What was life like before them?

It is amazing to think how life has changed! We now get to spend each day with Luke and Madison and soak up every smile, coo, and precious movement! Our life was sweet before, but now we are so grateful to our Heavenly Father that we have been given the chance to be parents. I look at everything differently and I have new feelings that I never knew were there! The sweetest of feelings when they look up at us and smile and make the cutest noises and the worst of feelings when we watched them get their 2 month shots! Nothing has pulled at our hearts harder than seeing those alligator tears!!

They are growing like CRAZY and changing every day! Luke now weighs 11 pounds 12 ounces and is 23 1/2 inches long. Madison is now 9 pounds 5 ounces and 22 inches long. They are both smiling and making sounds of joy! They are noticing they have hands and starting to swing at toys that hang. They are so strong and love to lift their heads. I was looking back at the pictures from the hospital and I can't believe how much they have changed in 11 weeks! They already look so different. I am trying to take as many pictures as I can to capture everything!

Enjoy the picutres!!

Gabby got Madison her first bracelet with her initial on it!

Madison smiling :)

Luke was making his sweet cooing noises!

Look at how strong she is! She loves to lift her head up and look around! She is not going to miss anything!

Sometimes when Jonathan and I are getting ready we will lay them on the bed in our room. The other day we did this and they feel asleep! How cute are they?? Love it!

Family photo at Blake and Megan's wedding

Luke looked adorable!

Madison looked like a little princess!

Meeting Mr. Parker Lee! The dads are so proud of their boys!

Some of our best friends! Madison is going to try to keep up with Parker and Luke on the lake! I think she can do it!

Jennifer, Ryan, and I at the rehearsal dinner

Jonathan and I enjoying the night out

My sweet friend, Shelley, came to Greenville for the day to meet the twins! Caleb came along for the ride!

Luke and Caleb checking each other out

I was going to put up a picture with Madison happy but then I thought this one just fit the situation! Luke is saying, "Do you hear that Caleb? Aren't you glad we are boys and don't have to deal with all that moodiness!"

Melt your heart! Luke loves his daddy and couldn't stop smiling at him! I was so glad we caught it!

Thank you Aunt Sharon for this adorable outfit! Madison wore her first headband!

July 4th Weekend and More

We had a great 4th of July weekend spending time with family and friends! We loved being on the lake and relaxing at "Gabby's Doublewide" for the weekend. On Sunday night, we were able to fry fish at Angie and Kevin's. The babies loved hanging out with everyone and were spoiled!! Enjoy the pictures!

On Monday, before the 4th, our good friends Geoff and Brenna came to see us again with Riley and Quinn. Here the girls are talking about having a tea party when they get older!

The boys and their dads

2 Months Old

This is one of those pictures that is too funny not to post. We put them in their Bumbo seats one night before bedtime and they both look like they are about to fall asleep!! Those sweet little eyes!

Best Buddies

Madison hanging out with Dad

We had our festive colors on for the 4th of July weekend

Cuddle time!

My cousin Chad taking a nap with Madison

Madison and Luke have no idea yet just how cool their dad is!! He is amazing!

This is my cousin Blake one week before he gets married!! I was praying he would not brake anything!! Awesome air, Blake! :)

Here are my other cousins...Chad, Brent, and Chandler! We had a blast with all of you on the lake! They had no fear!

Mommy's little firecracker and Daddy's little sparkler

4th of July outfits..thanks Courtney!

Nana holding Luke. She said he was purring like a cat as he slept!

Nanny Harris holding Madison

This one I took this morning. These Bumbo seats are pure entertainment for us! How funny do they look. Madison could not keep her head up she was so sleepy and Luke could not keep his eyes off of the fan.

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!