determination that pulled out the 'Dub'. No....we have the great jj to thank for the 'emotional fatigue' he's suffering from. Did anyone else experience palpitations the 57th time one of the announcers accredited jj's poor performance to the distress of breaking the ACC scoring record? They kept commenting about this so-called emotional fatigue as if he'd been working with Katrina victims for the past 6 months. Can't the guy just have a bad night without some excuse? I think so. And that's exactly what happened last night, along with our Heels stompin' the junk out of each and every devil that hit the floor and I love it so much I can barely stand it. Can't wait for the Tournament! Go Heels!


Jack has also sensed the "sweet nectar that is victory" today. (Another phrase that fell from the lips of my husband last night! John is obviously insane!) After the win, John and I went into Jack's room where he was sleeping and whispered to him that UNC had won and that dook stinks. He wiggled in approval. To celebrate Jack's first UNC-dook victory, we upgraded his carseat today AND took him swimming for the first time. In an indoor pool, don't worry. The water was a little chilly, but he kicked and slapped the water like he was having fun. On the way home after the swim, Jack was asleep before we every drove out of Berkeley Hall. In his new, safe, huge carseat.

Rematch

Even Jack has his 'don't mess with me' face going on today. We made him chew leather this morning instead of eating the usual rice cereal and fruit combo. We thought it would get him ready for the big game tonight. Speaking of the game, I have to give a blog shout out to Jordan and Trevor for their loyalty to NCAA basketball. They're in South Africa where the time is seven hours ahead of us. We're watching the game at 9pm tonight. The game starts at 4am there, and folks, they're still watching. That is serious. John, Jack and I cannot measure our pride in words or units.

The shaky-leg syndrome has taken over our household again today on this UNC-duke game morning. It's like our love of the Tarheels and dislike of the devils is so tangled and tortuous that we can't seem to channel our energies with any cohesion. After reading a fellow Tarheel's blog after the last UNC-duke meeting, I was given a few things to think about to help, as he put it, these feelings "permeate every cell in your Carolina blue soul until you're a giant biomass of IHATEDOOK." Here's what was offered:

Think about how it's all about ratface. (You know who we're referring to.)
Think about how they named a center of leadership and ethics after him.
Think about Redick's off-arm push-off on every other drive.
Think about how Vitale and Patrick will sing his praises to the highest heavens.
Think about Paulus' off-arm push-off on EVERY drive, and his dumb black headband.
Think about Sheldon Williams and the fouls they won't call on him.
Think about how he'll assault Tyler Hansbrough without any penalty.
Think about how dook will be allowed to slap, bump and dive on every defensive possession.
Think about how dook will be allowed to slap, bump and dive on every offensive possession.
Think about how Sean Dockery will go flying across the court to "save" a loose ball that's 35 feet away.
Think about how hard, and with what primal enthusiasm, his teammates will subsequently embrace him.
Think about Montross' bloody face. (That one always gets me.)
Think about Stack's baseline dunk.
Think about Dahntay Jones' three stitch-producing facescrape to the great Raymond Felton.
Think about how, after that incident, dook scrub Andre Buckner PUSHED OUR COACH WITH TWO HANDS, ON TELEVISION, IN FRONT OF MILLIONS OF VIEWERS, and not only did not receive a technical, but was praised afterwards by his coach as a "peacemaker."
Think about Wojo and his slapping of the floor at coach k court (the center of leadership and ethics, remember.)
Think about Chris Collins. Nothing in particular, but just Chris Collins.

This has helped us to collect ourselves for tonight's event. Maybe it's relieved you of some ambivalence, apathy, whatever. Either way, eat a balanced diet, take your vitamins, drink lots of fluids and get a head start on pulling for the HEELS!!!!

79-74

Let's go ahead and get it over with. duke lost last night to Florida State, and it was a shining moment for the Usserys and every other UNC fan. Except for those "UNC Fans" who are fans of every team that's good, including duke. You guys are in a category of your own. It's called "Heartless." Seriously. Pick a team and go with it. Even if it's duke. I mean it. You pull for them, and you pull hard. You cheer for them in football, soccer, track and field, all areas, you cheer. Okay so back to FSU and how they're awesome. I read an article on espn.com about how duke got "homered." It's a term the writer made up meaning when a team gets taken advantage of at the other school's home gym. Sort of a mob mentality taking over the refs or something. They get caught up in the atmosphere and call more fouls against the visiting team, let fouls against the home team go unnoticed and the like. Is anyone catching the absurdity of this? DUKE getting homered? Who is Mr. ESPN writer kidding? They may as well call it, "Cameron Indoor: Without a doubt, You're gonna get Homered" Anyone else looking forward to Saturday?



This picture of Jack was taken yesterday in our back yard. We think he's going to be quite the nature boy. Whenever Jack's fussy, we step outside with him and whamo, he's happy. He's been like that since infancy. As you can see, he's sitting on his own (at least for a few moments). Here are his 6 month accomplishments: sitting on his own for a few seconds, transferring objects from hand to hand, rolling both ways (not left and right, but front and back), cooing, laughing and babbling, and smiling at a mirror. I have a head's up on these things since I work at our pediatrician's office. Most parents get in there not having a clue what developmental questions we'll be asking. But we have the advantage of working on Jack's sitting and laughing. If he hasn't gotten it down by the time of the appointment, John and I can still practice our "yes" lie. (joke...everyone knows Jack is advanced for his size and age).

John has bumped up to 40 minutes of cardio for the month of March. Don't worry, he's not yet working with the backpack of weights. You'll get your pictures. The latest Mont Blanc purchase was Capilene socks. 9 pair. Maybe John got some advice from Lt. Dan from Forrest Gump. When Forrest and Bubba arrived in Vietnam, Lt. Dan dan had two rules: 1. Don't get yourselves killed and 2. Take care of your feet. John and his friends have to turn in their applications to the guide service next Tuesday. They're using the American Alpine Institute as their guide service. John says if you google it, you'll find it. The mountain is very beautiful. Hopefully they'll be able to get some great pictures. FROM THE TOP! Do it, baby!

One last mention about you know who not winning against FSU...I know the picture of Al Thornton dunking it over McNugget's head is small, but do you see who's little darling face is watching from below as well? Hint: His first name consists of two letters. In fact, two of the same letter. None of which are in the phrase: duke lost and Tyler Hansbrough is the man. You figure it out.

Happy Birthday, Grand-Papa Johnny!

Today is Jack's Grandpa Ussery's birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GRANDPA! Jack picked this picture to show that his grandad lets him do whatever he wants, like eating Ruffles potato chips. I can't tell you how many times Jack has whined to me, "Mama, I want some chips!" "But Jack, you don't have teeth!"...."Well Grandpa doesn't mind." So forth and so on. In previous 'Happy Birthday' blogs, I've always mentioned which particular birthday it is that the person is celebrating. It's usually not a good idea to mention that past the age of 29, so I'll tell this story instead. One day Johnny was at our house for a visit. A while after he left, I was in the yard talking to our neighbor, Clarke. Clarke said that he had seen John's brother at our house earlier that day. Well, no, Clarke, Jeffrey was not here today. He then described what 'Jeffrey' was wearing and the car he drove. Turns out...it was Johnny! I couldn't convince Clarke that the man he saw was John's dad. Clarke was convinced that Johnny was no older than 27. TWENTY-SEVEN! Now that's a compliment. Needless to say, Johnny and Clarke are now best friends. (not really) So, to Grandpa Ussery/Johnny/Dad, we hope you have a wonderful birthday! Here's to your 28th year of life! :)

The weather is beautiful here today. High of 78! Can you believe it? Jack went without socks yesterday, and he seemed a little more free-spirited. I think we'll do the same today. He also wore a short sleeve shirt that's a 12 month size. It barely fit! I bought these shirts earlier this year thinking that they would fit him for the summer. Unless he experiences a growth stunt, we've got some shopping to do.

The "Bluffton Today" featured an interesting article this morning. Two guys came home to find an injured bird in their yard. You're probably picturing a small little finch or something. No way, baby. This is Bigger, Better Bluffton. It was a baby bald eagle! Isn't that cool? Who finds an eagle in their yard? This could only happen to a redneck. Seriously. Rednecks get all the action. Most natural disasters, freakish deaths, and mysterious illnesses happen only to rednecks. Have you ever heard of a redneck dying from something common like a heart attack? No way. "Ol' Billy died cause his liver blew up." People would assume that Billy may have been an alcoholic, had cirrhosis, an enlarged liver perhaps. But really, Billy's liver actually exploded. At least that's what they tell us. If you're ever bored by life, hang out with some rednecks. By the way, they named the eagle, "Foreman."

Hey bloggers, you know what Saturday is? It's UNC vs. Richard Nixon's alma mater. That's right. We can technically blame Watergate on duke and their teachings. Did any of you catch it the other day when jj reddiculous was trying to set a new ACC scoring record (big deal, right?)? duke was playing Temple, and they might as well have substituted Temple's score slot with "points remaining before jj beats the record and everyone goes crazy". Poor Temple. Here they are playing pretty well and when they finally have their chance at the foul line, they show some clip of jj saying how it's going to feel when he breaks the record instead of showing the Temple shooter. Typical, I know. After the game if they had showed some edited clips of jj's 3-point shooting with background inspirational music like "One Moment in Time", MY liver may very well have blown up.

Jack just woke up from his nap. I'm off to read the bald eagle article to him. He enjoys playing with the newspaper more than anything. There's nothing like little, baby newsprint fingers. Pull for the Heels against the Cavaliers tonight!!!!