John Thomas the Baptized

We've had marginally cooler weather this week, which has allowed us to start enjoying the new deck. I can't imagine getting anymore laid back than this. I also think having Gramma and Papa around this week helped everyone relax.
Like any doting grandparents, Mom and Dad were so eager to help entertain and cuddle with JT. The added bonus was the fact that my extremely handy dad did all sorts of work around our house. Thanks to my dad we have a new ceiling fan, new shower curtain rod, new screens in bedroom windows, organized garage, cleaned porch railing, repaired closet light, chopped wood...and so on. Thank you so much dad!

I think Jason even picked up a few pointers in the process.

Mom and I also took a trip to see Mamaw. Mamaw was so excited to see us! She just couldn't get enough of her new little great grandson.

The best part of the whole week was that John Thomas was baptized this morning. He was such a trooper for the whole thing. As you can tell, all the hoopla must have taken its toll. Thank you to all the family and friends who were able to support us and him today. It truly is his first step in his walk with Christ, and I only hope and pray that we can help guide and support him in his relationship with Jesus as he grows up.

John Thomas is officially big enough to use his Johnny-Jump-Up. Although, it could be more accurately named, "Johnny-Play-With-The-Dog." This week we're back to the three amigos: Me, JT and Chester. It sure is going to be a quiet house around here with all the company gone.

Roaring Thirties

Okay, so I think our little boy is undeniably adorable. I actually couldn't sleep last night for thinking about how cute and lovable and precious John Thomas is. Bath time is one of my favorite things in the whole world, and with a face like this you could understand why.
In his fourth month, I've finally discovered that I can go anywhere with JT as long as he's in the Baby Bjorn. This week we did our big grocery trip and ventured to Babies R Us to pick out a few new toys. As you can tell, he's upgraded from his baby gym.

Papa and Gramma have already relished spending time with John Thomas. Every time John Thomas sees my dad, he smiles and giggles. It truly is the sweetest thing in the world to watch these two light up.

Gramma, on the other hand, is eager to volunteer for any holding, burping, changing... that needs to be done. I think JT has learned who is going to cater to him the most (besides me).

I just had to have a picture of John Thomas in his froggy pajamas. Although he's not smiling in this shot, it definitely brings a smile to may face.

Ready For Take Off

We decided to go visit Gramma and Papa in Wisconsin for a long and fun-filled weekend. We boarded the plane out of Knoxville at 7:00 a.m. Thursday morning. John Thomas did fairly well on the plane rides, considering we had mechanical trouble and three hours worth of delays while sitting on the tarmac after boarding.
After an exhausting day, we were able to unwind and relax in my parents beautiful home. Mom, of course, cooked a great meal while we unpacked. The best part of the whole evening was the clear night sky complete with dozens of shooting stars. I've truly never seen anything like it. It was like God was putting on a fireworks show for us!

The area where my parents live is quite rural. Every lot is five acres and full of all sorts of wild life. Molly, you would love the bird watching. This little tree frog obviously caught a whiff of my mom's cooking and had to check it out.

Friday morning, Dad and Jason got up bright and early to go see the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits. I think they had a great day doing guy stuff while mom and I were relaxing at home. Saturday, the boys got up before dawn (3:00 a.m. to be exact) to catch their chartered fishing boat. We were surprised to see them home by 7:00 a.m., having already caught their quota. Don't be surprised if we serve grilled salmon at our next dinner party. Dad earned the "Biggest Catch" award with this whopper. We indulged with in fresh grilled salmon for dinner on Saturday night and it was outstanding!

There also happened to be a local festival called the Shantyday Festival in the town where my dad works, Algoma. It's a little quaint town right on the shore of Lake Michigan. I have no idea what they're celebrating, but it gave us all an excuse to partake in festival food while John Thomas watched the parade.

As we boarded the plane headed home, the flight attendant suggested we let John Thomas take a picture in the cockpit. I think Jason was worried we were going to get arrested by U.S. Marshals. As you can see, JT was very interested in the pilot, the lights and all those gadgets.

We've been home for a few hours and everyone is trying to recuperate from such an exciting weekend. We also have some other exciting news to share. John Thomas turned four months old yesterday and celebrated by rolling over from back to front. You may remember that he rolled over from front to back at five and a half weeks. I have a video, but couldn't get it to work on the blog. You can check my Facebook page if you'd like to see how big our little guy is.

I'm not sure what all we did this week, but somehow we stayed busy. We had a few visitors, including Denise and Grandma Molly. We also got on the scale and John Thomas is finally in the teens at just over thirteen pounds.
Friday night Jason and I grilled out on our new deck and finally broke in the fire pit. It was a little warm to be sitting by the fire but it provided some ambiance.

We also had a chance to do some gardening. I took out all the squash, zucchini and cucumber plants because they weren't going to bear anymore fruit and reseeded them. Hopefully we'll get some produce before the first frost sets in. Just so there is no confusion, the plants in the picture are okra. I would hate to blog about a drug bust next week!

This week I also finished a phenomenal book, The Help. It's such a great story and nearly impossible to put down! And, thanks to grandma, we were able to go see Inception on Saturday night. Besides the fact that we went to the 10:10 showing and didn't get home until 1:00, it was a wonderful night and a very entertaining flick! It's like Shawshank Redemption mixed with The Matrix.

This week we'll be gearing up for our first flight to go see gramma and papa in Wisconsin. Please wish us luck and if anyone has any advice about flying with a baby, I'll take it.

Thirty One And Counting

What an eventful week! We started off the week by celebrating my 31st birthday. I had a great day. I got to hang out with John Thomas all day and he was so playful and happy. After Jason got home, he cooked dinner for me. He also ordered very delicious red velvet cake and sang me the happy birthday song. Yes, he even stopped by the store to pick up candles so that I could make a wish. I wonder if you still get your wish if one of your candles is on backwards?
Perhaps the best birthday gift of all was that Charlotte Mae McAffry was born on my birthday. After being in labor for what seemed like an eternity, Sarah had Charlotte around 10 o'clock on Monday night. I was able to go over and see her on Tuesday. At 8 lbs. 4 oz., she is a precious and healthy little girl.

On Thursday, we loaded the car to the brim and headed to west Tennessee to spend some quality time with Jason's grandparents and great grandmother (a.k.a. granny). JT did great in the car and even slept through the night after we got there. He loved being the center of attention and everyone absolutely adored him.

John Thomas was such a ham for granny. She will be 96 this year and after raising several kids, grand kids and great grand kids, she still has the touch. It warmed my heart to see her get so much joy out of making our little boy smile.

Here is the whole gang. Left to right: Granny, Molly, Mama June, Jason, JT, Dillon, Grandfather Joe, Rodney, Micah, Becky, Jared and Chester. Chester loves being on the farm as much as we do. I think we all had a great time but we're happy to be back at home and back into the swing of things.

Decked Out

We had a pleasantly uneventful week here on the Kirkpatrick ranch. John Thomas officially graduated to the big boy tub in the bathroom. He loves to splash in the water and soak mom in the process.
Gramma mailed us some new books this week. Among his favorites are "Hand, Hand, Thumb" and "Farm Animals."

I made a really good salad this week from our home grown tomatoes. It had fresh mozzarella, basil, tomatoes, balsamic vinaigrette and a dash of olive oil. It was delicious!

I'm sure you've been so excited to see our new deck. After a few rain delays, we finally have a finished product and it's awesome. I think we'll be having a deck warming party real soon.

The two best features are the built-in benches and the stone fire pit. I can't wait until it gets cool enough to warrant a fire. I'm fairly certain that Jason will be breaking it in this week, even if it is 100 degrees outside. As you can see from the picture, the builder made a custom lid so that little John Thomas wouldn't fall in.

Saturday night, I had the opportunity to go to my friend's wedding shower. Amanda (in the center of the photo) is getting married in Savannah in the Fall. I'm sure she will make a stunning bride. On the home front, Jason was in charge of putting JT to bed. I think it went fairly well because John Thomas was slumbering peacefully when I got home. Aside: Sarah is due this week and Baby Charlotte can't get here soon enough!

Our power went out today for over two hours. Our thermostat read 81 degrees before power was restored. We all had to shed a layer of clothing to stay comfortable. It's good to know that John Thomas had a great attitude about the whole ordeal.

We spend some part of every day on a blanket, on the floor in JT's nursery. He grabs toys, we sing together and he loves to be read to. Chester, however, loves the playtime because he gets to be in on all the action too!

Getting Cuter By The Day!

We had a fabulous week at the homestead! John Thomas turned three months old and I cannot tell you how fast he is changing. We have discovered his favorite thing in the whole world...himself in the mirror. Sorry about the really shoddy photo, but it was the best one of his smile. He also loves to be in the Baby Bjorn (Disclaimer: I know his arms are supposed to go under the straps, but he really prefers it this way for now). We also got to hear him laugh for the first time this week. It's actually more like a squeal, but he's done it several times when we're dancing in the mirror, so I'm pretty sure it's his laugh.
Saturday morning we had to rise early so that builders could begin "demo" (that's builder lingo for demolition) on our deck. Jason and John Thomas took the opportunity to catch some of Le Tour de France on television. I think it must have been all the bright colors that the riders were wearing, because JT actually tuned in.

As of 8:30 Saturday morning this is what was left of our deck. Hopefully next week you'll get to see the final product.

This is my favorite picture of us so far. As usual, he was eager to smile for his daddy.

We have fallen into a daily routine that makes everyone happy. It starts at about seven in the morning and goes something like this:

7:00-9:00 Wake up,eat breakfast, play

9:00-10:00 Nap in jogger as mom walks in the neighborhood

11:00-2:00 Wake up, eat, play, and eventually take another nap

3:00-7:00 Wake up, eat, play, help mom cook dinner and get ready for bed

8:30ish Usually asleep for the night

Chester is trying to show John Thomas how to grab toys with his hands. JT is developing his hand-eye coordination and has actually grabbed a few toys. It is simply amazing how fast he is growing up. And while they haven't learned how to play together just yet, they have learned how to play side by side.