Shutterfly

Since the year Michael and I were engaged, I have used Shutterfly for our Christmas cards. I've always been very pleased with the results and the prices. In addition to using Shutterfly for Christmas cards, my aunt makes calendars each year using their templates. Last year, I decided to make one for the Ketchum family. They always turn out really cute. We also made little flip books on Shutterfly to tell our parents that we were expecting Baby K! As with the Christmas cards, we've always been very pleased with the quality and service we found at Shutterfly. I'm excited about creating a Christmas card this year with Shutterfly. I may even include some belly pictures of Baby K growing! I am sure we will use their products to document his growth throughout his life and as gifts for grandparents!

In addition to their new products, Shutterfly has a nifty new Express Photo Uploader. You simply download the application to your computer, and then drag and drop any pictures that you want to upload from your files. Then click upload and you're done! This was MUCH more simple than in years past when I had to sift through tons of tiny thumbnail prints to decide what I needed to upload. Its also much faster!

This year, as always, they have lots of new cards to choose from! They have folded cards and flat picture cards. The styles range from simple to elegant to cute! You are sure to find something that fits your family! There is even a promotion for bloggers--hence the reason I'm writing this blog! If you blog about Shutterfly's Christmas/Holiday cards, you can get a promo card for 50 free cards!! Check out Shutterfly's website to see what they have to offer. Here are three of my favorite things:

• Christmas Cards
• Calendars
• Photo books

Click HERE to check out the promotion!

Presents for the Baby Without a Name!

This has been a fun couple of weeks because Baby has gotten some good stuff!! Nana (Michael's mom) sent Baby some pretty outfits:

This one is my favorite! It has a little candle on a cupcake for his 1st birthday!!

This was Michael's blanket from his grandmother when he was a baby! Nana brought it when we met them in Houston.

AND DRUM ROLL PLEASE:

My ROCKING Chair is here and put together!!! YAY! I'm madly in love with this chair. My mom's sweet sisters found it on sale, so they went ahead and got it for me before the shower! The ottoman sadly was damaged, so we have to send it back for another one, but at least I can start rocking this baby. (Pardon my "its the end of the day and I have no make-up left glarey face")

And just because I'm nice: a belly shot. He's a low rider. Even though I'm protruding a bit up top, I think its just because he shoved all my vital organs up there. He likes to hang out down low in my abdomen and kick my bladder repeatedly when I have to potty really bad in the middle of class.

Michael relaxing in the chair after his hard work putting it together.

The Flood

 It's been a long day! We started at 8:30 this morning waiting on buyers to come pick up our old couches. They called at 9 saying their truck broke down, so they would be late. Then we went to pick up our new couches from Jonathan and Alyson.

Once we got those couches in and settled, the buyers called saying they were on their way to pick up the couches! Yay! This was the THIRD person that had said they wanted the couches. The other two just didn't show up when they were supposed to to pick them up. Needless to say I was frustrated but elated when they showed up to take them away.

Having accomplished the couch swap, we settled in for a day of football.

Fast Forward to the State game. We are so enthralled in the fact that State is actually beating Florida, that we did not even notice the front bathroom was FLOODING!! Michael went in there and the mats were floating and his feet were COVERED in water. Fabulous. The carpet was soaked. I had no IDEA what to do. Michael set to work unclogging the toilet, and I gathered towels. I quickly assessed that this was not something we could handle on our own. I called maintenance, waited on hold for 10 minutes, waited for another 30 minutes for the guy to come, and then he said it was way more water than he could handle. So he called in the professional. During this time, we realized that the water had soaked all the way to the front bedroom closet, which is FULL to the BRIM with boxes and stuff. I hoped we weren't going to have to empty it. The professional arrives, and we had to empty it. Fun times. This is what may apartment looks like now:

Trip to Houston

Last weekend, Michael and I met his parents in Houston for the MSU vs. Houston football game! It came at the perfect time! I was in desperate need of a break from school, and managed to get all my work done so that I could just relax and enjoy the weekend.

You should be impressed--this pregnant lady made it to Houston (4 hours) with only TWO potty break! I was proud of me!

Michael did a great job picking out a hotel and restaurants for us! The rooms were great and in an excellent location. We didn't have to trek to a far away garage to get to the car. Friday night we had dinner at a nice seafood restaurant--can't remember the name :)! Then we got up and went shopping Saturday morning. Nana wanted to buy the little guy with no name an outfit! As per my usual, after wandering all over the incredibly complicated Galleria in Houston, we ended up getting the outfits at the very first store we went into! They are super cute though. I love overalls! Nana and I also had lunch at Le Madelaine (don't know how to spell it!). I had potato soup, fruit, and a ham and cheese sandwich...SO GOOD!!! The boys went to Chic-fil-a--surprise surprise!!  After shopping we took a nap before heading to dinner before the game. We ate dinner at Pappas Burgers...I felt like a pig. Everyone at the table commented on the size of their burgers and how they just could barely finish half. I ate ALL of mine and most of my french fries. And I must admit...I wasn't really THAT full! :)

After dinner we headed to the ball game a gazillion hours early (I'm married to Michael remember :). We have to trek what felt like 2 miles to the stadium, and the poor pregnant girl was WHOOPED after shopping all day and then the hike to the stadium (even with my brief nap). Of course, the visitors are put on the side of the stadium where the sun blares down on you, so we decided to sit outside in the shade awhile before going in. Finally, I decided a chair would be much preferred to the concrete block I was sitting on and I could deal with the sun. It NEVER dawned on my that we would be sitting on bleachers. NOT ONCE! While I was taking potty break number one of 53,295 of the evening, my darling husband located some chairbacks that hook on the bench for rent. Isn't he sweet!?! I think he knew I would have pitched a hissy when I realized it was a bleacher. No...I probably would have held it together, but I would've wanted to leave sooner. Anyways, so we make it to the stadium.

Gradually it starts filling up. Then after I take potty break number 34 of 53,295, I come back to find that the people sitting next to us have arrived and there is litterally nowhere for my person to stand (the team was entering the field, so everyone was cheering). Once everyone sat down, I turned around and told the football player line backer sized college kid sitting next to me that we might as well introduce ourselves because we were gonna be good friends for the evening. We did, and it was a good thing. He made a concerted effort not to spill his 82 beers on me and offered to buy me food every time he went to the concession stand.

Then came the seating drama. At kick-off, a large group comes in and says we are on the wrong row (like we as in every single individual on the row). They insisted that we were row GG and it was one up from where we were sitting. The people directly in front of us insisted they were row EE, so FF was infamously MISSING!!! All these people needed row FF. The confusion got so confusing they had to call in a Houston person to sort it out. We were right...of course...because Michael is ALWAYS right (recall the gender of our child.)

We won by a lot. The End.

Infant to Toddler rocker that Nana and Pops brought us from Tiffany and Jason. We also got a stroller frame thingy for the infant carrier. Yay for baby stuff! I'm ready to have the baby to put in it! For now Adelae is trying out all our new stuff. She wasn't a big fan of the rocker thing...unless of course we were rocking it.

Baby Bump

 

Here is a picture of the baby bump for your viewing pleasure. I am 23.5 weeks. We are in Houston with Michael's parents for the football game. They delivered some maternity clothes that my friend Katie is letting me borrow. Of course, I had to try on a new dress! We've spent the morning shopping for the little guy and are resting now. We're heading to the ballgame tonight! GO DAWGS!

Catch up!

When mom and dad came for the sonogram, they brought baby stuff that family is letting us borrow! I was so excited to actually have baby stuff in the apartment. We've been really blessed to have family and friends willing to loan us some of their baby items!

 A basinet from Tiffany and Jason! So pretty! 

 A boppy, lots of onesies, bottles, a sling, and toy from my cousin Misti!

Michael and I decided to go home for the opening game Labor Day weekend. This was a surprise to both sets of parents. We went down Friday and spent the night with Todd's family (Michael's brother). It was really nice to get to hang out with them, too! Then the looks the parental's faces were priceless when they figured out we were there. Dad said he thought he was dreaming! Above is a pic of me with little Luke!

We also want to congratulate Bryan and Becca Benton! Little Martin made his debut in the world October 1st!! Mom and baby are doing great! 

That means WE are next (as far as family babies go!). I'll try to take a belly picture and post after church Sunday. Not making any promises though--I tend to forget. There really isn't much there though. :(

Viewing the Blog through a Reader

Unfortunately, there is no way to view a private blog using a reader. I have researched and found no way to do this. To accommodate those friends that use a reader, I've attempted to find a reasonable solution. I have created a "content" blog that will remain public. Because it will be public, you can subscribe to it through your feed or Reader. I will update this content blog each time I update the main blog. My update will simply notify you that the real blog has been updated and provide a link to the new post. You will still have to log in as an invited reader to view the real blog.

Here is the address to the "content" blog: contentmandmketchum.blogspot.com

Hope this helps! I really want friends and family to see the little guy!

Sonogram

We had our twenty week sonogram a couple of weeks ago, and as you know Baby K is a boy! Below are the pictures:

 His head is on the right. He has his hand in his face. 

 Foot

 Profile shot. Doesn't he have the cutest nose?!

 Another profile shot this time without his hand in his face.

 The bright white line on the middle left is his upper arm bone. Then you can find his hand which is again in his face!

 This part was really cool. Its his heart (not that you can tell!) Anyways, knowing how tiny it is, they zoom in and make it fill the screen. Then she made the blood flow blue, so we could see the blood pumping in all four chambers. Really cool. Heart rate was 145 bpm.

After finding out he was a he, we went to Target to BUY something! He got onesies that say "Wild Man" (since that's what the sonographer called him) "Daddy's glad I'm a boy" (since he clearly is!), and "I love mommy sooooo much! (because he does!)

It's a BOY!!

Despite widespread speculation that Baby K was a girl, the little tyke takes after his father in more way than one and is a BOY!! We are very excited. Actually I don't think very excited covers what Michael is, but you get the picture. As mom said, we need a string to tie to his foot to keep him from floating away. His first order of business upon arriving home after the sonogram was to register the baby for a 3 year old basketball goal "like Matthew and Andrew have". Nevermind that the poor kid won't be able to use it for three years, Michael said he needed to brush up on his skills before the baby started playing with it!! I know...I'm in for it!

Notice that I'm still calling him "the baby". That's because he is still without a name. We know the middle name will be Edward because its a family name, but that is all we know. Michael has his favorites, and I have mine. However they do NOT intersect. :) We may need to bring in a mediator in this process!! J/K. We have a "fall back" name that we both like in case we can't find one we both LOVE!

Baby K checked out perfectly. All his little organs and systems are developing appropriately. He weights 12 ounces and his momma has gained 12 pounds. We are still measuring for the due date of February 2nd.

Now, I know you want to see the sonogram pictures, but I'm going to be "that" mother. I'm putting my blog on private in ONE WEEK. If you read the blog, and would like to receive an invitation to continue reading the blog, please send me an email at marybethketchum @ gmail.com (remove spaces). We will not be posting pictures of the little guy on Facebook unless I get over my freakoutness of handing over the rights to pictures of my child to Mark Zuckerburg. So if you want to see him, you'll have to send me the email. I'm not concerned with whether I know you "directly", so if you've found my blog through someone else, go ahead and email me. I'll add you, but just let me know how you found the blog.

After you receive the invitation, you will register and then just login each time you view the blog. Its as simple as logging into gmail or facebook. I'll still notify you on Facebook when I put up a new post.

Go ahead, talk about me. I know you will! :) I'm cool with that. I'm a first time mom, don't I get some lee way!!

I'll post sono pictures after I put the blog on private. :)

For Carmon

Sorry about my lack of blogging. I've been busy trying to get organized and a little ahead for school. We've had lots going on lately too! A couple weeks ago, we went home to meet our brand new nephew Jack Lucas "Luke" Burks (parents Stephen-my brother- and Ashley Burks). It killed me to wait until he was 10 whole days old to meet him, but I'm glad I did. We got a lot more quality time with them than if we had gone down for the birth. Below are some pics from our visit. Erica and Alan came over for dinner one night, so we got to visit them too! Nanny, Pa, Uncle Doug, and Michael's Parents dropped by on Friday, so we got to visit other family too!

Look out world! Four generations of Burks men!! And they are all sort of looking at the camera...not an easy task!

My BFF Erica and sweet Luke.

Michael and I and baby Luke! I was so impressed with Michael holding him since he was still so tiny. Good practice for when our little one arrives!!

Below are some belly pics. I think its looking more like a baby bump and less like a beer gut. At least humor me and agree! Please excuse my chubby face. Its the first thing to gain weight anytime I do (remember Thailand...?)

I went to the doctor on Monday and everything checked up wonderful! Baby's heartbeat is great! Doctor says I'm fine on weight gain (7 lbs.). She wants me to drink more water though--60-80 ozs a DAY! Holy Cow! I'm trying real hard!

We find out boy/girl on September 17th. How about we take a poll? Leave a comment with your guess. If you have a suggestion for a boy name, leave that too! We are struggling there! Middle name: Edward. I'm going with a GIRL!

Baby Update

So I have lots to report today.

First things first, Baby is doing great. I went to the doctor today and heard the heartbeat again! The nurse said it was good--164 beats per minute! All of my bloodwork and stuff checked out "perfect" as the doctor said, and I have gained 2 pounds.

:)

In other news (still about baby because, really, what else is there to talk about?), Baby got his/her first present last week! Last week was the week for packages--we got THREE! First came a gift from "Auntie" Lindsey. She sent baby the gowns on the right. One is white and says "mommy loves me" the other (behind it) is yellow with a duck on it! So CUTE!

The next day I got a package of maternity clothes sent from my cousin Misti via my Aunt Lee. My aunt told me several months ago that when we got ready to have children, I should try to aim for February so I could use Misti's clothes (her son turned one this past Feb 2010). Well I must say I did a fabulous job because my due date is Cole's birthday! Anyways, she sent some summer things to help get me through until I can come home and pick up the winter stuff--which I won't need for a while anyways.

Then I got a package on Saturday from my mother! Michael comes blazing in with the package hollering that he is going to have to take his baby and move to Australia because if its a boy, no one will love him. Apparently, my mother had a VIVID dream in which she discovered that my baby is a GIRL. She was so SURE of this revelation, that she went out and bought a PINK gown set (see below on left!). HAHAHA! She also sent the "Baby's on the Way!" Pregnancy journal. I already have it caught up to where I am now!

Other than that, not much is going on around here. The cloth diaper vs. disposable debate continues. Feel free to weigh in in the comment section. We are debating between Bumgenius, FuzziBunz, or just plain ole disposables.

Hopefully the next time I post I'll have pictures of my sweet nephew Luke!! For now we are patiently awaiting his arrival!

Surprise!

We are having a BABY! I am due February 2nd!! Shocked!?! Us too! We are super excited and can't wait to meet this little person growing inside me. Here are some pics of the little bundle of joy from our first sonogram.

We got to hear the heartbeat (162 beats per minute) and watch it flicker! AMAZING! The whole thing went by way too fast. I wanted to ask her to please go back to my baby, I wasn't done looking.

I am going to be brave and post some tummy pictures. Its definitely growing but I'm not sure if its because of the baby or because I'm eating everything in sight!

7 Weeks and 5 Days--Same day as sonogram above.

9 weeks and 4 days

10 Weeks and 4 Days

Thankfully I have not been sick. I wake up starving and thinking I'm going to die, but as soon as I eat everything settles down. I'm hungry about every 2 hours, and if I'm not able to eat, I feel nauseous. I'm quite tired and take naps each afternoon and usually go to bed around 9:30.

So I think that covers the basic questions I keep getting. We are really excited and thankful for this gift God has given us. and YES we will be finding out the gender in September!

Happy Father's Day!

Daddy,

You have always been someone I could look up to. Two major things you have taught me: First, the value of hard work. My whole life you have been an example of hard work. There were times that it drove me nuts, but today I am glad that you instilled that in me. My work ethic has given me many opportunities that I would not have had if I did not value doing my job to the best of my ability. Second, you've always been 100% supportive of me and my goals and dreams--even when they weren't exactly what you wanted me to be doing! I cannot express in words how much I appreciate the support you and mom have given me over the years as I've tried to follow God's plan for my life. I wouldn't be able to do things like go to Thailand or live in Texas for 3 years without y'all behind me cheering me on and praying for me. I hope that when its my turn to support my own children I can do as great a job as you have done. I love you more and more as I get to know you better now that I'm older. I treasure our conversations and your advice on things. Thanks for being the best (and most handsome) Daddy a girl could ask for!

Love you,

LB

Happy Birthday Mama!

Happy Birthday Mama! I love you!

Top Ten Memories with Mom (in no particular order):

10. Even though I hated it at the time, curling my hair on Sunday mornings as a child. My 1st grade Sunday School teacher used to tell me she knew who won the battle each Sunday based on whether my hair was curled or not. Now I don't consider myself "dressed up" unless my hair is curled (which is still not often).

9. I have vague memories of this, but throwing my in the swimming pool and forcing me to learn how to swim. I'm so thankful that I am as comfortable in the water as I am on land.

8. All the car rides to visit your family in Hazlehurst and the conversations we had on those trips.

7. Your face when I walked out of the gym after cheerleading tryouts in 6th grade to tell you that I needed the check book because I made it. I never knew you didn't think I was gonna make it!!

6. When I was in preschool, you would drive really fast through the park on the way to school every morning after getting do-nuts to "get our stomachs". Every morning until they put in the stupid speed bump.

5. Shopping trips to Birmingham for clothes--just me and you.

4. The year you volunteered to plan my end of the year school party. I had lots of fun and was so proud that my mom helped plan it.

3. Going with Whitney, Stefanie, and me to Chicago--and dealing with my freak-outs when I thought we were going to be lost and never found again.

2. Planning the wedding. That was fun!

1. Our nightly coversations growing up. (yes this is definitely number 1 even though the others could come in any order). People talk all the time about how parents need an open line of communication with their children. I never ONCE during my growing up years doubted whether I could talk to you about something. I may have known it might not go well for me, but I knew I could always talk to you and you would tell me the truth. I know for a lot of those years you didn't think I was listening, but I was--and you were right. But you know that already!

Love you bunches and am thankful to have you for a mama!

Barlow Girls Visit Fort Worth

My mom and four of her sisters came to visit this past weekend. They take 2 trips together each year. One is every November to the Mistletoe Festival in Jackson, MS, and the other is to a destination of their choice. They've been to the beach, Memphis, New Orleans, and this year--Fort Worth. So I got to be their tour guide! Friday we visited the Money Factory where they are making the new 100 Dollar bills. Then I took them to Sam Moon, and we had lunch at La Madelaine. We finished the day with a scalding tour of the Stockyards and dinner at Babe's. (We weren't aware that when you order fried chicken they bring you half a fried chicken--in pieces of course. So 5 people ordered fried chicken--so we got a total of 2.5 fried chickens at our table plus the chicken strips Michael and I ordered. Needless to say, we have tons of fried chicken in our freezer!) Saturday we went to the Botanic Gardens and wandered around. We celebrated my Aunt Charlotte's 65th birthday on Saturday as well. Then we finished the weekend with dinner at Pappadeaux's Seafood. Lots of good food this weekend. Below are some pics from the weekend. You can see more on Facebook. They like to show their behinds in pictures, but I only included one of those. I try to keep this blog clean.

We are off to New Orleans tomorrow morning and then to the beach on Tuesday. Pray for good weather and no oil!! I need a good vacation!

Kevin's Wedding

Last weekend, we went home for Kevin's wedding. We had a really good time visiting with friends from college. I can't wait til we can see these people on a more regular basis. The wedding was beautiful. Below are some pics of the groomsmen and Kevin dancing at the reception. Yes Michael participated! He's clearly visible in the second row of pics, second picture.

MAYFEST

The first weekend in May, Michael and I went to MAYFEST. It's kinda like Market Street in Columbus and is on the Trinity River near Downtown Fort Worth. It was geared more towards the kids, but we had a good time. Below are some pictures from the frisbee dogs show and the duck races. Also is a picture of a guy wakeboarding on the Trinity River. This was a bit anticlimactic. They didn't pull him behind a boat, but there was a big wire run diagonally across the river. The wakeboarder held onto the rope that was attached to the wire and was pulled by a motor. Hence, there was no WAKE from the boat for the WAKEboard to WAKEboard in. It was interesting, but I don't think it would be as fun as the real thing. Definitely didn't look as cool.