rock-a-bye baby

I visited with my friend Katrina a couple weeks ago and fell in love with the rocking chair she had in her spare bedroom. I thought of how cute it would look in the baby's nursery and I was determined to find one on sale during Black Friday weekend. However my excitement wore off after I showed a couple of my friends the chair and got some advice about those late night feedings. A couple of friends suggested I look for a chair with better back support and a head rest. So I started to do some more research and found this chair from IKEA. Although we already made a big purchase from IKEA a couple months ago, I scored this chair on a pretty good Black Friday weekend special, plus the taxes and shipping. It ended up being just a little bit more than I wanted to spend, but I really love it and I hope baby does too. Our baby will sleep in our room the first couple months, so we will put the chair in our room as well before moving it to the nursery. It seems like the perfect little chair to curl up in as you read a book, or rock-a-bye baby to sleep.

boy oh boy

On November 20th 2016, my friend Stacey became a first time mommy to Cameron Melvin James Trainor. I am over the moon happy for Stacey and her partner Nathan. After a tough couple of weeks in the hospital because of pregnancy complications, their little guy is here and oh my is he some cute! He was 5 weeks early, weighing 5 lbs. 12 oz. I am so glad that everything is going well for them now and hopefully they will be on their way soon, just in time to get ready for Christmas!

We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our first nephew, Baby Neilson. My mother and sister in law are in Alberta now to be with Rachel and Kent and get ready for baby. I am excited to know what they will name him and I am also excited to see the first couple of pictures of him with his family. They will make such a nice family of three. Rachel has told us a couple of times now how impressed she is that we did not find out the gender of our baby. Whatever we are having, I am sure these two cousins will always have a strong connection even on other sides of the country.

Makes me wonder what Baby Pinsent is doing in there. We are so lucky that we have a couple of friends that will have babies around the same time as us. Boy or Girl, baby will have lots of friends to call up for play dates and outings.

ALBERTA

Last month, Alberta took two of the best in my life. My sister Kayla and my best friend Jocelyn.

As you may know, Kayla has been dating Keaton for a couple of months now. She made the move to Edmonton in mid-October. Keaton's mom Jackie flew out here to the East Coast to help Kayla make the drive out. It was so good to meet her and I was so thankful for her willingness to help Kayla make this big move. Kayla is living in Edmonton now and she works as a third key holder at Rockport in the West Edmonton Mall. Her and Keaton are having lots of fun with his family and getting to know one another a bit better. Kayla registered her car this week and has an Alberta license plate now and everything. It seems so real that she is gone, but I know eventually we will be close to them in proximity again.

Jocelyn took a job in Banff, Alberta at the beginning of November. Her partner Dan also accompanied her to Alberta to find a job. They have had terrible luck finding jobs on PEI these last few months. It is really disappointing that they had to leave to find work but I am happy that they have done this together and that things have worked out so well for them since their arrival earlier this month.

THE GILMORE GIRLS

TODAY is the day!
The Gilmore Girls are back and I am so excited. I've been watching some episodes for the last couple of weeks to get me all excited and giddy to watch the revival. I really wish I could have re-watched the series, but because I only finished it for the first time earlier this year, I didn't want to turn around and watch it all again. Here is a list of the episodes that I watched. I referred to The Gilmore Girls Binging Guide by The Lazy Genius to help me pick out some of the best of the best.

1.1 The Pilot
1.14 That Damn Donna Reed
2.4 The Road Trip to Harvard
2.19 Teach Me Tonight
2.21 Lorelei's Graduation Day
3.7 They Shoot Gilmores, Don't They?
3.9 A Deep Fried Korean Thanksgiving
4.2 The Loreleis' First Day at Yale
4.13 Nag Hammadi is Where They Found the Gnostic Gospel
4.22 Raincoats and Recipes
5.3 Written in the Stars
5.7 You Jump, I jump, Jack
5.22 A House is Not a Home
6.6 Welcome to the Dollhouse
6.8 Let me Hear your Balalaikas Ringing Out
6.18 The Real Paul Anka
7.13 I'd Rather be in Philadelphia
7.20 Lorelei? Lorelei?

pregnancy questions

I have compiled a list of questions that I have been asked so many times in the last month and I have decided that I will try my best to not ask them to a pregnant woman ever again, because it gets super annoying to hear the following almost everyday! I really should't complain though because this pregnancy is going to be over sooner than I know it.

how are you feeling?
I know this seems pretty vague but I get this one at least once or twice a day, especially at work. I am feeling pretty good but I am sick of being asked about how I am feeling. Why can't you ask me about something else, like are you excited to have a baby? Or, is the nursery ready yet? Or heck, even how is your husband feeling? I am little bored of talking about me, shocking right? ;)

have you had any morning sickness?
Usually morning sickness happens in your first trimester. So now that I am being asked every once in awhile it just brings back some yucky times. I went to the washroom during church and a lady asked me while I was minding my own business (aka, having a pee) if I was still having morning sickness. Do you really think I want to talk to you right now while I am peeing, especially when its you asking me if I've been throwing up lately? No thanks.

have you had any weird cravings?
I think society assumes that every pregnant woman craves really weird things and really weird combinations of food. I've heard a lot of them pickle and peanut butter sandwiches, mayo on doughnuts and ketchup for days. But luckily I didn't have any of these "weird" cravings, just your normal sweet or salty things like candy, french fries and also chocolate milk. My momma told me she craved chocolate milk when she was pregnant with me ;)

you've really popped!
yeah I seem to be rocking that whole basketball under my shirt thing. It's pretty awesome actually.

do you have any names picked out?
this is probably the worst question of all of them because I don't want to offend anyone, but even if I had a name picked out, what makes you think I am going to tell you? The answer to this question is no, we actually don't have any solid names picked out yet, and it's starting to drive me crazy. I know when the baby is born, we will see them and out of some of the names we have talked about, one will come to mind and it will click and it will be there name. Like I mentioned before, we are most likely going to use a name/names that come from our family tree and genealogy.

last but not least...
are you having twins?
OKAY, so I know once upon a time I complained about not feeling like I was showing, but when I heard this question the other day I was like seriously? I am not THAT big people !!!

hopefully this post didn't sound too blunt or make it seem like I am sick and tired of being pregnant, because I most certainly am not! I love being pregnant, but some of these questions are just silly, silly, silly. In the last 8 months I have definitely learned what you should and should not say to a pregnant woman! 

life lately

Okay, so we've had a pretty busy month! It doesn't really feel like we have done anything special or out of the ordinary, but the month has surely flown by. We have been working hard. My husband works especially hard at a full time job, as a full time student, and the best full time husband I could ask for. I feel a little guilty that I will be finishing up work on December 1st, but my body is just done working. We have lots of plans for the month of December and it will be nice to get the finishing touches ready for baby's arrival in mid-January. During October, we took prenatal classes and then earlier this month we finished up with a tour of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. It still doesn't seem real that we will be there in less than two months having a baby! I am doing well as of right now, except for work being tough but only one week left, I'll make it! We also ordered our dream Stroller earlier this month because a website had a really great deal when you bought the stroller and the second seat attachment. We are pretty fortunate that Haig works in a job that he makes commission. It helps so much with the little things, and the big things. We put up our IKEA bookshelves in the nursery and I will hopefully start washing baby clothes and blankets in the next few weeks. My mother is planning my baby shower, and I'm helping because I want it to be a sweet little night to celebrate our special baby. I'm excited for what we are putting together. My co-workers have also planned a shower for me and I could not be more grateful for the friendships I have made with them over the past year.

Temple Work

This past month or so, our ward issued a challenge to prepare names for the youth to take to the temple to perform baptisms and confirmations for the dead. I got names from my Family Search ready last month and took them to the temple to be kept on file for when our youth from Charlottetown would attend. On Saturday November 12th 2016, young men and young women from our New Brunswick & PEI Stake went to the temple and performed over 1,300 ordinances. I am so proud of these youth for taking the time out of their busy schedules to go and do this work and I am also glad I could help contribute some names for them to do. I am happy for every opportunity I have to attend the temple and also partake in this great work.

weekend with mom in Moncton

This past weekend I was able to go to Moncton for a few days with my mom! We would also be visiting with my Grandma who lives in a nursing home and my Aunt Juanita and Uncle Joe that were on vacation from Ottawa. Mom and I left Friday afternoon and we came home Sunday evening. We had such a great weekend and I am grateful to my mom for driving me around like she was a taxi. We did some shopping for me and baby at motherhood maternity and Costco. I am impressed that I have made it this long without buying a lot of maternity clothing. I found a nice pair of leggings on sale and also two pretty tops at motherhood. I picked up a big box of wipes at Costco and also some lunch snacks, a baby sleeper and Epsom salts (for a baby shower favor). We were also very fortunate to have stayed with my Uncle Joe's parents Ross & Marie, they were so good to us! Grandma was okay this trip. We visited with her for about two hours on Saturday and she didn't say a word to any of us. She did enjoy drinking chocolate milk and being fed some of a muffin, and she also really enjoyed holding and rubbing my hand after we took some pictures with her. On Sunday, she only talked when she said "yes" to having a piece of a chocolate bar. She is such a sweet and lovely soul. I wondered if she knew I was pregnant, even after being told by my mom and aunt. When she held my hand for a little while, I tried my best to rest it on my belly to see if the baby would kick for her (the hand that she still has feeling in). I am not sure if she did feel anything or not, but I just hope she knows. This will be her fourth great grand-child. Adrian (cousin Jessica) is the oldest, he's 4 and Thexan (cousin Amber) and Emma (cousin Caitlin) were born this past summer. We organized Grandma's room and I also printed off some new pictures for one of her family frames. When I got home on Sunday evening I hung out with Haig and also my brother in law Luke who came to visit for the weekend while I was away. I am glad he was here to spend some time with Haig and keep him company. I won't be back over to Moncton until the spring but I am glad I could get over to see my family this time around.

I look absolutely huge in this picture, but it is almost 4 generations!!!

LEGALLY PINSENT

Late last week, someone told me that I needed to legally change my last name to Pinsent in order to have my Employment Insurance Benefits all work out for my maternity leave. I got all the paperwork together on the weekend and yesterday morning I took a trip into Service Canada to fill out a form to legally change the name on my Social Insurance Card.

I've had my name changed on my Drivers' License, Banking Information, Credit Cards, Health Card and some other things for a little while now, but I just put the SIN card on the back burner for awhile, knowing that I would have to change it eventually for a new passport. It felt so cool to legally change my name to Alyssa Marie Pinsent. I know it doesn't seem like a big deal, but it is pretty awesome to officially have the same last name as my husband for work and employment purposes and on a new passport in a couple of months!

You can call me Mrs. Pinsent, Forever!

Katrina, Sandi, Freya, Stacey

My first week of November was absolutely wonderful, because I got to see a couple of lovely people. 

On Wednesday, I visited with my friend Katrina who let me go through her old maternity clothing and borrow some for the rest of my pregnancy. I had a nice time chatting with her. She is a busy mom to two sweet girls and she runs a small business making headbands, baby bibs and so much more. She is also married to our good friend David. We like to hang out with them but we rarely get the chance to with our busy schedules. I am glad I could see Katrina for a little bit on this particular day because I really needed some girl time and I am sure she did too.

On Thursday, I went out to Covehead to visit with my cousin's wife Sandi and their new baby girl Freya. Talking to Sandi was great because she told me a lot about Freya's birth and also what it has been like for them now at home. Freya was so sweet and full of smiles for me. Sandi said that she is usually a little nervous around new people, but she seemed really happy around me. Sandi is studying to be a doctor so I was glad I could ask her some questions about labor and delivery from her medical profession experience and background. I hope we will hang out more and get to know each other better over the next few months.

And finally, on Friday, I went to see my good friend Stacey who is in the hospital. Stacey is 33 weeks pregnant and her water broke earlier that week. Baby Trainor is doing okay and she will hopefully be going home soon but stay on bed rest until baby decides he's on his way! Stacey is so strong to be going through this right now. Although she seemed disappointed with how the situation has turned out for her and her baby, she is optimistic and hopeful that everything is going to be okay! She is a super woman. I hope that we will also be spending lots of time together in the coming months, lots of play dates with our sweet little babies!

 

Anyways, I just really enjoyed seeing these women last week. I really needed to catch up with them and step outside my own little personal bubble for a couple of hours. I know I will need times like this in the coming weeks and months more than I ever did before. They probably don't really understand how much I enjoyed being with them and getting to know them better. Thanks ladies <3

GENDER PREDICTIONS

Baking Soda
Pour urine into a clear container containing two tablespoons of baking soda. If it fizzles like soda it means boy, if it is flat it means girl.
Result: GIRL

* There was one more gender prediction test that involved pee and Red Cabbage, but I didn't want to buy a head of cabbage...

Ring on a String
You tie a string around your wedding ring and hold it over top of your belly (or wrist). If the ring moves in circles, supposedly it's a girl. If it moves from side to side, it's a boy.
Result: GIRL

The Even/Odd Mayan System
The legend of the mayans is that a baby's sex can be determined by looking at the mother's age at conception and the year of conception. If both are even or odd, it's a girl. If one's even and one's odd, it's a boy. We conceived in 2016 when I was 23 years old. One even, one odd.
Result: BOY

Chinese Calendar
To use this chart, figure out your age at conception and month of conception. The calendar converts it, and you have your answer. This chart claims to be 90% accurate in predicting baby's gender. I was 23 at conception and we conceived in April 2016.
Result: GIRL
I've heard this conversion can be very accurate!!!

Acne
The Old Wives' Tale is that girls steal their mother's beauty, leaving mommy with some wonderful acne. I have had horrible acne since day one of this pregnancy. Although it wasn't my favorite decision to make, I am currently using a topical ointment in the evening to help out with it, but I have not seen much improvement.
Result: GIRL

Dad's Weight
If dad gains weight, it means girl. If he maintains his weight it means boy. Haig claims he's been losing weight, but that probably because I've been too lazy to make dinner lately!
Result: BOY

Dreams
I have not had any baby dreams yet! I wish I would have one soon
Result: UNKNOWN

Morning Sickness
Yes, in early pregnancy and I have started to feel a little nauseous again lately.
Result: GIRL

Belly Shape
Wide=Girl, Round=Boy. Haig made the call on this one, telling me my belly looks more round.
Result: BOY

The Linea Nigra
The dark line that has appeared on your bump. If the line continues above your belly button, boy. If it finishes below your belly button, girl.
From the very faint line, what I can tell is that it goes past my belly button
Result: BOY

Carrying High or Low
If your bump is high, you're pregnant with a girl. If your bump sits low, hello boy.
It's originally put low for this tale, but my husband just told me he feels the bump is sitting higher 'lately", and husband's opinions for these predictions are greatly appreciated(mostly because he actually thinks they are all foolish!!!) 
Result: GIRL

Fetal Heartrate
Apparently girls have faster heartbeats than boys. Above 140bpm means you're having a girl and lower means it's a boy.
Our baby's heartrate has always been over 140bpm.
Result: GIRL

FINAL RESULTS
BOY - 4
GIRL - 7

*I know these predictions are not reliable at all, but they are still pretty fun! Let me know if any of your gender prediction tests were accurate!

baby in the pumpkin patch

Just a couple pictures from the end of October with baby's "first" visit to the pumpkin patch. I got my hair cut a couple days before these pictures were taken and it makes my face look so much rounder. I am starting to fill out in all sorts of strange places. I had to take my wedding rings off about two weeks ago which really surprised me. I have gained about 20 pounds this pregnancy and I still have about 10 weeks to go, so we will see what happens between now and then. 

I love our sweet little pumpkin. 

good-bye to Emma & Ellie

These girls looked so sweet and coordinated on their last Sunday as a group. We will miss Emma and Ellie so much as they have moved to Utah for their dad's new job. I hope these girls can stay close through social media, Skype and phone calls. We will be happy to have them back to visit us next summer and we will plan on having lots of fun with them when that time comes. Saying good-bye can be really hard, but luckily we have the gospel which makes us friends for Eternity!