Christmas 2013

Christmas was amazing this year! Mason is at such a fun age and loved everything about Christmas! I'll let the pictures tell the story...

Saturday before Christmas we exchanged gifts with Brad's siblings. Uncle Kirt gave Mason an airplane that actually flies around...he is just a little obsessed with it!

That night we went to the Bowles family Christmas party. Mason had so much fun playing with the balloons and his Great-Grandma even joined in the fun! This picture is priceless to me.

Christmas Eve we went and ate dinner (the yummiest homemade Chinese food) at my parent's house. When we got home we opened our Christmas jammies and watched The Santa Clause before putting Mason down for the night.

Santa came!!

Christmas morning we had to wake up Mason so we'd have time for everything we had planned. We brought him downstairs and he ran right for his presents!

We let him play with all of his new stuff for a little bit and then it was time to open presents.

 He LOVED his dalmatian!

Men and their power tools...

 My new camera (and all of the accessories) were a huge part of my Christmas this year but Brad still got me a few other things. New pillows that I have wanted for so long and the Fast & Furious 6 movie.

I got Brad a new t-shirt, a gift card to Village Baker and a Tablet. He was NOT expecting the last one!

After opening presents we let Mason play again and he did what any 17 month old would do, turn his ball pit upside down!

Then we headed over to Brad's parent's house to open presents and talk to Uncle Jantzen!

 After that we headed over to my parent's house to eat homemade cinnamon rolls, open gifts and talk with Uncle Brian!

Grandma Santa brought Mason an inflatable sword...he knew just what to do with it!

Grandma gave him new chairs for his little table and he thinks they are so cool!!

Later that night we headed over to Grandma & Grandpa Bowles' house and Mason enjoyed the veggie dip...

He doesn't so much like big crowds of people so he snuck off with his Great-Grandpa Bowles to have a snuggle and some peace and quiet.

Brad's cute Grandma reads Annie & Willie's Prayer aloud to everyone every Christmas. So sweet because HER mother used to read it to her!

Mason was spoiled this Christmas!

Ball pit, new outfit, slinky, giant coloring pad, giant Crayons, Planes & Despicable Me 2, a giant box of Nerds, 3 new cardboard puzzles, stuffed dalmatian, giant magnetic letters, 2 different tool sets complete with a working drill, 2 new adorable wood puzzles from Grandma & Grandpa Bowles, flying airplane from Uncle Kirt, rainbow caterpillar and book from a cousin, chapstick, Grandma Jepson gave him a new outfit, two chairs for his table, a personalized chair cover, story books, sword and tons of candy in his stocking, Payton gave him a wild animals toy set, Aunt Lisa gave him a zipper pull and LOTS of stuffed puppets, Brooklynn gave him a stuffed frog, Uncle Braddy gave him a little "woof woof" and Uncle Bob gave him a giant poster of daddy that says, "My Hero" on it. It was a picture I took of Brad awhile back when we went to the mall an now Mason is obsessed with it! He LOVES that he has his own giant picture of daddy!

I love Christmas!

11 Weeks

Saturday morning I woke up and got ready for the day as usual. Shortly after I got out of the shower I noticed that I had started spotting and my heart sunk. I know that a lot of women spot throughout their pregnancies, but I never did with Mason so I was extremely worried.

I talked with Brad about it and we decided that because it wasn't bright red and I didn't have any cramping that I shouldn't read too much into it.

We headed out for the day and finished our Christmas shopping. Our last stop was Target and I decided to try on a maternity skirt and I noticed that I had started spotting again...quite a bit more than I had been all day. I had a breakdown in the dressing room and had to pull myself together before I walked out. I didn't want the Target employees thinking I was THAT upset that the skirt didn't fit. I looked at Brad, quietly told him that I was spotting again and that we just needed to go. I made it to the car and then I lost it. I was so scared and worried for our sweet baby and felt so powerless...I had no control over what was happening.

That night I didn't sleep.

Sunday morning I woke up and not only was I still spotting, I started having cramps. I bawled again not knowing what I should do. I called my mom and gave her the update. She asked if she could have my aunt call me and talk with me because she has been through this (and worse) many times. Of course I agreed and I couldn't wait to get her phone call.

After I hung up with my mom I decided to just call labor and delivery at the hospital. I knew my doctor's office was closed for the weekend and I knew that there would be a doctor in labor and delivery that maybe I could talk to. Well, the Spirit prompted me to call labor and delivery for a reason, MY doctor was the on call doctor that day. I was able to talk with him and he calmed my nerves quite a bit. He told me that I shouldn't worry either way because at this point in the pregnancy there is no way to prevent a miscarriage and there is nothing to cause one. He told me to take it easy for the remainder of the day (which meant no going to church and chasing after Mason for three hours) and that even if the bleeding stopped he wanted me to come into his office the next day.

Right after I hung up with him my aunt called and talking with her made me feel even better. I am so grateful for my amazing family.

Monday morning I called my doctor's office and they scheduled me for an ultrasound just to make sure everything was OK. 11:00 rolled around and Brad met Mason and me at the hospital. Only a few minutes later they called me back.

I was SO nervous and was hoping for the best but deep down I had prepared myself for the worst.

The ultrasound tech squirted the warm jelly onto my belly and the ultrasound began...

She paused for only a moment and said, "There is the heartbeat!" I breathed a HUGE sigh of relief and almost cried! Watching our baby kick their little arms and legs around was pure joy.

She checked all the baby's measurements, heartbeat (137 bpm), etc. and then checked my insides. Everything looked good. She said that her best guess as to why I was spotting is because my placenta is sitting really low and that if I overdo it even a little bit then it can cause a little bit of spotting.

She told me to continue to take it easy for the next week or so (I'm not even allowed to vacuum) and I should be alright.

Walking out of the hospital I could not wipe the smile off my face! I felt so much better knowing that our baby is doing great and growing just as they should!

10 Weeks (Almost)

Yesterday was my first doctor's appointment and I was so incredibly anxious, nervous and excited all at the same time. When I was pregnant with Mason I found out I was pregnant and a week later went to hear the heartbeat...this time around I found out at the beginning of October and waited over a MONTH to go hear a heartbeat!

My worst nightmare would be to go to the doctor and have them tell me there is no heartbeat so I was having some serious anxiety about that...just thinking about it made me sick.

Because I don't have morning sickness, I am barely showing, my face hasn't broken out like last time and I am NOT tired one bit I was nervous. Brad kept telling me to calm down because it is something I have no control over.

I didn't sleep the night before my appointment.

Yesterday came and I was SO anxious for 3:20 to roll around.

I went and dropped Mason off at my mom's and Brad met me at the doctor's office.

They weighed me and took my blood pressure ~ I've gained three pounds already (YIKES) and my blood pressure was 106/62 (SUPER SUPER LOW).

They took me back to a room and I sat anxiously with Bradly, just waiting for Dr. Monte to come in. A few minutes later he knocked on the door.

He absolutely made my day for two reasons.

1. He told me that I am, and I quote, "Super skinny," so I am allowed to gain up to 35 pounds without worrying about it. I laughed when he said super skinny and he said, "No, you are." I laughed again and told him that if I gained 35 pounds then I would be using pregnancy as an excuse to eat junk food and get fat. No thanks. Because he is hilarious he said, "Well, you are skinny, but there are not so skinny people, like myself, who shouldn't be gaining weight while they are pregnant. I've told some people that if they only gain 10 pounds during their pregnancy then that is great, their baby won't die!" So basically, he gave me a little confidence boost by telling me that I am not fat. So nice to hear when you feel bloated with a little pooch just starting to poke out!

2. He said he was hesitant to try to listen for a heartbeat at 10 weeks because sometimes you don't hear it and then parents "freak out." I told him we heard Mason's heartbeat at 7 weeks so we should try. Luckily he gave in to my pressure and put the doppler on my tummy. There it was...baby's heartbeat...the best sound in the whole world! 170 bpm and healthy as can be! My face lit up and so did Brad's. I breathed a HUGE sigh of relief and couldn't wipe the smile off my face!

After listening to the heartbeat he told me that because I had a C-Section last time that it would be up to me if I wanted to do a C-Section or a VBAC this time around. He did say that if I opt for a VBAC then I would have to schedule it so he could be there with me the whole time. The moment I heard that I knew what that meant...pitocin. Blah! No way! Never again! So chances are pretty high that I will opt for a scheduled C-Section.
On the way out they took my blood for all the usual tests...and in case anyone was wondering, the lady still sucks at drawing blood.

Leaving the doctor's office I felt so giddy and much more relaxed. It finally feels a bit more real to me and I can't wait to find out if this baby is a boy or a girl...just over a month away and we will know!!

My belly right now is how I looked at around 16 weeks with Mason!

Halloween

Although Mason was around for Halloween last year he didn't really get to experience it for the first time until this year. I thought he would LOVE painting a pumpkin...well I was dead wrong. He doesn't like messy hands one bit and the moment the paint touched his hands he was done.

I was very excited for his costume because he just looked so stinkin' cute! I was a little surprised that he didn't pull off the hood.

The few days before Halloween he had a blast! 

We took him to the pumpkin patch more than once.

He came and helped me with Payton's class Halloween party and loved it!

We went to my parent's ward Halloween carnival.

Then came Halloween! My little lion got to go trick-or-treating for his very first time. After the first couple of houses he understood what he was supposed to do and didn't need daddy's help anymore! He ended up with mostly suckers because most of the houses let him pick what he wanted.

After trick-or-treating they came back to my mom's house and ate lots of homemade donuts!

After we left my mom's house we headed over to Brad's grandparents to let Mason run around with the other kids for a bit.

By the end of the night he was exhausted and passed out on the way home!

A successful (and very cute) first Halloween!!

Baby #2

8-13-13:  Bradly and I decided a long time ago that we wanted to wait until Mason was potty trained before having another baby. Well...over the last week or so I have been having the feeling that it is time for us to have another baby. Yeah, I am surprised too. I would be doing the dishes, bathing Mason, folding laundry, driving in the car and the thought would just pop into my mind, "It is time to have another baby." Needless to say, I was freaking out a little bit. How was I going to tell this to my husband when we both want to wait at least another year before even thinking about another baby!? I was very nervous because I knew that Brad's jaw would drop when I told him...I even put it off for a week because I didn't know how to bring it up. Finally, on Sunday night (8-11) Brad and I were laying in bed. Neither of us could sleep - Brad was hungry and my mind was racing. After Brad ate a fourth meal he came back to bed and I decided to just put it all out there. "For the last week I have been having a really strong feeling that we are supposed to have another baby..." Much to my surprise, he didn't freak out, instead he responded, "I honestly think that mothers have an intuition about those things and I will not question it." He then told me that he had also thought about having another baby but thought I would never go for it! We decided to pray about it just to be sure - we figured that after a couple of weeks or so we might get our answer. A couple of weeks turned into only a day. The next night after we said our nightly prayers we both turned to each other and said the same thing, "I have a really good feeling about having another baby right now." So it has been decided, yesterday was my last day on the pill and we are now "trying to get pregnant."

I am so excited and nervous and scared all at the same time. Sometimes I wonder if I am qualified to have two children. How will I find enough time to snuggle them both? How will I EVER get the laundry folded? Will I ever shower again? Am I going to end up with two children in my bed every night? Is Mason going to get jealous of a new baby? Will I want to pull my hair out on a daily basis? I'm sure that with time my fears will become less and less, but for now, I am freaking out.

I am also a little bit nervous about having problems getting pregnant. I know this sounds silly coming from the fertile myrtle who got pregnant on the pill, but it still scares me. I am going off the pill now in anticipation that it could take awhile for us to get pregnant. Hopefully, we won't have any problems and the pregnancy will go as smoothly as it did last time.

No matter what happens, I am excited. I am grateful that I listened to that little big prompting and I am so thankful for a husband who is as excited as I am to add to our family.

9-7-13: In the words of Dory, "Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. What do we do? We swim, swim. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ho. I love to swim. When you want to swim you want to swim."

9-10-13: I really hope that I am pregnant because WAY too many people in just the last couple of days have been asking if we are going to have another baby anytime soon. On Sunday one of my mom's good friends asked and my mom said, "Oh didn't you know, she is trying to get pregnant right now." I had a minor heart attack thinking, "How does she know?" But she then followed that statement with, "She got pregnant on birth control last time so she is doing it again." WHEW! She doesn't know.
Then last night Brad's oldest sister told me we need to have another baby. It is hard for me to lie and just say, "No, not right now..." when I am really thinking, "Oh I know! I hope I am pregnant!!"
Brad also has two cousins that have babies that are just a couple of months older than Mason. We were all pregnant at the same time, they are both pregnant again right now. It would be too funny for all three of us to be pregnant together again.
My mom's birthday was on Sunday and Brad REALLY wanted to tell her that we are trying to get pregnant. I told him no because I know my mom would be as excited as me about it and I would get asked about it every day until a test showed up positive. So we decided that if a pregnancy test comes up positive in the next couple of weeks then I will put it in a gift bag and call it a late birthday present for her. Who doesn't want a pee stick for their birthday? ;)

9-16-13: So...I am not pregnant. Aunt Flo came to visit 6 days early this month...
I think Heavenly Father knew I would have a hard time when it happened so thankfully I was at my mom's house and I HAD to keep it together. If I cried because I started my period then my mom would most definitely know what was going on!

9-20-13: Last night Brad and I (mostly Brad) moved the office furniture into our bedroom. We had to do a little rearranging but it works great! Now that Mason is sleeping in a big boy bed we are going to just keep the crib in the third bedroom. The moment I am pregnant you can bet that I will be setting up that bedroom to be the nursery for baby #2.

10-11-13: So tonight Brad is driving back from Idaho and Mason is sound asleep so I decided to take a pregnancy test because I am a few days away from expecting Aunt Flo. I peed on the stick and it was negative...but an hour later when I was going to throw it away I noticed there was a faint pink line. I immediately called Brad and asked him what I should do because that was the last test out of that box. I told him to buy another box of pregnancy tests on his way home. Well, he isn't going to be home until midnight so I woke up Mason (bad mommy) and we went and bought another box of pregnancy tests. I came home, he went right back to sleep and I peed on another test. I AM PREGNANT!!!!! I cannot express in words just how excited I am! I called Brad and told him and we are both so happy! Mason is going to be a big brother!!! Yay!!!!!! SO.EXCITED.

My due date is approximately June 21, 2014 (give or take a few days)

I got my two wishes for this pregnancy ~ PLANNED AND A BABY NOT DUE IN JULY! 

10-14-13: Last night we told my mom! We were down in her sewing room looking at fabric for Christmas jammies and Brad said, "Just tell her!" She was rummaging through her fabric closet and I said, "So, do you want to hear something exciting?" She didn't even turn around before she sarcastically said, "What? Your pregnant?" She still hadn't turned around when I responded, "Yes!" She didn't believe me for a minute but finally realized I wasn't kidding. She gave me the biggest hug and just kept saying how excited she is! I love that my mom is just as excited as we are for this new baby!

This morning I called and made my first doctor appointment - Tuesday, November 19th. I can't wait to hear this baby's heartbeat!! Then only a month after that we will go back and find out the gender! SO ANXIOUS!!

10-18-13: So if all calculations are correct then I am 5 weeks pregnant. Thus far I am a bit tired and bloated but still no sickness. I didn't get sick at all with Mason so I am hoping that is the case with this pregnancy as well! Everyone says that with a second pregnancy you will be way more exhausted because you have a toddler to chase after all day...I respectfully disagree. Chasing Mason keeps me active all day and I don't have time to think about being tired. When I was pregnant with Mason I sat at a desk, in front of a computer all day long. THAT made me tired! I could barely make it through my days at work, but this time I feel (so far anyway) a lot less exhausted!

I am getting anxious to tell people...only Bradly, my mom, my Aunt Lisa and my cousins Stephen and Jason know that I am preggo. We will definitely wait until after we hear baby #2's heartbeat before we tell anyone else...that is a whole month away! I am praying that I can keep my mouth shut until then. :)

10-24-13: Yesterday I was so nauseous...blah. I didn't ever throw up but I felt so sick and just didn't want to eat. Of course, I forced myself to get something down but it wasn't a great day. Today I woke up feeling so much better, but by the afternoon I was feeling sick again. Still no throwing up...thankfully! I hope that today is the end of this feeling yucky stuff...

11-4-13: Last night we told our immediate family that we are pregnant! We were going to wait, but that was when I thought that I wouldn't start to show at all until I was around 12 weeks pregnant....I was wrong. I am only seven weeks along and I have a little bump. Lovely.

First, we went to my family's house and let Mason walk in wearing his "big brother" shirt. Braddy was waiting at the door for us and didn't notice Mason's shirt at first. Bob immediately said, "Oh my gosh!" After that everyone realized what was going on and they were very excited for us! Braddy said, "Already?!" When Brooklynn figured out there was another baby in my tummy she came running over and said, "I want to see!" She doesn't remember me being pregnant with Mason so this will be fun for her! My favorite comment came from Bob - Mason has always been obsessed with ceiling fans...obsessed is putting it lightly. Bob has always said that he likes them so much because his siblings are sitting up on the fan blades watching him until it is their turn to come down. Last night Bob was holding Mason, pointed up to the fan and said, "So was it a brother or sister that was watching you?" I loved it!

After dinner we left for Brad's parent's house to tell his family. We made sure his sister Emily was there this time because last time we had to call her on the phone AFTER everyone else found out. We arrived and again let Mason walk in the house with his shirt. My mother-in-law was sitting right inside the door and looked at Mason. She said, "Hi big brother." I thought it would click, but it didn't. She just kind of sat there for a minute. I finally asked her if she understood and she said, "Oh, now I do. Is this an announcement?" When I told them I was pregnant they all congratulated us! It is kind of a relief that our family knows! I can stop wearing baggy hoodies around them!

11-5-13: Brad didn't want to wait one minute more so the world knows we are expecting!