Down South.

Chris had a pretty good break from school and we were ready for a break from from the sub-zero temperatures, so we headed to the south to visit Greg and Laura in Jackson, Mississippi.  There is nothing in Jackson.  It is so small, but we knew that going in to it and had fun hanging out with the Gardners.  It was our first time in Mississippi, so what we really wanted was some good southern cookin', and we got it.  We went to the Two Sisters kitchen, an all-you-can-eat buffet in an old weathered house.  It was awesome.  We tried fried chicken, corn bread, grits, creamed corn, collard greens, fried okra and bread pudding.  Later in New Orleans, we had jambalaya and gumbo, so I think we did pretty well.  I guess we're saving the catfish and crawfish for next time.  We also ate at Julep's, a really nice, trendy restaurant with the BEST. FRIED. CHICKEN. EVER!  It was so good, we went back before our flight left on Monday.  Come to think of it, we may have eaten fried chicken every day we were there.  By the end of the trip, we were ready to get back to some fruits and veggies.   No wonder Mississippi is the fattest state in the US.

 On Saturday we all drove down to New Orleans for the day.  Greg and Laura hadn't been there yet, so we had fun exploring it together.  The French Quarter was fun and very touristy, so there were lots of impressive artists, entertaining street performers, and great food.

We had to stop at Cafe Dumonde for beignets.  It's just what you do in New Orleans and these little French donuts were worth the wait.  

 There's a lot of powder on those beignets.  I was trying to nurse Jane at the same time, but she just ended up with a nice dusting on the side of her face.  Laura and Henry ended up with chocolate milk all down their legs, so I guess I can't complain.

 New Orleans attracts a different crowd after the sun goes down, so we left after a late lunch and headed over to a graveyard.  The cemeteries are so interesting in New Orleans.  Because the city was built on a swamp, it prevented them from burying people underground, so the cemeteries are full of these weathered and crumbling above ground crypts and mausoleums.

4 Months

Jane at 4 months old:

12 lbs 9 oz (19%ile)

24.5 inches long (57%ile)

16 inches head circumference (55.5%ile)

Loves to hold things and sucks on anything she can get her hands on.  

Prefers her tabby toy, rings or ball (which she constantly tries to get in her mouth.  It's kind of funny to watch her get frustrated with it).  

Wears size 1 diapers

Goes to sleep at 1AM-ish (we're still working on that) and gets up around 11 or 12 with one feeding around 7 or 8.  Any ideas on how to adjust that?

Loves to explore her voice.  I love listening to her little noises all day.

Making out with Mr Bunny.

Christmas

I have this bad habit of not taking photos when I'm around my family.  There are just so many cameras around that I guess, I just feel like someone's taking care of it.  I just get lazy.  So, then I come back from family vacations with little to show for it on my blog.
Christmas was wonderful, though.  Chris and I spent 12 days up with my family in Canada.
Before we went up for Christmas, Chris proposed the idea of a family lip sync music video.  It took a while to come to a consensus on the song and style, but eventually we decided on a one-take to Simply having a Wonderful Christmas Time by the Shins.   We choreographed the whole thing with people running or crawling to get to their next spot and then we shot the whole thing three times and chose the best one.  We posted it Christmas day and then watched the number of views and comments for the rest of the break.  I think it really captures an accurate portrayal of Walton vacations.  See for yourself.

My parents and half of their grandchildren.

Christmas eve had the traditional acting out of the nativity with Jane starring as baby Jesus this year.

Jane with her stocking.

CHRISTMAS DAY
We opened presents all morning long, took a break for breakfast and then plowed on ahead.  Chris got a GPS running watch, running head phones, a shirt and tie, a BYU hat and Hinterlands for our Dominion collection.  I got a Kindle Fire! Chris totally surprised me with that one.  I had no idea how much I wanted that.  Now I use it all the time.  I also got some running clothes, some nice tops, a Mac magic mouse, and a gorgeous throw for our living room among other great gifts.  Jane got some rings (which she now plays with all the time), a cute red jacket, some books, and a tabby toy.  

We went shopping, ice-skating, and bowling.  We played badminton, volleyball, and ping pong.   In the evenings we played Dominion, Carcassone, or Seafarers.  We wandered around a VERY rainy Fort Langley, went out to dinner, saw Les Miserable the movie and the boys went to a very late showing of The Hobbit... but I don't have pictures of any of those things.  Just trust me when I say, we had a wonderful time.