The first in a life of letters...

Jack's first post card ever just arrived from Uncle Fred.  That Fred is one of the most thoughtful people....

This made me think of the last time I tried to put on a pair of size 32 Levis....

Tuckered out

It was a long day for the both of us.

Paddington the Bear makes an appearance

Jon Steinberg, good friend, uncle, all around mensch, and current record-holder for travelling the furthest to visit Jack, stopped by last night, with a Paddington the Bear in hand!

Ever since we began our quest to adopt a child, Jon has been preparing to spoil him rotten.

The pics do not lie; Jon's a natural.  He and Jack have many fun adventures ahead.

Although we known Jon is loving London, we miss him greatly.  He makes us laugh and makes us young.  And he better durn well bring Josh along the next time he comes to visit!

Bal Masque

Rodolphe is setting the Mt. Pleasant social scene on fire.

A few weeks ago he had a wine, cheese and chacuterie tasting.

We all left fat and happy.

Then he had us over for King Cake.

Last night was his latest triumph.

A masked ball.

Not the stuffy Parisian version, but typical of what we have come to know about Rodolphe:  Good food, good drink, and a collection of fascinating people literally from across the globe.

And if there were any questions that Jack's dads were gay, the matching purple adorned masks should put those questions to rest - permanently!

We left around 10:30.

Apparently Rodolphe's sound system finally broke around 3 or 4 in the morning!

Thanks for a lovely evening, Rodolphe.

Amiamo Ristorante Sorriso!

From the Italian:  We love Sorriso Restaurant.

Located in Cleveland Park, Sorriso serves up some serious Italian food. The owners, Peitro and Rose Marie, and their children have created a beautiful slice of heaven.  If you are in DC, just go.

Order the spaghetti carbonara.

Or the gnocchi.

Or the tagliatelle with cinghiale (wild boar).

Or their pizzas hot out of the brick oven. (Pietro sent his son to Italy to become certified in making pizzas and it was money well spent!)

Tell them Jack sent you.  www.sorrisoristorante.net

Friday night, Jeff, Jack and Mark, and some of the Lamont uncles, took our own advice and had dinner.  Rose Marie was NOT to be denied and quickly had Jack in her arms parading him around the restaurant.  Peitro brought over special Italian cookies and a bottle of Prosecco to celebrate Jack's arrival.

Is it any wonder that we all love Italians?

  NOTE:  Rose Marie is actually Scottish by birth, but according to Pietro, more Italian than he!

The inspirations for our Project Runway post finally got to meet Jack!

Chris and Jason came for a visit.

They brought the cutest clothes for Jack. 

Jack was very happy nestled in their arms.

They are naturals....

I can't believe the STOCK MARKET!!!!!

Thank God it's Friday and the markets have closed!

Jen and DJ are in the House!

Jack's birthparents, Jen and DJ, called today to check in on Jack's chubby self!  They have been following Jack's adventures on the blog.  

Speaking of adventures, Jen and DJ have returned to California, where the warmer weather agrees with them.   We were very excited to hear that Jen is starting college!  You go, Jen!

Jack sends his best Obama fist bump out to Jen, DJ, Jen's mom Starr, Jen's grandma Anna, and Jen's aunt and uncle!

Happy Valentine's Day to All Y'all!

He is Squeezably Delicious!

Aunt Mary Ann drove down from Philly with her family just to love on Jack.  They got along famously.

She brought some CAH-yewte clothing too!

The Eldest Cousin Arrives

And shows that she can feed and burp a baby without dropping him!

Katie and her friends Paul and Scott dropped in to visit with Jack (and the rest of us).

Katie professed to "not being so good with kids," but she's a quick learner. 

The real surprise was Paul -- whose nickname we won't post-- who was a world class pro with Jack.

And we would be remiss if we didn't thank Paul and Scott for watching out for Kate during the weekend.  We appreciate it!

Check out my stylin' shoes...

Thanks Auntie Ericka!

I like them so much I even spit up a little!

The McDonoughs Come to Town!

Jack's cousins, Anna, Michael, and Mark (along with Jack's Aunt Mary Ann and Uncle Dave) came to visit.  Jack is digging all of his cousins....

Good night!

Happy Birthday, Mr. President

Articles I and III down, Article II to go

Yesterday in the span of an hour, Jack visited with two of the three branches of the federal government.

First, Jack saw  Judge Gladys who serves on the "Second Highest Court" in the land.

Jack then took part in a photo shoot with the longest serving member of the House of Representatives, John D. Dingell. (Pics to follow)

Both the Judiciary and Legislative branches found him to be adorable.

We are still waiting for a call from the White House to see when we can work them into our schedule.

Graphic Arts for Babies.

In hoping to stimulate Jack, we followed the experts' advice and put up black and white pictures. It was neat watching Jack respond to these pics. He immediately zeroed in on the pics.

I spend a lot of time wondering what's going on in his cute little head.

This is the link to the artist who came up with these designs:

http://lovelife.typepad.com/my_weblog/cool_art_4_cool_babies/index.html

Loving Will and Joe

Will and Joe come for a visit.

And bring chicken stuffed with prociutto.

And a lovely bottle of red.

And funny stories.

Jack thinks they are pretty swell.

We finally finished decorating the nursery...

Jeff did a damn fine job on the painting.  I think the lighting is a bit much, but he is our first born...

Federal Judge Orders More Pictures of Jeff with Jack on Blog

Seriously.

Really, I am not kidding.  She has made her wishes known.

So, in compliance with the Court's wishes, here are more pictures of Jeff with Jack.

Should the Court seek more pictures, she may be required to actually come to Mount Pleasant to enforce her jurisdiction.  

xoxo

MGS

BATH Time!

Hmmmmm. I am not so sure I am liking this.....











Well, maybe it's not so bad.....












Wow. This is not so bad. I like the smell of that Phisoderm.

Quiche Recipe for a Sunday Afternoon

2 eggs
1 pound of cheddar
2 tablespoons of flour
1 storebought pie crust
1/2 cup of milk
1/4 lb of ham
1/2 medium onion diced
salt, pepper
2.5 hours of laughing and giggling
1 bottle of rose to make it all work a little better
Mix.
Bake at 450 for four hours.
Let rest for ten minutes.
Bake some more.
Chow baby, chow.

I'm the goofy looking one and I don't even have a hat on?

Jack and I are reading the Sunday Business section of the Post. Hat by Hanna Anderssen (via Uncs Rob and Jeff).

I am going to miss spending the day with my boy tomorrow.

Color me sad...

We are chillin'

Jack went for a stroll and stopped by Cole's house. Cole is a whole week older than Jack, so he's seen the world and is cluing Jack in on what's up. Cole has a very cool dog named Cash. Jake loves Cash. Tucker, not so much.

Later.

Une fete apres midi

Rodolphe and Daniel have invited Jack to tea this afternoon.  The grown ups will be having Galette des Rois and Jack will have .... formula.

Jack is looking forward to meeting Renaud, Dafydd, and Marc.  He is hoping Marc will teach him a few words in French and Welsh, like "MORE FORMULA PLEASE" and "You're killing me with the dramatic opera stuff; a little rock and roll, please."

Now where is that beret?

It takes a village....

This village, however,  tends to have men of a certain age, with nice haircuts and cashmere sweaters.  

Fred and Ron threw down last night with filet mignon, mashed taters, sauteed mushrooms and some lovely Malbec.  Before dinner, there was lots of baby holding and feeding.

Fred's cat, Bailey, was prowling around thinking those strange cat thoughts, but opted against sucking out Jackson's spirit through his nose.  Just in case, Mark kept an eye out for that cat throughout the night.

Thanks for dinner guys!

You can call me Sue if you will just feed me.

Jim came by to see "Baby Jimmy" today.  Jackson said he was cool with Jim mispronouncing his name and that Jim did indeed live up to the hype that his daddies had been spreading about Mr. Roth.

Josh's mom has been hinting big time about a baby....

Like Josh needs anyone else's poop to clean up after; he already has a firm full of lawyers to take care of.

Ernesto and Tom came to visit

Tom and Ernesto have been friends of ours for more than a decade.  An architect by training, Ernesto is at heart a Renaissance man.  You can converse with him in English, Spanish, or Italian and he will make you laugh in any of them.  E is a gem and has taught us more about more than he will ever know.

Tom, his other half, is a student of the body; both its physical and emotional aspects.  Tom is a physical therapist and has healed more parts of us than we care to remember.  More importantly, he reminds all of us about the importance of living each day and enjoying what we have before us.

In this pic, we've caught Ernesto conspiring to teach Jack how to ride polo ponies (basically the crotchrocket of the equine world).  Jeff has set his foot down; no polo ponies until Jack has mastered riding regular horses....

While they were visiting us, Tom told us all sorts of reflexes that babies are born with involving their hands, their lips, arching their back, etc.

Pooting on command was not one of them; at least according to Tom....