Monday, November 23, 2009

Breakfast With Santa


Monday, November 9, 2009

Random Stuff


Mom and I took some pictures of the boys yesterday. Here is one of my favorites.



November 3rd was mom's birthday so we all had to celebrate at her favorite restaurant... Fiesta Ranchera!

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Happy Halloween

I hope everyone had a happy halloween! Ian was Max this year (from the cartoon Max & Ruby on Nick... he is obsessed with him!) and Elliot was a giraffe. I am supposed to be Kate Gosselin but nobody seemed to be able to figure that out lol! We had a great time and Ian really enjoyed trick or treating this year. My family also had a halloween party and we had a good time at that.

Also, today is my mother's 40th birthday (lol)! Happy Birthday Mom, we love you!

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Look Alike Much?

This is a picture of Ian when he was right around Elliot's age. This was his first smile on camera. Can you tell they are brothers? Sometimes Elliot looks at me and I feel a sense of deja vu lol.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Bottles and Diapers, Oh My!


Elliot's first smile caught on camera! :)




Sorry for the lack of posts lately! I'm sure you all can understand that I have been a little busy lately. Elliot is growing like a weed. I can't believe he is 7 weeks old today. He is doing well and we took him to the doctor last week and he weighed 10 lbs and 7 oz. He is such a big boy and he loves to eat!
I had almost forgotten what it is like to take care of a newborn. My days (and nights) consist of changing diapers and fixing bottles, and of course taking care of Ian as well. We have been doing well with all of the adjustments though. Ian, especially, has done a great job adjusting to having a little brother. He loves him so much and is always wanting to give him love (which makes me nervous!). He definitely is and will be his brother's keeper.
I did get to finally go on a date last night with Adam. It was so nice! I did torture myself a little though because we went to see Paranormal Activity, which is so scary! It being the week of Halloween though I wanted to see something spooky.
Also, last week I went to the doctor for my 6 week post baby check-up (all went well) and my sis Brandie and mother came with me and we did some shopping in Murfreesboro. Emily even got to go with us before she had to go into work at Bink's. We had a great time, and I so love my mother-in-law for being such a great babysitter!
I have to go because Ian just pooped in his underwear and I have to go clean up the disgusting mess....

Monday, September 14, 2009

Elliot Michael Barnes







Elliot was born on 9/9/09 and weighed 8 lb 3 oz. We are doing well and he is the most precious thing! Ian is so proud of his little brother. Here are some pics. Thanks to my mother for all of her help and for everyone who has come to see us and has prayed for us.



Saturday, September 5, 2009

A Few Pics


We haven't had much going on lately (other than baby prep) so I don't have any exciting photos! This is a regular sight at our house... Ian loves to just come up to me randomly and love on Elliot. Such a sweet boy! I hope he is as nice to him outside of mommy's belly. :)


We go to church with the very sweet Jennifer & Jodie Lassiter and they recently had a cookout for church members and a non-shower for us at their lovely home. (I refused a formal shower!) We had a great time and the food was unbelievable. Thanks guys!

Jennifer & Jodie's adorable daughter, Annie, and Ian had a great time getting into trouble. J/K they were good, but they always look like they are up to something! They are too cute together, aren't they? I see a possible girlfriend in the future! lol


Friday, September 4, 2009

Full Moon, Please Work!

No, I still have not given birth and I am hoping that this full moon will do its job! If I do not go into labor on my own by Tuesday evening, they are going to induce me on Wednesday morning. (Elliot's birthday will be 9/9/09). I really didn't want to be induced this time, but at this point I am ready to get it over with. I am now at the point of misery and to top it all off, Ian has gotten sick. He has only had a fever so far with no signs of anything else, so I am hoping the fever will go away and all will be good. He does seem to be feeling better already today.

Everything has been checking out well at our doctor appointments. They did an ultrasound 2 weeks ago and everything looking good, but they estimated that Elliot weighed 7 lbs & 5 ozs at that time! I also had extra amnio fluid which was why I was measuring so large. Ian only weighed 7 lbs 7 ozs when he was born, so I can't believe there is such a difference in their sizes.

I am really feeling it though and I cannot get enough to eat, which is not good! I also have had my first ever strange craving... has anyone ever had peanut butter and marshmallow creme sandwiches? hmmm, hmmm. They are too good for words lol! I would never have come up with that combination, but I was watching a Jon & Kate rerun the other day and she had made them for her kids. It sounded so good that I couldn't wait to get to the store to buy some marshmallow creme (I know Brandie will be proud, she is a long time marshmallow creme fan). Has anyone else had any strange cravings?

I know I've been slacking on posting pics too. I promise to do that on my next post! Have a great Labor Day weekend! Thank you to everyone too for the well wishes.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Oh, Boy!

Okay another baby update: I went to the doctor on Monday for my weekly checkup and whenever my doc measured my stomach, she said, "Wow Ashley, this baby has had a growth spurt. You are measuring at 40 weeks." Even though I feel huge, I was surprised he had grown that much. I also dilated a little bit more, 1.5-2.
So, she tells me that we need to do an ultrasound to see how big he is. I went back today to do the ultrasound and I will not get to discuss the results with the doctor until Monday, but the lady who did the ultrasound said that she would guess he weighs a little over 7 pounds! We still have 3 weeks to go! Ian weighed 7 lbs 7 ozs and he was only 3 days early. Adam is so proud.... he says Elliot is going to be his little eater (since Ian eats like a bird and is skinny like I was). I was a little miffed that Adam is so excited about having a big baby because I am the one who has to deliver him! But at least he is healthy... even though he is a chunk. The lady doing the ultrasound also noticed that he has a lot of hair, so I'll bet he will look like Ian with all of the thick dark hair. If I do not go into labor before Monday, we will discuss the results with my doctor and see what we are going to do. I will try to keep everyone posted! (Pray for us!)

Monday, August 17, 2009

Hospital Necessities

Speaking of baby coming soon... I have started to pack our hospital bag and would like to know (for those of you who have given birth) if there was something you took to the hospital with you that ended up being lifesaver? I am trying to only pack the essentials, but am wondering if there is anything else I really need or would like to have?

Baby Update

Just thought I would give everyone a little update on our baby situation. I am now going to the doctor every week. I must say that it's not much fun driving to Murfreesboro with a 2 year old once a week, but it must be done! I am not due until September 15th (4 more weeks), but at my last check up the doctor said I am already dilated to 1 but the cervix has not started thinning. So, we obviously have a while to go and I do not want Elliot born too early but a little bit early would be nice! I am definitely getting bigger which is making it harder to take care of Ian, but we are hanging in there. Ian has been handling things very well too. I hope he adjusts to the new baby so well!
That is about all that is going on with us. Our revival at church started this week, so we will be busy with that. Even though sitting on the pew has become uncomfortable, I am glad to have the opportunity to focus on prayer for the upcoming changes in our life and for a healthy baby and easy delivery. Otherwise, I will keep everyone posted on our baby news!
Also, good luck to everyone going back to school. It feels strange for me not to be going back too but I have been so preoccupied that I haven't had much time to think about it. With the way I am feeling (and with the flu going around), I am still happy with my decision to stay home!
Have a great week everyone! :)

Monday, August 10, 2009

Emily's Big Day





Emily had a big day Saturday... First, she graduated from MTSU with a Bachelor Degree in Mass Communications and then that night she won the Miss Country Sunshine Pageant, which means that she now gets to compete in the Miss Tennessee pageant in June (which has been her dream for a long time). Congratulations Emily!

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Potty Training... Help!

Okay, Ian and I are having some set backs regarding potty training. He was doing really good and using the potty around 4 times a day. To reward him, I would give him an M&M and praise him. All of a sudden, he has stopped using the potty and refuses to even sit on it. Help! I do not know what to do. I have let some time go by because I have always heard not to force them, but he is not showing any renewed interest. I'm thinking of bribing him with something bigger (since the candy is not working anymore) but I'm not sure. Any advice would be appreciated. I would love to have him out of diapers before Elliot gets here! I am also thinking of making him wear his big boy underwear and it will be either pee on yourself or use the potty. Good idea?

Friday, July 24, 2009

My New Bling


Natasha Vaughn at Elegant Designs made this necklace for me. I looovvvee it so much that I wanted to show it to everyone. You can check out Natasha's website to see her other designs and to place an order of your own, just click on Natasha's Cakes on the right side of my blog. (She also does beautiful cakes.)
The Dekalb County Fair has been going on this week and we finally went last night. I usually hold out for the Warren County Fair since it is so much better (sorry Smithville), but Elliot is due the same week as the Warren Co. fair so I'm sure I won't be making it. Ian got to ride some rides and we watched Adam's cousin, Brandon, ride a bull in the rodeo. Have a great weekend!

Monday, July 20, 2009

Gone Fishin'

We were blessed with such beautiful weather this weekend, so we had to get out and enjoy it. Adam took us out on his fishing boat Saturday afternoon and we had a great time. Here is Adam instructing Ian on how to hold the fishing pole. Ian & I got to fish, but poor Adam was baiting our hooks or getting my line un-stuck constantly!



Ian caught a little fish, and he was so excited... except he wouldn't touch it or go near it!



Here is my bass that I am very proud of. We kept him and will be eating him sometime this week lol. I also caught 3 keeper blue gill and a small catfish that we threw back. Just call me BassMaster!


Monday, July 6, 2009

Our Fun on the 4th








We had a great time on the fourth! Brandie and her family came to our house early in the afternoon, and so us girls (Lauren, Brandie, and me) went to the Smithville Jamboree for a little while. We had a great time and saw lots of cute crafts. We then back back and everyone went swimming before having a cookout and fireworks. Unfortunately, our fireworks were cut short due to the rain, but we all had a great time. The last pic is obviously my preggie belly... I refuse to show any of the photos with my face in them because I was looking rough by the end of the day!

Monday, June 29, 2009

Legally Blonde: The Musical!

Mine and Adam's 6 year wedding anniversary is July 12th, and he surprised me with tickets to see Legally Blonde at TPAC this Saturday! I was so impressed with him... surprising me with something like that is a big step for him! We went to the 2:00 show and it was great. I loved the movie but the musical is very funny. Adam even liked it! I told him that I was going to buy him a Legally Blonde t-shirt for his anniversary present lol. If you know Adam, you know how funny this would be.
After the show, we went to eat at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse (this was Adam's present) and it was the best meal I have ever had! Everyone there is so nice and the steak was the best ever. I highly recommend it for a special occasion!
Thanks to Adam for a wonderful time and for the best 6 years of my life!

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Belated Father's Day to my wonderful hubby, Adam, and to my wonderful father. I hope you both had a great day! Here is a pic of Ian trying on Adam's new golf shoes that we got him.
Sorry for the lack of posts lately... not much has been going on with us this summer. We have basically been in the pool most days. It is too hot to do much else! I did go to the doctor yesterday and all is well with baby Elliot. He weighs 2 lbs and 14 oz already! I am starting to feel it too. Everyone is right, going through the 3rd trimester in the middle of the summer is not fun! It's all for a good cause though.
My nephew Carter and my lil sis Emily both had birthdays this month, so I want to wish them both a happy birthday!

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Happy 40th Anniversary!

Happy 40th Wedding Anniversary to my wonderful parents! We had them a little party at The Cottage last night and we all had a great time. I hope they enjoyed it!

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Fun in Pigeon Forge!

Ian made Adam ride the new water ride at Dollywood twice with him. Here they are soaking wet! Adam was not happy about getting wet and said that, next time, I will be riding with the kids. (Being pregnant (and sick, but that's another story), I could not ride anything!)

We were in the underwater tunnel at the aquarium in this picture. I know you cannot tell it, but that is a huge shark swimming over Adam and Ian.

At the 50's part of Dollywood, they have all kinds of old cars which Ian thought were the characters from the movie Cars. Here he is with "Mater".

I think Ian's favorite part of Dollywood was just playing in the water!


His favorite part of the trip, though, was riding the go-karts! He loved it when Adam would "crash" (bump into other cars). I think I have a future Nascar driver on my hands...


Speaking of driving... Ian is driving the car!




We were in much need of a vacation, so we took Ian to Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg for a few days and we had a blast! We tried to make it all about Ian, since in a few months his little world is going to change dramatically. We took him to the Gatlinburg Aquarium, the Dixie Stampede, and Dollywood, but I think his favorite thing of all was riding the go-karts with Adam! Our hotel also had an indoor and outdoor pool which he loved.














Sunday, May 24, 2009

Giveaway!

Go to the Links to Check Out section of my blog and click on Natasha's Cakes. All you have to do is leave a comment and you'll be entered in her giveaway for any of her designs. She not only makes beautiful cakes but gorgeous jewelry too!

Monday, May 18, 2009

Some Life Changes

School is almost out! Yaaah! I am very excited that Friday will be our last day, but it is a little bittersweet for me because I turned in my resignation on Friday. This was much more difficult for me to do than I thought it would be because I really do love my job, but after much discussion and prayer Adam and I have made the decision for me to take a few years off work and stay at home with our boys. I'm looking forward to being with my children every day and to not have the stress that comes with being a working mother, but I know that being a stay at home mom won't be a cakewalk either. I will miss being around adults every day and will miss many people that I have gotten close with at work. If anyone has advice, let me know!
We have also put our house on the market and this is a little stressor for me because I don't know what we'll do if it sells! We can stay in the home that was Adam's grandmothers until we find something else or build, but I really dread moving again!
We are going on a short vacation next week to Gatlinburg, so I'll post some pics from it when we get back. I am ready for a vacay! (As I'm sure everyone else is too.) My big sis Brandie had her birthday May 1st and I forgot to post a happy birthday message to her, so happy belated birthday B!

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Day Out With Thomas

Here is Ian the day we went for our ultrasound. He is wearing his new "It's Cool to Be a Big Brother" t-shirt! This picture was taken in front of Emily's house. We went there afterwards to see her since she lives so close to the doctor's office.

We took Ian to Chattanooga to the Tennessee Valley Railroad last Saturday because they were having a "Day Out With Thomas". You get a 30 minute train ride and they have all kinds of Thomas themed activities for the kids to do. Ian had a great time, despite a few incidents...
Adam will kill me for telling this, but we both had a moment of pure stupidity. Our train was scheduled to leave at 2:30, so we decided to get there at 1:30 so we would have plenty of time. BUT, did we remember that Chattanooga is 1 hour ahead of our time???? NO. Adam realizes this as soon as we get there, so I take off with Ian to try to catch our train while Adam is parking. I was more than willing to ditch Adam as long as Ian got his train ride! It was really hot that day and after running and not seeing the Thomas engine anywhere, I finally asked someone that worked there and sure enough, our train had left! I was almost in tears at this point, but a nice man that worked there said he would try to get us on the 3:30 train. After telling Ian to look really pitiful, we got to ride that stupid train! I have never been so relieved.

Here is Ian posing in front of one of the train posters. They also had a petting zoo and mini golf. It ended up being a great day!

Friday, May 1, 2009

Well......

IT'S A BOY!!!!!!


We are extremely excited to be having a little boy. I'm glad that Ian will have a little brother to play with and that the baby will have a big brother to teach him things. We are definitely blessed. Our #1 name at the moment is Elliot. Thank you everyone for the well wishes. I have 2 sisters, so I need advice from anybody with boys!!!

Thursday, April 30, 2009

My Big Boy!!

I am so unbelievably excited because last night Ian pee peed in the potty for the first time! He has been resistant to potty training, so lately I haven't been saying anything to him about it. He has been occasionally mentioning something about using the potty and has sat on it one time. But last night after he got out of the bath, he said he wanted to sit on the potty. He likes to play with the toilet paper, so I let him set there and put some paper in the potty. Sure enough, after a few minutes he peed! I never thought I would be so happy to see a little boy use the restroom. Of course, we praised and rewarded him (with his favorite thing in the world, chocolate).
Also, today is our ultrasound appointment at 3:00, so I will be posting soon to let everyone know if the baby is a boy or a girl! I would like to have a girl, but honestly a healthy baby is all I really care about. We also went to see the real Thomas the Train in Chattanooga this past weekend, so I will be posting pics from that also.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Easter Photos

The Lord blessed us with beautiful weather on Easter Sunday! My mother helped Ian hunt for eggs, and by this time he was getting the hang of it! My parents invite the kids from their church and our family over for an egg hunt and snacks every Easter. We all had a great time.



We had our egg hunt at Adam's mother's house on Saturday. It was cool so we had to bundle up. Ian did not want to pick up eggs... he acted like it was a chore. When he found candy, he just wanted to stop and eat it. I can't blame him!




Here we are on Sunday... It is hard to get Ian to cooperate for a family photo! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday, I know we did. It is much more fun now that Ian can understand what is going on and really enjoy it.



Wednesday, April 15, 2009

The Big 2-9

Okay, so tomorrow is my 29th birthday, ugh. I am so close to being 30 and am already getting depressed! I know that it is better than the alternative, but still. The saddest thing to me is that birthdays aren't really exciting anymore. I heard someone say that today is the 15th and I thought, "Oh wow, tomorrow is my birthday". In the past, I would count the days in April until the big day. Is it just me or is it normal for us to not get excited anymore? I guess my excitement comes through living through my child... Ian's birthdays are more exciting to me than my own! I guess all holidays are like that now.
Speaking of... I hope everyone had a great Easter! We sure did. Ian got tons of candy which I am now trying to give away because I have found myself on the couch eating way too much of it. The Easter bunny also brought him a Max & Ruby DVD which he already has memorized and a bunch of Cars toys. I will try to post pics tonight!

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Ian's Big Boy Room


Here is a pic of Ian's new big boy bed. The quilt is from Pottery Barn but I got it from Ebay, of course. My sister, Brandie, painted the lampshades to match. It helps to have talented family!

A close-up of Ian... he was wanting his picture taken! Such a little ham.


Prayer Request

Please keep baby Theo Burks and his family in your prayers as he is having his surgery today.

Monday, March 30, 2009

April 30th!!!!

April 30th will be the big day.... we will have our ultrasound to find out if the baby is a boy or a girl. That appointment is the most exciting but I know it will seem like forever until it gets here! Of course, the most important thing is a healthy baby, so keep us in your prayers.
I am back to work and our spring break went by way too fast! I promise I will post pics asap! We only had 3 days off, so we didn't do anything exciting but Ian and I had a good time being at home together.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Baby Poll Results...

BOY won!

I really think Adam voted more than once though....

Sunday, March 15, 2009

My Gardeners




Friday, March 13, 2009

My Funny Boy


I know everyone thinks that their child is funny, but Ian was really cracking us up last night. Adam made me a chocolate milkshake after dinner and I shared some of it with Ian. Well, when it was time for him to be in bed (8:45), we asked him if he wanted his juice. His reply was "No, chocolate milkshake". Adam thinks that this is so cute and funny that he goes and makes him a little milkshake! (yes, I was against this!) So, Adam feeds it to him and then he goes to bed.

Around 9:30 I am walking down the hall headed to bed and guess who is standing up in the crib looking at me! To end the story, Ian didn't go to sleep last night until after 10:00. Please don't call DCS on us!! lol

Ian has also had a big fear of going to the doctor lately. He went for his 2 year check-up in December and had to go a few weeks after that for an ear infection. At that appointment, they had to hold him down and clean his ear out. (not a good experience!) So since then he has been traumatized and will occasionally, out of the blue, say "Doctor hurt".

Last night we were sitting on the couch (watching Grey's Anatomy, obviously not a good idea) and Ian says "Doctor hurt". Adam tried to make him feel better and said "the doctor is fun". Ian looked at him seriously and said "Doctor NO, NO" and kept saying No, No and pointing his finger like he was letting the doctor have it. I am already dreading his next appointment!