People Magazine has a nice story about how Jamie Lynn Spears, 17, and her fiance, Casey Aldridge, are setting up their new home in Liberty, Mississippi to prepare for their life together and their new baby, due soon. They have a house on five acres and have purchased typical furniture for a new home, including a four poster bed, a leather sofa and a canopy bed. The nursery for the new baby will feature pink, brown, and silver-green, and is being designed with the help of Jamie Lynn’s mother, Lynne.

Their property has a barn on it, because that’s what you typically find on larger property. It’s called a barn, not a garage, when it’s big and features more storage. I grew up in the Northeast and we had a barn. My parents now live in Virginia, and they have a barn on their new property. It’s common and not news.

Instead of covering the story that Jaime Lynn and Casey are settling into their new home and waiting for their baby, TMZ took the small fact that there was a barn on their land and used the misleading and rude headline “Jamie Lynn’s Baby Will Grow Up in a Barn.”

When I first read that, I thought that they were buying a big barn and converting it into a house, something that is more common lately. The results are often striking, with rustic-looking aesthetically pleasing structures that are just as comfortable as a regular home. But no, Casey and Jamie Lynn are just going to have a barn on their land and of course the baby is not going to live there.

If you have nothing funny to say just report the story, TMZ, and not your blatant bias against anyone who doesn’t live in a large city. I know I should just accept that TMZ is tasteless, rude and can be incredibly offensive, but that doesn’t mean they should continue to get away with it.

Update: And there’s also a crack about Asian people not being able to digest alcohol in that same article recapping the news. I don’t know why I even bother.

Jamie Lynn Spears running errands on 4/1/08, thanks to Splash
It might be more permissible in L.A., but in Louisiana, tailing a celeb to photograph their every move is better known as stalking. A member of the paparazzi, who has been following Jamie Lynn Spears and her boyfriend Casey Aldridge all over Louisiana and Mississippi, has been arrested for stalking. See, Casey – there’s no need to pull a gun on them, just call the cops!

A celebrity photographer accused of stalking Jamie Lynn Spears and her fiance in a small Mississippi town has been arrested. Edwin W. Merino, 30, of Los Angeles, posted bond Tuesday. He is scheduled to appear in court next week.

Authorities in Liberty, a small town in southwest Mississippi near the Louisiana border, said Merino wouldn’t leave the pregnant Spears and her fiance, Casey Aldridge, alone.

Merino denied the accusations in a phone interview Wednesday with The Associated Press. He said that he was about 200 feet away from the couple using a long lens when he was arrested at a gas station.

The younger Spears and Aldridge have been the subject of intense attention since she announced her pregnancy in December. She said then she was 12 weeks along, which would make the 17-year-old due any time.

Merino said he had little luck taking pictures of the couple and was preparing to leave the area.

“I’ve seen the young man Casey in pictures,” Merino said. “I haven’t worked on them myself. The first time I got a good look at him was in court.”

Spears’ family representatives did not immediately return messages Wednesday.

Merino has worked as a celebrity photographer for five years. He was one of the paparazzi who snared pictures of Jamie Lynn Spears’ older sister, Britney, without underwear.

Merino said he was the only photographer following Spears during most of his four days in the Liberty area.

“I just think since I was the only one there, it was just easier for them to single me out,” Merino said.

[From Yahoo News]

It’s been clear since Jamie Lynn announced her pregnancy that she prefers to be left alone. It’s about time someone nailed one of these guys. They’ve been documenting her every move for months, and it’s very intrusive. Following Jamie Lynn down Robertson Blvd. is one thing, but she’s in Louisiana. Buying deodorant at Wal-Mart. Do we really need to see a picture of that?

According to the National Enquirer, Jamie Lynn Spears and fiancé Casey Aldridge are fighting like cats and dogs. They can’t agree on simple things, from where to eat dinner to what to name the baby. The Enquirer makes it sound like Casey is pretty shrewd. Apparently he wants to marry Jamie Lynn before the baby is born – but not for any traditional reason. If he does that, he can have more control over the baby’s first photos and general press.

The couple is battling over everything from what to name the baby to what kind of wedding they’ll have. The “Zoey 101″ star wants to name the baby girl “Cailynn” (pronounced Kay-Lynn) and Casey wants “Cassie,” a derivative of his name, according to an insider.

“Jamie Lynn is living in a state of fear over not knowing what to expect after she becomes a mother, but luckily she has her mom to lean on for support,” continued the insider. “Still, when Casey doesn’t give Jamie Lynn her way for even simple things like where to eat out, she starts crying and shouting at him, and it almost always turns into a war of words. Their ongoing battles have taken their toll on Jamie Lynn and have pushed her to a near-breaking point.”

Jamie Lynn’s most recent wave of fighting with Casey, 19, comes just after the two sealed the deal on a Mississippi country home they’ll share with their new arrival. But right now, they can’t even agree on a wedding date.

“Casey wants to marry Jamie Lynn before the baby is born so he can have some control over the rights to the baby’s first photos that will be sold. He wants to be in on any money deals that are made by Jamie Lynn and her mom,” said the source.

[From the National Enquirer, June 9 2008 print ed]

The Enquirer also says that Jamie Lynn doesn’t want Casey in the delivery room. Instead she wants her mom there, and she wants Lynn Spears to cut the umbilical cord. Their source goes on to add that Jamie Lynn is really stressed and unhappy during what should be one of the happiest times in her life.

I’d argue that if you’re a pregnant teenager, it’s not supposed to be the happiest time of your life. Maybe if she were ten years older. But being pregnant at 17 tends to make for a lot of stress and arguments. Jamie Lynn has got it much better than most girls in her situation. Either way, it seems pretty clear that she shouldn’t marry Casey Aldridge.

Jamie Lynn and Casey are shown on 4/4/08, thanks to Splash News.

While pregnant teen actress Jamie Lynn Spears may have it easier than most teen moms-to-be in the financial department, her pregnancy has not been without stress and drama – and some of it even revolves around her money. First, there’s the fact that her older sister is a basket case and her parents are so caught up in taking care of her that poor Jamie Lynn seems to be on her own much of the time. Then there’s the father of her child, Casey Aldridge, who is pretty much a backwoods redneck who likes to pull guns on the paparazzi and bring the mother of his unborn child to barf parties. Now, as Jamie Lynn enters the final months of her pregnancy, she is attending therapy and taking parenting classes, while Casey is refusing to sign a prenup, as demanded by stage mom Lynne Spears.

As her June due date draws near, the pregnant 17-year-old is seeking the advice of a life coach near her Kentwood, La. home to deal with her difficult situation. It isn’t just an ordinary fear of childbirth, says in insider. Jamie Lynn is also afraid that the depression that seems to run in her family will overshadow her baby joy…

The pregnant teen is also losing sleep over her relationship with fiance Casey Aldridge. Though she and Casey are engaged, family friends doubt they will ever get married. “He doesn’t seem to be as committed,” the friend explained.

Another family friend added, “Casey and Jamie Lynn might not have the maturity level to get married. At this stage, it’s probably not a good idea.”

Although Jamie Lynn loves Casey, she may be having second thoughts herself. “An engagement is easier to end than a marriage,” says a pal. “Reality is setting in, and she’s freaking out.”

Does Casey want more money? Jamie Lynn is wearing Casey’s ring, but her 19-year-old fiance still hasn’t signed the prenuptial agreement- a document her parents have demanded he agree to before they can wed.

“Casey has had the prenup for a while,” says a Spears family insider. “It’s a sign there could be something wrong.”

Casey could be waiting for a bigger share of Jamie Lynn’s fortune if they divorce – or the teenager may just have cold feet about getting married.

[From In Touch Weekly print version, May 5, 2008]

The article also made a big deal out of the fact that Jamie Lynn has been spending a lot of time by herself, leaving Casey at home while she does errands and shops for the baby, but it’s more likely that the kid just doesn’t like being hounded by photographers. As for the prenup, given what happened to her sister, Jamie Lynn would be nuts to move forward on the wedding without one. She may not be worth as much as Britney yet, but she’s worked hard to earn that money and it would be a shame if this kid somehow could lay claim to it. Hopefully these issues will be resolved so she can relax and focus on the birth, but something tells me this situation is only beginning to get out of hand.

Jamie Lynn and Casey are shown on 4/4/08, thanks to Splash News.

Britney Spears’ parents seem to be doing a pretty good job of getting their eldest daughter back on track – but that’s left a lot of people wondering exactly what they’re doing with pregnant 17-year-old Jamie Lynn. Jamie Lynn has been back home in Kentwood, Louisiana for a few months now, while mom Lynne Spears shuttles back and forth and dad Jamie stays in Los Angeles. On Jamie Lynn’s birthday a few weeks ago, the entire family was in Los Angeles having dinner with Britney – leaving their youngest daughter back in Kentwood.

Jamie Lynn seems to be poised to assert her independence – according to Contact Music, she went house hunting with fiancé Casey Aldridge this past weekend.

Pregnant teen Jamie Lynn Spears and her boyfriend Casey Aldridge are looking to welcome their first child in a new home – the parents-to-be are househunting in Mississippi. According to reports, the couple has already made their first offer on a three-bedroom house in the town of Liberty.

Zoey 101 star Spears, who is seven months pregnant, has offered close to $300,000 for the house. It boasts a loft, marble floors, a remodeled kitchen and games room. An insider says, “Jamie Lynn is really excited over having a home of her own.”

[From Contact Music]

It seems pretty clear that Jamie Lynn is planning on raising her baby in Kentwood, despite previous reports that she was going to return to L.A. to work on her acting career. The National Ledger reports that Jamie Lynn has turned to Casey’s family for support during her pregnancy.

So what is Jamie Lynn doing to get some help from a parent? According to a report from Life & Style Weekly she is looking outside the Spears family and has honed in on her fiancé Casey Aldridge’s mother for advice and support as she enters her seventh month.

“With her whole family in Los Angeles, Jamie Lynn has turned to Casey’s mom Joyce,” and insider spilled to the weekly entertainment magazine. “I think she sees her as a surrogate mother.” She is putting on a brave face, the insider claims, but she is hurting without any support from her family.

[From the National Ledger]

Jamie Lynn has been taking on a huge amount of responsibility for a 17-year-old. From the baby to a fiance to a house – it’s amazing she’s holding it together so well. She’s balancing a load meant for someone a lot older. It’s surprising to see how much her parents are around Britney versus Jamie Lynn. Britney is an adult, and though she clearly needs help right now, you would think Jamie Lynn would be getting a bit more attention. Life & Style says that Jamie Lynn is acting like she doesn’t care about Lynn being gone all the time, but that she’s actually pretty hurt by it. Hopefully the Spears parents will rally around their youngest daughter when she needs it.

Here’s Jamie Lynn leaving Connie’s Jewelry and Gifts in Kentwood on Paril 9th. Images thanks to Splash.

This week’s National Enquirer reports that Jamie Lynn’s fiance, Casey Aldridge, 18, was drinking heavily at a party and that pregnant Jamie Lynn stepped in to try and stop a fight between two of his friends. Fists were flying and Jamie Lynn got elbowed hard in the mouth. She was crying and screaming, and the way Casey responded was to try and get her to shut up:

According to a new report from The National Enquirer, Jamie Lynn was injured when she attempted to break up a fight between two of Casey’s friends:

“Jamie Lynn decided she could break it up, but got elbowed hard in the mouth by one of the boy,” says an eyewitness. “She went crazy, screaming at everyone….crying, screaming, and covering her mouth.”

“Casey was so drunk, he just kept trying to hush her up.”

[From popcrunch]

Jamie Lynn just turned 17, and she’s pregnant, but it’s not like she was said to be drinking at the party. She probably thought she could stop the fight since she was one of the only sober people there and assumed that the guys would respect a pregnant woman. Either they didn’t see her or she just got in the way, because she ended up hurt.

Why she was even at a party were teens were drinking is up to question, and given the way the night unfolded it clearly wasn’t a good place for a pregnant girl to be hanging out. At least she’s been trying to lead a quiet life in Louisiana, but she’s still getting into some trouble there. Her fiance was even said to have threatened photographers with a gun he had in his four wheeler. I hope Jamie Lynn makes better choices in life soon, because she’s about to have a baby who depends on her. As it is, she’s hanging out with a young crowd that’s acting their age, which is much too young to be responsible for a child.

Jamie Lynn Spears is shown leaving Connie’s Jewelry and Gifts in Kentwood, LA on 4/9/08, where she was said to have had her engagement ring resized to fit her swelling fingers. I think it was the National Enquirer that reported a few weeks back that she was good friends with a girl who worked there and liked to stop and chat with her during the day. Thanks to Splash News for this photo.

A paparazzo who was following Jamie Lynn Spears and her boyfriend, Casey Aldridge, while they were riding a 4-wheel ATV, claims that Aldridge flashed a gun at him and told him to get lost. TMZ has video of the confrontation and has highlighted an object in the ATV in the video, saying it’s a gun.

Jamie Lynn Spears is packin’ baby, but her man is packin’ too, and he’s pointing his piece at a photog! Casey Aldridge was pissed at a pap who allegedly shot this video on private property — Jamie says it was private, the pap says it wasn’t. Anywho, watch closely as Casey takes the gun from his lap and kinda points it in the direction of the pap, telling him to get the hell on a public road. Yessir!

[From TMZ]

I looked at the video several times and couldn’t see this gun they are pointing at in big red letters, but that doesn’t mean it’s not there. The thing that struck me most about this video is that Jamie Lynn’s boyfriend is a bona fide hillbilly: Riding around in a 4-wheeler with a dog and a cooler in the back- and that accent is straight out of “Deliverance.” If Jamie-Lynn marries this kid, she can forget about her acting career– instead, I see NASCAR Sundays, Coors Light party balls, and domestic disturbance calls to the trailer park in her future. Jesus H. Christ, the Spears girls have abominable taste in men, don’t they?

Jamie Lynn and Casey are shown out on her 17th birthday on 4/4/08, thanks to Splash News.

Jamie Lynn Spears spent her 17th birthday partying it up in a manner more fitting big sister Britney: shopping at Walmart and going to dinner at Ruby Tuesday. Apparently the Spears family does little to combat the stereotypes of the south (what with Britney’s old “I can drive with my kid on my lap, I’m country, that’s what we do). Jaime Lynn’s trying to keep it simple, and you can’t really fault her for that. She spent the afternoon shopping at her local Walmart with baby daddy Casey Aldridge, then the pair hit up Ruby Tuesdays for a romantic dinner. While I’ve never actually set foot inside a Ruby Tuesdays, from glancing in the window I can tell you with some confidence that a plastic carnation in a grocery store vase does not equal a romantic setting. But if you want a mediocre steak at a good price, it’s the place to be.

While most young women turn their 17th birthday into a bawdy bash to remember, OK! can report that America’s most famous pregnant teen, Jamie Lynn Spears, who rang in her last year as a minor on Friday, chose to spend that special day relaxing with fiancé and father of her baby, Casey Aldridge.

Jamie Lynn and Casey spent most Friday relaxing in his hometown of Gloster, Miss., a short drive from the Spears family home in Kentwood, La. Sources tell OK! the lovebirds stayed indoors for most of the big day, emerging later that evening only to make a quick shopping trip to a Wal-Mart supercenter in McComb, where they spent about an hour inside the store. And for a few minutes, the small-town charm of McComb, with its population of 13,500, suddenly began to resemble Hollywood, as local police were called in to keep back photographers and fans. “Jamie Lynn looked super happy and kept smiling inside the Wal-Mart,” one shopper tells OK!.

[From OK!]

Everyone’s making jokes about how Jaime Lynn isn’t with Casey for his money after that meal. But I could kinda joke that he’s not with her for her money either: OK reports that Jaime Lynn went shopping for Casey and bought him several pairs of sneakers at Hibbits Sporting Goods Store – each one retailing for $7.98. No one seems to know what Jamie Lynn got for her birthday from the father of her child, but I’m guessing it was an extra large milkshake.

Here’s Jamie Lynn on her way to Ruby Tuesdays yesterday. Images thanks to Splash.

Jamie Lynn Spears is pregnant and officially engaged, all at the tender young age of 17 (as of this Friday). The actress was spotted wearing an engagement ring a little over a week ago, and since then fiancé Casey Aldridge’s cousin (and a few of Jaime Lynn’s friends) have confirmed the impending nuptials. OK! claims to have several exclusives on Jaime Lynn’s wedding plans – though of course we have to wait until it’s on newsstands for all of the specifics.

OK says Jamie Lynn will wait until after the baby is born to marry Casey. Her friends speculate that she’ll want to set the date several months after the birth so that she can get her figure back in order to wear her perfect wedding dress. There’s also a bit of talk about her dream wedding – though something tells me that in Jamie Lynn’s dreams, her wedding was never supposed to happen quite so soon – and probably not with her new baby at the ceremony.

The Zoey 101 star is expecting her first baby in late June with boyfriend Casey Aldridge, and is happily riding out the last months of her pregnancy with Casey by her side. After announcing her pregnancy exclusively to OK! in December, Britney Spears’ little sis has been busy lying low in her hometown of Kentwood, La. As OK! was the first to report, Jamie Lynn and a cousin recently registered for her baby shower at a Babies ‘R’ Us store in the nearby city of Baton Rouge.

And those closest to Jamie Lynn tell OK! the teen plans to stay true to her small-town roots, most likely exchanging vows with Casey in Kentwood at “Serenity,” the estate owned by Britney — who obviously leads the list of possible bridesmaids. “She’ll have the baby there, and soon after, she will also get married there,” says a pal of the teen. “I expect she’ll want to wait at least several months to get her figure back so she can wear a beautiful wedding gown and then have her dream wedding.”

[From OK!]

You can’t help but worry for anyone who gets married at 17. And to be fair, you can’t help but worry for anyone who has a baby at 17. Putting the two together seems like a lot of pressure on such a young couple. They’re certainly better off financially than any other 17-year-old couple I’ve ever heard of, but money doesn’t equal maturity. Hopefully Jamie Lynn’s got a better head on her shoulders than some of her family members… or will at least hire a very, very qualified nanny.

Here’s Jamie Lynn showing off her engagement ring while running errands near her Louisiana home on April 1st. Images thanks to Splash.

Jamie Lynn Spears on 2/28/08
Pregnant teen actress Jamie Lynn Spears may be engaged– or at least she is sporting a new diamond ring given to her by her baby daddy Casey Aldridge. People is reporting that family insiders have seen the ring up close, but can’t give details on when the wedding will take place.

Mom-to-be Jamie Lynn Spears is sporting some sparkling new jewelry – an engagement ring from fiancé Casey Aldridge.

Spears, 16, has been flashing the rock to friends and family around Louisiana and Mississippi, a source close to the family tells PEOPLE.

“She’s got an engagement ring,” the source says. “She’s been showing it off, talking about it.”

Spears and her 18-year-old fiancé are expecting the baby this summer. No official word yet on a wedding date for the couple.

[From People]

That shrieking sound you hear is Lynne Spears, reading this story. As you recall, Lynn was adamant, in the interview with OK! Magazine breaking the pregnancy story, that Jamie Lynn was not going to marry Casey. But clearly, Jamie Lynn has a mind of her own. While she has reportedly been in therapy, taking parenting classes, and passed her GED exam, Jamie Lynn has also been on her own much of the time over the last few months since her older sister had a total meltdown and was in the hospital. So it makes sense that she would get closer with Casey while her mom and dad are away, looking after Britney. Hopefully this will be a long engagement instead of a rush to the altar before the baby is born. Jamie Lynn should know what a disaster that would be simply be looking at what happened to her sister.

Jamie Lynn Spears is shown out on 2/28/08 in the header image and on 2/29/08 below. Thanks to Splash News.