Jack goes mobile!

Jack's been able to roll himself where he wants to go for a while now, but he has recently figured out that he can do the commando crawl! The cats aren't too crazy about it because he can move quite a bit faster than before -- too bad they don't realize he's just going to keep getting faster! I was able to get some video of him this morning, and since I couldn't decide which one I liked better, I'll just put them both on here! (I apologize for my poor camera skills!)

Everything in the wonderful world of DE has been going well -- Bo is still traveling more than we'd like, but we can't complain since we both still have jobs! Jack has been teething like crazy (he's working on his seventh tooth right now!) It seems like his teeth grew overnight...only a few months ago he was all gums, and now when he smiles, it almost looks like he has all his teeth! Solid food, here we come!!

Granny

For those of you who don't already know, one of Bo's grandmothers, Granny, passed away earlier this month. While her passing was not sudden, this makes the loss we feel no less. Over the last few years Granny's health had gotten worse, so it makes it a tad easier for us to be happy for her, now reunited with Bo's Pa Pa, who passed away when Bo was a toddler.
Granny was an avid Gator fan, and Bo would often call her on game days to discuss the upcoming game. Bo told me once that Granny was the one who got him to sleep through the night when he was a baby, something I'm sure Bo's parents fondly rememeber as well! We were fortunate enough to be able to take Jack to see her back in February...other than our moms, Granny was the only person who didn't immeidately hand Jack back when he started to get fussy. Just like his dad, Jack found Granny's shoulder a comfy place for an afternoon nap (see pictures below).
Granny was one of the sweetest and most generous people I've had the pleasure of knowing. We are sad for our loss, but as I mentioned before, we cannot help but smile when we think of Granny & Pa Pa together again at last!
Here are some pictures we wanted to share...

The next 2 are Bo & Granny back when Bo was a little roly poly

Sweet dreams for baby Jack in Granny's arms...

And on her shoulder

Mom T & Granny at our wedding

It's summer!

It's finally consistently warm here (although I don't know if we'll ever get used to being able to open our windows in JUNE!), and with the summer comes a bittersweet goodbye. We hired two sitters to care for Jack when I went back to work, and unfortunately for us, they were both seniors in their last semester at the University of Delaware. Their names are Laura and Kailly, and we couldn't have asked for better sitters to help us learn how to leave Jack with someone other than family!

So Laura and Kailly, if you're reading this, thank you SO much - you will be greatly missed!! Good luck in all you do!

Both girls were in sororities, so we were lucky enough to easily find a new sitter; she's one of Kailly's sorority sisters, and her name is Chrissy. Jack's been testing her limits, but I think he is finally realizing that she's here to stay! Before taking care of Jack, she babysat for twin 3-year-old boys, so I'm pretty sure that Jack is a walk in the park for her!

On a different note, Bret & Katie came to visit us on their way to Hampton Beach for the summer. Jade is getting so big and growing up so quickly - it's so much fun to see her interact with both Jack & Tristan! We're hoping that they'll stay with us again on their way home -- luckily for us, we're about halfway between Hampton Beach and Radford :)

Laura & Jack (we didn't get a pic of him with Kailly :( )

Quiet, content (not to mention adorable!) Tristan

"Large" and in charge Jade

The Johnson family

Good times at Graduation

Bo's brother, Drew, graduated from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary this past weekend in South Hamilton, MA, so the three of us, along with Kato & Gee Paw and Grandpa & Nannie went to help celebrate :) We rented a house in Gloucester, MA (that was amazing) and spent the weekend enjoying some good ol' Thompson family fun. As Grandpa pointed out on more than one occasion, Jack was definitely not lacking for attention over the weekend! He did really well in the car both ways and definitely, definitely enjoyed all of the attention, people to play with, and goofy faces (you should have heard everyone trying to get Jack to smile in the pictures...it's too bad I didn't have our video camera out then ;))!

Four generations of John F Thompsons

Jack loves Nannie & Grandpa
Beach time!

Unfortunately, we missed when the announcer called Drew's name (technical difficulties), here's what we did get...

Gee Paw's so funny!!

Kato comes to town!

Bo's mom came to town last week, and Jack had such a blast with her! By about mid-week, he knew who she was and would smile as soon as he saw her. She taught him things that only grandparents are allowed to teach, like how to stick out his tongue, and they bonded in the 8 hour car ride to MA. Unfortunately, I wasn't very diligent about taking pictures while she was in town, but I do have a few to post.
We started brushing Jack's teeth (all two of them). While he doesn't seem to mind, he is about as helpful as Gus & Cassie were when we tried to brush their teeth! His personailty is starting to show more and more, and he definitely lets Bo & I know that HE is in charge! He loves being the center of attention and loves to laugh. I think I've even gotten him to gaffaw (I think I would gaffaw, too, if I saw me doing the hokey pokey)!!

Kato, we miss you bunches!!

Brusha, brusha, brusha!

So helpful!

Just an update...

Here are some pictures of Jack and Bo over the last few weeks. Jack is not only getting bigger, but his face is even looking more mature! While we're excited to watch him grow and learn, it is so sad that pretty soon he won't be our little baby anymore!
Jack's started to teethe -- his bottom two teeth are coming in! I don't mean to brag or anything (oh yes, I do -- who am I kidding?!), but he hasn't been fussy due to his new teeth, at least not yet anyway! He does like to drool a lot, though :) He hasn't started to crawl/scoot or to sit up on his own yet, although I'm sure those milestones aren't far behind his little teeth...which means that we better start baby-proofing!

First solid food

This is his "Who, me??" look -- I have a feeling we'll be seeing that a lot as he gets older...

Getting ready to help Bo grill

Nonnie & Papa come to visit

Last month, Bo & I were able to enjoy a weekend away at a Scottsdale, AZ resort, and since we decided not to bring Jack, my parents came up for the weekend to take care of him. I think all three of them wished the weekend had lasted longer (Nonnie & Papa have already scheduled a return visit in May!) Since Bo travels for work, he has been away from Jack before, but I haven't...it was both harder and easier than I thought it would be, if that makes any sense. It was hard to be away, knowing that he could change while we were gone or that we could miss a milestone (he did grow more hair!), but I only made several calls home a day, and I think that's pretty good!
Here are some pics from their visit...

Have any of you seen the Looney Toons cartoon from the 50s or 60s about the frog who sings but only in front of his owner ("One Froggy Evening")? Jack totally reminds me of this cartoon pretty much every time we try to take a picture of him doing something cute or funny -- he will be so animated and so smiley, but as soon as we break out the camera, he goes straight-faced...I wasn't there when my parents tooks the picture below, but I imagine he was doing something picture-worthy until the camera was pointed at him because this is the face he has in SO many of our own pictures!