Out and About

This past week we shed the clothes of post baby hibernation and have made multiple appearances outdoors!!!! And...to top it off, we've even made it into other townships! I have to say that we had one of the best weekends I've ever had here in the lowcountry. The weather this time of year is generally so nice and Saturday and Sunday were examples of that. Sunny, warm breezes, but not so warm that you have a sweat-stash at any point during the day. (Nevermind that the rest of the week has been raining buckets, but...even that has it's perks sometimes.) Here's the usual photo display of what we've been up to!

Last Friday we made it to the TGI 3rd Friday Street Party in downtown Bluffton. They close off the streets to cars and the little shops are open, there's vendors on the streets selling anything from jewelry to ice cream. We managed to purchase some local art for Jack's room which is really cute. And we bought some painted buoys to go with his 'water/fish/beachy' themed room. Jack and Finley took their first stroll together in their new stroller. As you can see, Jack can ride backwards on the back, or he can stand on a platform and ride facing forward. He LOVED it! Finley just slept! It was a great evening. Jack behaved, and smiled at everyone passing by, and a few people lied and told me they couldn't tell I'd just had a baby. That's the best!!!!

On Saturday we headed to Beaufort. There's a great waterside park that they've recently designed. Jack loves the playground! There are swings and open yards, picnic tables and restaurants to choose from. If you ever come this way, you gotta go to Beaufort. (The shopping is good too!) This picture is so cute of Jack and John. He loves the view from up top.

Finn took advantage of the views as you can see....

I decided to post this picture so I could tell a funny Jack story. See that he's dipping his food in ketchup? We've figured out that he's more likely to eat something if we put an action to it, like dipping. I guess he's heard us say "dip" or "dip it" so much that he refers to all condiments as "dip it." Syrup, mustard, ketchup, you name it. It's all "dip it."

Like I said earlier, it's been raining here. A lot! Starting Tuesday at some point, it hasn't stopped raining since well...now! And it's supposed to rain some more today and tomorrow. I know we need the rain, so I should be happy, but it's hard to get too excited when you have to entertain a 2 year old all day indoors. Any advice is welcome! I've thought about building another fort, but I wouldn't be able to put the precision, thought, and let's face it...perfection into it like I would want right now:) (Please see previous blog titled Fort Wars to gain some understanding on this subject.) Anyway...Jack has enjoyed his finger paints and sponge paints. He really likes to say the word "pink" and be super annunciating of the 'k' at the end.

Jack finally had enough of the picture taking so he hid from me.

Another funny Jack thing. He is constantly taking his pointer finger and feeling the little divot above his upper lip. Whenever he's playing or watching TV or generally paying attention to something, he's usually got his finger sitting on his upper lip. He also does it when he's tired or being punished. So that pretty much makes it a frequent thing. He was actually eating something in this picture, but it's close to what he looks like most of the time.

Of all the daddy duties, John really enjoys this one. He loved it when Jack was small enough to sleep on his chest, and not he has another son to do the same! Finley doesn't like this position when he's awake, but when he's drowsy, it puts him right out.

Here's John reading to the boys in the nursery. You're probably wondering what he's lying on...it's an air mattress that we've rotated ourselves on. If you want to get sleep, this is where you go because Finn has been in our room up until last night. Jack loves being read to. He'll bring books to us and say 'Open! Read it!" And we obey. Hopefully Finley will be the bookworm that his brother has turned out to be.

This picture was taken in a effort to catch the only wavy hair in this extention of the Ussery family. When Finley's hair is wet, it actually has some curl to it! Seriously, this is exciting to those whose hair looks the same rain or shine, even if they spent an hour with the curling iron. John had a little bit of curl in his hair when he was a toddler. Maybe it will stay for Finley!

Tummy time for Finley!!! He's already grown so much!

This was taken this morning after Finley's best night ever! He ate at 9:45pm, went to sleep around 11:15 and I had to wake him up at 4am to feed him. Last night was his first night in the nursery. I was sad about moving him, but we did get a video baby monitor which makes me feel better. Whenever I wake up worried about him, I can just hit the button on the monitor and there he is! It's got pretty good quality images so I can even see his little chest moving up and down. And it's got audio so we can hear him at all times, whether we're looking at him or not. It's pretty neat! Isn't he cute?????



Hope everyone is having a great Friday! Have a super weekend!!!

Brothers Don't Shake Hands...

Brothers gotta HUG! Isn't that what the late Chris Farley suggested? Well, that's what is going on in our home. Jack is 100% interested in his little brother, what he's doing, when he's eating, when he pees, when he poops. It's absolutely adorable, and we pray the positivity continues!

I'm sad to report that I'm already the typical mother of a 2nd child. I'm taking about a tenth of the amount of pictures that we took when we had Jack. However, here are a few from this past week:

Here's Finley sleeping in the swing. He spends a good portion of his day here. I would, too, if I could fit!

This is the toy that brought us through many hours of play time with Jack. He loved it, and so far, Finn has enjoyed it. Oh, and lil' Finn is already advanced. He's rolled from his tummy to his back several times. It's probably something he has no idea he's doing, but it's fun to say that he's way ahead of the game.

These next two were taken yesterday. Jack stood on his step stool to watch me give Finley his bath, but after a few seconds, Jack said "I help." and began pouring water all over him. Finley already hates his bath anyway, so what could some extra splashes hurt? Jack was so proud when he finished. He was running around yelling "Finn bath, Finn bath!!!"




Everyone is doing well. Just a little sleep deprived! John is busy with work as always, but he enjoys it! He's been a huge help with the boys. He got to feed Finley for the first time this morning, which I think was good for all of us!

Hope everyone is doing well. Stay tuned for more from the Usserys!

He's Here!!!

Finley Matthew Ussery was born on Wednesday, September 12th at 3:41am. He weighed 7lb 4 oz, was 19.5 inches and had a head full of dirty blond hair! Here are a few of the many pictures we have taken since his arrival. We'll post more later. Finley is such a sweet baby! We're both doing very well. Jack is taking very nicely to him. After a few rough encounters in the hospital, he's really come around to him since we've been home. He likes putting the pacifier in Finn's mouth and he keeps running to wherever Finley is and screams "Here he is!" as if he's been looking for him all of his life. We're so excited to have our 2nd son home with us! Thanks to everyone who prayed for a safe and healthy baby!

At home on Friday:



First Family Photo:



Leaving the hospital!

The Waiting Game

The Ussery, Jr. household is waiting in anticipation of the baby's arrival. He's due on the 22nd of this month, but may come any day! We're so excited to see who he looks like and to see what Jack thinks about him. That could get interesting....

My last day of work was last Friday, the 31st, so Jack and I had the whole week to ourselves, which was fun and entertaining. He's saying so much now! This morning when he woke up, I picked him up out of bed and he said "BUZZ!", which is his way of saying 'bugs!'. So, I searched the bed for this bug he was talking about, and luckily never found one. Maybe he dreamed it or maybe there really was a bug. We'll never know. But then this afternoon, he woke up again screaming "BUZZ! BUZZ IN BED MOMMY!" Still no bugs to be found. Maybe he's just wised up and found a way that I'll let him out of bed before his naptime should be over.

The picture below was taken last week. This is the look Jack has on his face half of the time...the look that says he's either just done something he's not supposed to or that he's about to do something he's not supposed to. A few days after this picture was taken, Jack did make a pretty terrible choice where this look would have been applicable. While I was painting some centerpieces for a church activity with Jen (my friend), we noticed that Jack and Gracen (my friend's daughter. see previous post) were awfully quiet for a few minutes. I looked under the table and saw why they were quiet. I'd be quiet too if I had opened a bottle of orange acrillic paint all over myself and was smearing it onto floor tiles! Those two were a mess! Jen bathed them, I cleaned up the mess, one of them peed on the floor after their bath....it was a circus. And again...I didn't get a picture!!!! What is wrong with me? I've got to get on the ball with these things, especially with #2 on the way!



This is what Jack does when we ask where the baby is. We don't really think he has a clue about an actual baby being in there. We think he's just confused that 'baby' equals big belly. He will kiss my stomach and poke at my belly button, which he thinks is hilarious. He enjoys his big brother books that discuss how mommy will be in the hospital and that there will be a little baby too small to play with for a while, etc. But...we know he doesn't really get it. I'm sure it won't take very long for it to sink in though!



And this is what John and I refer to as the Mickey Gaze. Jack has 2 main loves in his life right now. His duckie and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. And this is the face he has whenever he's got both of them. He actually stole a Mickey Mouse video from Target the other week. I had him in the big part of the push cart and couldn't see around a box I had placed in the small part. When we walked through the door to leave, the alarm goes off and I realize that sometime in our Target stroll, he took a Mickey Mouse dvd off of the shelf. So, he's a thief at the tender age of 2! No worries, I went back and paid for it, though. I didn't really want to get the DVD, but thought I would look less guilty if I went ahead and purchased it.



And this?....This is just Happy Jack! He's quite the crazy kiddo these days, running everywhere, climbing everything and screaming when he doesn't get his way. Right now I hear him playing with his stacking blocks, building them and tearing them down and then he'll yell "POP!" Sometimes I wonder what goes on in that head of his!


Hey...make sure you check out the new website for Colleton River, which is where John is now working. He's worked really hard on it for a long time, and his efforts have definitely paid off! It's really awesome. www.colletonriver.com

Hope to have some exciting news next time I post a blog!!!

Jack's 2nd Birthday Party

Jack celebrated his 2nd birthday, which isn't actually until the 23rd, this past Friday at Hampton Lake. He enjoyed swimming with his buddies and mostly enjoyed his cake. Go back in the blog history and take a look at his first birthday party. We've come a long way!


Here is a picture of Jack eating icing off of his birthday cake candle. He kept sticking his fingers in the cake and saying, "Wow!" His party was a Cars party, but since Hampton Lake provides so much fun already with the pool and wet deck, the Cars theme basically meant that I brought Light'ning McQueen plates and napkins. As usual, I didn't take hardly any pictures of the event. Most of the pictures I do take come from around the house activity that isn't even that exciting! Both grandparents got some pictures, so hopefully I'll have some good ones to choose from there. Jack got some great gifts, but his favorite was the Lightning McQueen Power Wheels that his grandparents, aunts and uncles got for him. I do have video of that, so maybe I can figure out how to post it soon.



On Sunday we went to Gigi and Papa Johnny's pool. Unfortunately they weren't there because they were taking Jackie to NCState! We miss you, Jackie!!!! Jack kept looking up at the upstairs windows looking for Jackie. When he couldn't find her, he kept saying, "Uh-oh!" My parents were in town for the party, and they hung out for a few days. Thanks to them, our crib is ready for baby #2. They washed and ironed all the linens and moved the mattress back up into baby position:) Thank you!!! Jack had fun at the pool on Sunday, but he hated these arm floats. We've yet to find anything that he truly trusts other than having his arms and legs wrapped completely around another person! A healthy fear is better than none at all, right?



Jack and Gracen had a pool date on Monday morning back at Gigi and Papa's house. Here they are snacking on PB & Js and Teddy Grahams. Sounds good to me!



Jack has started trying to say his ABCs. He doesn't sing the song, but he'll repeat the letters after you. Our favorite is "W", which comes out "duba-doo" and "Z" which comes out "yay!" because he knows it's the last letter and that's when we cheer. Today he started saying them on his own. He'll do a few in a row and then need a little prompting. He's getting there! We can't believe he'll be 2 on Thursday!!!

Hose Pipes and Popcicles

It doesn't get much better than your dad letting you help wash the car (i.e. letting you soak yourself with the hose) and a firecracker popcicle. Jack had such a great time the other night playing outside and finishing with his icy snack. Here's a look:



"Am I doing it right, Daddy?"

Jack makes this face whenever he gets water on himself. Even if we're washing his feet off, he's so afraid that he's going to get his face wet. It's like the face women make when applying eyeliner or mascara. Why do we do that?

This is another one of Jack's famous faces. He keeps his upper lip smashed up against his nose all the time. It's really strange, but it's funny.

It was really hot out, and the popcicle melted pretty quickly. Jack couldn't figure out where the drips were coming from that would land an inch in front of him. It was like watching a child run from his shadow. He finally gave up, sat down and let it drip all over him.


Friday and Saturday were rainy days here in Bluffton. Since Jack spent most of Friday cooped up inside, I decided we had to get out of the house on Saturday. So we went to The Sandbox, which is a children's museum on Hilton Head. Jack loved it. There was a tool station, sand pit, airplane cockpit, kitchen, climbing wall and pirate ship....all kid sized.

Of all the stations, Jack liked the kitchen the best. John and I are not good cooks, so maybe there's hope yet for Jack. At least he's showing an interest! He enjoyed taking the tops off of all the fake condiments and putting them back on. Then he'd shake 'salt' into a cup and stir it up. It's funny that knows what do to with a salt shaker because we rarely use one at home.

Jack wore the pilot outfit for about as long as it took me to snap this picture, but then I was glad because I got worried some lice infested kid had put it on before him. I checked the hat. No lice:)

Here's the cockpit where Jack could play. He liked standing on the chair and pushing all of the buttons overhead. Maybe he'll be a pilot...who can cook. Sounds like a good mix to me!

Enjoy the heat, blog readers!

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!!!!