Katie at 24 Weeks (Beckton is a party animal and has the hiccups!)

Here I am at Cadillac Ranch in Cincy!

Well you can hardly tell from the picture's black background but this picture was taken in the bar ... at a Bachelorette Party! That's right, Beckton is quite the partier. Saturday was his second Bachelorette Party (for Jodie Nixon) his first was for Marisa back in September. He seemed to enjoy the loud music and dancing as I felt him move around a lot! Somehow despite my obvious lack of drinking, he still developed the hiccups! A few days after this picture was taken Scott and I had our 24/25 week appointment. I love my new doctor he's so knowledgeable and so much fun! So I told him I've been feeling these steady pings inside my belly he said that's definitely hiccups. So wierd! He also noted that Beckton is almost 2 pounds! My trusted website says that's roughly as long as an ear of corn and as heavy as a rutabaga (no I've never even seen one to know what they look like either).

The appointment went so well! I was tested for gestational diabetes (results won't be for a while), we signed up for all kinds of birthing and parenting classes, all of my blood tests etc. checked out great, I measured perfectly, and we heard Beckton's booming little heartbeat loud and clear. This time we didn't even have to wear headphones it was so loud the Doctor played it on a the speaker and said "I think people in the waiting room can hear this!"

Last but certainly not least, we've FINALLY cleaned out his room and now it's time for painting!
Everything is giong very well, I feel so lucky and very blessed!!!

Katie at 23 weeks (Nesting so much I'm like a bird!)

The big milestone for week 23 is that heaven-forbid I go into pre-term labor; statistics say that little Beckton would have an 85% chance of surviving if I gave birth now! I pray to carry him for much longer but I like the odds. He weighs as much as a large mango about a little over 1 pound).

I've been in my "nesting phase" for quite some time now. I am doing a major overhaul on the closets in our house. Apparently, if you clean out one closet you end up cleaning them all out. Not my (or Scott's) idea of a fun way to spend the weekend but Beckton needs a place to call his own too! So, we're getting ready for our little guy by basically throwing out everything we own. As Beckton's uncle Jeff would say we are "rounding up". :)

Other than that - we're loving the Ohio snow but not the cold weather. I say if it's going to be this cold there should be snow on the ground.

Here are some major events that have occurred during my pregnancy:

August 08 - We gained another family member - Lily Lu Kenney (our second golden doodle)

September 08 - Remnants of Hurricane Ike hit Ohio leaving us with no power for days!

October 08 - We heard Beckton's heartbeat for the very first time!

November 08 - Election 2008 - Barack Obama voted in as the first African American President!

December 08 - We found out our baby was a boy!

January 09 - UF wins the BCS Championship Game! Go Gators!

Katie - Week 22 (Happy 2009!)

Katie and Scott/Santa

Katie and Julie

Week 22 was an interesting week. My family was still in town and we were having lots of fun! each year Scott and I have a Holiday Sweater Party in which we invite friends and family over to celebrate the Holiday Season wearing the ugliest sweater they can find. The pictures above are me on Santa's (Scott's) lap and my sister and I ... don't we look fashionable!? We were in mid-Holiday hype when disaster struck and left most of us with a miserable stomach virus. It was particularly rough for me being pregnant. Mr. Beckton hung in there through the whole thing but he took all nutrients from me ... leaving me dehydrated and miserable! I didn't really care about myself as much, just that he was OK. Luckily we both survived.

Having just gotten back to normal we rang in the new year with friends and family. Red Lobster dinner with the Kenney's, family time at my Mom's house and then appetizers and drinks with our friends at the Brown's. I barely made it to midnight - looking very festive in a robe and sweatpants.

Regardless, Scott and I are now officially having a baby this year! How exciting is that!!

Katie at 21 weeks! (Merry Christmas!)

Here I am on Christmas Day. I look exhausted because I really am! This picture was taken at home around 11:45PM after a super long day. Christmas consisted of the following ... Scott and I woke up early at 8:30 (early for me) to do Christmas with Scott's family. It was crazy fun as usual - tons of presents while helping to cook breakfast for the entire family. It's so nice that the entire family can be together on Christmas day! After the Kenney Christmas it was off to my Mom's. We had a much quieter morning opening stockings, just a few gifts, and discussing the evening dinner menu. After that Scott and I headed home to cook, clean and get ready for my parents and my sister's family to arrive. This year - I opted to have dinner at my house which meant I had to cook most of the dinner (including 2 turkeys) by myself. It was crazy. I have so much respect for any woman that has ever cooked a feast on Christmas Day. It was one of the most challenging things I've ever done! Not the actual cooking part, that was easy ... more so the timing. I don't know how these women get it down to an exact science! Scott and I spent most of Christmas day cleaning and in between cleaning I would cook dinner. Seeing me at the kitchen sink, pregnant and holding a raw turkey was a sight. If only we had taken a picture. Luckily, I got lots of help from my Mom, my parents and Scott's mom and dinner was great! I was so happy that I could actually have dinner for 12 in my home! Then, we opened tons of presents and visited with the entire family! It was the first time in years that the Shaffer's, Kenney's and McNulty's were all together at Christmastime and it was so nice. Chaotic - but nice.

Christmas was so great for me this year ... I shopped, dined with friends, watched movies, played with my nieces and nephews, relaxed, wrapped presents, cleaned, cooked, visited with the family and I did it all carrying my little guy. Luckily I've been feeling a little better (morning sickness is finally starting to go away) and I'm able to enjoy the thought of being a new Mom!!

Beckton moves around like crazy now and I love it! Scott can feel him moving all the time and it makes things seem so much more real! We got some great gifts for the nursery and Baby B got some adorable new clothes! It was so fun to receive gifts for him this year.

Now there's a belly! 20 weeks...

This is me in front of our Christmas Tree at home. I've officially made it to 20 weeks and it really does feel great to say that! Still sick ... yes, but it's really not as bad as it has been in the past. I have to be careful what I eat and make sure I don't move to quickly and I do feel better. Recently I've gotten back into Pilates and I really do like being more active. It's hard to motivate myself to get there (especially when it's 3 degrees outside - literally) but once I'm there I do enjoy it. It's amazing how much my body is changing. Everything still looks exactly the same (minus the big belly) but I just feel so different. Sleeping is a joke. Between going to the bathroom more now than in my first trimester and not being able to get comfortable - I don't sleep much. I think little Beckton is preparing me for what's to come! Just moving around has become more difficult. It's hard for me to "run" errands, sit for long periods of time in the same position, get up quickly, take the stairs etc. Honestly though, I love it. The only thing that's been hard has been the sickness. The rest of the symptoms I get excited about. The other thing that's really changed is how people approach me now. They stare at my belly and instead of dancing around the subject (just in case I'm not really pregnant) they come right out and say "When are you due?" That is my absolute favorite! It's like you go around knowing your little secret for so long and hoping others will notice and then one day ... everyone notices! It's really lots of fun.


Beckton is still doing well - as far as I can tell. He's moving around a lot and getting excited for the holidays. Ok, maybe that's just me! This week I'll be busy wrapping gifts and spending time with friends and family. The best part? I get a real Christmas break again! I'll be off of work from Dec. 22 - Jan. 5!!!! It's going to be great and I'm going to do everything in my power to make it last!

Katie at 19 weeks (Happy Holidays!)

Here is my growing belly at 19 weeks. Luckily the rest of me isn't growing as fast! I still fit into most of my clothes which makes me very happy! I don't have much new to report ... just getting ready for the Holidays and trying at all costs to avoid throwing up while shopping, cooking, and wrapping gifts! Little Beckton is moving around a lot! I can feel him and I even saw him move around (ever so slightly) once. I looked down and my shirt moved! It was the neatest thing. He is currently about the size of a banana and according to the books he can hear Mom and Dad talking! Scott is much more in tune to what's going on and is always feeling my stomach so he can try and feel the baby. He won't be able to feel the movement for a few more weeks but it's very sweet that he tries! Next week is our 20 week appointment and then all the family comes to town for Christmas! I definitely feel more excited this Christmas than I have in a very long time. All of the songs I hear seem to mean so much more now ... and I think Beckton can hear the songs too!

Katie at 18 weeks (all kinds of stuff happening!)

Here is a side view of my belly at 18 weeks. I opted for my photographer/co-worker Alyson not to include my face as I am still pretty sick and I look like I just crawled out of a cave. I've had a sinus infection for over a week that will not go away and despite my many efforts to tell myself that my morning/constant sickness was starting to subside ... throwing up in my kitchen sink is still a weekly routine.

Much has happened since week 17 ... the biggest news is that we had our ultrasound. I wasn't really that anxious until we were sitting in that waiting room. I swear we sat there for 3 hours (though it was only 30 minutes). As soon as the tech turned on the monitor we immediately saw the baby! It was really so cool! The head looked so big and I just tried to lay there and relax. I couldn't take my eyes off the screen for 2 seconds. It made everything so real to both of us. The tech did the measurements and then tried to find out if we had a blue or a pink bun in the oven but the baby wouldn't cooperate! We saw lots of kicking and movement but the legs were tucked into the chest so the tech had to poke around to get the baby to move. She kept saying "C'mon little one, show us". I didn't really feel the movement but Scott and I could both see everything very clearly. we could almost count the toes and fingers! Finally the little one rotated and the tech said "Oh yeah, that's a boy". Then I looked away from the screen just to see Scott's face. We were both excited! I kept asking if she was sure it was a boy and she said she would be shocked if he came out a girl! She gave us the first pictures of our son (so cool to say that) and we were on our way! We went straight to the hospital to tell my Mom in person. When we walked into the OR unit she had her back to us and I just laid the pictures down on the table in front of her. She turned around and said "I kept wondering why you hadn't called me yet!" Then she said "Well? What is it?" and I said "Just look through the pictures, you'll be able to see on the last one!" She said What? You're not going to tell me? I have to wait?!!" It was so fun to be able to tell her in person. When she got to the last picture I said meet your grandson ... Beckton James Kenney!

Here he is! His very first picture. Below you can see his profile (forehead, nose, mouth).

Below is a picture of his little feet.

This one is a little harder to see .. but it shows that he really is a "he"! This is a picture of his bottom and you can see one leg at the top of the picture, the other leg is curled up (can't see). In the middle is a little something...
So we had an ultrasound, we're having a baby boy, his name is Beckton James and I'm finally feeling him move! Friday December 5th I was just dozing off when I felt the tiniest little thud. Then a few moments later .. another one. I finally feel him moving around in there and it is pretty darn cool. The movements are tiny but I can certainly tell that it's him and it makes me happy.