Were still here...

Jack continues to do great, and is growing at a good steady rate. Kelli is currently 37 weeks along, and is NOT doing great. She still struggles with her gestational diabetes, and went to the hospital last night with seizures. Alarming, yes. But apparently not alarming enough to her doctor to hasten a delivery. They are keeping her in the hospital for a couple of days to see what happens. They will be monitoring Jack's heart rate, Kelli's blood pressure, and will try to get her blood sugar better regulated while they're at it. Poor girl has been such a trooper through all this! A few extra prayers on her behalf couldn't hurt. We will let you know when we leave town...

Elisa


- Posted by Elisa using her awesome IPad

If you throw a man a shower...

... He will likely come home with some fairly random gift offerings. I have to say though, I was pleasantly surprised at what these boys came up with. True, the gifts mainly arrived in the plastic bag they were purchased in, but the variety was amazing. Take a look, and then I'll point out some favorites...


There's a great selection of sports items, trucks, cars, even ear plugs for Dad! One of my personal favorites:


Yep, Jack's first bullets. It will be a while before he's old enough- at least two or three years by Daron's estimation. But really, is it ever too early to start stockpiling ammunition?


I will admit, at first glance I thought these were for real. I haven't spent any time perusing the Gerber aisle, so naturally I assumed that baby food had improved leaps and bounds over the years. Who wouldn't want to expose their kids early on to the joys of Twinkies and Hot Wings? I'd say that the man who made these must have had a lot of free time, but I happen to know that he doesn't. Thanks Ken for the laughs. I'm going to keep these around as a conversation piece.



Got camouflage? We sure do! My boys will be trekking through the woods in style with these great outfits. Not that you'd ever see them. People asked Daron if I was ok with my child wearing camouflage. Sure thing! You won't see me wearing it, but it really is sort of a Barnes boy tradition. In moderation, of course. No camo at church.

What else went down at the shower? Not really sure because I was forbidden from crashing. I heard rumors of great food, lots of Xbox, and scads of guys talking about guy things, and generally eschewing all things feminine and proper. Quote of the night: "We're not doing that, this is a MAN shower!"

Posted by Elisa using her awesome IPad

Baby Shower

To say that I was excited about my baby shower was an understatement. I was a little nervous about it, just because I'm not usually comfortable being the center of things, but it really was a wonderful time. My friends Jo and Donna were so wonderful to host, and went out of their way to make it special and fun. I was really touched that so many people came, and how excited everyone is for us! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

*Side note: Imagine my horror when I discover a few days later that my top was see-thru with the camera flash. Hahahha. Very funny. I will only be posting the PG-rated photos, and spare you the Janet Jackson moment. This is a family blog, afterall.

Jack's cake was super cute. See the little booties? Kim Carlile's mom knit us some little camouflage booties that I thought were hysterical. So tiny that he might not wear them for long, but they will always be a keepsake.

How cute is this little green vest and shirt? Thanks Jenny. Not only for the cute church outfit, but for the hours of entertainment this will provide me. I explained to everyone at the shower that Daron finds little boys in vests very unsettling because of his own hot-naturedness. He sees them all snug and warm in a sweater vest, and assumes that they are as uncomfortable as he would be in one. Yep, can't wait to break out that vest.

There were many MANY great gifts, and I'd love to highlight all of them. But like I said, I've had to censor out the embarrassing see-thru photos in favor of photos with strategically placed gift bags in the shot.

Also, when looking through the photos, I noticed something about myself. How did I get to be this age and not know that I make the weirdest facial expressions? Why can't I be photogenic and take charming pictures? Daron thinks he is the butt of all jokes on this blog, so to prove he's not, I've thrown together a collage of my most bizarre and inexplicable facial expressions from that day. Keep in mind that one of these expressions stems from someone telling me she is preggers in her card, while I'm reading it in front of the crowd. I have NO poker face, so if you're trying to clue me in to a secret, don't make me do it in front of anyone!

So there you go Daron, you're off the hook for today. Incidentally, when the boys found out that Daron was sad about not getting a shower (face it, he was sad about not getting to eat), his friend Aric planned a "man shower" for this coming Friday night. Hilarious. I can't wait to see what will constitute a "man shower." For a laugh, see the invite below:

So there you go. What a great weekend. As for Jack, he continues to grow and thrive. He's got a few weeks left, and we are anticipating a late February, early March delivery. He still breech, so that might complicate the manner in which he arrives, but all the doctor's are very reassuring about his health. His size indicates that he could probably be delivered any time, but his lungs need a little more time. So hopefully he stays put for now, but babies have their own agenda!

We'll keep you posted,

Elisa