What a weekend!!! The plan was to leave on Friday night after Cody got off work to head to Utah for my sister's family sealing. Thursday Cody called and needed to head to Rexburg for some work. I got to spend some much appreciated/needed time with my sister in law and her kids. We miss living close to them and seeing them often.

Cody swung by and picked us up about 10:30 pm. As we were driving away he informed me that he had called and stopped by all the hotels in Rexburg but they were all full. He still had work to do and  we decided to hang out in the truck while he finished his work. About 2 AM he was finally done and we made the drive from Tetonia to Orem. 

Although we didn't get much sleep at all, Cody got none, we got a kick out of texting my mom at 6 am to come unlock the front door. We took much needed naps, went shopping, and played with cousins.

This little girl is so stinking cute!!! I just love her to pieces! She kept stealing toys right out of Ellie's hand, you can definitely tell she has big brothers! 

Friday afternoon the girls got pedicures. I forgot how much I love those darn things!  The last time my sister Jessica or I got one was right before our weddings. I can't complain because it was only three years ago for me but for her it was seven! Since the girls got to do something fun the boys felt like they needed to get out as well and went golfing. My sister and mom made cupcakes with almond frosting for lunch the next day and they were to. die. for! No joke!

Bright and early on Saturday we headed out to the Manti temple for an absolutely amazing event to take place. Both my sister and her husband were able to go through the temple. Cody watched Ellenor while I went through the session with them but we had a friend watcher her so he could come into the sealing. I have been to weddings before but there is nothing that compares to a sealing of a family. Especially a family that you love so much. It was amazing to see my niece and nephews dressed in all white and be able to be sealed to their parents for all eternity. 

This picture looks all romantic and cute. He looks like he is about to give her a kiss, right? WRONG! Jen got a nice, big LICK on her cheek! 
 

We went and had the most amazing lunch afterwards and hung out for the rest of the afternoon. That night Cody decided that we should go on a date right then and my amazing mother watched Ellenor for us. That will have to have its own post, when I get all the pictures off of Cody's phone.

Needless to say, it was an amazing weekend. I am so blessed to have the most amazing family ever. It was fun seeing everyone and just being able to enjoy the company. We are so excited to see quite a bit of family in Alaska in just a few weeks!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you don't mind a trillion and a half bath pictures...

 

The past few nights baths have saved me, I wish I was joking. I have been wanting to eliminate her night time cat nap but she has taken it into her own hands to let me know that she no longer needs it. But she does need a bath to calm her down. Last night she screamed, she found her scream last week, for literally two hours. Nothing I did would calm her down, not even going outside! I was almost in tears by the time I put her in the bath. After her bath she was perfectly calm except for the rolling while trying to put her diaper on. Any suggestions on how to keep them on their back for two seconds would be much appreciated.

Tonight when I got home from visiting teaching Cody told me he had to go home teaching. Hooray, another night not eating dinner together. I had laid everything out before I left and decided that we had 45 minutes before he had to leave and if we hurried fast enough he would have time to eat. Just as we set the food on the counter and plates ready to go we looked at the clock. Those darn things! It was time to leave, poor guy. He had to leave a hot meal, all laid out on the counter beckoning his name, to go fulfill his duties. What a great guy!

I love, love, LOVE reading birth stories. Is that way to weird to admit out loud? Well too bad, because I do. They remind me so much of meeting miss Ellenor. I think I like them because people can actually put into words how they feel when they first meet their little ones and not sound like an absolute moron. Well today I was reading a birth story from a girl I once met that was in my ward. OK so we talked a few times but I doubt if she remembers me. Back on track… she mentioned that she could not love anyone more than she loves her new baby. But I have to disagree because every day I learn to love my little girl more and more. She always has something new up her sleeve ready to throw me off guard. I remember holding Ellenor every waking moment (of her being awake) and not wanting to put her down thinking that I could never love her any more than I did at that moment.

This girls has taught me a lot about patience, that no matter what you don’t have the choice to just give up but that it is ok to step out of the room and take a breather, that snuggling for hours on end has never killed anyone, the cure for almost any kind of sadness is a treat, good movie, and snuggles (Oh, wait! I already knew that one!), that no matter what a mother’s love is the strongest, and that no matter what I do or say she can’t complain yet and still loves me. I may have to retract that last statement in a few years though. And that no matter how much a mother tries to be the favorite; there is nothing, absolutely nothing like the bond between a daughter and her daddy.

The week before last I was able to go to girls camp with the young women. It was an absolute blast. I think I liked it the most because I really did not have any responsibilities and was able to just hang out with the girls and get to know them better. We had a lot of fun things crammed into the two days that we were there. We had mini lessons, skits, games, and both nights there was a hot chocolate bar. The first night I helped convince one of the girls to climb under the table and untie peoples shoes as they were getting their hot chocolate. One of the girls looked down at her feet a few minutes later and said, "Aw man! My shoe laces untied themselves again! Dang it!" 

It was nice to be able to just spend time out in the woods, I miss being constantly surrounded by trees. These girls are seriously so amazing. They are such strong individuals and have confidence that I could only dream of. I loved being able to get to know them better and even be involved in their "confession session." I actually had to go home and tell Cody a funny story or two just in case the girls brought it up. 

It is just about midnight and instead of sleeping I am blogging. Why? I honestly don’t know why it can’t wait until tomorrow. But I love how people write about their babies and what they are doing or how they act at certain times. I haven't done it at all because I feel like they are just silly thing that I have to write about and that they wont change. But I should have started a lot sooner with these lists because I already miss a lot of things she used to do. 

So here is my list on Ellenor at 7 months old:

 

-She LOVES to sleep on her side, she will not sleep flat on her back and has been trying to sleep on her stomach but we always move her.
- She crosses her ankles when we try to change her. It still makes me laugh every time despite how obnoxious it is.
- She is just about to crawl and I don’t know if I am ready for that yet. We like to call it the inch worm, while up on her hands and knees she will pull her knees in closer and then stretch out and belly flop. She has started grabbing things while on all fours and is getting really good at balancing.
-Speaking of balancing… she is sitting up on her own great. She is even starting to catch herself before she falls and it makes it so much nicer just to be able to put her on the ground.
- She is moving all over the place. She inched wormed her way from one side of the living room all the way into the kitchen.
- She loves to scratch things. She does not just touch them, she scratches and rubs them.
-DVD cases and the volume remote are two go to items if she is screaming uncontrollably. Tom and Jerry is the ultimate Ellenor shut-her-up-er. There is something about that show that just makes her so happy.
-She still loves to suck on her finger and has finally out grown sucking on her bottom lip. Thank heavens!
- She LOVES her cousins. Whenever they are around, she is silent and just watches everything they do.
- She loves to be outside. We usually spend part of the afternoon on the front lawn, especially right after we check the mail because she will scream if we go inside too soon.
- To sleep she has to have a blanket tucked up against her, she usually pulls it in tight and snuggles with it.
- She eats an entire jar of baby food in one sitting plus a normal sized bottle. Twice a day yet she is still skinny and tall!
- She LOVES her bath and splashing. Her first time swimming last Saturday was a great success. I am afraid we have a little fish on our hands.
- She thinks it’s a fun game for me to move things to the other side of my leg that I do not want her to play with, like my textbook, and she climbs over my leg to get it. She finds it highly entertaining.
-She is still a champ with naps and sleeping through the night but has had a few rougher nap times the past couple of days. Apparently someone told her naps are optional.
-She cannot be turned with her back to the world, she has to be facing/standing facing forward so she can see everything.
-She has the squishiest cheeks ever and I kiss them at least 3 million times a day. At least.
- She likes to play in her crib when she wakes up or is delaying her nap. She discovered her crib bumper right after we put it on and she pulls it down and chews on it or scratches it.
- She LOVES Cody. At times I am a little jealous about how excited she gets when she hears his voice.

 

In other news… I did not do anything for Cody for father’s day, I am a terrible wife, I know! He got home late Friday night and on Saturday he was awesome and mowed the lawn. We went swimming that afternoon, made a quick trip to the store, and came home to relax and just watch movies. Sunday I didn’t even make him breakfast, we both had lessons to prepare and get ready for church. We did go to his parents house for a tin foil dinner on Sunday. I am pretty sure he knows that I love him, even if I don’t get him huge presents or make crazy intense meals. At least I sure hope he does.

I spent all day long, literally from 8:30 AM to 10:30 PM, at youth conference today. We had a blast even though all four young women’s leaders were not even with any of our youth. They had five different stations to rotate between. There was service, geo caching, getting to know you, minute to win it, and an obstacle course. In the minute to win it games they had to blow up a balloon with their nose until it popped and it looked really intense. One girl ended up having a really bad bloody nose and couldn’t even finish.

Our garden is doing amazing! (Note to self- take pictures of things actually surviving and me having a part in it, it’s not just all Cody!) We have quite a few tomatoes that are quite large already, the carrots are about ready, and we picked a good sized bucket of strawberries the other day and ate them all in under an hour.

June has been a crazy month. I have not really made time to run at all which is really sad. I have recommitted and am signing up for my first half marathon. I will do a lot better and start feeling as amazing as I was. I don’t miss actually running itself but how it made me feel and look.

These next couple of weeks are going to be fun. Busy but fun. We are already in count down mode for everything and the list of to do’s just keeps piling up. Oh, summertime!

I am currently sitting reclined in the most comfortable bed that could be in a hotel. Thank you Marriott! Oh, and Cody's work. I am listening to the sound of the television playing quietly in the background and miss Ellenor talking to herself and rolling all over the bed. She is barricaded in with pillows but has still managed to change directions many times. She has kicked all the blankets off of her and has been rolling around perfectly happy for the past hour. I am not even going to try to contain her at this point, especially because of the day she has had. 

Cody had work to do up in the Rexburg area and not having anything else going on besides homework but that can always wait until after play, I couldn't resist coming along for the ride. We spent the day with three of my most favorite girls while Cody was out doing his thing and Ellenor loved it! 

Li-sha's was our first stop and we just love her. She is just so fun and its nice to have someone to discuss Alaska and all its amazing summer fun that we are missing. She is also making the most beautiful afghan that I have ever seen. She was working on it the last time that we saw her, 42 crocheted squares takes a lot longer to make than you would think. She is very patient and very, very brave.

Kaylene and I were neighbors growing up and I was so sad when she moved three hours away right when I was about to start middle school (we were a year apart in school). She has spent the past 18 months (plus a little over a month being home in Alaska before heading to Idaho for school) in California serving a mission and just being amazing. It was so fun for her to finally get to meet Ellenor. They get along very well already, I don't think Ellenor really stopped smiling the entire time we were there. Well, that is not counting the time I whipped out the camera, she is on smiling strike when that thing is around. Kaylene is great with babies and I am so excited for her to be an aunt.

We spent the evening with our good friends Kristi and Eric. We absolutely love spending time with them and love watching them with Ellie. She especially loves Eric, I sometimes think even more than me or Cody. We are so excited for them to be parents, they find out next week if the little peanut (well 10 inch peanut) is a boy or girl!!! Can't wait for that phone call!

Sometimes I get down and feel as if we have no friends who really care about us or what is going on in our lives. But I know that is just Satan working his awful magic because we have the best friends anyone could ask for. They do care and actually like us enough to let us come visit them. Thank heavens for great the best friends.

Ellie decided to move the pillows and just about fell off of the bed. I don't think any of the neighbors would have liked to hear a loud scream at midnight. She is currently burrowing her head into the pillows trying to fall asleep. This may be a long, interesting night...

 Family pictures!!! The awesome lady we had do them posted a few on her Facebook page and let me tell you that I am so. stinkin'. Excited! They are amazing and I can't wait to display pictures of our family all over our house.We took our pictures at my sister's in laws back yard. Pam does an amazing job with her garden and we loved being able to take our pictures there.

Girls Camp. was amazing to say the least. It was such an incredible experience to be able to spend the past few days with the girls in a setting that does not involve all the worries of the world and electronics. We ate good, didn't sleep so well, laughed until we cried, and took a million pictures, it will need its own post. 

Ellenor. is the cutest baby ever and I am so excited to be able to be home with her. I missed her so very much. I almost feel bad for saying that it was nice to have a night off and not have to wake up to put a pacifier back in. But it was nice to sleep as peacefully as possible with crazy ladies talking and being loud. If you thought that the young girls were loud then you have never had to sleep with adult ladies. 

Missionaries!!!! Are great. I got a letter from my best friend Marie today, she is serving in Brazil. It is amazing that she wrote it over a month ago and I just barely received it. She sent me three pictures and in all three of the pictures she is wearing the same dress, I didn't even notice. She looks so beautiful and is doing great. I am just so excited for her, I know its tough but she is such a great example to me. She is so strong and has such strong convictions in everything she does.

Cody. is finally coming home tomorrow. I am jealous that he gets to see my sister tonight but we want our Cody back, sorry Iowa, you have had him for long enough! 

This weekend just needs to be here already, I am so excited for it and it isn't coming fast enough. I really haven't seen Cody very much this past week. Wednesday we both had mutual, scouts, and work and it wasn't until 9:30 that we were both finally home. Cody headed up to Boise on Thursday and didn't get home until around ten. On Friday he had a scout camp out and got home at 11:30 on Saturday morning, which was a nice surprise that they got home so early. We ran to Twin and I got some new Merrill Hiking shoes and I can't wait to use them tomorrow! But of course Saturday went by way to fast and Cody left for Iowa bright and early on Sunday. So early in fact that I wouldn't let him give Ellenor a kiss goodbye because I didn't want her to be awake while I was trying to get ready. 

We, Ellenor and I, were at church for 5 hours straight by the time we left. Thank you meetings and choir practice. She must have known that I was stressed about it because I was alone and we needed to be there for a long time because she was absolutely PERFECT! She let me rocker her to sleep, which is rare, and she actually slept during all the loud songs and with crazy loud kids.

But that was yesterday and today is a new day. Ellenor knows that something is going on, at least she is acting like it. I used to be excited about having a night off from just being a mom. But my eyes start to water just thinking about not being around Ellie for the next two days. With Cody its a little bit different because I can talk to him and express my love for him. But I can't do that with her, especially because there is no reception in the mountains. I am so excited to be able to spend the next couple of days with the young women that I have come to love so much. I know Ellenor will be in good hands with family but I can't help but miss her already. 

Being a mother isn't always snuggles and kisses. This afternoon Ellenor was very cuddly which is rare but I took full advantage of it, along with the strawberries that melt in your mouth from our garden. Its times like those that I wish I could freeze and not let any more time pass. I guess that is why I like to take pictures so much, so I have a little glimpse of what that moment was. This afternoon the sun was shining in on us, a perfectly calm girl rubbing my hands, and eventually falling asleep, both of us. There is nothing more I would rather be doing than spending each and every day with this beautiful little girl. My girl.