Look who's talking...

...and sitting...
...and crawling.

Lydia has been busy the last few days. She is learning to say 'Da Da' which turns out to be the word of choice around here...especially at church. She is sitting up on her own now and doing very well. She hasn't figured out how to get from the sitting position to her tummy without some pain so she usually starts to 'fuss' so someone will help her. She has also started the army crawl. For the first few weeks after Lydia was born we thought she would be our mellow baby...you know the one that is just content to play quietly by them self or sit still on Dad's lap at church...It seems like every family has one...except us. I guess that is what you get when you have two very high strung parents...a whole bunch of super active children...but we wouldn't have it any other way. Go get 'em Lydia!

Dance, Dance, Dance

Eliza started dance on Monday... She was so excited until the instructor sat them all down cross legged and asked them to stretch their neck. Not the kind of dancing she's use to.
Today was better though...she isn't the most flexible class member but she did really well walking across the room on her toes. Can you tell how much she loves her dress (seriously it is torture to get it off her).

Ten on Tuesday—Surviving Summer Addition

1.Bikes—Anytime Eliza is board the first thing out of her mouth is…can we ride bikes? She is actually getting rather good.
2.Fresh beans and peas from the garden…tragically we only got about six pea plants…it is rather tricky to eat those without the girls noticing.
3.Fans…our poor dad wouldn’t be able to sleep at night without the fan in the window running all night.
4.Walks…it is the same route every time but is always a hit from the flowers to pick to the water drain…everything is captivating.
5.Weeding with Peggy…the sweet new neighbor next door.
6.OTTER POPS…how did we ever survive summer before? Seriously we eat a lot…Peggy even came over to tell me their on sale at Safeway this week…what a great neighbor.
7.Summer Flex Days…Daniel’s company started this…he works four 10 hour days and gets Friday off (or at least part of Friday)…last week we took the girls swimming…fun but not as fun as talking about it the rest of the day.
8.Watering Days…we have a water restriction in our neighborhood so we can only water certain days of the week…but when we water…we WATER…we water the lawn, the garden, the dead spots in the lawn, and our sisters…Eliza and Liesel were playing with the hose the other day…Liesel had the hose and within a few minutes both were soaked to the bone…isn’t water fantastic?
9.Potty Training…Eliza is doing awesome…the princess doll was just the trick to get her motivated…she’ll just go in and go to the bathroom without even telling me…that seems fantastic.
10.Martina McBride…Daniel and I are going to her concert in Denver this weekend to celebrate our anniversary…I can hardly sleep at night I am so excited.

So what are your summer survival tricks? I’d love to have some more great ideas…happy surviving!

Our Week

Here is the latest at our house...bullet style.

• So I promised to post pictures from the reunion but alas I haven't edited any yet. So you get this one from my sister-in-law Emily. It is sure fun to have an updated family photo.


• Eliza got strep throat last week and we have tried unsuccessfully to remember to give her medication morning and night.


• Lydia's six month check up went well. She is growing again and is just darling. I could just watch her all day she is so much fun...here is a pic I got of her at the park the other day.


• I have started potty training Eliza and Liesel again. Thing are looking hopeful with Eliza thanks to this...but I am afraid we have missed the window with Liesel. She will go into the bathroom and close the potty to use it as a stool to wash her hands. As soon as the water goes on she goes potty...so at least it is the bathroom.


• Daniel gave me a night out last night...it was fabulous. I went shopping and bought myself a new outfit for church. Oh it felt so good to have something new that fits right and makes me feel pretty...unlike all the everyday mom clothes...which after this week are a little gross.
• Check out my look-alike meters at the bottom of our page...kind of fun.

We hope you are all well. Anyone with helpful potty training tips is welcome at my house anytime.

The Wedding Update

Sorry it has been so long since my last update; I have been in Idaho and Utah for my sister's wedding and a family reunion. More pics of the reunion later. I was in charge of taking pictures at the reception so I thought I would post a few of my favorite. It was a fabulous affair.
Here's the happy couple. The receiving line was on the gazebo in my parents back yard. I love this view from below.
Sister Derricott and Sister Stander made the cake, flowers, and decorations...it was a beautiful evening.
Jenni wanted this picture of the rings and the bouquet...I love the perspective.
More pictures of the reunion to come...don't you just love vacation?

Our Birthday Girls

Eliza and Liesel have celebrated another birthday. Liesel was born the day before Eliza turned one so they are our little Irish Twins. We had a great time celebrating their birthdays. We had a "Princess" party and it was grand. Daniel helped me put up streamers and balloons the night before and the girls loved it. At one point Eliza was jumping up and down and looking around and saying; "A princess party. Thank you for my princess party!" She loved it so much that in all of her prayers since she starts out "Heavenly Father, Thank you for my princess party..." It is a day we won't forget. Happy Birthday Eliza! I love you for your 100% attitude. What ever you do you do it with all of your energy and excitement. I remember when you were born Daniel looked up at me with excitement in his eyes and said "It's a girl. Jill we have a girl!" He was so excited and I was too. Since then you have been every bit as exciting. I am so happy you came to our family! We love you!
Happy Birthday Liesel! I love you for your tender spirit and your 'melt my heart' smile. From your surprise pregnancy to your 45 min labor and delivery to your dancing with Eliza today...everything about you was ready to be in a body and try new things. We are so happy that you were so eager to come to our family and for your desire to do all you can. We love you Liesel!