By Geri Imler on 10/30/2009 1:02 PM

Well, I have already menitoned what a big day we had around here yesterday, but let me add a few details.  First, on being silly for Halloween....well, Abigail and Emma have been acting super silly in terms of doing things for Halloween.  They are constantly building "Halloween Houses" inside, which could be anything from a pile of pillows to a table covered with a blanket.  They will take their stuffed animals and other toys over to the "house" and then will say, "Trick or Treat" to each other, pretending to give each other candy.  Saying the "Tr" sound is a bit hard for them, so it actually comes out sounding like "Bick or Beat," which is so adorable!  Yesterday Abigail decided to take a necklace and pull her hair back with it like it was a headband, put on a pair of play sunglasses upside down, and filled a purse with toys, declaring that it was time for Halloween.  She said she was ready for it with her headband and sunglasses, and then proceeded to pretend to put makeup on from a fake baby powder bottle (it is for her doll babies).  Emma thought she was hilarious and watched her in amazement.  Check out "Miss Thing" below.  Second, we decided to carve our pumpkins last night. This is another tradition that Tim and I started together, and I must say that we have had some great carved pumpkins in the last few years.  This year was the first year that the girls got to help us while Sophie slept in her swing.  (And let me add that Sophie was a champ sleeping in her swing so that we could get this done!)  First, the girls helped put out paper bags on the floor.  Then we carried in our pumpkins and got out our carving supplies.  The girls were SUPER interested in seeing what was inside of the pumpkin and were amazed when I pulled the top off of mine.  They tried to help scoop out the insides, but didn't really like the slimy feel, so instead watched intently as Tim and I cleaned out our pumpkins.  They kept informing us if there was more goop in the pumpkin to scoop out.  Being the good helpers that they are, they stirred up the bucket of "stuff" from the pumpkins and grabbed any stray seeds off of the floor that didn't make into the bucket.  Once Tim and I started putting designs on our pumpkins, the girls got undressed and got to use markers to decorate their own pumpkins.  You will see in the photos why we took their clothes off with the markers......  Anyways, they colored on their little pumpkins, but also kept close watch over what Tim and I were doing with our pumpkins. They asked lots of questions and watched very closely, putting their faces right up next to our pumpkins.  We kept asking them if they were done with their pumpkins, and they would say, "not yet!"  Then they would say, "It's perfect!" closely followed by a, "not yet!"  When we had all four pumpkins either carved or colored, we took them outside, lit the candles insideof them, and snapped some photos.  The girls thought this was so cool, and it was pretty funny to watch them check out the pumpkins while still in only their diapers.  After bath and bed time for Abigail and Emma, I finally got around to getting things ready for Sophie's bath.  Last night, I decided to give her a bath downstairs, which leads me to my third big thing for yesterday.  I had put Sophie down on the ground by her blanket and with a nuk in her mouth.  I had told Tim that earlier in the day she had been trying to roll over, curling her body over to one side before falling back onto her back again.  Well, right after I put her on the floor on her back, she rolled to her side.  I called to Tim to show him what she had been doing all day, but she didn't just stop there on her side...she kept on going all the way over to her belly!  She rolled for the first time, and we both got to see it!  I am thinking she was going after her nuk because it fell out of her mouth to land beside her shoulder.  So when she tried to roll to get it, she just kept going all of the way over to find it!  Once she was on her belly, she just kind of looked around, and then rolled back over to her back.  I put her nuk in her mouth for her, got up to get her bath, and looked back to find her snuggling with her Blankie.  It as ADORABLE, and all of that rolling must have been hard work!  We are so proud of our little Roly Poly!  She is only eleven weeks old today, so she is quite the ambitious mover and shaker!  All-in-all, it was a BIG day for all of us! 

  

Abigail being silly with her headband (a necklace), sunglasses, and purse.  Check out that pose on the left!

  

Taking the top off of my pumpkin to show the girls (left), and them trying to scoop a little out of my pumpkin (right).

  

Abigail (left) and Emma (right) coloring on their pumpkins.

    

Abigail (left) and Emma (middle) with their pumpkins.  And this is what happens when you have a naked Emma, markers, and my sneakers....(right).

Emma (left) and Abigail (right) checking out the lit pumpkins, looking at the candles inside.

Our Pumpkins!  From left to right: Tim's, Abigail's, Emma's, and Geri's

Sophie RIGHT after she rolled, trying to get her nuk.

Sophie looking at me like, "What?!?  Did I do something?!?"  And me thinking, "You just rolled over!"

Sophie snuggling with her Blankie and nuk after rolling over for the first time.

By Geri Imler on 10/30/2009 11:38 AM

Yesterday was a really big day around here for us.  Besides the girls being super silly about Halloween, we also carved pumpkins last night, and then Sophie rolled over from her back to her belly for the first time!  I have some awesome photos from all of our activities, but for some reason, the website is having some technical difficulties.  So stay tuned for a more detailed blog with super cute photos hopefully sometime later today! 

By Geri Imler on 10/29/2009 11:48 AM

It has been a family tradition for me for many years to catch a leaf each fall in order to have good luck in the year to come.  I remember back to the days of running around in my parents' backyard trying to get one as they fell from the high trees above.  And sometimes, I would be out there for quite some time!  It always felt like such an accomplishment when you actually did get one, and no, my friends, it is not always easy to do!  I actually keep the leaf each year in the house, and we often take photos with our new good luck charm.  Once Tim and I started our own family, we decided to keep the tradition alive.  So each year we have taken the girls out to catch their annual fall leaf with us.  The first year we had to hold them, of course, as we tried to catch their leaf for them.  Last year, they did better at catching them as they stuck their arms out, but we still had to hold them.  This year they were so funny as they ran around trying to catch them.  We did still end up having to help them by holding them, but they were much better at trying to grab a leaf as it fell by them.  And this year was Sophie's first year to catch a leaf, which she did as I held her.  After we caught our leaves, we each got our photo taken with our leaf, and then the girls wanted to run around and try to catch more.  It was super cute.  Then we decided it would be a good night to head over to a pond that is near by to feed the ducks that are usually there.  We grabbed some old bread and headed on our walk to the pond.  Tim had asked the girls if they wanted to wear hats, so he put two old hats of his on them, and boy, did they look silly.  They have on bright blue pants, pink and white polka dotted jackets, and mismatched, too big for them hats.  What walking fashion disasters!  But we didn't care as we were just spending time together as a family.  At the pond, we didn't see the ducks anywhere, but there were plenty of fish.  The girls love tossing in bread into the pond, but we have to keep reminding them to throw in little pieces of bread.  It was a beautiful evening here, and the fall trees, in all their colors, were reflected in the pond.  Sophie slept through most of the fish feeding, but played a lot on the floor once we got back home.  Overall,  it was a great afternoon of fall traditions, family time, and fun!  Oh, and Tim had a Diary Queen Halloween themed ice cream cake waiting for us when we got home from Lima...it was super yummy!

 

Sophie (left) and Geri (right) with their leaves.

   

Tim (left), Emma (middle), and Abigail (right) with their leaves.

Our family on "Leaf Day!"  Tim, Abigail, Emma, Geri, and Sophie

  

Geri and Sophie at the duck pond (left), and Sophie sound asleep (right).

  

Emma (green hat) and Abigail (blue hat) discussing the bread and throwing it in for the fish.  Don't they look silly!?!?  Look how beautiful the pond is, though!

  

Tim and his girls at the duck pond (left), and Tim with the pond's reflection behind him (right).

The DQ ice cream cake that was waiting for us!  YUM! 

By Geri Imler on 10/28/2009 7:47 AM

This past week I took the three girls with me back to visit our hometown, Lima.  It is always a good time as we stay at my sister's house, and the girls get to play with their cousins, their aunt and uncle, their MawMaw and PawPaw, and their Gramma and Grandpa at various times.  One night while we were there, Uncle Ryan put together an obstacle course for the kids to try.  It included: jumping on a bouncy ball around cones, running through ladder rings, jumping over a mounted board, running up and down a mound of dirt, spinning around on a bat with their heads, and tight walking a hose.  The girls thought it was hilarious, espcially as Uncle Ryan helped them "jump" on the bouncy ball!  Another highlight would have to be the Halloween flashlights we got all of the kids.  They are just little pumpkin flashlights, but the four of them together had a good time running around with them and turning off all of the lights.  One night we also played at my parents' house in their big backyard.  While I tried to get the girls to play baseball and soccer with the boys, me, and my dad, they were more interested in playing with the wind chimes and picking leaves off of a bush.  They had little grocery bags that they decided to fill with the leaves off of the bush, and they were determined to get them all.  My sister and I also took on my dad and the boys in football, even scoring on a trick play!  Other highlights included: seeing their cousins in their Halloween costumes, playing at Gramma and Grandpa's in their puppet house, and sleeping in the same big girl bed.  We had a great visit, though it was a bit tiring as Sophie decided not to sleep a whole lot while there.  I guess she just didn't want to miss out on any of the fun, even though it was night time!  Thanks, Aunt Mimi, for letting us hang out at your house all week! 

     

Emma (left) and Abigail (middle) bouncing through the obstacle course with the help of Uncle Ryan.  Sophie (right) watched with Aunt Mimi.

  

Sophie (left) looking so adorable!  And Abigail, Ethan, Austin, and Emma with their pumpkin flashlights (right).

    

Emma (left) and Abigail (middle) playing hide-and-seek with the trees.  And the girls playing with the wind chimes (right).

  

Emma and Abigail picking the leaves off of the bush and showing me before putting them in their bags. 

  

Emma (left) and Abigail (right) in their cute jammies, relaxing before bedtime.

    

Cousins Austin and Ethan dressed in their costumes of a Ninja Turtle and a Ninja.

By Geri Imler on 10/27/2009 8:59 AM

Each year we take the girls to the zoo for what is called ZooBoo.  The zoo is decorated all up, they have trick or treating, and there are special animal shows and activities.  Of course we also walk around and see the animals, too.  In the past, the girls didn't say much about the decorations or the candy, but this year, being older, they really liked looking at all of the things that were up at the zoo.  They didn't find any of it scary, but instead thought it was silly to see spiders and skeletons and witches and so on.  As for the candy, as soon as they got that first treat, they wanted to sit down and eat it.  They caught on fast to the fact that there were more "stations" to head to in order to get more candy.  And they definitely wanted to eat everything they kept getting in their bags!  They tried all kinds of candy that they had never had before, and when we told them that was enough for now, they didn't want to let go of their bags.  They wanted to carry them around with them to make sure their candy was "safe," so to speak.  They did enjoy some playground time in their costumes, too, which was fun to watch them running around in their dresses.  And they loved running through a straw maze that was set up.  Overall, we had a great time, and Sophie was even awake most of the time, enjoying her first ZooBoo!

  

The girls checking out some of the decorations with MawMaw (left).  Each year we take a photo on this huge rock, and this is Emma's photo this year (right).

  

Abigail on the rock (left), and Sophie on the rock (right).

  

All of the girls with their Daddy at ZooBoo (left).  And Sophie looking at her Mommy and trying to "talk" to her (right).

Emma and Abigail taking a break to get some candy out of their bags.

Our Family at ZooBoo: Abigail, Geri, Tim, Sophie, and Emma

By Geri Imler on 10/27/2009 8:17 AM

We have been out of town for about a week, so it is time to play catch up on the blog.  This year, I was not sure what to dress the girls up as for Halloween.  Sophie's costume was easy as she was just going to wear one of the girls' costumes from their first Halloween where they were caterpillars.  I felt a little bad that she was getting a hand-me-down costume but that costume is just so adorable that I had to use it again.  As for Abigail and Emma, I kept asking them what they wanted to be for Halloween this year.  They even looked through a few magazines I had gotten at costumes and would point out things, but never the same thing over and over.  Tim thought it would be cute for them to be dinosaurs this year as they are really into that right now.  After looking around online, I thought it would just be easier to take them to a store and let them pick something out.  The first attempt, at a Halloween store, did not work as they could not make up their minds (go figure for a two year old!).  But the second attempt, at a Toys R Us store, worked out after several negotiations with the girls.  On the way to the store, Emma decided that she wanted to be a lion, while Abigail decided she wanted to be a leopard.  I had to tell them that those costumes might not be at the store, so they had to look around at others, too.  They didn't really like that idea, but they didn't fuss too much about it.  When we got to the store, they looked through all of the costumes, and they got super excited seeing all of the different options.  But each time we would hold one up and ask if they wanted to be that for Halloween, they would say no and move on.  We did find some dinosaur costumes, but none in their size, so that idea was out.  I had seen a witches dress that I liked, but didn't see it in their size, so didn't show the girls.  Well, Abigail found the witches dress on her own and proclaimed that she wanted to be that for Halloween.  As I tried to explain that their size was not available, she started to cry because she apparently had finally made up her mind.  Tim and I tried to get her and Emma to look at a pirate costume we found in their size, but they were not having anything to do with that.  Then Tim found one of the dresses in their size in a completely different location of the store, so now we were stuck because Emma had also decided that she liked that dress for her costume.  Therefore, we had finally found a costume they liked, but only one of them in their size.  I asked the clerk to see if they could call another store to find their size, and we lucked out.  So we drove to another store and picked up the costume, and it was decided...they were going to be witches for Halloween!  I completed the outfit with some black tights and black shoes, and the girls decided it would be cool to wear black gloves (even though the gloves are way too big for them).  Check out their costumes below!

  

Abigail and Emma, our Little Witches this Year (you've got to love how "proper" Abigail is sitting in her dress!).  And Sophie, our Little Caterpillar (right).

  

Abigail and Emma holding Sophie (left), and Sophie as a Caterpillar (right).

Emma, Sophie, and Abigail

By Geri Imler on 10/14/2009 9:43 AM

HAPPY HALLOWEEN FROM OUR ADORABLE PUMPKINS!

Abigail, Sophie, and Emma

  

Our Silly Pumpkins, Abigail and Emma

  

Our Littlest Pumpkin, Sophie

By Geri Imler on 10/14/2009 9:12 AM

 

Tim and I had gotten most of Sophie's nursery done while I was pregnant, from taking down all of the old furniture and stuff in there to painting and redecorating it.  We had gotten her bedding and used it as a template for colors in the room, using a cream, dark brown, and light and dark pinks.  I had gotten wooden frames and painted them to match the pinks, as well as painting the letters in Sophie's name.  We had all of the nursery furniture moved into the room from Abigail and Emma's room, and when we got them their big girl beds, we moved the two cribs into the nursery as well.  Abigail and Emma slept in Sophie's room in the two cribs for quite a while, as there was no need to rush them into their big girl beds until they were ready to do so.  When they both decided they wanted to move to their new big girl beds, we still kept the two cribs up as a "just in case" measure, even though we said we would not go back to cribs.  Abigail and Emma have done awesome in their new beds, which they moved into in early September.  I think it had a lot to do with waiting until they were ready to move instead of forcing it on them.  Now that they are settled into their new room (which is actually their old nursery that is now all grown up with big girl beds and their dresser), we decided it was time to take down one of the cribs and officially make it Sophie's room.  So on Sunday, we let the girls bounce and play in their old cribs for one last time, and then proceeded to take down one of the cribs (Emma's), rearrange the other crib, put on Sophie's bedding, and finish putting up her wall decorations, including her name.  Even though Abigail has been sleeping just fine in her big bed, she did have a hard time with us moving her old crib and making it Sophie's.  She cried for about a half an hour, saying it was hers and wanting to move it back, but finally she understood that she now has a big girl bed and this crib has to be for Sophie.  Once we put on the new bedding, it seemed to sink in a bit more for her, and when we finally put Sophie in the crib, Abigail was just fine.   I have to say, I just love Sophie's room.  First off, the room's colors are so nice and "girlie" for her.  And because it is just for one baby, it seems huge, compared to when we had to squeeze in two cribs.  It is just a really nice, cozy feeling place to be.  Sophie seemed to like her crib, too, as she "talked" and looked at the images on the bumper (I know they recommend not putting in a bumper, but I tie it up high so that she cannot roll into it later on but can still see it).  And a milestone happened for us that day, too, in that Sophie fell asleep (on her own!) in the crib and took a nap in it for the first time!  Anyways, it is nice to finally have the room done since I have been waiting to finish it for a long time, and I have been picturing it for an even longer time!  Now the next step will be to move her into her crib overnight, which will probably not be for a little while yet.  But we can definitely start trying out naptime in there!  Check out her new room:

  

Abigail and Emma saying good-bye to their cribs (left), and Sophie's first time in her crib (right).

  

Sophie in her crib!

  

Two different views of her nursery.

  

Sophie's first nap in her crib!

By Geri Imler on 10/12/2009 8:24 PM

Saturday was a beautiful day here in terms of weather.  With it being a perfect fall day, we decided it was time to head to a pumpkin patch.  We have started trying to make this a family tradition each year as we went last year as well, and we were looking forward to doing it again this year.  The pumpkin patch that we went to was on a farm, and there were a ton of things for the kids to do.  First the girls went to a barn to see a donkey (Abigail actually petted it), some goats, some piggies, a huge turkey (which the girls were not too sure about), some baby chickens with their mommy (which the girls LOVED), a bunny, and a baby cow.  After seeing the animals, we walked through an old barn, watched people shoot out pumpkins into a pond, and then headed to a straw maze.  The girls had a blast running around the maze and jumping over the straw.  They also were silly and put their faces through huge painted cut outs that were all around, including a scarecrow and some pumpkins.  Then it was on to the straw mountain, which was a huge pyramid made out of different layers of straw piles.  Our little climbing monkeys loved the straw mountain, of course!  There were other things to do, like an inflatable haunted house, a small train ride, and "jumping/bouncing" blow-up areas, but we decided to head to the main attraction...the pumpkin patch.  We could have taken a hayride back to the patch, but we decided it would be more fun to walk.  So off we hiked, and soon enough we were among hundreds and hundreds of pumpkins!  As we began searching for our perfect pumpkins, Abigail and Emma were too cute, saying things like, "Hmmm..." and "Look at this one!" and "That is a big one!"  Emma had watched me as I pushed a few over with my foot to have a look at all sides of the pumpkin, and from there on out, she kept lightly kicking each pumpkin she came to before commenting on it.  Abigail kept wanting to head in different directions as she kept seeing more and more pumpkins and wanted to explore all of the paths.  Sophie enjoyed the day in the Snugli with me, sleeping some of the time and drinking her bottle the other part of the time.  Tim and I found our two pumpkins that we thought would be great for carving later, and since the girls were going to pick their own smaller pumpkins at the nursery, we then just walked around the patch together.  Abigail and Emma tried to pick up pumpkins, sat on them, and examined them.  At times we would come across a pumpkin still on its vine, and I would show the girls, trying to explain to them how pumpkins grow.  As the hayrides would go by, pulled by a tractor, Abigail and Emma would wave at the driver and the passengers, and a lot of the time, they waved back at them, which they thought was neat.  After paying for our two big pumpkins, we headed to the nursery so the girls could each pick out a little one of their very own.  Abigail surveyed the selection and chose one pretty quickly.  Emma just could not decide on one as she didn't know if she wanted a "big little one" or a "little little one," so it took her a while to find the perfect one that she wanted.  On our way to the nursery, we had passed by pony rides, so after depositing our pumpkins in the car, we headed back for a pony ride.  The girls did excellent on the ponies, this being their fifth or sixth time on one from being at various events (Thomas outing, State Fair, etc.).  Tim and I didn't even walk with them as they rode the ponies, and they did great without any problems.  After that, the girls were pretty worn out from all of the playing and walking, so we decided to head home for the day.  When we got home, Abigail and Emma put their little pumpkins up on the front porch by our big pumpkins.  The girls had a great time at the pumpkin patch as they kept talking about what they did and saw later that night.  It was definitely a fun family day together, and here are lots of photos to help remember it. 

     

Sophie in her Snugli (left).  The girls looking at and petting (Abigail) a donkey (middle).  The girls checking out the baby chickens with the giant turkey (right).

  

Watching the pumpkins shooting into the lake (left), and Abigail as a pumpkin (right).

  

Emma as a pumpkin...what a cutie!

The girls running around the straw maze.

      

Abigail at the top of the straw pyramid mountain (left).  Abigail, Emma, Sophie, and Mommy exploring the pumpkin patch (middle ones).  Mommy showing the girls a pumpkin on a vine (right).

    

Abigail with a pumpkin -- so adorable (left)!  Both girls checking out the many pumpkins (middle and right).

     

More pumpkin fun!  The girls exploring (left), trying to pick one up together (middle), and sitting on them (right).

       

Sophie, cute as can be (left)! Emma, Mommy, Sophie, and Abigail with our two perfect pumpkins (middle).  Emma searching and searching for her perfect little pumpkin (middle).  And Abigail with her chosen little pumpkin (right).

    

Abigail being silly as she waits for Emma to pick her pumpkin (left).  Emma with her chosen pumpkin, finally (middle).  And taking a water break because pumpkin picking is hard work (right)!

By Geri Imler on 10/11/2009 8:25 PM

We had a BIG weekend, full of adventures and errands.  Saturday was a fun day as we all went to a pumpkin patch, and then on Sunday, we finished up Sophie's room (only one crib now!).  So stay tuned for exciting blogs and photos from our weekend to come sometime this week (when I get a chance to go through the mass amount of photos we took!).  Hope you all had a great weekend, too!