Hey loves,

Sorry we have been MIA, but the last week has been crazy. Here's the update!

My mom is out of the hospital and doing great. She was release Monday night (so a week's stay total). She's still dealing with pain, but is making great strides, doing her walks and staying nourished. All in all, it looks like a success! She's already back to grand-baby planning. Thanks to everyone for your love and prayers. 

Max has been insanely busy with football. Most of you think he's the defensive coordinator for varsity. But in truth he also calls the defense for Freshman and JV games, so he's coaching in one form or another 6 days a week. Last night he was also the ref for the powder puff game since this is homecoming week. Tomorrow for our big game we play LOWELL (for all you out-of-staters, Lowell is ranked #1 in the state...maybe you saw them last week on ESPN? They raised $100,000 in one night at a game by playing in pink jerseys.) Anyhow, not much  hope of a win, but we get Wildcat burgers, so the night will still end up salvageable.

On to baby news, which is the reason we have this self-indulgent blog. 26 week check up last week went great. I have only gained 11 pounds though my stomach has grown an inch in the last month! The baby is moving a ton....now to the point that Max can feel it most days. It's so much more exciting now that he can be more connected with the baby. Most mornings I wake up with him kissing my belly goodbye since he's out the door at 6am and I am not even out of bed by then.

Prenatal yoga class is going well and I am doing a lot of work to try and prevent injury during child birth and mentally prepare myself. Many of you know, I have broken my tailbone 3 times...the last of which cliff jumping on our honeymoon...so there is a bit of a concern of an additional break for the labor process since I hope to have a natural childbirth without drugs. I also see  medical masseuse every week who is doing lots of prodding (poor girl) to straighten things out.

We're moving furniture this weekend to make way for the nursery furniture that begins arriving shortly...and the handrails for the stairs (yes, surprise, surprise, I have bit it several times pre-pregnancy without handrails, so we're adding them and they come in tomorrow.) I have been in crazy nesting mode, so all in all, we're a normal first-time pregnant couple.

We heard some of you are not getting updates. If you read this and are not getting auto updates when we post, can you drop me an email and let me know? Thanks all. We hope each of you are having a great week and we'll check in soon.

Love Court, Max & Baby K

 

This is proof that I actually have a job. We had a professional photographer to the offices to take pics for a promotional piece on DDM. My pregnant, double chin made it on a 2 page spread....thankfully in the gutter though.

Another shot by the talented Bob Newman...Notice my Budda poster in contrast to my own budda- like 26 week pregnant frame.

25 Weeks

Hi all,

We are currently sitting in the hospital waiting room, excited at that fact that my mom's surgery to remove her ostemy bag looks successful! We are super happy as it looks like this will be the last surgery she'll need to get us back to where she as before last December. She'll be in the hospital for about a week, but is expected to be in less pain than the last time. Thanks to everyone for their love, support and prayers. She's not entirely out of the woods yet, so please keep the positive mojo coming our way.

We also had reason to celebrate Friday night, as Max's team had it's first win in 2 seasons. The defense played amazingly and it was a well earned moment for the team (And MAX!)

As you can see, I am growing at a rapid pace. Last week I started pre-natal yoga classes....they do not pull any punches! Friday is my next regularly scheduled check up so I'll keep you all posted. 

Mom's just about out of post-op so we gotta run. 

Love to you all,

Max, Court and Baby K

Max getting some baby practice with Colin this weekend while watching Michigan LOOSE!

(We are BIG Michigan State Fans)

The Northview Wildcats after their win, 36-6 against Reese-Puffer.

Baby K's first Michigan State Game, a win against Eastern Michigan.

23 Weeks

Hey all,

Its time for a little comparison photo. If you look back at week 19, I am wearing the same outfit as this pic...yes, I am growing at a rapid pace! This may be the last time I wear that shirt! 

Anyhow, things are going well. We had a fun weekend that was launched with Max's first football game. Though the team lost, it was a nail-biter. The team tied up the score with no time left on the clock to go into overtime. Though we did not score on our final possession, the defense claimed a fumble and a nice interception in regulation play.  We had  a great cheering section with my parents, Caroline (work friend) and Adam, and Josie and Mary (Mindy & Kevin's kids) joining us.

We were also able to spend some time with our friends, hosting Kevin, Mindy and clan for a cookout on Saturday. On Sunday Max golfed with a foursome while the wives went to see Sex in the City. We later met up with everyone for a cookout at the Hillikers, with my parents as well as Kirstyn (sister) and her boyfriend Eric. It was a great night. Today was Max's first day at school and it went well.  All together a great wrap up on the summer.

That's all for now. Check you later.

Max, Court and Baby K

The Summer in Review

With the close of summer, we thought we'd take a look back at the highlights for the year thus far...So in chronological order...

1. Birth of Carter

Ok, though not technically summer, our niece, Carter Marie came into the world and made our top 10 in a big way. Big brother Jackson is cute as can be ... we're loving his random calls on the answering machine...the only problem is that Jill, Johnny and clan live too far away. Nashville! We're hoping to meet Carter in person soon. Thankfully, technology can keep us up to date until we can get my big belly down there.

2. Trip to Pensacola

To kick off summer we took Max's HS baseball team to Florida for Spring training. It was a great trip and an even better placae to celebrate my 31st birthday. We stayed in a condo right across from the beach and actually had very little to do in terms of chaperoning the boys. Max practiced each morning with the team but was all mine for the rest of the day. 

3. Birth of Connor

My best friend, Staci (college roommate and bridesmaid), gave birth to her second child and we could not be more excited for her and husband Craig. Big sister Allison is all about having a baby around...and so are we. We've gotten to hang with the Alguire's few time this summer, but are still actively trying to recruit them to move to GR!

4. Finding out we were pregnant

After 2.5 years of trying, drugs, docs, and exploratory surgery a week away we found out that we were pregnant on our own!  We've been lucky enough to have ultrasounds at weeks 5, 7 and 20 showing us that we were on our way to parenthood. Here we are with the pregnancy test, looking a little shell shocked.

5. Harry & Liz's Wedding

Max's buddy college teammate and roommate, Harry (groomsman at our wedding) was wed on Staten Island, giving us a chance to catch up with the Canisius gang. It was a great time on the island. Amazing food. Beautiful setting. And a perfectly matched couple. Max and I didn't understand why we had to be at the wedding rehearsal and were shocked to learn that when Harry asked Max to be in charge of the gifts, that didn't mean the gift table at the reception. Max was part of the ceremony, giving the sacraments to the priest!

6. NYC with Natalie

While in NYC for the wedding were able to spend a day with Natalie who lives in Queens (my good friend from college, bridemaid at our wedding). We took the Staten Island ferry, visited the Museum of Natural History, and hung with Nat...And we saw both Cynthia Nixon (Sex and the City) and Christopher from Sopranos without having to spend $85 for the cheezy tours.

7. Jonesy & Michelle's Wedding

The wildest wedding we've been to in a long time. We traveled to Ithaca for the Jones wedding at a local finger lakes vineyard. The crowd consisted of Max's friends from grade school and beyond, including brother Sgt. Billy. Highlights included Canger (aka "Danger") and Wrighty's improvisational duet to "Devil Went down to Georgia" and the group sing along to David Allen Coe. (We were dancing too hard and broke the DJ's sound system, so the group just sang the rest of the song without music while standing in a sweaty circle.) 

Best of all, we got to spend time with Max's mom Nora, see Max's brother Brian (who I beat in bar bowling) and see his 96 year old grandma (who still lives on her own, takes only one pill a day, and has the best stories from living in England!)

8. Max's Parents Visit to Michigan

Max's dad and Patty made it out to visit us for four days of fun right before the 4th of July. Highlights included Patty's homemade fettuccine alfredo (I won't cook it for Max) and a trip out to Lake Michigan. It was great to be able to spend an extended time together instead of grabbing just meals together when we fly into Ithaca.

9. Birth of Colin

The Holohan's are our dear friends that live a street over from us. Mindy and I have been best of friends since high and have both ended up living in GR. Josie and Mary welcomed their little brother into the world at the end of July. He's rocking our world and getting us excited to have one of our own! (Do you notice a trend? 3 babies this summer all with the letter "c".)

10. Max's Golf Trip to Myrtle Beach

Max took off for his 2nd annual golf trip with the boys from Ithaca...But let me just drop the photo of what Max's "Fat Guys" team wore, again. It's too funny not too. Yes, they divided the 16 boys at the annual golf outing by Body Mass Index (BMI). The "The Fat Guys" vs "The Skinny Guys." Yes, this is the father of my child. And I am SO proud!

All in all, a pretty sweet summer.  We can't wait for fall and all that winter will bring our way.