What a Difference a Ton of Money Can Make...

All of a sudden, Ann and I are adults (well, more adult-like, at any rate). Jack is the primary motivator of this recent development, what with his babyishness and our sudden parenthood. But don't let the Wii fool you – we've brought this new adult-ish revolution to the home as well as the family.

Behold: we now have a real dining room (as opposed to our previous, ad hoc dining room, at right).



Where once was found a second-hand dining room table (JD's childhood kitchen table, to be precise) and some framed posters of Paris from Ann's adolescent trip to France, we've upgraded to our very own dining room set, courtesy of Bassett.

We've actually been wanting to do this for a while. Sadly, the dining room project trumped the gigantic TV project simply because we needed to get the china and crystal out of the nursery so Jack could use his closet. But it turns out that the wedding china and crystal looks really good on display. So until we finally have a fancy dinner, here's a looksee at the china cabinet all lit up. And until we get that giant TV, the shiny cabinet will have to do.



Fret not ... pictures of Jack will return next week.

Just Like Every Friday Night In Athens...

Breaking away for a moment from the flood of Jack-related postings, we turn to another of our passions. Actually, two of them: History and drinking.

Derek Waters, of Derek and Simon: The Show, recently posted a series of three (well, two and a half, technically) episodes of Drunk History. For us, these video's combine the familiar and the famous. The familiar is the parade of drunken historians prattling on about American history – a situation Ann and I saw repeated week after week at the UGA history department happy hours in Athens. The famous? Well, that's Jack Black, Michael Cera, and others acting out these drunken lessons.

The result? Comic genius. You might even learn something about Alexander Hamilton (in his awesome Chuck Taylors) and Ben Franklin (with the worst skull wig you'll ever see). If I were teaching right now, you can bet these video would make their way into my lessons.

Enjoy!

Drunk History vol. 1, Featuring Michael Cera
Mark Gagliardi drank a bottle of Scotch. .. and then discussed Alexander Hamilton's Duel with Aaron Burr


Drunk History vol. 2, Featuring Jack Black
A Benjamin Franklin expert reveals his controversial theory about the discovery of electricity


Drunk History vol. 2.5, Featuring Jack Black
Later that night Eric Falconer drank more vodka and discussed Franklin's ... appetites

A Month of Firsts

In the month since Jack's photoshoot, we've seen a lot of firsts from the little guy. First baths, first trips to the park, first trips out to eat and to go shopping.

A couple notable things from Jack's second month:

• He smiles. A lot. We love it.
• Jack has, on several occasions, slept 10+ hours through the night. We love that too. (As Ralph Waldo Emrson once said, "There was a never a child so lovely but his mother was glad to get him to sleep.")
• Jack's available reading material is varied, to say the least. His GrandMary is fond of Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb, Ann reads to him from a Winnie The Pooh classic, and JD entertains him with some adult literature.
• Jack does a great air guitar.
• Jack burps easily. He farts easily, too. You take the good with the bad...
• Jack is a great dinner guest. He's been out to a number of restaurants and has, so far, been a great dinner companion (though he did make a face when we took him to the North River Tavern. Hopefully this doesn't mean that such bars are beneath him).
• JD is still batting 1000 on diaper changes without incident. Not to say that there haven't been some close calls or even that Ann hasn't been hit while JD was at the changing table (the kid has some crazy range). Here's to another incident free 22-months...

Check back soon for pictures from Jack's recent baptism. At least until next Sunday, he's the youngest Catholic in Roswell.

In the meantime, enjoy these pics of some of Jack's recent firsts:

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Jack's first nap with daddy


Jack's first cigar (an Arturo Fuente Hemingway)


Jack's first bath, during and after



Jack's first trip to the park (the Big Creek Greenway)


Jack's first holiday (Cinco de Mayo)


Jack's first storytime (Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb, which Mary knows so well from having read it to Ann and Ed when they were kids that she doesn't need to look at the book!)


And, of course, his first smiles