Back from the lake... on to the beach!

We are back from the lake and back off to the beach in the morning. You should see the amount of baby gear required to get us through a week at the beach.... pretty ridiculous! 

Tyler & Harper loved their first dip in the lake this weekend. We took lots of pictures & celebrated Grandmother Honey's birthday a little early. 

Dad & Tyler

Matching in blue

Harper & Grandmother Honey

Dad on float duty

Tyler loves to eat the octopus arms

Harper splashing around in the crab

Off to unpack & re-pack. We will try to post some beach shots in a few days! Happy 4th of July.

New camera.... more pictures!

Dad got a new camera for his birthday so expect a barrage a new pictures hitting the blog shortly, not to mention our upcoming trip to the lake and the beach.  Yes, the camera arrived early but we couldn't pass up taking pictures at the beach.  Perhaps one man, three ladies and a chihuahua will actually have some time to post while on vacation!

Sisters in their crib...

Harper striking a pose....

Tyler follows suit...

When Carrots Attack!!

Feeding the girls has gotten a little messy lately... they get so excited when the get in their highchairs. I cannot get the food in their mouths fast enough. The issue with feeding two at the same time is while you are putting a spoonful in one baby's mouth the other baby is smearing the food everywhere. We normally opt for a bib and they keep their clothes on, but last night I thought with carrots it would be just easier to strip them down and let them go to town.

Right before this picture was taken Harper (L) 

slung carrots into Tyler's eyes. 

You can sleep the blop on Tyler's head if you look closely. 

They were still hungry after they finished the carrots 

so bananas with mixed berries was added to the mix. 

What a mess!

Dad almost died when he walked in the door and saw the mess.

They were quickly whisked up to the bath for a good scrub!

*Normally our feedings are not this messy... we are really hoping this does not become the norm!

Here are some more pictures from the past 2 weeks or so!

Sitting Pretty

Tyler & Harper have finally gotten pretty close to sitting up. Big step! This will make it a lot easier on everyone now that the girls can sit and play together. They can balance on their own for a few minutes (sometimes seconds!) but nonetheless it is progress & we are all very excited about it. 

Miss Tyler in her chair

Harper balances long enough to play on her new ride-on toy

I am so proud of myself! Look at me sitting pretty!

Tyler 

Harper is starting to drink a little bit from her sippy cup

Relaxing & watching TV

The girls are at such a fun age right now. They smile & laugh all of the time. Play together. Steal toys from one another. Pet Pearce (yes, sometime Pearce is feeling nice and lets the girls pet him for a few seconds before running away). Splash in the pool & the bath. And cause such a scene on all of our outings.... everyone wants to come up and see the twin sisters!

Imaginon

Time to venture out. There is only so long you can take staying in all weekend. We decided to make a trip to Imaginon. While the majority of the activities are more appropriate for slightly older children, Tyler and Harper did have a great time playing with a school bus toy. You can tell by their faces in these pictures just how excited they were. We will definitely coming back once they get a little older.

Sunday meant another trip to the pool. The family's first trip on Father's Day did not go so well for all (Tyler), so we decided to give it another shot. Despite an overcast sky and slightly chilly water, both girls took right to the water and loved their new floats mom picked up this week. It was great prep for the weeks to come down at the beach!


We say it all the time - "the girls are growing up so fast", but the movie Dan in Real Life had several themes that resonated with me. We had the chance to watch it last Thursday after the babes went to sleep. On one hand I was terrified of a scene like the one in the link above or being called "a murderer of love" by my teenage daughters and on the other I felt myself yearning to fast forward to a time when they are old enough to actually come to their dad for advice. There is so much in store for our young family, but I guess for now I am content in trying to decode the "secret twin language" with mom... after all before I know it, dad probably won't be cool enough to talk to!

"Secret" Twin Language

Tyler & Harper have started their first official communication with one another. The so-called "Twin Language"! We have been trying to get it on tape for a few days now, but they will only do it when no one is watching. Its their "secret" & from the looks of it, I think they are already plotting against their parents & big brother Pearce. 

See the video below. I had to crawl into the room when I heard them start talking and hide under the coffee table to record this... once I was spotted it stopped. This can often be heard coming through the monitor early in the morning before it is time for them to wake up or more recently during nap time...  Unfortunately from my angle you can only see Tyler's face and the back of Harper's head. We will work on getting some more footage soon.

Up Close & Personal!

Some pictures of the girls from today....

(Alternating Harper & Tyler all the way down... 

they are starting to look more alike again!)

At their 6 month check-up they received an A+! 

Both girls are right above 15 pounds and 25" long. 

Double Trouble!

First Father's Day!

Today we celebrated Ian's first Father's Day by a trip to the pool with the little ladies...

Fathers Day 2008

Harper in the baby pool

Tyler loves the water.... right now

Hanging at the pool with mom & dad

Harper & Dad

Put me back in the water!

Mom & Tyler

Post dunk in the water 

Cried for 30 minutes

Harper getting a head start on swim lessons

She loved it!

A wedding to remember

Horse and carriage, cowboy boots, glow sticks, and Elvis sunglasses - nothing traditional, but everything Jacquelyn.  Elizabeth leaked the flower girl pictures early, but here is the real deal. We broke it up into several albums for your viewing pleasure.

Pictures speak louder then words, but we had an unbelievable, unforgettable time.  Kudos to all involved in the planning and execution.  The Friday night rehearsal dinner was full of heart felt toasts and backyard classics followed by a laid back party.  Saturday started out hectic and early, but the ceremony went off without a hitch.  The girls performed and more importantly the bride was beaming.  I plea the fifth when it comes to any dance moves Saturday night.  The pictures show how great the band was - just look at how many people were dancing.

We wish the happy new couple all the best and the girls all the time in the world before they want to get married.  :)

Bridesmaid's Luncheon

Rehearsal Dinner

Wedding

Flower Girls

Here are some pictures of Tyler & Harper as flower girls! They did such a great job... smiled all the way down the aisle & didn't even try to pull the flower rings off their head. 

Mr. & Mrs. Buckner

Here's a little preview of the wedding....

Jacquelyn & Jonathan

Flashing the cowboy boots!

It was a perfect day. Tyler & Harper were in their first wedding this weekend & did great! I think they loved the attention and they certainly stole the show being carried down the aisle. 

We are having some minor computer issues here so it may be a few days before more pictures get up from the weekend... sorry for the delay!

6 Months Old!

The girls are 6 Months Old today! Looking back at what we went through to get to this point, I have no idea how we survived the first few weeks. But now the girls are so easy going, so talkative, great sleepers, so curious, and as sweet as can be. We are apparently at the easiest point though... the girls have not started crawling or moving yet. We can not imagine not having them in our lives!

Tyler and Harper at 9 days old

About 5 lbs each (so tiny!)

Tyler (L) Harper (R)

Hanging out in our birthday suits!

We are off to Greensboro for Aunt Jacquelyn's wedding! Tyler & Harper will be making their first debut as flower girls. We'll see how it goes. We will post lots of pictures next week from the wedding.

Here are some more pictures from the past month.

Grandfather Mountain

In the past 3 weeks, Tyler & Harper have been to the beach, the lake & now the mountains! They are becoming quite the little travelers (and thankfully have become great riders in the car). This past weekend we went to Grandfather for a friend's wedding. Two sets of grandparents came along to help watch the ladies.

Big Poppy, Ebby, Honey & Pop with the girls

Before the Wedding

Leigh & Oliver Wheeler, Elizabeth & Ian, Wood & Sarah Catherine

Proud Parents with the girls

6 Months Old

We all had such a great time. Perfect weather, Family Dinners, Fun Wedding, Fly Fishing, Great Friends & Beautiful Babies!

Here are some more pictures from the girls first trip to the mountains!