Welcome Malenda Sage!!

We have a new grandaughter - Malenda Sage!

Malenda was born on August 25, weighed 8 lbs 1 oz and was 22 inches long.  As of this writing she is 4 weeks old and pushing 10 lbs.  We are so thrilled to welcome this wonderful little girl into our family.  And, I'm so pleased that she shares my name.

Her name is a blend of my name and my daughter Marci's name - MaLenda.  Dad Ryan chose Sage as her middle name - let's just say he's an avid fly fisherman! 

This naming tradition started with my mother who named me Lenda Nell because of her best friend Lenna, who was also her cousin, and my mother's last name Davis (which was also shared by Lenna).  My mother's given name was Nellie Mae which she shortened to Nell as an adult.  The tradition continued when I named my daughter Marcia Lenell, a combination of my name and my mother's name.  Marcia is her paternal grandmother.

We got the call about Malenda's birth on the day she was born.  Marci was working in Dallas and got the call that Malenda was waiting for them.  Marci got back home on Wednesday evening and she and Ryan met Malenda on Thursday morning.  For more on their journey, check out Marci's blog.

We were able to get a quick flight to Nashville on Friday and, along with Ryan's parents, met Malenda on Friday afternoon.  Malenda was quite calm, considering all the excitement around her.  We were permitted to go into the nursery, after properly scrubbing and gowning, and hold her as much as we wanted to.  The staff at the hospital was so supportive.  On the 3rd day, they moved Marci and Ryan to a rooming-in room and they spent one night with Malenda, with fabulous nursing support, before bringing her home on Sunday.

Now...  I apologize for bringing politics into this, BUT Malenda had the good sense to arrive just in time to justify my trip to Nashville on the weekend of Jackson Day.  It was a very exciting weekend which started with a meeting with Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia.  He met with about 20 very active volunteers from across the state who had worked in the Obama campaign and listened to our ideas and concerns.  In fact, I just took a cab from the airport to downtown just in time to make the meeting.

Then, on Saturday night, the keynote speaker for the Jackson Day dinner was former President Bill Clinton.  Along with other friends from Grundy County, we had participated in a phone bank challenge to win a table next to the head table at the dinner - and WE WON!!  The head table included former Vice-President Al Gore, former Congressman Harold Ford, Jr.,Governor Phil Bredesen and  former Governor Ned McWherter.  Before I knew about Malenda, I had given my tickets to my son Jimmy, and his fiancee Seoung, who were thrilled with their blue ribbon seats.  Seoung teaches environmental science and was very pleased to meet Al Gore.  I was able to get a ticket at the last minute at the Hamilton County table.  By the way, the gentleman in the picture with them is Senator Roy Herron, who hopes to become the next Governor of Tennessee.

OK - that's all for politics - but a big thanks to Malenda for making it necessary for me to be there on that weekend!  Not sure what this portends for her political future, but I am grateful for her timely arrival into the world.

I was able to stay in Nashville for a little over two weeks and help Marci and Ryan get settled.  My favorite times were definitely the walks with Malenda in the stroller.  On her second day home, she was fussing a little bit so I decided to take her outside for a change of environment, and, to my surprise, she went right to sleep.  So, the next day, Jim and I put her in the stroller and took her on the wonderful riverwalk trail in the neighborhood.  She went to sleep within the first 5 minutes and had a nice 1-hour nap while we got our exercise.

I also took the overnight shift for a couple of nights which meant waking up every 3 to 4 hours for a feeding.  Fortunately, she quickly established a nighttime sleeping routine of taking a bottle and going right back to sleep.  I, however, am not accustomed to having my sleep interrupted, so I was quite sleepy the next morning, so Marci or Ryan would take over the next morning and let me sleep in.

How quickly little ones change!  Before I left, she was already resonding to the mobiles and floor mat toys.  As soon as she learned that she could make the toys move and jingle, she really got her whole body into it.  Her arms and legs were in constant motion and she even started smiling and cooing in response.  Oh my, I miss those sweet little smiles and know she will have changed so much by the time I get back there again.  Fortunately, that won't be too long!