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!