Let me make a little confession: Being a mom is every bit as awesome as I thought it would be. It's hard work, and I'm tired a lot of the time, but this "new normal" that we've settled into is pretty darn satisfying. These days, Jack sleeps more, smiles more, and coos constantly. How could anyone resist that?
At 3 months:
1. Still hates the swing. Heaven knows I'm still trying, because I have a hard time spending $167 on a torture mechanism.
2. We're firmly into the 3-6 month clothing range. I cried like a little girl going though his drawer and weeding out all the outgrown outfits and onsies. What's worse is that I now realize I'll have to go through this every couple of months.
3. Jack gets bored easily. He seems to need/love constant stimulation, usually in the form of being held, and walked around face forward. He won't sit and chill out, he needs to be
moving. Especially outside.
4. Bathtime has suddenly done a 180 degree turn. He still loves the bath, but instead of relaxing and falling asleep, he will kick and thrash like he's trying to swim. He's smiling the whole time, so I'm guessing it's very enjoyable for him.
5. At his last checkup, he weighed exactly 12 lbs, and is measuring at the 60th percentile for growth. I feel like he's huge, but he's pretty average as babies go.
As far as the blogging goes, we've just been trying to keep our head above water. It all started about a month ago, when Jack started coughing. At first, it seemed like just a little tickle, and then quickly deteriorated into racking fits that kept him up all night long. Of course, to lay there and listen to him was maddening, knowing that you couldn't do much for him. He soon became stuffy, and was introduced to saline and the brain sucker (sounds like a good name for a band). If he wasn't pitiful before, the brain sucker made him
crrrazy. He screamed bloody murder, but at least he could breathe a little better afterward. Between monitoring his fever, and keeping him hydrated and comfortable, I don't think I slept for a week. Hence, my weakened immunity. Hence, the horrible cold
I then contracted. Hence, the horrible cold Daron contracted. At one point, we were so sick we had to take Jack (who was now much better) down to the sitter for the day just so we could konk out on some Nyquil, and sleep the glorious drug induced sleep that only modern medication could provide. There were quite a few days of missed work, and as bad as Jack had it, I think we fared even worse. Daron improved somewhat, only to get worse again, and have a massive ear infection. He's still not quite right, but you all knew that about him.
Somewhere in all this, I celebrated my first Mother's Day! I don't mind telling you that there was some smug satifaction in finally qualifying for that Mother's Day rose at church. Sure I've received the pity-rose in years past, but I'm a card carrying Mom now!! Gimme that rose!! Jack was nice enough to give me a card, and also buy me a cute little baby booties charm for my charm bracelet. Just to be clear, that was baby BOOTIE, not booty. A little baby rump would make a weird charm.
Again, apologies for the lack of posting. We seem to be well now, and I've been doing some thinking about the blog. I think I'm going to construct a seperate blog for Jack pictures, which I will try to post to daily. Not as much writing, but it will contain the pictures that the family craves so badly. I'll keep the Barnes blog going to post our happenings and adventures. That way everyone wins! You get your daily pictures, and I don't keep putting off the blog because I haven't had time to write anything.
I'll post the new blog address as soon as I have something up for your viewing pleasure.
Elisa
Doesn't this look like the face of a good dad? I think so! I posted this picture to remind you what Daron looks like. So much of my photo documentation these days seems to go like this: 
Thanks Daron for being such a good Daddy! For loving this boy as much as I do, and for making sure we have everything we need to be healthy and happy. So what if your idea of babysitting includes a little XBOX time? I like to think of you as a multi-tasker!