By Geri Imler on 11/19/2009 10:51 AM

This past weekend the girls got to have fun with their Gramma and Grandpa.  They came into town for the weekend, which included a fun walk at the park, playing around our house, reading a lot of books together, and going out to dinner.  Abigail and Emma got to show Gramma and Grandpa their "tower" they like to go to at the park where they "fish" with sticks.  They also go to show them their playset outside as Gramma and Grandpa had not seen it completed yet.  We also got to celebrate Grandpa's birthday (a little late) with presents and cards.  Of course Abigail and Emma had to help him open his gifts and help him read his cards, which was super cute.  Part of the reason Gramma and Grandpa came into town was to watch the girls for us while we went to the Colts v. Patriots game Sunday night, which was a birthday gift to Tim back in September.  I will post photos from that later, but I wanted to say THANKS to them for taking care of our little girls!  Overall, we had a nice weekend together! 

  

Emma and Abigail throwing rocks into the water (left). Sophie catches a ride on her Daddy while on our walk (right).

  

Emma and Abigail walking with Gramma (left), and the girls getting a lift from Gramma and Grandpa on our walk (right).

  

Emma andAbigail showing Gramma and Grandpa how they "fish" at the tower (left).  Sophie playing on her mat (right).

  

Emma and Abigail helping Grandpa open his birthday gifts and checking them out with him.

    

Emma and Abigail reading Grandpa's cards with him (left).  Sophie taking a little nap on Gramma (middle), and Gramma reading to Emma and Abigail (right).

By Geri Imler on 11/19/2009 10:36 AM

We absolutely LOVE watching Sopie smile at things around here!  She has such a cute smile with her open mouth and dimples!  It just melts your heart!  Here are some adorable photos of her smiling!

  

Sophie's "excited" look (left) and her "relaxed and happy" look (right).

And Sophie giving a BIG smile for you!  Isn't she just ADORABLE!  This is a great photo of her! 

By Geri Imler on 11/12/2009 2:20 PM

This past weekend was so nice here, weather wise.  The girls enjoyed spending time outside and walking in the park on both Saturday and Sunday.  The park we go to has a ton of trails that you can walk on, but the one we went on both days was by the water so that the girls could throw in rocks and keep an eye out for ducks.  There is a "tower" along the way that the girls enjoyed playing on.  It is actually out on the water, so the girls picked up large sticks and pretended to fish with them in the water.  On Saturday, Abigail and Emma actually climbed up to the top of the tower with Tim so they could look around.  On Sunday, they didn't do that again but they did enjoy just playing in the water with their sticks.  Then on the walk back they kept drawing things in the gravel and telling us they were making "letters" or "numbers."  It was just a lovely day together at the park: walking, talking, and enjoying nature.  Oh, and Sophie is now big enough that she can ride facing forward in our front pack.  She LOVES looking around, and I think Tim is enjoying her more now that she is "into" things around her.  She was super cute in the front pack, but of course, she decided to "eat" it most of the time she was in it, so there is a lot of drool on it!  Guess we will need to throw that one in the wash...good thing we have two of them!

  

Abigail and Emma playing in the water with their "fishing poles" (left).  Sophie enjoying her time in the front pack as she looks around (right).

  

Abigail (left) and Emma (right)

Looking down on the girls from up on the tower.

  

Emma and Abigail playing in the water (left), and Sophie looking adorable in her drool soaked front pack (right).

  

Abigail and Emma walking with Mommy and looking out at the water.

By Geri Imler on 11/12/2009 1:22 PM

It is so fun how the little things make life sweeter.  For example, earlier this week, Abigail and Emma were trying to pretend they had backpacks on.  Since I had gotten them backpacks that were stored away, I got them out for them to use.  They were SO excited to fill them up with toys and books, and then put them on as they walked around informing me that they were "ready to go...to school!"   They told me that Austin and Ethan (their cousins) go to school, and that to get there, they had to go wait for the school bus.  It was so funny watching them walk around the house "looking" for the school bus and where the school would be.  Then, Emma got an idea.  See, both girls have been obsessed with Diego lately, so Emma announced suddenly that an "animal (was) in trouble!"  Since Diego is an animal rescuer, the girls started to pretend they were one, too.  And that meant their backpacks became their "rescue packs," just like on Diego.  They hilariously ran around, searching for animals to help, and saying, "Activate!" in Spanish (which sounds like act-tee-va-tay), just like Diego.  It took me a little bit to figure out what they were saying and doing, but then I was amazed at how they put all that together:  Diego = animal rescuer = rescue pack = activate (Spanish).  Now they love to run around with their backpacks on, either pretending to go to school or be Diego!  Another little thing this past week is that Sophie is trying hard to hold her bottle when she is drinking it.  It is so adorable watching her wrap those little hands around it and try to keep them there!  It will be so nice when she can do it all by herself!  She has also been trying very hard to grab her toys that dangle on her play mat, and she has been pretty successful lately!  I love watching her eyes get so bright and big as she works her little fingers to grab something!  The wonder and amazement on her face is truly wonderful to watch.  A final little thing that made this past week fun would be the sleeping bags the girls played in during movie time one night.  I had gotten them down for our upcoming vacation and thought it would be fun for the girls to use them for movie time. Abigail and Emma climbed right into them, snuggled up with their Blankies, and looked super cute!   They would "hide" inside of them when they thought a scary part was coming, poking their heads out to check out what was happening in the movie.  It made them seem like such big girls to me!  Check them out:

  

Abigail and Emma with their backpacks/rescue packs on.

  

Sophie trying to hold her bottle as she falls asleep.  And Sophie getting her keys on her play mat.

  

Abigail and Emma watching a movie in their sleeping bags.

By Geri Imler on 11/4/2009 4:23 PM

I have had some pretty long blogs lately, so I will make this one pretty short.  The other day we got Sophie a highchair to match the other two that we have for Abigail and Emma.  It is a space saver one that converts into a booster seat but that starts out being able to be reclined for her to drink a bottle in.  It is so nice to have her now "sit" down to dinner with us each night at the table!  And it brings back memories of when the girls were that little, which is hard to believe sometimes.  The other fun thing I wanted to post involves a pair of boots for Abigail and Emma.  Last August, their Uncle Dan got them each a pair of leather boots from Nordstroms to wear.  At the time the boots were way too big for the girls, so I tucked them away in their closet until they could wear them.  This week I pulled them out, and of course the girls wanted to wear them.  So we put them on, and they showed them off to everyone at the YMCA.  Abigail and Emma thought they were super cool in them, and well...they were!  Plus they loved how the boots sounded in our kitchen as they went "klippity klop" across the floor.  Just two little things that have added to the fun around our house: a highchair and boots!

 

Sophie in her new highchir & enjoying a bottle in it.

 

Emma & Abigail showing off their boots and then pointing to them.  (The boots actually go up to the middle of their calves!)

By Geri Imler on 11/4/2009 2:55 PM

Halloween was a really fun and busy day for us around here.  Since it was a Saturday, of course the girls had to wear their OSU dresses and cheer for the Bucks.  They are so funny in that every time they see the dresses, they yell, "O-H!" or "Go Bucks!"   During the day, we did some Halloween crafts, including making a Haunted House out of foam cutouts.  The girls did an excellent job with it, and then proceeded to play with it all day, making their animals knock on the door and say, "Trick or Treat!"  We ended up putting magnets on the back of the houses and hung them up on the refrigerator.  When I told Abigail and Emma later that it was time to put on their costumes, they were SO SO SO excited!  We got the girls all dressed up, and then decided it would be a good idea to practice trick or treating at our own house first.  So Tim took them out to the driveway, let them run up to the door where they rang the doorbell, and when I opened it they said, "Trick or Treat," which of course came out sounding like, "Bick or Beat!"  I gave them each a piece of candy, they said, "Thanks!" and after a few photos, we were ready to go!  Our first house this year was going to be their friends' house as we went over to their neighborhood to go around with them.  The girls did a good job in their neighborhood, and it was especially funny trying to get a photo of all six kids together.  Sophie did an excellent job with her first trick or treat ever...she slept in her Daddy's arms most of the time!  Then it was back to our neighborhood where I took Abigail and Emma around while Sophie stayed home to help Tim hand out candy.  The girls loved trick or treating and were not shy at all about running up to the houses.  In fact, it was hard for me to keep up with them!  I was not sure how many houses they would last through this year, but they just kept going and going until I finally told them we had to head back home.  Once home, they sat out with Tim for a bit to hand out candy, but then it was on to actually eating some of their candy.  They tried a few different candies, I put on a movie for them, and it was a "no tub tub" kind of night!  It did take a little bit for the sugar to wear off as the girls ran laps around our family room and couch.  Luckily in the morning they had forgotten all about the candy, though Abigail did ask if it was Halloween and if she could wear her costume.  I think Abigail and Emma really liked trick or treating and will look forward to doing it again next year.  On a side note: when we got home to go around our neighborhood, Emma informed me that she had lost a shoe.  I called our friends, and they looked around for it with no luck.  So Emma had to go around our neighborhood with mismatched shoes.  She was fine with that and still had fun, but then she pouted later that night about it and was upset the next day.  So we went and got her another pair from Target, which she proceeded to wear the rest of the day.  Then, two days later when Tim moved his car, there was the mysteriously missing shoe, right in the middle of our garage...go figure!  Anyone need a black pair of size 8 shoes?!?

    

Abigail (right) and Emma (middle) showing off their haunted houses they made. Sophie in her "Baby's 1st Boo" shirt (right).

 

Emma, Sophie, and Abigail before they got their costumes on (left).  Sophie looking at me like, "What am I about to wear?!?" (right).

    

Abigail and Emma practicing Trick or Treat at our house (left and middle).  Sophie during the practice run (right).

Sophie sitting with our carved pumpkins.

 

Mommy, Sophie, Emma, and Abigail ready to head out to trick or treat (left)!  The first house, their friends' house, the girls got ready before ringing the doorbell by fixing their witches hats (right).

   

Sophie at her first trick or treat (left) and then for the rest of them (middle).  Abigail and Emma...trick or treating pros (right)!

Fun with Friends!  Abigail, Emma, and Sophie with their friends, Lily, Addie, and Kirsten Jacobsen.

 

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.