I am not superwoman. No matter how hard I try, it just isn't happening. But I am ok with that, well I am now that I have realized that. I thought that it wouldn't be too hard with a newborn to keep up with the house and young womens. After that wasn't bad I thought, hey I can take a full 12 credits and be just fine. Well the first two weeks I was perfectly fine. The house was clean, dinner was made, and I was doing well in my classes. That is until Monday. Monday I had a break down, cried at everything good and bad, Downton Abbey even made me cry! (If you don't know what that is, get onto PBS and watch the whole first season NOW. And then start on the second and watch it all before Sunday so you can be excited for the next new episode!) Even her little smiles made me cry. I had a nice long conversation with the mama and realized that it is just normal to have those days. Ellenor must have known that something was up and I was just having a hard day. All afternoon she was just smiling at me. The entire time she was awake! It was the first time she had really done it besides when she was trying to poo (TMI?). I find that when I try to get other things done and ignore her while she is awake my day is not quite as good and I am actually much less productive. This post will be my little reminder about what my priorities are.









ANYWAYS... no one really likes to read blogs, they just come for the pictures. So here they  are!

Miss Ellie really enjoys her baths. Cody gave her one the other night and she was so intrigued by him and would not take her eyes off of him. She definitely is a daddy's girl!

 Another daddy story. Sometimes when she wakes up I really need to use the restroom and I leave her on the bed with Cody. I come back into the room and Cody is just loving it. She had reached over and was scratching his back!!! He informed me last night that she will be able to get away with anything as long as she rubs his back. We will have to see about this!

For one of our activities for Young Women's we did a pinewood derby and it was fun to say the least. You can tell by these cars that they aren't your typical wooden cars. Almost all of the have bedazzled gems on them and plenty of sparkle!

We didn't exactly follow the standard weight issue at all. Some of the cars had no weights at all. About half way through the races the parents started getting creative.

There was a key, keychain, pocket knife, bolts, and yes that is an IPhone. Funny part about that was the phone started ringing but they put it on the wrong way!

My mom spoiled our little Ellenor. This is her baby quilt, applique owls! Super cute!

If you can't tell we like this girl just a little bit. I can't believe how long we have had with her already!

Cody is going to bless her this weekend and I could not be more excited. She gets to wear her first of three white dresses. (Blessing, baptism, & Wedding)

Some days I get frustrated. Noon will roll around, the house is a mess with laundry stacked on the couch, dishes piling up fast, and I haven't even showered or started my stack of homework for the day because little Ellenor just wants to be held and played with. I feel guilty for wanting her to sleep for just another half an hour at times. I came across this video that has just left me almost speechless, that never happens.

I have been so blessed and a lot of the time I take it for granted. We weren't even trying to get pregnant when we found out about our little one but we are so glad she is here. This video made me think about all those women who would love to be mothers but their bodies will not let them. I am so grateful for healthy pregnancies and babies! Not just my own but my sisters, family, and friends as well.

We have had Ellenor in our home for two whole months now it has been amazing to say the least. A lot different than I was expecting. The days that just seem so stressful are the days where she knows I am having a hard time. She just wants to be rocked and she will just look right at me and smile and talk to me. It is just what I need and nothing can replace those quiet moments when everything else seems to freeze in time.

I have yet to take pictures of her at two months old, hopefully tomorrow with Cody's help! Also her blessing is in a week from Sunday and I could not be more excited.

For now enjoy the video.

Being a mom is fun. At least I still like it so far. Ellenor has been AMAZING at sleeping at night, always has. Starting last week she has been sleeping a lot longer at night time and we are loving it. Last night she slept from 10pm until 4am. It was heaven!

Today was the first day I was able to get our little stinker to intentionally smile! I am not 100% sure if she will do it again because she has been asleep ever since she did it earlier. She likes to spit up. A lot. And she has very good aim. She has also recently discovered her scowl (pictured below of course).

Other than enjoying this cute little girl, life is good. I started classes this week and so far they are good. I'm taking 12 credits all online. I've never done online before so fingers crossed I will survive. I think one of my teachers is certifiably crazy though. She told us we should be spending 12-14 hours a week on just her one class. Yes. CRAZY!

Cody is gone for the night, again and will possibly be gone tomorrow night as well. He is loving his job and really enjoys the people he works with.
That means ladies night for the next two nights, what will Ellenor and I cook up?!

I love that all of these were taken within the last month and a half!
Almost every girl says that they have the best mom in the world. But the truth is they are all wrong. Except my sisters because WE have the best mom. I was just reading over old blog posts from this year. If you ever read this post then you would know I was having tough time thinking that our baby would not be special to anyone but us.

Well I know that my baby is loved and that I am loved. Not only by Cody but by my parents, especially my mom. On Thanksgiving day she was headed home from being with my sister in Iowa. She was in Minnesota at a friends house for the afternoon before she was to catch a flight back to Alaska. My mom had been away from home and from my dad for two weeks. I called her as we left my in-laws to tell her that my water had broke. She told us to just let her know because there was only one flight to Salt Lake City and it left in two hours time.

We got checked into the hospital and gave her a call. Without hesitation she said she was on her way. I didn't know that day what she had to do to be able to get to Burley on time. When she got to the airport she had 30 minutes before the doors closed and the flight left. There was a huge line to get through security, there would have been no way to make the flight. She explained to a guard that her daughter was in labor and HAD to make the flight but he dismissed her to the back of the line. My amazing mother talked her whole way through the line, barely made her flight, and then got in a car and made the drive in about 2 hours time (it usually takes about 3 1/2 hours) just to be able to be there for me.

Ellenor had to be kept under the blue lights at the hospital for two nights. The first night that we had that bed in my room it was really emotional and hard for me. I knew she was fine and that my baby was healthy but I just could not stop crying. My mom and Cody both stayed at the hospital. Ellenor wouldn't sleep unless someone was touching her, even if it was just her foot because she would startle and wake herself up. Cody and my mom switched off being awake with her so that I could sleep. 

We got home on Sunday and Cody was to go back to work on Monday. My parents had a trip to Hawaii planned and they were supposed to leave Monday, the very next day. On Sunday night my mom had to make a decision to either leave the next day to make her trip or to send my dad without her. She could see that I was struggling. Ellie was not eating at all and I was scared because she had lost so much weight. Instead of heading off to Hawaii to bask in the sun and enjoy the beach, she stayed in cold Burley, Idaho to help me with my brand new baby.

She said she felt useless after a day or so because I was becoming more confident. But just being able to have time with my mom was amazing. It wasn't anything special, just mostly time at home relaxing and cooking. She wouldn't even let me do dishes!

It was such a relief to have someone to confide in when I was completely clueless. She even came back a week later and brought my dad for a few days. While we were in Utah for Christmas she would just hold her any time and actually offer to change her diaper. Who does that?! Not even Cody does! (Don't worry, he does change them willingly, just doesn't always offer) It is just amazing to me how much love she shows our daughter, I know she is sad to live so far away.

I had my first night alone with Ellie the other day while Cody was away for work. I called for something else and ended up talking to my mom for a while expressing how nervous I was to spend the night alone with our baby. It wasn't anything big or extravagant but just knowing that when she said that if I was scared or needed anything that I could call her any time of the night. And she meant it.

Ok, enough of my rant. My mother is amazing and I love her and you should be completely jealous.  End of Story.

 The new years is treating us good so far. Our little lady has been getting so big and learning new tricks. Her favorite this past week has been going to the bathroom while we are changing her. I wont go into much detail about that but in one changing she managed to spray me, including my jacket, pants, AND shoes, the floor, the door and of course all over her self.
She is learning to keep her head up for extended periods of time and is getting such a strong neck. She has also discovered her eyebrows even more and makes the funnest faces. She doesn't consistently smile yet but she has learned to half smile and we love it!
Here is our little Ellenor at 6 weeks old!

I LOVE to cook but I am really bad at following recipes. I never really take pictures of what we eat but I thought I might start! This weeks meals included Tacos, baked Mac & Cheese with squash (I had been craving that for months!), Pizza, Tuna salad, Chicken salad, an omelet turned into scrambled eggs, the most AMAZING smoothies I have ever made, and of course PIE!!!

With Cody's new job he gets to travel around Idaho and northern Utah just a little bit. Last night was his first night away and I was a little nervous, I wont lie. But everything was fine, we didn't have any robbers break into our house in the middle of the night and she slept better than she had the night before. Cody texted me this morning and informed me that he even woke up 3 time last night to feed. So far the job has been good, he comes home with some pretty funny stories and works with people that he really gets along with. He will be gone for an entire week in February for training and I am trying to convince him that I could just go to Alaska for that week. I can dream, can't I?!

And just for fun a few more pictures.

Our little snow bunny

My favorite PJ's that she has practically already outgrown. They are 0-3 months. She just got out of all of her newborn clothes a week and a half ago! 

Going to church on sunday! She lasted a whole 2 minutes in the car before she drenched herself in spit up. OH the joys!

If someone had told me in advance all the things that 2011 had in store for us I would have told them that they were absolutely crazy. This year has been quite the adventure for us.

A few things that happened were:

-Losing 30 lbs just to get pregnant right after and gain it all right back, BUT I had it all gone plus 10 extra lbs within two weeks of having baby Ellenor
-Cody graduated from college with his Bachelors degree
-An amazing trip to Alaska, next time it will include Cody!
-Moving to Burley and working on the family farm
-Selling an amazing car, we even really miss the Samoan CD that was stuck in it
-Cody buying his “dream” pick up
-Getting pregnant… that was definitely a shocker
-Quitting our jobs up north just to have new ones immediately after the move
-Celebrating 21^st and 25^th birthdays
-Celebrating a new birthday and having little miss Ellenor join our family
-Thanksgiving day meal postponed, thanks baby
-Christmas in Utah with the Carters/Stastnys
-Living in a house and not an apartment, SO much better!
-Getting to meet and hopefully soon meeting 2 new nieces and 2 new nephews
-Serving in young womens, nursery, primary, elders quorum x2
-Cody getting another new job

Welcome 2012. We hope will fill you with healthy eating, exercising, spiritual growth, lots of laughter, and enjoying each others company.