Chilly Willy is Dead!

It's a sad day in the Labhart household.  Chilly Willy came to an untimely end today.  It's hard to say exactly why, but the Bug has had it in for Chilly Willy every since the Willy came to our home.  Maybe it was jealousy or that annoying laugh, possibly it was just boredom.  Whatever the reason, the Bug has been bent on destroying Chilly for some time and today, in the aftermath of the moving caos, she made her move.  By the time we got there it was too late.  Chilly Willy was dead but oddly he was still laughing.  Chilly was funny that way.  There was nothing anyone could do ... except capture it on video (see below).  Chilly will be missed.  In honor of the death of Chilly Willy, Laura is making some chilly for dinner.  I think that's what Chilly Willy would have wanted.

Bubby's first hair cut

Today was a momentus day in the life of the Bub. He finally decided to get a handle on the hair situation that quite frankly has been the subject of more than a little gossip at the day care. To cut or not to cut? That is the question. The answer came in the form a high priced hair cuttery targeting gullible first time parents and the beauty of it is that it was only 2 minutes from our house ... Kid's Snips & Parties. For $22.95 Bubs got to sit in a jet fighter barber chair watching Barnie or something like it while the nice stylist cut off a couple of pieces of hair, placed them in nice container, took a picture and, you guessed it, gave him a certificate. It was quite the event (see pictures & Video below). But Jack took it all in stride. Chip on the other hand was less than impressed. In her defense she has bigger fish to fry ... a mean case of the diaper rash. Enjoy the pictures (of the hair cut, not the diaper rash).

New Pictures

Kaelin's Senior Picture Preview

Me an addiction? ... Don't be silly, I can quit any time

Well we are back at Owensboro, KY. We moved last week and thanks to the P's we are almost out of boxes. I imagine no one is looking at the blog anymore since it has been SOOO long since the last update. But we got some cool pictures made and I had to post them. So for those of you who are ultra-loyal to the blog (I'm going to call it scary loyal), here's your reward, and it is a big one.

Back at Home sweet Home

We've been back home from Kiawah for one week now. We managed to dodge two hurricanes with a little good planning from Laura. The drive back was 100% better than the drive down. We stationed one of us in the front of the van (the driver) and the other in the very back seat of the van (the dog and pony show for the twins). This worked so much better. Two advanced degrees between the two of us and this idea never occurred to either of us as we were prepping for the trip. It's not like the concept was foreign to us. We've seen those poor couples who ride one in the front and the other in the back. But prior to our "Donneresque" trip to Kiawah it always struck us as kind of odd. In fact we would comment as to how it seemed that this type of "separation" would, over time, take a toll on the relationship. What we discovered on our trip was that screaming induced insanity has a more immediate and significant impact on a relationship than not sitting next to each other. Tonight we are enjoying a not so quite evening on the deck. But it definitely is nice to have the comforts (bouncy seats, swings, boppies and cribs) of home.

Pictures - Exploring the Mud Puddles of Kiawah

Chippy is very serious about her mud puddle exploration

Ocean Wildlife
On the hunt with Crazy KZ
I got this!
The Platinum bikini vs. the control top

The fountatin at Charleston

Lions and Tigers and Frogs? ... Oh My!

I wanted to attach these pictures to the previous post but apparently we have a bug in the system.

Charleston and the Beach

Wednesday we went to Charleston for lunch. Judging by the screaming in the back of the van on our way back to the condo, we over stayed our welcome by about 15 minutes. We went to 82 Queen restaurant. That went relatively well. We are always concerned that we are bothering other people in the restaurant when we go out, but several people made a point to come over and say hi to the kids. I think they felt sorry for us. The twins ate their lunch on the water at "Waterfront park". From there we headed to the fountain in the sqaure and then back to Kiawah. Going out is a lot of work but we still think it is worth the effort.



Thursday we saw two alligators. Pretty cool. Becky texted (is that a word?) one of her friends to tell him and his reply was (and I quote) "don't get too close". Good tip.



Laura and I are beginning to think our life with twins is a really large birth control Billboard, a cautionary tale if you will. Having Becky along has re-inforced this notion. She is living the care free single life. Becky wore a different string bikini bathing suit to the beach every day with the coup d'état being the "platinum" bikini. After all, shiny metal is the best thing to wear out in the sun. I guess from a pratical standpoint, if she gets lost at sea, the US Government will be able to spot her from one of their spy satellites. Laura and I were just proud to have had the time to purchase swimming suits. Laura wore the same control top one piece every time we went out and let's be honest, most people who saw me in my suit were wishing that they made a control top for men. Becky has been very helpful and supportive, but I can't help but notice that her disposition improves exponentially every minute closer we get to her flight home.

I will post pictures when I get some time.

Kiawah with Becky

This week we are in Kiawah, SC at the beach with the kids and Laura's Sister, Becky. To date this is the longest trip we have taken with the kids (8 hours). The drive down left a mark. So much so that I don't think we are going to leave until the kids are 5 and we have installed DVD players in the car. All kidding aside, taking two 7 month old babies to the beach requires a lot of planning and work or so I'm told. Laura pretty much single handedly planned this trip and it has been a lot of fun so far. We are on our third day in and I think we are starting to find our groove. The weather has been great. We took the kids to the beach yesterday and again today. They really enjoy the birds and the people and the Ocean (at least at a distance). We let them sit in the Ocean with Laura and I yesterday and a wave splashed in their faces. K climbed me like a tree and was looking over my shoulder to make sure that she didn't get hit again. It was actually the first time I saw her afraid of anything. So for now we have decided to stay in the little puddles left when the Ocean recedes from high tide to low tide. So in summary, we drove eight hours to sit in a salty mud puddle. How the mighty have fallen. Currently, the kids are down for a nap and Becky and Laura are riding bikes on the Island. Tomorrow we plan to drive in to Charleston for lunch and at some point Becky and I are going to go looking for Gators. Bug is spending the week at the Doggy Spa in Knoxville. She's usually worthless for a couple of days after all the pampering she gets there. Enjoy the pictures.

Grandparent Labhart Visit

JZ, KZ and the Geeps


Jack's new Granpa Jack Hat (Getting Ready for the Beach)

I think I can crawl ... almost

The only way the Bug can get any camera time these days is to walk into shots of the Kids

Kaelin in the Grandpa Jack Hat

The Labhart Grandparents were here this weekend. It went really fast but it was fun nonetheless. They were a big help and the kids enjoyed having them. Grandma Labhart found Kaelin's tickle spot. Apparently K was laughing uncontrollably. If you know K, this is a significant accomplishment. On Saturday, we traded our 2 door Accord in for a 4 door Accord, bought some bigger car seats for the kids and met Aunt Julie at Lake Tellico for dinner. Sunday I got called in to work and everyone else hung at the house. Laura got a much needed nap. Today the GP's are heading home, the twins are spending a short day at day care and then we are going for a doctor's check up this afternoon. This is the twins 7 month birthday. The celebration was markedly subdued.

Next on deck is Laura's sister, Becky ... see you at the Beach on Saturday Beck!

Finally an Update

Jack & Kaelin are 8 short days from celebrating 7 months of age. Jack continues to out-weigh his little sis by a few pounds, but she was the first to roll over and cut her teeth. Both have cut their first two teeth - and with the help of a little Tylenol, they managed quite nicely. They each have their own styles - Jack is much more the talker and instantly loves everyone - except he did cry for the first minutes he spent with Grandpa Flannery this visit. Miss Kaelin is much more studious - she makes you work pretty hard for a smile and her new favorites are grabbing hair, glasses, and necklaces. Both have been eating solid foods since about 4 1/2 months and they continue to be great sleepers - bedtime promptly at 8, and they usually sleep until 7. They both love bananas, and most other fruit except peaches. Vegetables (especially green) are still a bit of a gamble and there has been more than once where they have spit it back out at me. But in order to keep ahead of Kaelin, Jack is definitely the more eager eater - he is great at opening his mouth wide for the food!

Grandma and Grandpa Flannery have been here two weeks, so the twins have enjoyed their vacation from day-care and have been able to stay home and get spoiled by the grandparents. Lucy has also enjoyed their stay - instead of being in the bathroom/linen closet for the day, she gets to roam free. We are heading to the beach at the end of August - we are praying for an uneventful 7 hour drive. As back-up, Mike has already purchased a distraction toy for the car (it is a mouse attached to a fishing pole that we can dangle in front of them - that's right, a cat toy). Auntie Becky is flying to Charleston and will be vacationing (helping) with what is sure to be an event of trekking the kids and supplies to the pool and ocean.

We are looking forward to Grandma and Grandpa Labhart visiting this weekend - as you can tell, we are now very popular with the family. We love being able to spend time with the family and enjoy more-frequent breaks with the additional help.

Kaelin is rolling over

Note of mention: Kaelin is now routinely turning over on her belly every time we put her in the crib.

Catching Up

A lot has happened since the last blog. My parents came in to help with Laura's third week back to work (see pictures below). We had some professional pictures made of the family ... a first. If you want to see and/or order any of these go to http://www.sueduncanphotography.photoreflect.com/ and click Laura Labhart and use password llabhart. This week has been the first week at daycare. We really like the day care but it is tough leaving them there. Laura has Monday-Wednesday-Friday. Tuesday and Thursday is Daddy Day Care day. I'm really enjoying those days. We are still looking at our options for in home care. Enjoy the pictures.