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.

Squashed

We started off the week with our first trip to the lake. Although we missed out on the 4th of July lake festivities, Monday provided a great day to enjoy the weather without all the traffic and wild parties at the marina. I was so excited about finally getting back to Lake Norris that we were pulling out of the driveway before I realized I was still wearing my slippers. I'm not kidding. I'm sure it won't be the last time I pull out of the driveway without forgetting some rather important detail--like shoes! We were able to spend the entire day on the Bradley's houseboat. The kid loved it! Tony was also kind enough to take me skiing for the first time in nearly a year. I got up but it wasn't pretty.
The rest of our week was pretty typical. However, I'm happy to report that our son has been sleeping through the night for an entire week now! Woo hoo! I wonder what Chester was whispering in his ear. Probably "scoot over kid" or "she was my mom first you know."
On a rather disappointing note, this is our entire squash harvest. I think I planted them too close together. At least they tasted good. Jason's mom (a.k.a. Grandma Molly) came through on Saturday. She volunteered to babysit so that Jason and I could hit the town on a date. Yay! We decided to cash in a gift card to Copper Cellar and play pool at Barley's afterwards. Even though it is hard to peel myself away from our little cutie, I always have so much fun hanging out with my hubby. I think we'll try to incorporate a date night every two weeks. But, unless our moms decide to commute every two weeks to spend time with John Thomas, we'll soon be in the market for a babysitter.
Church must have been exhausting today because we could not wait to get home and steal a nap on the couch. Chester took full advantage of my empty arms and lap. What a sweet family I have.

Happy Birthday America!

We had such a fun week here at the Kirkpatrick household! On Friday I got to venture out on the bandwagon to see Eclipse. If you've read the books and you're a fan, you'll be pleased. If you haven't read the books but you're into vampires, werewolves and young men who go shirtless the entire movie, you'll be pleased too. The best part about the whole outing was the smile I got from John Thomas when I walked in the door. It was as if he was saying, "Momma, you're home! I missed you so much!" Saturday we went over to a friend's house for a low country boil. It was a lot of fun and we were home in time to keep JT in his routine. Speaking of routine, John Thomas has slept through the entire night for two nights in a row! I feel like a whole new woman to get seven hours of consecutive sleep. Today, we had a few friends over for a Fourth of July grill out.

Jason wanted me to include this photo for the "grill club." Dad, I hope this makes you proud. More importantly, he grilled every burger to perfection and they were delicious!
Look at all the cute ladies and John Thomas. He is destined to be a ladies man. Of course he's in one of his favorite laps, Aunt Sarah.

These are all the ladies (and JT). As you can tell, all the partying wore him out. Kinsley, Kim and Jason's little girl, was so festive in her stars and stripes and big red bow. You can't tell but Sarah (far left) is 36 weeks pregnant and due two days before my birthday!

As always, Chester found a way to steal some of the show. I love these two!

Our Little Guppy

John Thomas and I got to go to the pool three times this week! Our best family friends, the Bradley's, have a swimming pool that stays partly shaded all day--which is perfect for our little one. The first day he put his toes in (i.e. I put his toes in) and that was all he was up for. The second and third days he got in all the way up to his armpits and stayed in until his feet started to prune up. I think he might be fond of the water, just like his momma.
He's even started picking up babes at the pool, or rather they're picking him up. Hopefully our summer pool buddy, Sarah, will be able to enjoy a few more weeks poolside before baby Charlotte gets here.

Don't judge me, but I had to share this face with the world. I have discovered in all my well-intended efforts to not spoil our son, this face will get him about anything he wants. Mom will feed him, change him, sing to him and stand on my head whistling Dixie to help this look disappear.

Chester has figured out how to steal some affection from the little guy. On a different note, we still don't have the sleeping routine perfected but he'll at least sleep for six hours at a time once he goes to sleep. Also, we've learned that he is the sweetest when he wakes up in the morning and I have no idea where he acquired this trait. If I'm only going to get six hours of sleep, at least I'll be waking up to a sweet happy baby.

Happy As A Clam

As promised, I will share with you all the reasons why John Thomas LOVED the beach.
1. Mom and dad were both there, totally relaxed and undistracted.
2. Lots of play time with his very silly and entertaining father.
3. The gentle breeze and soothing ocean sounds he could hear from our screened in porch.
4. His portable swing which he took his afternoon nap in every day.
5. Getting to sleep in mom and dad's bedroom like he used to back in the day (like 3 weeks ago).

We took him down to the beach one afternoon, but as you can tell from the picture it was a tad too breezy.

How blessed am I to have these two cuties to share my heart with. As previously mentioned, John Thomas and his daddy really had a chance to bond during the week.
The weather couldn't have been any better. I was able to sunbathe, exercise and read every day. I finished the most amazing book, East of Eden. Thanks to Jason's mom who came down to babysit, we were able to go on not one, but two dates. We decided to venture in to downtown Charleston and try out Magnolias. I would recommend it to anyone who wants one of the best meals of their life. You must try the scallop appetizer if you go.

While Chester had a fabulous time at my mom and dad's, he is back to being my trusty sidekick here at home. The video below isn't too exciting, I just wanted to share with the world how not-sleepy our little boy is at bedtime. If anyone has advice on how to get our baby to go to sleep at a reasonable hour (i.e. before 11 p.m.), I'm all ears.

Road Trip

Between the Memorial Day holiday, packing and taking our first family vacation, this week has flown by. Mary (a.k.a. Aunt Mimi) stopped by mid-week to check in on our little boy. I think he's almost twice as big as the last time she saw him!
We packed the car on Thursday so that we could make our early morning departure. I woke up at 3 a.m. on Friday to get us ready to go. We were fed, loaded and on the road by 5 a.m. We are seriously trying to keep his sleeping schedule pretty regular. As you can tell from the picture, it's a good thing my mom volunteered to puppy sit because I have no idea how we could have squeezed Chester into the car. Thanks again mom!

We decided to stop at Jason's parents on the way. It was a great excuse to catch up with family, stretch out our legs and let John Thomas have a little play time. Adrianna, our niece, was staying with Grandma Molly and Grandpa Danny for the week. I'm pretty sure Molly was in grandparent heaven with her two grand babies on her lap!

After lunch, we hit the road again and arrived at the beach in just a few hours. John Thomas slept most of the way even though we (mom and dad) were exhausted. It's two days in and the vacation is going sooo well. I was nervous about traveling so far with our little one, but he LOVES vacation. You'll have to tune in the next week's blog to find out why.

I'm sure that Chester and Ozzie are having a blast a grandma's this week. I wonder if he's missing John Thomas?