Too Much Fun!

We have been having so much fun these past few weeks that I have not had time to update the blog! I have to be better because now I have a TON of pictures to choose from! How do I pick? Since I last updated the blog we have gone to our first Drive game, celebrated Father's Day, took another lake trip, and oh yea, they ate, pooped, and slept!!! :) They really are changing SO much! We are having more and more fun during their awake times. They make the sweetest noises and they love to smile at us. Jonathan and I are daily reminded of God's wonderful love as we look into our sweet babies eyes and see the true blessings that they are! Enjoy the pictures!!

Luke trying out the Bumbo seat. Sorry about the pink one buddy! He slowly slumped down :) He is not quite ready for it.

Madison loved it! She looks like such a big girl in it! Her little head is so strong!

Madison hanging out with daddy at the lake house. She gets prettier every day! She is daddy's little girl for sure!

Cool guy, Luke! I may be resting on a flower boppy but I am still one cool baby!

Madison's first bow! She does not have enough hair on top so we put it on the side! It didn't last one minute. I am ready for some bows!

Madison sleeping in her Papa's (Vaughn) hands. This is Papa's great-granddaughter!

What a great cousin! Austin gave Luke a bottle and they talked all about what he is going to teach him to do one day!

Father's Day! We made our first trip to church! The babies and I gave Jonathan an awesome grill and they had some good bonding time with dad!

Luke loved hanging out on the deck while we grilled some hamburgers. His sweet Aunt Angie ate him up!

I caught a sweet little smile! He was dreaming about his first Clemson game! He can't wait!

Madison gave us a sweet smile too! She was dreaming about how she is going to tattle on her brother :)

We took the babies to their first Greenville Drive game! They wore their I Love Daddy t-shirts to celebrate Father's Day weekend!

We went to the game with our sweet friends Bert, Hannah, and James. They are two great dads!

This his how Luke rolls! Papa Jackie gave Luke an adorable outfit that had this white shirt. Jonathan had to pop the collar!

This past week Jana came and took the babies newborn pictures. If you have not seen them yet, make sure you go to www.janacandler.net/blog and check them out! They are amazing!

"I Thought I Loved You Then"

Brad Paisley has a song out called "Then." It is a great song about how love grows as time goes by. Today Jonathan and I have been married for 3 years!

The chorus says...

And now you're my whole life

now you're my whole world

I just can't believe the way I feel about you, girl

Like a river meets the sea,

stronger than it's ever been

We've come so far since that day

And I thought I loved you then

That is so true! Here is a picture of us in high school when we first started dating. I was so in love with this fun, amazing, good looking guy! This was 13 years ago! As many of you know we dated in high school and the first part of college, then broke up for a while and finally got back together after college. Even though we have only been married for 3 years we have known and been apart of each others lives for a long time!! And, I thought I loved him then...

Last night we were able to go out for our anniversary. We had dinner at Soby's and ice cream at Marble Slab!! Yum! It was so fun to sit and enjoy dinner! Life has been wonderful with Luke and Madison and we were able to praise God for our new family and what He has in store for us in the future. It is amazing to look at Jonathan now and think about how much I love him now. Seeing him as a father is the most wonderful thing and greater than I could have ever imagined. He never ceases to amaze me! Jonathan is my best friend, my patient husband, our hands on daddy, and God's perfect match for me!! I feel so blessed and can't wait to look back in 50 more years and say "I thought I loved him then."

Happy Anniversary, Jonathan!

6 Weeks Old

2 more weeks have flown by since we updated you last. They babies are growing like crazy! I want time to freeze so I can hold them forever! I love this stage! I know I will love every stage! New this week...usually you get the gas 'smiles' and even though you know they are just gas it still melts your heart. Well, this week Luke has been wide awake and he will look up at me as I am talking to him and then this big smile comes across his face! It is truly a glimpse of God's goodness. I need to capture with the camera but we have not been too lucky yet.

Here are some pictures from these past 2 weeks. Madison is so beautiful and she gets prettier every day! Luke just seems to grow by the minute. He is so handsome and fun!

Jonathan and I at Chad's birthday party

My sister, Jennifer, talking to Luke

Gabby holding Madison

Happy Birthday Chad! Thanks for having us over!

My grandmother, Meme, holding Madison. I love Madison's hands. She loves to hold on!

We took the babies downtown last weekend. It was a beautiful day! We had a lot of fun walking around. That is one good looking dad!

Luke and Madison enjoyed the fresh air.

A trip downtown is not complete without lunch at The Hot Dog King! Yum!

We took the babies on their first boat ride! Here we are enjoying the sunset on the lake.

Madison relaxing on her first boat ride

Luke asleep in the pontoon

Enjoying the sun setting with Madison

Luke taking his first bottle. Even though it was still milk from mom it was hard to watch.

Silly, I know!

Jonathan feeding Madison her first bottle. They did great!

Cute Pictures From This Week

Luke and Madison are 4 weeks old today! It has been the most precious 4 weeks that we will always cherish.

Here are a few fun pictures we took this week.

Madison relaxing

Luke hanging out on the boppy. Look at him hold his head up! Go Luke!

I think they are starting to realize that the noises they keep hearing are coming from another person. They seem to be looking at each other.

I love this picture! Sleeping in their sheep swing together.

Jonathan and I took the babies on their first walk around the neighborhood.

"Don't even think about taking this paci away from me!"

Meeting their cousins, Noah and Micah. Madison is going to have to hold her own with 4 boy cousins and a brother.

3 Weeks Old and So Many Firsts

We had a great week! Their umbiblical cords finally fell off so we were able to give them their first real bath! No more sponge baths! Luke loved it! Madison, well, she was in a little water shock but every bath since has gotten a little more enjoyable! We also went to the lake house for the first time and stayed for the weekend. It was great to get out of the house and get away. We had so much fun hanging out rocking on the back porch! Jonathan was able to get the boat out and try some of his new toys...the wedge and a new surf board. Gabby and Papa watched the babies while Bert, Hannah, James, Angie, Kevin, Justin, and I went out on the boat for a little while. It felt great to be back on the water!

Here are some pictures from this week! We are so in love with them!

Madison warming up after her bath

Madison getting clean

Luke loving the warm towel straight out of the dryer!

Getting that rear nice and clean! It takes teamwork!

"Mom, this is nice!"

Luke soaking it up!

Does it get any sweeter than this??

Luke taking good care of Madison! Already such a great brother :)

Daddy and Luke having tummy chat time

Jonathan trying out his new toy! Did I mention he got it on the 1st try! Surfs up! Soon he will drop the rope and ride the wave.

Rocking our sweet babies on the porch

2 Weeks Old

"Every blessing you poor out, I'll turn back to praise."

I love that praise song! We truly feel blessed and we give all praise to God. I am feeling SO much better! Blood pressure is coming down, hemoglobin is back up, and I have a lot more energy now! I am really able to enjoy these precious gifts. Thank you all so much for all the prayers! We had another doctor's appointment yesterday. They were 2 weeks old and Madison gained 6 ounces since her last appointment!! She now weighs 4 pounds 10 ounces (birth weight was 4 pounds 8 ounces). Luke gained 6 1/2 ounces. He now weighs 6 pounds 6 ounces (birth weight 6 pounds 5 ounces). So they are both over birth weight! It made mama and daddy feel really good that they were gaining.

Here are a few of the thousands of pictures we have taken over the past 2 weeks. It is really hard to only choose a few!

Luke enjoying some floor time

Madison sleeping like a little angel

Luke ready for the summer

Madison asleep in her daddy's arms. I have fallen in love all over again with my husband! He is the most amazing dad and more than I could have ever dreamed of. He did everything when I was in the hospital and took great care of both me and the babies. I pray that Luke will be just like his dad and that Madison will look for a husband who is just like her daddy. Jonathan is the kind of dad I feel like every child deserves. He eats the babies up and I love watching him with them! Life with Jonathan just keeps getting better :)

Let's go racing boys!! Daddy watching his first race with the babies :)