4th of July fun!

Happy!!

Our Independence Day celebration kicked off a few days early as family arrived to spend the long weekend with us in Mount Pleasant. We had a full house and tons of fun! Will and I recently added a patio and pergola to the back yard just in time for barbeques and nice summer evenings!

We started the weekend last Thursday to celebrate Taylor's 5th birthday! She was so sweet and appreciative of the lopsided cake I made her. Kate and Wright enjoyed singing "Happy Birthday" and eating yummy cake!

4 children + 1 on the way (my sister) and 6 adults all staying in the house for 5 nights=fun chaos!

Love Taylor's face in the photo!

Taylor and Kennedy Anne

We grilled out each night, ate watermelon on the beach and at the pool, built sandcastles, jumped waves, learned to blow bubbles in the pool, ate corn on the cob, watched fireworks and LOVED our weekend!

Sweet picture of Taylor walking Kate to the water on Sullivans Island

Papa with Wright

Chasing toddlers down the beach

Wright did not save any fruit for the rest of us!

Playing football with Daddy, Wright loves to throw the ball and run

Very sleepy babies, momma and We We (my mom) after a long weekend that ended with fireworks in the neighborhood. Kate and Wright stayed up for it and were not scared. They kept waving and saying "Hey" and later "Bye Bye" to the boom, boom!

Love my snuggles!

Sneaking into the bag of popcorn.....

End one and begin another

Kate and Wright recently completed their first semester of Little Gym! We were very pleased with our teacher and the skills they learned...plus we enjoyed meeting new buddies!

Here are a few pictures from their last day and awards ceremony.

I love watching them play together

Wright is always a fan of playing with and then putting away the balls

Kate loves to roll over the barrels

She can now do a roll by herself...it isn't always straight, but it is always cute to watch

Wright didn't want to roll, but enjoys pushing them

They were not too excited about receiving their medal, didn't quite understand why they had to stand up in front of everyone

18 month check up went very well, not surprising Kate and Wright were very clingy and did not want to cooperate with their weight and length check. They did calm down once they realized that we were not leaving them with the nice nurses and then they were all smiles for Dr. Graham. He was very complimentary of their eating behaviors and social skills. The shots went exactly as expected.

Kate:

weight 22 1bs 2 oz 16th%

length 31 3/4 inches 48th%

Wright:

weight 27 lbs 10 oz 71% (although two days before he was 28 lbs 6oz at sick visit)

height 33 1/2 inches 79%

They continue to play very well together! Of course we have the occasional wars, but mostly they share with each other and look out for one another. Wright has a tendency to want whatever Kate is interested in and sometimes she gives in and other times she will fight him. He has been to "time out" a few times for laying on Kate while she screams trying to catch her breath or for hitting. Time out at this stage consists of Wright in a chair with me standing in front with my back turned watching my watch...58, 59 and 6o seconds...he is usually kicking at me and/or yelling. That is one of the harder things with twins, when one needs correction for hurting the other, but the other needs to be consoled. We usually just take it one situation at a time!

They still love their shades

We have started basic swim lessons and our first one went well! Our neighborhood pool has a swim team and one of the coaches is doing a private lesson for Kate and Wright. On Friday they learned to blow bubbles and become more comfortable with arm and leg movement in the water. Our goal is for them to not be afraid of the water and to learn how to float on their backs...so cute watching them. We had plenty of opportunity this weekend to reinforce what they are learning. So thankful for our pool on these hot summer days!

Daddy

Kate and Wright adore their Daddy and rightfully so. He is an amazing father! The squeals and excitement when Daddy is around is so sweet. When they hear or see a truck it is immediately, Daddy? with a smile. Most mornings when Kate wakes up her first word is Daddy. Will spends so much quality time with them and shows so much love and we are all very lucky! We love you, Happy Father's Day!

Hold Me...Kiss Me

Weddings are so wonderful especially when it is two of your dear friends. We were fortunate to be a part of Whitney and Kevin's special wedding weekend! She was a gorgeous bride and everything was wonderful from start to finish. Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Kevin Gundersen!

Rehearsal at Washington Park

Whitney, Jennifer and I at the reception

All of our girlfriends from college!

Kate and Wright had their first weekend away with Will's parents. They did great and we enjoyed our time together.

Great friends, delicious food and dancing...it was perfect!

Memorial Weekend

We headed to Athens for Memorial Weekend and enjoyed some time with family and friends! On Sunday my parents hosted a cookout with all of my Dad's family. Kate and Wright were able to meet some of my cousins, aunts and uncles and enjoyed seeing their great grands again!

Wright's new favorite toy...school bus!

Wright was playing so hard and loving the bubbles!

Wright hijacked Taylor's jeep...couldn't figure out how to drive it...thank goodness~

Kate was not too keen on riding with brother

We couldn't believe how much Wright loved the brats from the grill and then Kate picks up a hamburger and starts eating.

Saturday night my mom celebrated my upcoming birthday with a family dinner. She made my favorite and I had my fair share of everything! Earlier that day she watched Kate and Wright so I could go and visit my dear friend Jennifer. Mom was fairly secretive about what they had been up to until after dinner. She had taken Kate and Wright to the strawberry patch to pick strawberries for my birthday strawberry pie! It was so sweet and meant so much to me. It was so tasty too! Kate loved it and Wright wouldn't even try a bite. Seems that Kate got my sweet tooth and Wright is like his daddy.....see picture above