Creepy Crawly

Announcement: Jack is the weird kid in our StrollerFit class. Yesterday during the floor routine where we let the little ones run/crawl free, Jack sat in the middle of the floor and made this strange sound that was similar to a growl, but had a tad bit of scary mixed in. It was so creepy! Occasionally he'd pause for a moment to crawl around and find something disgusting to put in his mouth, but then he'd resume making the scary growl noise. I could see the other mothers giving each other knowing looks, taking mental notes as to why they would never schedule a playdate with Jack Ussery. He can be creepy afterall. On the drive home I thought about how completely normal John and I are, and how strange that we would produce an abnormal child. Then I started recalling some recent snapshots from an ordinary evening in the Ussery household, and it hit me! If Jack is a goofball, it's because his parents are insane! We're nuts!






First of all, we dress Jack like an animal. See here, he's dressed like a duck. He's looking at his feet as if he's thinking, "What happened?!?!?!?!?!" Maybe his creepy growl is his interpretation of one of the animals he has been dressed as. Maybe? Secondly, I act like Scout is one of us. I have been known to kiss him on the mouth and of course I kiss Jack, so maybe something was passed on. Last, look at John. Nice form, huh? So, Jack, we're sorry buddy. You are your parent's son.

Before anyone gets angry, of course we don't think Jack is strange. We just wanted to post these funny pictures. The StrollerFit story, however, is true, and the pictures were from a pretty typical evening in our home. We surely do have fun!!!

Beach Bums

We all had a busy week, so we decided to end it with a nice, relaxing day at the beach. But really...taking a 8 month old to the beach proves to be a challenge! I got some practice earlier in the week when I took Jack to see his Mema and Deda (my grandparents-Mom's side), who were visiting for the week on Hilton Head. He got to show them all of his new tricks, and they enjoyed being with him so much. Unfortunately, I was a bad picture taker and only got pictures of Jack with a Mema or Deda arm or leg here or there in a picture. We'll be sure to get some better pictures when we see them again, which is this coming weekend! Memorial Day in Greensboro. At least for Jack and me. John's busy with work and his training. Still no pictures of the pack on his back, but he's continuing to train pretty fiercely!



So, yesterday was spent on the beach with Jack, John, Genie (Gigi) and Jeffrey. Trying to be good parents, John and I slathered (is that a word?) sunscreen all over Jack. But, he ended up getting some of it in his right eye, which set the afternoon off to a poor start. If that's ever happened to you, you know it hurts like the dickens, and we all know how badly 'the dickens' hurts. We tried putting him in the water. He cried. We tried letting him play with his stacking cups. He cried. Finally, the burn must have worn off and Jack seemed to enjoy himself. Gigi had fun with him in the water (see above pic). Jack kept making these high pitched "ahhhh" sounds. We interpreted that as positive feedback.

We've realized recently that Jack is very protective of his hands. He does not like anyone, not even his mother, touching his hands. Maybe he's a germiphobe. By the way, that is not a word. I looked it up. Hope everyone reading is doing well!

You Scream, I Scream

As promised, here are some more of the great Jack pictures that Susan Jones took. These are just a few of our favorites. (Out of 300+, it's hard to narrow it down.) This profile shot gives a good look at Jack's cheeks. Believe it or not, there has been a significant decrease in their size. By the way, Jack's dinner last night included: an entire Lil' Entree, small jar of veggies, large jar of fruit, bits of a chicken breast and bread. Maybe the cheeks will be back in full bloom soon?

Mother's Day was a hit in every way. Jack had his baby dedication at church in the morning. He made us proud by being the loudest baby on stage. About two minutes into the dedication, Jack eyed the bottle that the baby girl beside of us was drinking from. It was all over from that point. Jack stretched his arms out and tried to leap from John's grasp and began to cry/moan. Even his favorite light up ducky toy could not soothe him. We had lunch at Truffles with both sets of parents and my mom's parents, Jackie and Jeffrey. The day concluded with a trip to Outside Hilton Head (Jordan, the workers asked how you were doing and were excited to hear that you would be back soon.) and dinner at the Old Oyster Factory with John's parents, Jeffrey and Grandma Catherine. We gave her a picture of Jack for Mother's Day. I don't think I've ever seen her smile so big.


Jack's latest trick is screaming on command. The command is that one of us will scream first. Then it becomes a contest. We'll scream. Then Jack screams. So on and so forth until something else catches his attention. Poor Jack doesn't have a chance when it comes to competitiveness. He's just got it. Not sure if competitive drive is a dominant or recessive trait, but we're pretty sure that John and I both passed on whatever it is. Hope all of you reading are doing well. Happy late Mother's Day!

Awesome

We took Jack to Susan Jones' house this week, and she took some awesome pictures of him! This is just a taste. I'll post more later. My parents just pulled in the driveway! Gotta run!

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!