Happy Birthday Aunt Melissa!

Tonight we went to Aunt Melissa and Uncle Timmy's house to celebrate her birthday. Some other friends from college came with their kids.

Patrick and Uncle Timmy took some time away from the grill to give the kids some TLC.

Aunt Melissa gets some birthday love from Ethan.

Elaine plays through the screen with Leslie and Brandon's daughter, Isabel.

We're Back

We got up early this morning and headed back to the campgrounds to see the babies. Patrick, Mark, Michael, and my Dad joined in a cornhole tournament. Jamie and I took the kids swimming again, this time they had baby floats that my Mom got them. Sorry no pictures, Jamie and I were too busy with the kids. That evening Patrick fried a couple of chickens, and roasted some corn and potatoes. It was an awesome dinner! After a crazy day, Ethan and Elaine were happy to get into comfortable pj's and relax.

Once the twins were changed and started eating their final bottles, we got out the cake and presents to celebrate Jake's birthday.

Hello....Goodbye

Today we left the twins at the campgrounds with my family to go to a wedding back in Cincinnati. This is me saying goodbye to my gorgeous babies. The twins went swimming with their Aunt Jamie and Uncle Mark and relaxed with thier Nonie and Poppy.

The wedding was such a good time! It was held at the same place that we had our reception, so it was nice to remember the good times. The ceremony was beautiful and we loved seeing everyone.....some people we hadn't seen in over two years! Congrats Jeff and Crista!

The Great Outdoors!

This weekend was the twins first overnight camping experience. We got in early Friday evening and set up the pop-up. My mom made an awesome dinner and then we all just relaxed and enjoyed each other's company.

It's So Beautiful

This photo Patrick took would win an award if it was up to me! Sure the lighting isn't great, the angle not quite there, but look at the content! If they can start doing this at every feeding, it would save us about 1.5 hours a day....go babies, go!

Birthday Party part II

Today my family came down to celebrate Patrick's birthday. Of course we had his favorite cake....yellow with milk chocolate frosting! Patrick smoked ribs all day. The twins sat at the head of the table and entertained everyone. This is the last celebration for Patrick, his actual birthday is in two days.

A Little Privacy Please

The twins' cousins Morgan and Jake came with Aunt Jamie and Uncle Mark tonight. Morgan and Jake showed their skills off with helping put the twins' pajamas on before thier bedtime bottle.

A Manny For A Day

Uncle Michael helped out when the twins babysitter took a few days off to see her daughter in Arizona. How did it go? Well if you talk to Michael you would think he was a saint for not throwing one of them across the room in frustration. (he said they cried non-stop) Personally, if you can still smile at the end of the day it couldn't have been THAT bad!....maybe the smile is because he is on his way out. :) Regardless the kids had a great time and Patrick and I are grateful for the help...Thanks Michael!

Splish, Splash

The kids are becoming big bath splashers. I really wish they would get it together and sit up on their own so we can move to the bathtub. Plus they are getting too big for the baby tub.

6 Months

They are 6 months old today and as a present they get......SHOTS! Here is a snap of them unknowingly waiting for thier torture.

Ethan:

Weight: 16lbs 5.5oz (29%)
Height: 25in (7%)
Head Circumference: 17in (35%)

Elaine:

Weight: 14lbs 14oz (28%)
Height: 25.25in (33%)
Head Circumference: 17in (73%)

A Night With The Smith's

Tonight we hung out with Jeff and Suz The kids enjoyed a new space and the park they have right outside their door. We just relaxed and hung out


Elaine has moved from Cheerwine to Miller Lite....it's like my life in super fast forward!

BEETS!

I think the title says it all!

From Gizmo to Gremlin

As a newborn, we used to call Elaine Gizmo or Magwai (sp?). She had such big eyes and when she cried hard she sounded like she was saying "magwai, magwai" over and over again. Now she has a tuft of hair on the top the always spikes up after a bath. (I swear, it just does it on its own) So now that she's a little booger, we call her Spike when she behaves badly.

The Tour Continues...with Royalty!

Saturday we left Cleveland around noon. FOUR hours and four poop stops later we arrived in Urbana! (the trip usually takes about 2.5 hours) We relaxed a little and then met Emily, Nate and their ADORABLE son Owen at the Champaign Countly Fair! This was Patrick's first time at the fair. As we were waiting for Em, Nate, and Owen Patrick couldn't resist getting a Jumbo Iced Tea.














Owen and the kids took a tour of the livestock barns. Patrick got a tour of the manure piles!...yes that is a big pile of hay and poop in the background. I know he is sick of hearing this, but he was most impressed with the size of the cows/steers. It was so CUTE!

























Emily enjoyed some cuddling time with the babies. I think we got her clock restarted...sorry Nate! :) We meant to get a picture of Emily with her Fair Queen crown (she was crowned summer of 1995), but once we went back to their house the twins had to eat and quickly fell asleep.

Birthday Party

Friday night Uncle Don, Aunt Cate, George and Cate's mom Claire came over to celebrate Patrick's Birthday (a little early). The twins had fun helping Daddy blow out his candles.

George showed his expertise on the jumperoo for Ethan. Elaine stopped for a quick cheese as she was saying goodbye to Aunt Cate. They had to leave because they were leaving early the next day for vacation.














With all of the excitement that day it was a little hard to get them down, but they eventually crashed as did Patrick and I.

Twins Day

We had lunch at Deli on Rye this afternoon for some great corned beef sandwiches. A little later we headed off to the Twins Fest for registration.








It was our first time at this festival, so we were not sure what to expect. The first day is registration, children field games, and a hot dog roast. It is only for twins and their families. Saturday and Sunday is when the media and general public are allowed. We also learned that that is when the actual festival is open. So basically Friday is just a time to meet and greet each other...and man do they ever! Patrick and I have long learned how to deal with the public. We never make eye contact even when we can hear them talk about us. Here though, EVERYONE IS A TWIN. This means they think they can just walk up to you and take a picture with you. Some people were nice and asked, others just jumped in. There was one point that the twins were so surrounded we had to step out of the way....well actually I think we just got pushed out of the way! :)


Here is one picture of another set of boy/girl twins. It was right after this that we got swarmed and pushed to the side as people took pictures with the babies. They handled their celebrity very well!

The Tour Begins!

We left Thursday night to begin our weekend tour of Ohio! We arrived in Cleveland around 9 o'clock in the evening. We immediately made bottles, changed into pj's, and sent the kids off to bed. Surprisingly it went very smoothly.

Ethan was the first to try out George's jumperoo....he LOVED it immediately! As you can see Ethan was having a blast!

A little later we tried Elaine in it.....

As you can see she is definitely a "lady of leisure"! She eventually starting getting the hang of it.

Mr. Entertainer

The kids are starting to interact. Today Patrick was outside cleaning out the gutters and I was working on the basement stairwell just around the corner. Ethan seems to have found the magic touch to entertain Elaine.

Our Future's So Bright

Tonight we went for a walk. The twins couldn't have looked more cool!

New Toys Emerge

Ethan is starting to enjoy his exersaucer. He is a little short, so I had to put a phone book on the bottom to help stabilize him! Elaine is still perfectly content relaxing back in her bouncy chair.....oh what a perfect Blair! I think Patrick is looking forward to getting the two swings out of the tv room, little does he know that other toys will just fill in the space.