The end of 2009

December 20-27
We had a great week in the Delta for Christmas. It did not seem long enough as usual. I was on the road for 3 of the days so I didn't just get to hang out. Wow, it is so different with a little one! Packing up just to go in town is a haul, much less away for a day or week! I had to take a picture of all the luggage just to go to Oxford for the day. It is a little stressful with what she may need and want, the weather conditions, feeding schedule, etc and Jane has decided she hates being in her car seat. Wow, she has some lungs. She screamed the whole 30 minutes to Glendora, and the whole way back. Later that day 40 minutes! She is persistent, that's for sure! As soon as you take her out, she stops.
Micajah and Grace were able to spend time with both families since Grenada is only 30 minutes away. I am so glad we were able to spend Christmas with them! The Walker family hosted Sturdivant Christmas and the Dirty Santa game got fierce, but LRC game was even more intense. If you ever though a game a pure luck couldn't get competitive, you have never met the Sturdivants. On December 26th, we were also able to celebrate Papa Mike's 59th birthday.

December 30 (the day we found out we were having Jane last year) we experimented with rice cereal. My pediatrician didn't want me to start until 4 months, but she was waking up too many times during the night and I was exhausted. It went well by the spoon, but I have been putting some in her bottle. She squirms all night and is uncomfortable with gas so I may have been feeding her too much too fast. We will see.

We rang in the new year with Natchez friends at the Callon Building. Good times were had by all in attendance and the firework show over the Mississippi River was fabulous. Thanks guys! Happy 2010!

Jane's First Christmas

 

 

 

 

Jane had her very on Christmas tree full of "First Christmas" ornaments. It was adorable! She also received a Jumparoo and LOVES it!

Jane's Laugh

We were able to hang out with Annie Kate and Corby in Oxford while they were in town for Christmas from Los Angeles. Sadly, I had not seen Annie Kate in a year! They moved from DC to LA in June and have been shaking up thewest coast scene like I knew they would. Annie Kate has launched an adorable children's clothing line called Belle Parish with Ali Landry . Check it out at www.belleparish.com (and become their friend on Facebook). It is already doing really well and I can't wait to get Jane is some of those dresses! Corby is working with A Different Drummer and markets various movies (Princess and the Frog), books, and music (Jonas Brothers). It was so great to see them and catch up. I hope to get out to LA sooner than later to see them again. Jane loves to fly so maybe she can come too.

 

 

 

 

Jane showed them her great laugh. She is starting to laugh more and more, which we love, but I am so glad we were able to catch it on video. Take a look...

Rice Cereal

December 30 (the day we found out we were having Jane last year) we experimented with rice cereal. It went really well!!
My pediatrician didn't want me to start until 4 months, but she was waking up too many times during the night and I was exhausted. She has tried taking it from a spoon, but I have been putting some in her bottle too. She has been taking much longer naps during the day, which everyone is pleased about. We have her 4 month checkup on January 10, so we will see what her new feeding schedule will be.

Jane's Laugh

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Jane met Annie Kate and Corby Pons on December 23rd and showed them her great laugh. She is starting to laugh more and more, which we love, but I am so glad we were able to catch it on video. Take a look...
We were able to hang out with Annie Kate and Corby in Oxford while they were in town for Christmas from Los Angeles. Sadly, I had not seen Annie Kate in a year! They moved from DC to LA in June and have been shaking up the LA scene. Annie Kate has launched an adorable children's clothing line with Ali Landry called Belle Parish. Check it out at www.belleparish.com and become their friend on Facebook. I think it will do really well. Corby is working with A Different Drummer and markets various movies, books, and music. It was so great to see them and catch up. I hope to get out to LA next to see them again. Jane loves to fly so maybe she can come too.

Jane: 3 Months Old

ecember 10 marked Jane's 3 Month Birthday!
Wow, how time has flown! Jane can sit up on her own with some help from the Bumbo or Boppy pillow. She reaches and grasps objects within her reach and plays with them. Her hands are always doing something, but they seem to find their way into her mouth. The problem comes when she tries to fit 4+ (8) fingers in at the same time and gag herself. The pediatrician said that there is nothing we can do except pull her hands away. Oh well.

She is weighing in at 13 pounds and 11 ounces. She enjoys her swing and likes to cook with mommy while in her sling. She tries to fight sleep these days too. Poor thing. She does all she can to keep those baby blues open. Jane is in constant motion with her kicks and jabs. She talks and coos a lot, especially in the morning. She likes to tell us to get up and get the day going. She loves to rock, read books and listen to the animal sounds that both we and the books make. There is something about the "moo" of the cow though that makes her sport her signature pout, but just for a second. I am still working on getting a picture of her adorable pout. It both breaks your heart and makes you laugh at the same time.

Ole Miss v. LSU: Oxford

November 21, 2009
Ole Miss v. LSU
Oxford hosted the LSU game this year and we made sure we were in attendance. Stella, Jane and I drove up on Wednesday to prepare for the weekend. It was so nice to get up there early and actually enjoy Oxford, the Square and the Grove without feeling to rushed. Of course, no trip to Oxford is ever long enough!
Hyde, Philip, Wookie and Maggie came Thursday night. Bettye Jane, Charlie, Mollie, Gaston, Micajah and Grace arrived on Friday. This was the first time to see Grace and Micajah since they were married Oct 17 and that day (Nov 20th) was actually Micajah's birthay. Mollie arrived with her cute belly and we all had to rub on "Tacolina" (name of is TBD). She looks great and only has a month to go!
Hyde and I went to Liza Carter and Nelson Valentine's engagement party Friday night then came home to prepare for Saturday's activities and menu.
Saturday morning, Hyde woke up at 6am to start cooking his jambalaya. It was delicious and a perfect addition to the Grove tent for the LSU game. Lots of Hyde's LSU buddies were able to stop by before the game. I was able to meet Jilliann and Drew Dreher's precious little girl, Murphy, who was born 5 days after Jane.
When everyone left to go the game, Jane and I walked back to the Square to shop a bit before Papa Mike arrive to watch the game with us. Jane was able to hang out with her Papa Mike for a few hours before he had to drive back to Itta Bena. Neither of us could believe the end of the game when LSU made a comeback but mis-managed the clock and lost their opportunity to win! Hotty Toddy! Go Rebels! 2 wins in a row for the Rebels!

Star Gazing

I love this picture!

Jane absolutely loves her star "night light". We have it hanging next to her changing table and use it as a night light for middle of the night feedings. Anytime she is near the star she just stares, wide-eyed, at the bright light. I finally got a picture of her in her pajamas watching her star. I find myself just staring her her staring at the star. I think more stars are in her future....

Our first playdate

Today, November 23rd, Jane had her first playdate with Liam Shea. Liam was born on September 1 and is the son of Amanda and Ryan Shea. They live in Jefferson City, TN and were in Natchez for a visit. I am so glad they were able to get together and squirm around on a blanket together. Liam will be back in December and we hope we can play together again! Amanda, it was great to catch up with you in person (we follow the Shea's blog daily) and we look forward to seeing you around Christmas.

2 Month Checkup

Today, November 16, Jane had her 2 month checkup with her pediatrician, Jennifer Russ. She did great! She smiled and cooed at Shirley, the nurse, while she was weighed and measured and did the same for Dr. Russ. She received 3 shots in her thighs and 1 oral vaccine for Hepatitis B (2nd one), Polio, Pneumoccocal, Diphtheria, Tetanus & Pertussis, Rotavirus, and Hib. I think I cried more than Jane did.

Here are Jane's 2 month stats:

Weight: 12 pounds, 9 ounces (75-90 percentile)

Height: 23.5 inches (75-90 percentile) go, go gadget legs!

Cuteness: 100 percent (words taken straight from Dr. Russ's mouth-ha!)

Jane's digestive system is advancing and we are having fewer colic spells. Everyone is happy about this-so happy, WE could cry! I could not have survived without the bottle of magic called Colic Calm. It is all natural and FDA approved and worked wonders over Mylecon for her.

She does understand the difference between night and day though. She will sleep 4-6 hours, wake up for 30 minutes to snack, then sleep again for 3-4 hours. Yeah!! She usually likes the 2 o'clock hour to snack and wake up between 5:30 and 6am. We hope she keeps this up and I am adjusting to this schedule and like it.

Jane is making the best faces these days. She loves to mirror your facial expressions and sounds. She has been telling us some pretty funny stories with shrieks, ahhs and coos although we haven't heard a laugh yet. She is a girl on the go and likes to keep moving at all times. And this means sometimes she fights sleep, but the hairdryer is still our best friend. It helps us soothe her and put her to sleep with just a flick of the button.

It's been a while...

I know I am so behind on blogging and will be back soon! Staring at Jane takes up most of my time these days, but I have some more fun news that I will post soon. Here are a few pics from the past 2 weeks.

1st Halloween

Jane rolls over at 7 weeks

Jane rolled over yesterday (October 29). This is an important milestone in her journey to becoming an Olympic Athlete/Rhodes
Scholar/doctor/lawyer/CEO/physicist/professional knitter. The fact that we caught the very first time on film should give you an
idea of the number of photos we take.

Jane: 6 weeks old

October 22, 2009

Jane is smiling a ton working on her social skills, holding her head
up, and working on standing. We can't believe she is already 6 weeks
old!

The first 4 pictures are of Jane with her "Diddie". The other are of
Jane hanging out in Mommie's lap. The finger she is pointing is the one she has her daddy wrapped around.

We weighed Jane on the hotel bathroom scale this weekend in Asheville.
She weighed in at 11.5 pounds! I tried to measure her today and I am
going to guess she is somewhere between 22 and 22.5". (born 8lb 4 oz
and 21") Wow!

And they live happily ever after....Grace and Micajah tie the knot

Micajah and Grace's wedding was truly a fairytale! It was beautiful (Grace being the most beautiful bride doesn't hurt) and the weekend was simply amazing. They were married on the lawn of the historic Biltmore House in Asheville, NC on October 17, 2009.

The destination wedding was the perfect setting to start their new life together with close friends and family. Thursday night jump started the weekend with dinner at Posano's Grill in downtown Asheville and Friday hosted the Reheasal Dinner at The Biltmore Forrest Country Club. I wish I had pictures of dinner. I felt like I was on a Harry Potter set with the 6' tall fireplaces, dark wood, and rich colors and mounted animals. The Club has a 1920s luxury feel and it set the tone for the wedding to follow the next day. Dinner ran late with everyone in attendance wanting to toast the lovely couple. Tears were shed, both from laughter and heart felt sentiments.


Saturday, attendants were able to tour the beautiful Biltmore or shop around town. Hyde, Jane and I opted to tour the home and were so proud of 2 month old Jane, who slept in the Bjorn for the 3 hours we toured. The weather was overcast with the occasional mist and boy, was it cold!
On the flip side, it was the perfect lighting for pictures! As you can tell, the pictures from the wedding are amazing (easy when you have such good looking subjects) and the photographers, Brian + Gry, were troopers in the cold temperatures and a delight to work with. You can view Micajah and Grace's photos at http://www.woodwardandrick.com/ if you want to see more. (The password is "grace")

The intimate ceremony was set on the lawn to the left of the Biltmore House. Grace's uncle officiated the ceremony in front of a 8' cross made of vines. The homily was heart felt and incredibly sweet. Pictures of the extended families were taken afterwards, despite how cold everyone was, then joined the other guests in the heated tent for the reception.
The dance floor was filled, as well as everyone's tummies with delicious food and wedding cake. At the end of the night, the couple exited through a tunnel of friends and thrown lavender to their get-a-way, vintage Rolls-Royce. It was picture perfect and a night to remember!

I am super excited to have Grace and her family join ours. I lucked out with such great sisters! Grace is a delight and such a pleasure to even be in the room with. They will be living in Nashville until May, when Grace graduates from Vanderbilt's Audiology program, then settle down in Jackson. I know they will have a great time living in Nashville, but I am so glad they will be close to us in Natchez so we can see them more. Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Micajah Sturdivant IV!!!

Jane at Ole Miss

October 10, 2009
1 month old

Jane experienced the Grove for the first time this weekend. Ole Miss
played Alabama and the Grove was a muddy and crowded experience. Jane
slept for most of her time in the Grove, but woke up for a milk toddy
and headed back to the Square to shop before the game started. Papa
Mike drove up from Itta Bena to watch the game with her girls in the
condo and Uncle Micajah was able walk from the condo to the Grove with
all the Carbys. Jane mets lots of friends in the Grove, including
Pearce Toms, a future boyfriend I'm sure.
Jane looks forward to returning to the Grove and Oxford November 21
for the clash of her parent's teams, Ole Miss v LSU.