That moment when time seems to stand still as if someone has pushed the pause button. There is nothing on your mind or the to do list but what you are doing in that moment. Nothing else seems to matter. I had one of these moments this morning, one that I wish could have lasted forever but I would have settled for just all day.

When the darling girl woke up this morning we put her between us with her bottle. She has been sick and that makes her extra cuddly. We laid and played in bed with our sweet girl for half an hour. It was absolutely perfect. A happy kid with a silly dad to play with and make her let out those first giggles of the morning. I can't help but be extremely thankful today for my family. An amazing father to our daughter who does anything to help make our day easier, even if its just a quick call to say hello. A daughter who is so sweet and sassy that just loves to play all day. This is as close to heaven as I think you can possibly get!

I've officially ran out of image space. Curse you blogger!

The past few days Ellenor has been teething and running some nasty fevers. Today we watched a lot of curious George. I am teaching her how to sound like a monkey when she wants to watch it. She has gotten the hooo part down already.

I love how much Cody and Ellie get along. He stepped right into his awesome dad shoes- turned on beauty and the beast, grabbed a bottle and snuggled with his little girl. He must have some magical powers (let's call it magic to make him feel better instead of telling him about the drugs) and not even half an hour later she is starting to act like get happy self again. She even let me teach her how to brush her teddy bears head and she did it perfectly!

I love productive days, where I get everything on my to do list done in the morning and the house is spotless. But I believe you need those lazy day in between. This morning I just felt off and I couldn't exactly figure out why. And it took me until 11 to figure out that it was because I wasn't at all productive. And by not at all productive I mean we watched gilmore girls all morning and just snuggled.

Once I got the house in order and showered I felt much better and don't feel guilty about the fact that the only things on the afternoon to do list is play with Ellenor, read history, and take a walk.

Apparently I never paid much attention to babies before Ellie. She is so full of life and has such a spastic personality. She loves to give a big cheesy grin, be shy when she wants to, smile with her tongue sticking out and scream an excited scream whenever she feels it is too quiet in the house. She can stack her blocks, put them away, and stack all the rings back onto the pole in the correct order. She loves to put her pacifier in other people's mouths. She loves to flip through books and is constantly moving around. She's getting the hang of walking really well but still wants to hold your hand if you are near. She plays great by herself while I read homework across the room, reads herself stories, and will randomly look up from whatever she is doing just to give a giant toothed grin, squinty eyes and all. She loves to give high fives and kisses.

I'm in denial that this little ball of crazy, sweet, and spunk is almost a year old. But it has been the absolute best!

Because its November and thanksgiving is fast approaching I thought I would jot down a few things that I am thankful for today.

- Costco sized grapes. Because those little bags are never big enough.

- Clean bathrooms. It is a painful 20 minutes but when it's all said and do e it is an amazing feeling.

- Ellie's squeals which has become a very familiar noise regardless of where you are. The grocery store and hardware store are no exceptions. But the best are garages and any place that has an echo.

- Car washes in the winter. My car has been tan for far to long and in desperate need of its white glow again. In thankful I am not the one standing outside in 35 degree weather drying off my car. I'm also glad that they are so fast because the little one strapped in the car seat let out quite a few alligator size tears. And loud screams that don't mix well in small spaces.

- Manufactured clothes. I've been reading about the early 20th century for me history class and I am so glad I don't have to spend a majority of my day making necessary clothing items for 3 people.

- The holidays. Nothing says Christmas more than poinsettias (ok maybe one or two things). They are ordered and should be coming directly following thanksgiving! They aren't the traditional red either! They are pink and creme! So excited!

These next few weeks will be busy but they will be very fun. We have both Cody and Ellenor's birthdays, an adult work party for Cody's work, the Boise temple open house, thanksgiving with my grandparents (we are the only one not going to my sisters in Iowa), Christmas shopping, decorating, and music to listen to. There is no other time more busy an joyous than this time of year. I love it!

And because I didn't post any pictures of Halloween in my last post. Ellie was the cutest Zebra! Ok, Ok! Hailey, the cousin who happened to have the same exact costume that both my sister and I bought way back in August, made an adorable zebra as well! 

Just a few thoughts for today.

1. Being in a car with teenage girls is interesting. Topics such as who the best looking member of One Direction is and who is the cutest boy at chitchat make for a long ride.

2. After the youth temple trip this morning we grabbed some food at sizzler. The booth next to us, also some of our girls, decided a fight was in order. A spit wad landing in my hair was the highlight. But only because the men at the other table were giving us all the eye. Definitely felt like a kid again. And I am still laughing about the reaction.

3. 60 degree weather AND no wind?! A miracle! Perfect night for a family bike ride!

4. Ice cream will always taste better with a brownie underneath and the top smothered with caramel and hot fudge. Always.

5. Halloween really never is anything exciting. I made Amazing beef stew for the ward party. Ellie loved walking around screaming at the top of her lungs because she was walking and people were talking to her. Not to mention there were loud kids everywhere and you could hardly hear the person standing next to you. She played a few games and then decided she was done. We didn't even stay for trunk or treat. We were in comfy clothes on the couch with a sleeping baby by 8 pm. Loved it!

6. I took Ellenor to the pumpkin patch and she absolutely loved it! She could hit as many giant orange balls as she wanted and attempted to eat all the rocks she could find. Of course she threw a fit when it was time to leave. I know where we will be multiple times next year.

Life according to my phone my seem boring to some because it is filled with pictures and videos of Ellenor. But I love being able to document how she is changing everyday.

This past weekend we went to a Halloween party and had a blast. We got way too much candy and treats. We came home with a bag of candy, a plate of cookies and fudge, cupcakes, and a container of homemade chicken noodle soup. Sunday I ate about half of the plate of fudge (in my defense it was a small paper plate) and I discovered that walnuts don't agree with my mouth as well as they do my stomach. I currently have 15 canker sores left under my tongue which is surprisingly a lot more comfortable than yesterday when it was double that amount.

Ellenor is going to be one in less than a month!!! I am in denial! She is getting so big! At the Halloween party her cousin Tessley (they are only a few weeks apart and are already great at playing together) showed us how good she is getting at walking. Ellie must have been paying real close attention because she started walking a lot more yesterday! She has been taking two to three steps at a time for the past month and yesterday she took the plunge. She is still a little weary of where she walks but can make it across the room in no time! We are some proud parents.

Today was one of those days. Those kind of days where the to do list is a mile long but you could care less. But it was somehow just right.

We did a few projects and felt crafty. I needed to accomplish one decent looking project because of how funny yesterday's were. I attempted to make a hat yesterday that was an adult size. Who actually reads instructions from beginning to end? I didn't notice the part where it said what size crochet hook to use. At least Ellie's doll will have a hat... when she finally gets a doll...

The house was a complete wreck all day long and I just didn't even mind. Cody called and we did one of our infamous dad is on his way home and it is a wreck in here, frantically running around kind of cleanings.  But we finished with time to spare so what did we do? Have a dance party of course! We cranked up Taylor Swift's new cd (from youtube) and jammed. Ellenor is really improving on her dance moves. While giggling the whole time she gave a nice downward facing dog with a nice booty bounce. And a stand in the middle of the room and start bouncing. There is nothing more lovable than those chubby little thighs bouncing to the beat.

Grandma Karin sent Ellie a lovely Halloween package that included two adorable books that she absolutely loves. Too bad Josh doesn't live closer, he has got a nice candy stash going now thanks to mom.