Lone Sliders

The twins have conquered the slides on their own....although I still don't think they are quite ready for the spiral slides! Ethan is a little more adventurous, but Elaine will eventually join in.

The twins also enjoyed the other equipment at the playground, but I don't think anything beats the slides.

A Quiet and Relaxing Night

Tonight we celebrated the 4th by having a great cookout! After a busy morning at the playground the twins took a big nap and were ready to go!

The babies are still too little to stay up for fireworks, so we just hung out at the house all night. Next year should be easier to keep them up and still avoid any melt downs!

Swim, Eat, Sleep

After a good night's sleep (the twins slept in until 8:15am!) We decided to hit the pool. The kids had a blast swimming and splashing.

After an hour or so, the twins were pretty tired! We headed back to the house and decided to go out for lunch.

The twins enjoyed their grilled cheese and Bob and Katie's company. Elaine especially loved Katie sharing her water with her, both kids LOVE drinking out of straws! By the time we got back to the house, the twins were whipped and ready for naps...so were the adults. :)

Wow It's Humid Out Here!

After good naps, we had dinner and spent the evening playing in the backyard. The twins loved playing with balls, running around, and showing off their stair climbing skills. All the activity and the humid weather got the twins nice and sweaty!

Ready, Pack, Go!

We are leaving for Charleston, SC to see the Cole's this evening. The twins couldn't be more excited! Uncle Michael came over because he is watching our biggest baby....Charlie! Thanks Micheal!

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The drive went so well that we drove all the way through and got in around 1:15 am on Friday morning. The kids were awesome. The dual DVD players in my car definitely helped!

Pizza! Pizza!

We just got a Little Ceaser's in the area and I am estatic! The pizza is fine, but the Crazy Bread is beyond words, the kids were big fans of the bread too!

Late Night with Ethan Barker

After my double header softball game, I got home late only to find someone waiting for me....Ethan! Apparantly he was not tired and did not want to go to bed. It is hard to tell, but he was actually really happy and giggling when I took this picture. The flash made him squint. Eventually I was too tired and put him down. Thankfully he was fine for the rest of the night.

Finally! We Can Play With the Keyboards

Today the twins went to visit Patrick at his office. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't suceed in baby proofing his office. Luckily they have used computer parts galore, so it wasn't too difficult digging up some fun stuff to distract the twins from all of the wires.

A Bit of Italian for Dinner with Family

Nonie and Rhonda came down last night to watch the kids today while Patrick, Michael, and I ran the ACT. Rhonda was up from Kentucky to visist my mom after her graduation. Congrats Rhonda! We went to Buca's for dinner that night. There was a small wait that turned into a huge one so the twins got a little crazy.

Once we were sat, they were all smiles. They LOVE pasta! After dinner Nonie and Rhonda headed back to Urbana.

15 Month Checkup

Today we took the kids to the doctor for their 15 month checkup, almost a month late.... Here are the stats:

Ethan:

Weight 21lbs 6 oz (7.8%)

Height 29.5 inches (4%)

Head Circumference 18.5 inches (38%)

Elaine:

Weight 21 lbs 8 oz (22%)

Weight 30 inches (25%)

Head Circumference 18.5 inches (75%)

After the doctor's appointment, the twins got visitors. Friends of ours, Brian and Jen Russell, came over. They are expecting boy/girl twins later this summer. I was amazed, the twins were so warm to them. Usually they are very shy around strangers, but they loved hanging out with them. Ethan even let Brian hold him a few times!

Bring On the Heat!

After Uncle Don, Aunt Cate, and George left we relaxed, had lunch and they went down for a nap. We ran a few errands later in the afternoon and spent the rest of the day in the yard playing. The kids had a blast....especially after we showed them their surprise we picked up for them at the store. A POOL!

We didn't fill it up since it was almost dinner time, but the kids still had a great time.

Memorial Day Camping!

Every year Patrick has to leave the Sunday before Memorial Day to get his company's conference ready. So the kids and I said goodbye to everyone and headed up to Dayton to meet my family at the campgrounds. It was completely night and day to the Labor Day trip. They could walk around, play, and enjoy so much more! It was so hard to pick pictures to show everyone.

No Kids Allowed!

We got to the hospital to see the new baby, but the twins were not allowed to come in. You can see the lost expressions on their faces as we told them! :)













While Patrick and I went in to see Phillip, the twins hung out in the waiting room with their grandparents. Once they saw all of the distractions, they quickly forgot the devastating news!

A New Arrival

After almost three days, the twins new cousin was finally born! Phillip Padberg Barker.

PS. I do not have the Swine Flu! I had some allergies and was being precautious in case it was a cold.

Our Baby Days Are Coming to an End

Grandma and Grandpa came today for the upcoming arrival of our new cousin. Pretty soon we won't be the babies in the Barker family!

Training for the Major Leagues

Tonight Patrick and the twins were able to come to my softball game. The kids had a blast playing with their toys and running around. Patrick and I are now talking about taking them to a Reds game this summer to see if they enjoy it.

Happy Birthday Morgan!

This weekend we went up to Urbana for Morgan's birthday. Her birthday is actually a day before mine, but my parents were in Hawaii until last Sunday so we had to postpone the celebrations. The twins had a great nap at Nonie and Poppy's before heading over to Aunt Jamie and Uncle Mark's house. Elaine had a hard time waking up and needed some Nonie time to wake up.

Morgan's Uncle Chuck and her cousin Lily were able to make it to the party, so Elaine immediately ran over to see who the new chick was!

Ethan, on the other hand, chose to lock himself in the dog's cage until he could size the new girl up. His interactions with girls is mainly Elaine and she is a bully so he needed to be cautious. Once he deemed Lily safe, he joined the ladies for some fun with cars.

After dinner we all sang Happy Birthday to Morgan and had some cake and ice cream. By the end of the night, the twins were spent and quickly fell asleep!

Mother's Day

Today we went over to Melissa and Timmy's to celebrate Mother's Day. The boys hung out with the kids while Melissa cooked up some sides and I put finishing touches on the upcoming baby's room.

We had ribs, mac n cheese, corn and brownies. It was scrumptious.

The Grass Isn't So Scary!

This weekend Patrick and I spent a lot of time outside working on the yard. We put a retaining wall along the driveway and had a bunch of dirt delivered so we could level out the yard. Now we just need a lot of rain and warm weather to get this grass seed to grow and a bigger yard for the twins.



After the babies woke up from their nap, I took them outside to play. For the first time they didn't flip out being in the grass. The only tears were from fighting over toys! :)

On the move!!!

The kids have started walking!! They've be doing this for almost two weeks....just in time for their Nonie to leave on vacation and miss it. Yes, they are evil like that. Their Aunt Cate and Uncle Don got to see them in action last weekend though.