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!

Memories from Memorial Day

I know I am so slow at posting these pics but with the two days in the car getting home, the sleep deprivation, the endless loads of laundry (yes I am still not done), and the pressing need to plant my garden, I am just finally surfacing from the weekend. Crazy! But it was so fun to be in Idaho again and to be with family. It renewed our desire to move closer to family someday. Here are a few moments from our campout.

This picture was actually taken at BYU-Idaho. We stopped there to stay with Grandma Nancy and Papa Tom before going up to Lick Creek.

Eliza loved being there (big surprise...she loves anything new).
The family loved camping. Hanging out, sitting in their camp chairs, and playing with dirt and cousins...you can't get much better than that.
Liesel's favorite thing was this wagon. She would have a fit anytime someone else was in it. Eliza's favorites about camping are too long to list. But I did get a picture of her when she finally got brave enough to hold this puppy. Liesel spent the whole weekend screaming anytime she even saw a puppy.
The talent show and dance afterward were a lot of fun.
Liesel found this cooler full of water and a little cup and pale the last day and she played with that all morning. It was so interesting to see the 2 year olds play on their own and the older cousins playing together.
Here is Eliza with her cousin Becca. She has been missing her cousins.
Here is a great shot Emily got with my camera. Thanks Em.
Here we are at the end of the weekend. Eliza was devastated that it was over and that she had to leave Grandma and all the dirt.
Overall it was a fabulous adventure. Thank you family for being so good to us. We can't wait to see you in July!

We loved our visit from Grandpa this week. He came to show us his new car and have dinner with us. He also brought 'presents' from Grandma. Thanks Grandma the girls love the snow cone maker.

We know it was out of your way to stop and see us Grandpa but we were so grateful for your visit.
Come Again Soon!

Ten on Tuesday

1. Lydia is finally eating cereal and taking a bottle…she wouldn’t eat cereal if it had formula in it at first but once I couldn’t pump very much milk she decided it was better to eat than starve. I think she seems better.

2. Eliza’s new favorite thing is to dance to this. Today she noticed that the girl had a clip in her hair and decided she needed one too. As I was putting it in her hair she started screaming at me to hurry because the song was starting. Silly girl!

3. I got a call today from my Dad. He is coming out to Denver to buy a car on Thursday and is going to stop and see us! We can’t wait for his visit.

4. Daniel is at school tonight turning in his tests. When he gets home, he will be completely done with this semester…HALLELUJAH!

5. I have been working on organizing my house a little bit (thanks to the help of a good friend). I now have a file box for my stack of bills, letters, etc, a tool box for my junk drawer, and a craft box for the special kid activities (i.e. bubbles, play dough, markers). It feels so good to get a few things in order. My next area is the laundry closet. Yikes!

6. Daniel was so good to me on Mother’s Day. He bought me a nice new set of cookware and let me sleep in and lay around and do nothing all day. What a great guy! Happy Mother’s Day to all of you Moms. Especially Grandma Jones and Grandma Nancy…we couldn’t ask for better mothers…We Love You!

7. Tonight some of the youth came over on a Service Scavenger Hunt. They read to my girls and cleaned up my back yard. The girls were shy but I think they liked it.

8. I got my seeds for my garden in the mail this week and I am itching to start planting. Daniel has been so busy that he hasn’t had any time to till yet but hopefully this weekend we’ll get started. I am going to plant corn, beans, peas, carrots, and some lettuce. I told the girls that we would plant flowers in their pots and they can’t wait.

9. On Saturday we went to Story Time at Barnes and Noble. Curious George was coming to visit and I thought it would be fun for the girls. While George was there they were nervous and didn’t want to go near him. But the second he left they were asking about him. “Where did George go?” They asked us all day. Then yesterday during story time we pulled out “Curious George Learns to Count” and Eliza said “Mom, Where did BIG George go?” Those girls don’t forget anything.

10. Daniel and I have been working on our ‘talent’ for the Memorial Day Talent show. I think those who attend are in for a BIG treat! We can’t wait to see what the rest of you Chaffins do! Here is a look back at my first Memorial Day visit. Good memories!

Lydia's Latest

So I took Lydia to the doctor today for her 4 month well check. I was excited to see how much she had grown and to hear the doctor say; "She looks great! Keep doing what your doing." But he didn't say that today. Apparently, Lydia hasn't gained any weight since her last visit. So the first thing the doctor asked me is; "Are you losing weight?" Isn't that the question all women what to hear? Somehow it wasn't as flattering today. It seems as if my milk is thinning...dramatically. The doctor said this could be because of stress, lack of sleep, or loss of weight. So he told me I need to eat less fruits and veggies and eat more carbs and protein. The ironic thing about this advice is that I have no desire to eat more carbs and protein. It isn't because I want to loose those last 10 lbs...it just doesn't sound good at all. Daniel is jealous... because of his high cholesterol he needs to eat more salads but would prefer Lasagna every night. Oh the irony. So thus begins the efforts to beef Lydia up. She seems happy despite the fact that we are starving her and the doctor said developmentally she looks good. It is hard to believe she is 4 months old already. She is so beautiful and I love holding her, especially when she looks up at me with those beautiful blue eyes that say; "I love you mom!" Lydia--I love you too and am so glad you came to our home!

Farewell Heather

Today my sister Heather reports to the MTC. She has been called to serve in the Germany Munich Austria mission. Good Luck Heather! We love you and are praying for you!