Our baby boy is coming very soon and Kellie, being the great sister-in-law that she is threw me a "sprinkle." She did such a cute job decorating her house and the food table was a masterpiece - definitely Pinterest worthy! There was a great turn out of family, friends and people from my ward who all spoiled our little boy rotten. Kellie even had a cute game where we all took turns racing to change a doll's diaper with blindfolds on. I had such a fun night and I'm so grateful to Kellie and everyone who came and got me started on being ready for a BOY. I even had my mom there on the laptop watching me open gifts, haha! I wish I had taken more pictures, but I only got a few.
I'm now coming on 39 weeks pregnant and can't believe I'm about to be a mom of 2! I'm anxious and excited to have this baby (and be done with pregnancy for a while!), but also super nervous about how it will affect my little Bentley.
Here's a pic at 38.5 weeks and feeling massive!!
The end of the year is always a busy time for Jeff and I. Not only is there Christmas, but my birthday comes in November and then our Anniversary comes at the beginning of December! This year we had some Christmas parties that kind of overtook the other things going on, so I had a very casual birthday and we didn't do much for our anniversary. We felt like we had to find a babysitter for Bentley every weekend and with my parents being away in Fiji, it came down mostly to Don and Cindy. Only once have I ever hired a babysitter to come to our house because she just doesn't go to bed for anyone else! So it's tough. Anyway, I had a great time at our Christmas parties which included the ward Christmas party, Jeff's staff party, a Raymond James dinner, and a Nielson sibling Christmas party.
The ward party was a lot of fun - great food, people, entertainment, and we could even bring Bentley! They had a magic show for the kids and Santa showed up. We tried to get Bentley to like Santa this year, and as much as she liked the idea of him, there was no way she was sitting on his lap! She was absolutely terrified when she got too close to him. So unfortunately no picture was taken at the party (besides our family photo by the fire), but we tried again at the mall a few weeks later and at least got a picture of her on my lap right beside Santa. Maybe next year! Bentley also got to have some fun on the slide and other things while waiting in line for Santa. Then, of course, we played at the play area in South Center which is one of Bentley's favorite places!
Jeff's staff party was also really fun. He always has a dinner put on by Raymond James that we go to, and then his own staff party. This year it was at Fred Hurdman's house and we enjoyed a delicious meal and then played the gift exchange game, where you can steal other gifts and hopefully end up with the one you want. There were a lot of nice gifts and we ended up with 2 cozy and cute blankets and some chocolates. It's always nice to catch up with his staff, as I know them all pretty well now.
Our last Christmas party was one that we had with my siblings. Instead of giving gifts to each other, we get together and do something fun. It was also extra important this year because Jocelyn and Jeff decided to move to Arizona! We are so sad about this, but we support them because we know it's best for their family so that Jeff can work, since the housing market is not good here in Calgary right now! We hope we will still see them lots when they visit in the summer and hopefully we can make some trips there. Anyways, this year we decided to try the escape room! I had never done one but Tamara has raved about them and I've seen it on TV so I knew it looked fun. We were all basically locked in a room and our goal was to get out. To get out though, you have to get into a couple other rooms and open up these lockers to help you. We started out really well in the first room and found some clues, including a black light and some writing on the ground, and opened up the first door. After that, though, we struggled and took too long. We were allowed to get hints, but we were too proud so we ended up taking too long and ran out of time! It was pretty fun though. Afterwards, we all went out to eat at Joeys. I had a lot of fun, as I always do with my siblings!!
I love the Christmas season because there's always so much to do! I also did a waffle breakfast at my house with a bunch of other young moms, went to Emily's favorite things party, and enjoyed the Nativity Pageant at Heritage Park. Bentley loved the sheep! They were all she could talk about on the ride home. It was a little chilly, but we dressed warm and Bentley didn't complain once.
We also did some baking this year and gave some goodies to our neighbors. It was great to see their happy and surprised reactions. As a family, we also decorated a gingerbread house. Bentley had so much fun putting the candy on and kept talking about it afterwards.
For Christmas Eve, we went over to Jordan and Melanie's house for some appetizers. Then we watched a short Christmas video, read a story, and opened up pajamas. They were the only family left in Calgary on my side! We had a great time.
We spent Christmas day with Jeff's family opening presents, eating breakfast, going home for nap time, then coming back for dinner. I got so spoiled this year by Jeff's parents, and my parents even left some gifts before they left for Fiji. I have such great family! Jeff even picked out some clothes and boots for me, so it was fun to see what he thought I would like. And he did good! My favorite part, though, is always giving gifts and seeing the reactions of others. Bentley enjoyed the day, but wasn't too interested in opening presents. She likes her toys and clothes, but mostly just played while we all opened. Don and Cindy also had dinner at their house on boxing day and the day after, which was Sunday. They had a ton of family over on Boxing day, and Bentley may have been a little overwhelmed at first, but ended up enjoying playing with all the kids. Grandma Ady even had them do a little "marching band" which was honestly the cutest thing I've ever seen! Sunday was also really fun, spent with Jeff's direct family and Rob and Carry's family. It was a busy few days but I love when there is lots to do and people to see because it entertains Bentley and when she's happy, I'm happy! I've really grown to love all of Jeff's family and I feel comfortable with them all. They are such great people! And let's not forget, the food was amazing! 3 big dinners and it didn't even phase Cindy.
Well we had a great year! It is now 2016 and I can't believe all that has happened in 2015. Bentley turned 1, we got settled in our Legacy home, Jeff and I got away to California, we found out I was pregnant with number 2...a BOY nonetheless, Bentley learned to walk and run, we bought a van, happy 4 year anniversary to us, Jeff has been working really hard in his business, and now Bentley is almost 2 and we are about to welcome our second child into the family! It's unbelievable. I have a love/hate relationship with watching Bentley grow. I want her to stay little forever but I also love to see her learn new things and develop. I love my family. It's the most important thing! I have a feeling this next year will be a busy one, but hopefully a really great one!!
At the beginning of September I went for my ultrasound and we found out we are, indeed, having a boy!
I thought it would be a boy because this pregnancy has been a lot different. I've been a lot more sick and craving unhealthy things, rather than healthy. Jeff was hoping to get his boy for a long time but then on the day of the ultrasound told me he actually would've loved a girl. Kind of surprising! When I found out, I have to admit I was a little more sad or nervous than I thought. I guess I'm just used to a girl and it's hard to imagine loving a little boy as much. But I know I will, and Jeff and I are excited for a great new addition and change to our family!
I'll have to get a whole new wardrobe for him. Cindy just gave me a bunch of little boy clothes a couple of days ago, but literally I had zero of anything until then. I'm a little less prepared this time around, or maybe just not as panicked on getting everything ready. I think I will borrow a crib from family, but possibly buy a dresser/change table. Is it bad that I've hardly thought about it?
Well, I've been feeling really good lately...once I got over the sick part. My belly is growing faster than every though it seems! I'm just about in my third trimester now at 26 weeks. In 3 short months we will have a new little baby! It's so scary but also so exciting. I think my biggest worry is how bad I will feel for not being able to give Bentley the attention that she is used to. I'm sure I will feel guilty for that, however, I'm so excited for little baby cuddles again!
It's been almost 2 months since this happened, but I forgot to mention a pretty crazy experience!
One day, things were going as normal. I was making dinner and Bentley was playing around me. I looked over to see that she had grabbed this little shelf that we had taken to the store the previous day to make sure we got the right screws to hang it. It's a little "Ribba" shelf from IKEA that I wanted to put in Bentley's room to store her books. Without realizing Jeff had actually put the screws in it, I figured she was fine and continued with dinner. Soon after, Bentley came over to me crying and pointing at her mouth. Immediately I saw that she was choking on something and looked in her throat. Right at the back, was a 1.5" pointy screw. I panicked and put my fingers down her throat, trying to grab it. I was too late! I knew she was just trying to clear her throat and it didn't take her long to swallow it down. I was shocked to see that after she swallowed it she acted completely normal, like nothing had happened at all and continued on playing. I, however, was not so calm and didn't exactly know what to do first. I knew I should take her in to the hospital and get that thing out right away! I didn't know what kind of damage it could do to her insides. I called Jeff at work and unfortunately he was in a meeting so I decided not to interrupt him...although I probably could have! Then I called my mom and told her what happened as I sobbed the whole time on the phone. She called Jocelyn, and then called me back telling me I should take her in. Jeff finally called me back and we decided to meet at the Urgent Care in the South Health Centre. Looking back, I wish I would've taken her to the Children's Hospital, but we didn't know how slow it was going to be! I was so careful with Bentley when I put her in the van and I kept looking back at her to make sure she was okay. I couldn't believe the screw didn't seem to affect her at all! We met up with Jeff and proceeded to wait in a line for an hour. I was panicking the whole time thinking how far the screw was going while we waited in a line. After talking to the nurse we waited another 45 minutes until we got a room. Then we waited another half hour until a nurse came. Then we had to wait another half hour for the actual doctor to come. I was getting a little tired of repeating the details of what happened to each person! Bentley was getting hungry at this point and freaking out, but they told us not to feed her anything. They also didn't want her to leave the room. It was such a long wait and I felt so bad for Bentley...and ourselves. We were starving too! Anyways, finally we got her in for an x-ray...then waited again. Bentley was all out losing it, so finally a nurse came and decided it was okay for her to drink some juice. Then finally the doctor came to tell us the news. The screw had traveled through her stomach and was already into her bowels. So the idea of doing a scope (putting a camera down her throat and fishing the screw out) was no longer an option. At that point I was so mad because I wondered if they had paid more attention to us sooner that they could've got the thing out! Anyways, all we could do at that point was wait for her to poop it out. We were so frustrated as we went home, but had no choice but to wait. We ate the dinner I had been making and it tasted SO good!! It was 9pm at that point and we hadn't eaten anything since lunch. Bentley was allowed to eat as well, although I was super nervous feeding her. I put her to bed and didn't sleep a wink that night. The next day I had to pay attention to any bleeding or lumps in her stomach and I dug through her poop at every diaper change, hoping to find the screw! It didn't come out until the last diaper of the night before bed. Oh, how glorious to find the screw!!! I was overjoyed!! I kept it in a little baggy, knowing this would make a great keepsake. I was still worried it might have done something to her insides, but the doctor said she was just fine. Our bodies sure are amazing!
Anyways, I definitely felt like a bad mom that day. There's been a lot of jokes about Bentley eating nuts and bolts, etc. I'm just happy we got through it, and Bentley was as happy as could be the whole time. My crazy girl!!
