Baby on board! Bringing Up Bates Josie Bates is pregnant and expecting her first child with her husband, Kelton Balka.
“We can hardly believe it,” the mom-to-be, 19, revealed to In Touch on Wednesday, February 13. “We are already so in love with our little one and so very thankful to God for his blessing on our life as we start our little family.”
The couple cradled Bates’ budding baby belly in their announcement pic, holding blue, pink and yellow balloons that read, “Baby Balka. Arriving July 2019.” She wore a patterned blue dress and leaned back against her husband, 23, who kissed her head.
Us Weekly exclusively confirmed that Bates and Balka tied the knot in an October 2018 wedding. Her father, Pastor Gil Bates, officiated, while her sisters, Erin Paine and Tori Bates, played the piano and violin and her brother Lawson Bates performed a song he’d written.
“So excited to begin our life together,” the bride captioned an Instagram post of wedding photos at the time.
Her husband shared pics of their nuptials on his own, writing, “I never could have dreamed the love story that God would write for us, or the merging paths He would lead us on. I can truly say there was no better feeling than being with the love of my life, surrounded by loving family and friends, who worked tirelessly to bring everything together, there for the sole purpose of cheering us on as we started our life together.”
He added: “All I can say is I’m thankful. Thankful and undeserving of the opportunities and blessing that God has put in my life through the lives of those around me. And now I’m thankful for the biggest blessing of all, my wife and soul mate, Josie Kellyn Balka.”
