First Trip to Dauphin Island

On Thursday we headed down to Dauphin Island for a long weekend. Eagerly anticipated by Darlin' and Auntie Katie Jack's arrival in L.A (Lower Alabama for those of you who may be confused). was circled on calendars and heralded to all baby worshippers. After settling in Thursday night, we got up Friday morning and headed to the pool. Jack floated in his float in the same pool that I have been swimming in for the past 34 years. There is a picture of me in this pool in a baby float when I was barely 8 weeks old. Now Jack is floating in it!
After a morning nap we headed down to the beach. Jack loved the sand, in fact he ate quite a it of it and he got all the way in the Gulf of Mexico for the first time. he wasn't sure about the waves at first but after some gentle reassurance he decided it must be ok. His favorite thing was to hang out and splash in his baby pool under the umbrella though. Friday evening Darlin' and Auntie Katie arrived. Jack played with the laughing pig Darlin' brought and then we watched the sunset on the beach. We ate dinner together and Jack fell asleep! Today we have been to the pool and plan to go to the beach this afternoon. Granddude is on the way.

Springtime travels and visits

Jack has had an eventful spring. Auntie Katie came to visit at the tail end of winter and brought with her some snow?! It was brief but Barney the dog enjoyed catching snowballs in his mouth and we all walked around with our mouths hanging open at snow in Mississippi in March. Later that month we traveled down to Mobile for Easter. Jack was a hit (again) at All Saints.

We had a nice egg hunt at Granny's afterward and headed back up to Oxford via Quitman.

Jack loves being a the cabin.

He especially loves being outside so swinging on the porch swings at Pinehaven makes him really happy.

In April we went down to Destin for the fifth annual Boondoggle. We were excited for Jack to take his first trip to the Gulf Beach and to see all of our friends. The weather was wonderful and sunny if a little chilly but we all spent time on the beach and around the beach house having fun, cooking and playing. Jack loved the beach and had fun playing with Max, Annabelle, James, Bonnie, Joey, Holley, Bucky, Shelly, and Jay. He also took wonderful naps and slept many hours each night as he completely exhausted himself playing each day. It was a wonderful trip.

At the end of April we went to Double Decker and Jack enjoyed being in the new backpack and hung out like a champ for almost five hours.

Between Double Decker and Jazz Fest Jack began to reallycrawl. A few scoots at first but then getting going to something to pull up on or something dangerous or dirty!!

The next week we went down to New Orleans for Jazz Fest! Jack stayed with the Hickman's in Mandeville and Tom and I went back and forth across the lake at least a dozen times. Jack had a good time in the Kids Tent especially seeing the Girls Choir from South Africa with Auntie Katie and Frank. He ate some sweet potato pone, spinach and artichoke casserole and a Mango Freeze. He also really liked the Fais Do Do stage and the Rosemint Tea. We went to Audubon Zoo with Darlin' and Griswald'd the whole thing in about 45 minutes. Still he saw elephants, giraffes, monkeys, pelicans, a jaguar, flamingos, and rode in the carousel. Not bad. Later we had dinner at Frankie and Johnny's and ran into Bonnie and Joey. Whew what a Saturday! On Sunday Jack stayed home with Darlin', Aunt Janet, Uncle Garland, Brooks and Mary Cathrine. On Monday we went to brunch with Auntie Katie and Aunt Janet, and then drove back to Oxford. Tired but happy about our travels.

These last few weeks Jack has been perfecting his crawling. He can stand up in his crib, climb up the deck stairs, loves and hugs on the pets, and points for things he wants. He pulls up on everything and likes to beat his hands on hard surfaces, drumming style. Jack nods his head and really gets the beat going when Tom plays guitar. He claps his hands to play patty cake and can do all the activities in the Pat the Bunny book. He's been out and about in Oxford too. Making trips to the Balcony at City Grocery, the Farmer's Market, to the Solomon's for a birthday party and to the Cleary Country Club for Memorial Day.