Mommy Graduates!!

I FINALLY graduated!! I am now Master Master Mary Beth Ketchum (I got two!). You know how they put an MA after your name if you have a Master of Arts, well a friend said you will have MAMA....get it Mama. :) hehe. That's what I want to do more than anything. Continue to be Thomas' Mama all day long! I am looking for some part-time work so I can begin gaining hours towards my license, but we want to keep Thomas out of full time daycare, so that limits my options (Run-on sentence, I know.) When we moved out here three years ago, I could never have imagined how much the Lord would bless me through this experience. Not only have I gotten a great education, but I've made three amazing friends (Courtney, Alyson, Rebecca--that's you), grown closer to my husband, taken part in two wonderful Sunday school classes, grown a heart for foster children by working at ACH, and fallen in love with my precious son. I am so blessed to return to Mississippi (hopefully) with a very full heart. I will always cherish my days at seminary. The Lord has done much for me here.

It was a VERY bright day, and Thomas hates the sun. No smiles. We were lucky he wasn't screaming.

Master Alyson, Master Rebecca, and Master Mary Beth!! (Courtney graduated at Christmas)

Watch Me Grow!!

9 weeks. Only a small grin for the camera.

10 Weeks. All serious. No smiles.

11 Weeks. Working hard at tummy time.

12 Weeks (really two days early, it was a busy week!)

3 Months!!

I absolutely cannot believe he is three months old! I can now actually get him to smile for the camera all by myself! He thinks I'm funny. So here is what Thomas can do:

• Jabber, jabber, jabber. He LOVES to talk to himself and his toys on his play gym and Mr. Crab on his bouncy seat. Michael says he gets this from me.
• Smile and giggle at everything. Pretty much all you have to do is talk to him, and he's laughing.
• Sleep through the night. He's usually down between 9-10 and wakes up around 4 to eat and then sleeps for another 2-3 hours. "Through the night" is 5 hours straight according to the docs.
• Stay on his tummy for about 10 minutes without complaining if he's just woken up from a nap.
• Almost roll from his front to his back. He gets stuck on his side and can't figure out what to do with his arm. Then he rolls back to his back and flails his arms in exasperation. Its pretty cute.
• He falls asleep independently sometimes. If its a normal day, I can rock him for a few minutes and then lay him down and he'll go to sleep on his own. He won't do this at night though. And if you mess with the routine, forget it.
• The kid LOVES LOVES LOVES his bath. Its a miracle worker in our house. No matter how fussy he is, a bath will fix it.
• He loves to sing "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes", "If You're Happy and You Know It", and most recently "This Little Light of Mine". Really, I don't think he cares what it is as long as mommy is singing and doing motions.
• EAT. As you can tell, the kid loves to eat. We don't eat on a set schedule. I always feed him when he wakes up from a nap, and then if he seems hungry when he's going down for a nap, I'll feed him then too. 
• His favorite toy is Freddie the Firefly. He's hanging from Thomas' play gym and he LOVES to grab hold of Freddie and make him swing. I think his new bouncer with Mr. Crab is a close second though.

Thomas Meets Cousins Joseph, Matthew, and Andrew

On Sunday, we visited our old church in Starkville, Crosspoint, and then headed home. We stopped in Jackson to meet Thomas' newest cousin (and likely to be partner in crime), Joseph, and his older cousins Matthew and Andrew.

Thomas, Joseph (2 weeks), and Matthew (5)

Andrew was napping, so we didn't get a picture with him.

First MSU Event

Saturday evening we took Thomas to his first MSU sporting event. MSU played Alabama in baseball. It was a beautiful day--it wasn't too hot and the sun was setting, so Thomas was perfectly happy.

Playing with Uncle Fatty

Notice Luke smiling in the background!

Okay mom, I will smile, but that doesn't mean I like it.

Thomas at Dudy Noble Field. Best place to watch college baseball.

So Luke's hat is just a little too big.

Saturday in Mississippi

Saturday was spent hanging around mom and dad's house while people came to visit. 

I LOVE Pa's face in this picture. :)

Easter photo shoot with the cousin. The ENTIRE family (extended as well) was huddled around them with 3-4 cameras trying to get them to smile. I think they were terrified and confused. Luke usually knows how to work the camera, but he's not sure which on to smile at!

Luke says, "Its okay Thomas, the camera won't hurt you!"

Pudgy baby playing with daddy.

Hanging out with Nana and Pops!

Meeting Mrs. Kim!

And Carrie

And Cason. These are the kids (missing Caleb) that I kept all through my teenage years. I claim them as my own. Caleb was "Troy" in High School Musical that day, so Thomas missed him. I went to see the play earlier that afternoon. 

With Dr. T.

My friends Jenna and Lindsey also came by to meet him, but the little stinker slept the whole time! Day came by that night and got to play with him, but I forgot to take a picture!!

Thomas, Luke, and the Bouncy Seat

I love this sequence of photos. Commentary thanks to Grammy.

There's gotta be a way for me to get in there too!

Just give me that thing that's blinking!

Here I come!

Oh Boy! Uncle Michael's gonna help me get in this thing!

Thomas Goes to Mississippi!!

Wow oh wow was that whirlwind of a weekend! We left thursday at 5:30 PM and drove through the night, arriving at home just in time to catch the queen head to the church at 4:30 AM. I have to give Thomas credit, he did amazing considering he's never been in the car for longer than 30 minutes. The poor little guy just had trouble staying asleep with all the bumps in the road and lights going through big cities. I finally swaddled him in the car seat, and he slept from Vicksburg until we got to my parents'. Anyways, you don't care about all that, you just want pictures! Here is Friday's line-up:

Thomas meeting Luke for the first time! I know y'all are shocked that Thomas has clothes on!! Grammy was in charge.

Aunt Edna rocking Thomas to sleep with her magic touch.

Meeting Uncle Doug. This is Thomas' serious face he pulls out for the camera.

Hanging out with Pa.

Meeting crazy Uncle Fatty! (Don't lecture me! Its an affectionate term, I am Aunt Tay as in Fat-Tay.) Notice Thomas' new thing of putting the bottoms of his feet together. Michael asks him all the time if he's meditating.

Meeting Beau and Reeses. Beau wanted a good lick on his face!

Sweet Tea was a little more gentle. Thomas still wasn't to interested!

Getting to know Mrs. Erica who is carrying either Thomas' future wife or future best friend.

Even Mr. Alan took a turn!

More play time with Luke, Aunt AE, and Grammy. I think Ashley is telling him that the lion says "ROAR!" but I'm not sure.

Luke really liked Thomas. He did really well being sweet! Of course Thomas liked Luke too! He's just ready to be able to move like Luke!

Chillin' with Poppa!

I believe that wraps up everyone we saw on Friday. We took him by Profiles when I got my hair cut to meet Lindsay Stokes. Otherwise, he got a break from the car seat and stayed home all day. He was so pooped, he went to bed at 8:30 and didn't wake up until 5! Sweet Grammy let Thomas stay in her room, so Michael and I got a really good night's sleep!