Happenings over the Past Few Weeks

Jim, James, and I have been pretty busy since returning from our trip home to Georgia. First we celebrated Saint Patrick's Day with James' first stroller ride here in Ohio. We were lucky enough to have a warm day and jumped at the chance to take him for a stroll. James would have loved to stay out all day to admire the new sights.

Unfortunately, just 4 short days later James and I had to make a pretty big change ... James began school and I had to return to work. Thankfully James immediately took to his new school and teachers. Of course his teachers rave about how good he behaves and he is all smiles when I pick him up in the afternoon. My return to work has gone pretty well too. I appreciate getting out of the house and talking to adults, but I would LOVE to be back at home with James.

Finally, James celebrated his 3 month birthday. He was such a good sport for his pictures. I insisted on putting him in a cute summer outfit passed down from Aunt Kristy that would be too small come summer. He also tolerated the bunny ears I made him wear for his Easter pictures. You can probablly tell from the picture that he actually seemed to enjoy the bunny ears!

James continues to grow and change everyday. He is holding his head up so well now. He absolutely loves to play in his Bumpo seat. I think he likes being able to move his head around without anything to stop him.

James can still just take it or leave it when it comes to Tummy Time though. He tolerates being on his belly for longer and longer everyday, but has yet to come to love it.

James had also taken to drooling all of the time. Of course all of the cutest picture of his laughing and giggling include drool too!!

First Trip to Georgia

The last few weeks have been filled with lots of activity. The day after James celebrated his 2 month birthday, we went to see the pediatrician for a check-up. James weighed in at 15 pounds 6 ounces and was 24 1/2 inches long. Unfortunately, he also had to get his first shots this visit. He took them like such a big boy. He cried for only a minute before quickly settling down. I actually think that I had a harder time with the shots than James did. Don't worry, I calmed down quickly too.


James is getting very good at holding his head up on his own. He tried out his Bumpo seat for the first time a few weeks ago and was not quiet sure how he felt about it. He has since warmed up to the idea as it allows him to look all around. He now loves to whip his head about to see everything that is going on around him. He is becoming so curious. In addition to holding his head up, James has been "talking" up a storm. He sighs, coos, and laughs all day long. I love to hear him "talk" back when Jim and I are playing with him.

Jim, James, and I also made our first family trip to Georgia. We started our drive on a Thursday morning expecting the trip to take quite a long time. Much to our surprise we made it to Atlanta in only 8 1/2 hours. James was a wonderful traveler! We visited Lagrange and my family first. James loved seeing his grandparents and aunts again. He was also able to meet his great grandparents for the first time. James thought Grandma Payant was hilarious. Jim had to fly back to Ohio for a few days of work, but James and I stayed in Lagrange until the following Thursday. We has a great time visiting with Nana and Pa.

On Thursday, James and I headed back to Atlanta. On our way in to town we stopped by Meg and Sloane Williams' house for a play date. James enjoyed his first playdate and I loved the chance to catch up with Meg.

After picking Jim up from the airport, we all headed to the Hedricks for the rest of weekend. James got to meet Aunt Louise, Uncle J, and his cousins Dolen and Trent. I think James favorite part of his Atlanta trip was watching Dolen and Trent play and spending quality time with Grammy and Pop. My favorite parts were catching up with the Egls at Taqueria Del Sol and an adult night out with J and Louise.

After a very eventful 10 days, we are all happy to be returning home to our normal life and schedule.

James Week 6, 7, and 8

James continues to grow and change a little bit everyday, but the past few weeks seem to have been a whirlwind of changes. Not only has James begun to smile more than just when he has gas, but he actually laughs out loud too. His little laugh is so cute. Jim and I are continuously making fools of ourselves just to hear him laugh.

James also rolled over for the first time. He got very angry one day during tummy time and just swung himself over. He has repeated this feat 4 or 5 times now and I was lucky enough to catch him in action once with my camera. He does not roll over everytime we put him on his tummy, but I am impressed just the same.

We also went to the doctor for another weight check. We were hoping to stop waking him up for his middle of the night feedings and decided to consult our doctor first. To my surprise (but not Jim's), James weighed 12 pounds and 15 ounces! Needless to say, the doctor told us the middle of the night feedings were no longer necessary. So, Jim and I moved James out of our room and into his nursery. The first night involved alot of staring at the baby monitor on my part, but James did not even notice. He slept through the night and has continued to bless us with 8 hours of sleep ever since.

Finally, James and I ventured out alone twice more. Our first trip out was to visit my office. James was such a good boy the entire time. He slept for about half our visit and quietly observed all of the new people for the other half. It was great to see everyone at work and get to show off my little man. Our second adventure took us to the airport to pick up Aunt Terri. James and I were very excited that she came to visit. We took her shopping on Friday and she was kind enough to babysit for James on Saturday. Jim and I enjoyed a quiet dinner celebrating both Valentine's Day and our Anniversay. We actually managed to leave our son for a whole 2 1/2 hours before returning home. We hated to see her leave yesterday, but will get to see her again soon.

James Week 4 and 5

Weeks 4 and 5 of James’ life were filled with lots of fun. James continued to eat and sleep well. He slept for a continuous 4 or 5 hours for which Jim and I were very grateful. He continues to improve on holding his head up on his own. He much prefers to show off this skill when lying on his dad’s chest as opposed to lying on his tummy time mat. James also found his voice this week. Jim and I continue to hope that he is working on volume control.

James and I also went on our first solo outing together since the weather was so wonderful. Finally, a break from all the snow! I learned that there is no such thing as a quick errand when you have a 1 month old. We only ran one errand, but I considered the trip a huge success. I was able to get him in and out of the store and home again without major incident. Sure, I ran the stroller into the door leaving the bookstore, but James was very forgiving!

James Week 2 and 3

Jim started back to work this week after staying at home with his newly expanded family. James and I are figuring each other out and enjoying our time at home. However, we love it when Dad returns every evening to play with us.



James really likes to play on his activity mat. I am not sure if he means to or not, but he is great at hitting the hanging toys with his right hand. His favorite is a sun that rattles when he makes it move.

Unlike his absolute love for his activity mat, James is still deciding how he feels about tummy time. Some days he loves to be on his tummy and other days he hates it. As you can see below this was a day that he hated tummy time.

James also had another doctor's appointment last week. He weighed in at 10 pounds 7 ounces. We were relieved to know he is obviously still eating well.

James' Arrival and First Week

Jim and I were happy to welcome James Michael Hedrick Jr. on December 26th at 12:21 p.m. He weighed a whopping 9 pounds 13.5 ounces and was 23.5 inches long.

Contractions started Christmas morning and slowly got closer together and stronger as the day continued. During our childbirth class, the instructor recommended we remain active (without going overboard) to help labor progress. She used baking cookies as an example. So needless to say, Jim and I baked cookies ALL day Christmas Day. I think that we ended up with over 12 dozen cookies. I am not sure if it was the baking or the numerous walks, but we got the okay to head to the hospital around 8:00 pm. I was admitted even though I was only 2 cm dialated. Things were slow going even after they broke my water and give me an epidural at 2:00 am. I slept on and off all evening until around 10:00 am when I was told it was time to push. I must have been pushing pretty effectively because they asked me to stop until the doctor was ready to deliver. Finally, the doctor arrived and a short time later James was born.

We enjoyed a few hours alone with just the three of us before our parents arrived to meet James. Jim and I were overjoyed to be able to introduce them to their new grandson. All of my sisters soon followed to meet James. He was spoiled rotten by our extended family for almost a week. Jim and I appreciated all of the help cooking, cleaning, and of course cuddling James. We were sad to see everyone leave, but feel better knowing we will get to see them all again soon!

Jim and I also took James to his first doctor's appointment this week. We were happy to hear that he was quickly gaining back the weight lost in the hospital. He weighed in at 9 pounds 7 ounces. He is definitely a good eater, huh.

Finally, Jim and I enjoyed our first quiet weekend at home with James. We slept as much as we could in between feedings and fought over who got to hold James. Can you tell that we are both in LOVE with our little baby boy?