By Geri Imler on 12/21/2009 2:33 PM

Day 2 in Florida included a nice walk, "fishing," and more beach time.  In the morning, we decided to take the girls on a walk around the neighborhood and out to a small bridge that went over some water.  Gramma and Grandpa had gotten them these plastic Dora fishing poles that have a pink plastic fish at the end of the line.  So the girls cast it out by letting the line out while holding a button, and then they reel it back in by turning the handle, just like with a real fishing pole.  Abigail and Emma had been using the fising poles to "fish" on the patio, but we thought it would be fun to actually use them off the bridge so that the fish would come out of the water for them.  So we took off on a walk, exploring the plants and scenery, until we got to the bridge.  There, Gramma and Grandpa helped Abigail and Emma cast out into the water below and reel in their fish.  The girls thought this was cool and really enjoyed seeing their fish come out of the water.  Sophie enjoyed the walk in her Snugli on Daddy.  She looked around the whole time, falling asleep in it at the end of the walk until she needed some "Mommy time."  Too cute!  Later we all went to the beach again.  There, Sophie fell asleep in this play thing we had brought with us.  I am sure the warm weather and sound of the waves helped her to doze off.  Meanwhile, Abigail and Emma again had a blast playing in the sand, waves, and shells.  One of my favorite moments from the trip happened that day at the beach.  When we first got to the beach, the waves were a bit higher than they had been on the previous day.  After getting their shoes and things off, Abigail and Emma headed towards the water.  I continued to organize the things we had brought with us, only to look up and see them talking to each other.  Then they held each other's hand and decided to brave the waves together.  It was ADORABLE.  I mean, you could just see that they were talking it over, decided they could go out into that scary water, but do it together, holding hands.  And they didn't even realize we were watching them.  ADORABLE is all I can say about it.  Luckily since I was by our stuff I had the camera within reach so was able to snap a few photos of the moment.  Another fun experience for the girls that day was when Tim took both girls out into the water and waves with him.  They enjoyed it, though they held on tight to him!  Emma enjoyed the sand a lot that day, making all kinds of creations and pretending to mix "soup" and make "food" and all kinds of things.  Abigail was pretty funny with the water as she often ran out to it and then would put out her hands and arms as if trying to tell it to "Stop!"  She can be so dramatic at times!  Sophie did not sleep the whole time, but woke up and "talked" to her toys and enjoyed a bottle.  Overall, it was a really fun day again, and the girls were super tired when bed time rolled around!  I belive this might have been the night when Emma fell out of her bed (they are used to bedrails at home, and we didn't have any there).  What was funny about it was that she wasn't concerned that she fell, but just that she was having trouble climbing back up into bed to go back to sleep!  This would not be the last time one of them fell out of bed during the night.  Once Abigail fell out and didn't even cry, but when I went to check on her, I found her trying to curl up on the floor so that she could go back to sleep.  It was so cute!  Check out some photos from our adventures on our second day in Florida. 

   

Emma (yellow stripes) and Abigail (red stripes) trying to "fish" in a puddle and looking at a plant on our walk.  Sophie on our walk (right).

 

Abigail "fishing" off of the bridge with Grandpa Dave.

  

Emma "fishing" off of the bridge with Gramma Michele.

   

Sophie getting tired on the walk home (left).  Sophie asleep at the beach (middle and right).

One of my favorite photos!  Abigail and Emma braving the beach and waves together. SO ADORABLE!

    

Abigail checking out the water (left) and heading out into it with Daddy (middle).  Abigail and Daddy getting hit by a wave (right). 

    

Emma checking out the water (left) and heaidng out into it with Daddy (middle).  Daddy and Emma waving at us (right).

    

Abigail telling the water to "Stop!" (left).  Emma creating things in the sand (right).

  

Sophie talking to her toys and playing at the beach (left).  Abigail and Emma helping Grandpa Dave with a dump truck full of sand (right).

By Geri Imler on 12/16/2009 2:57 PM

Since we have around 800 photos from our Floriday trip (I know, we were a bit snap happy with the camera, but could you blame us when our kids are so cute?!?), I have decided it would be best to blog about each day individually so I could sort photos that way.  Our first day was quite the adventure.  First we had to get all of our stuff and everyone to the airport.  Tim dropped me and Sophie, along with all of our bags, off while he and Abigail and Emma took the car to park for the week we would be gone.  The girls thought this was so cool because they got to ride a bus back to meet up with me.  Check in and security stuff went rather smoothly considering all that has to come off (even Sophie's little shoes!) and be taken out of our bag (all of the electronics from camera to laptop to dvd player).  It is so nice that our airport has a "family line" where we can take a bit longer and not feel so rushed.  The flight itself went okay.  We managed to get three seats together so I sat in between Abigail and Emma while Tim sat with Sophie across the aisle from us.  The girls watched a bit of a movie, colored in their coloring books and notebooks, and stayed entertained for most of the two and a half hours we were up in the air.  When we left our hometown, it was not that cold outside, but when we landed in Florida, it was hot!  We met up with Gramma, Grandpa, and Uncle Dan at the aiport, loaded up the car, and headed to Marco Island.  Once there, after unpacking and getting things organized a bit, we headed to the beach to play in the water and sand, as well as see the sunset.  The girls had an absolutely FANTASTIC time!  I was interested in seeing how they would respond to the beach this year.  Last year they liked it a lot, and this year they seemed to just love-love-LOVE it!  They were not afraid of the waves at all, running right out and into them and then running back up on the beach when they got wet.  They played in the sand, threw shells into the water, carried water in buckets, and basically were the cutest little kids in the world!  Seriously, moments like that just melt my heart when I see them experiencing life and loving it.  After the sunset, we went back and tried out the heated pool, had some dinner, and called it a night.  The girls were all exhausted from their travels and beachtime, and the next day was sure to bring more sunny Florida fun!

  

Emma and Abigail watching as our plane pulls in to load/unload (left).  Sophie on her first plane ride (right)!

    

Abigail playing in the sand.

     

Abigail playing in the sand and waves.

    

Grandpa Dave with Sophie (left), and helping Abigail (middle) and Emma (right) jump over the waves.

    

Emma playing in the sand.

    

Emma playing in the sand and water, and both girls checking out the water (right).

    

Sophie with Mommy and Daddy.

   

Sophie's first time in the water as Abigail looks on (left), both girls enjoying the beach (middle), and Emma waving as Abigail throws a shell in the waves (right).

By Geri Imler on 12/16/2009 1:51 PM

I am going to try to catch up the blog by starting with the most recent things and working backwards until I am caught up.  This holiday season is keeping me busy, for sure!  Anyways, this past Saturday, the 12th of December, the girls went over to the YMCA to see Santa.  This year is so different from last year in that they have been watching Christmas movies and asking questions and trying to understand Santa, Baby Jesus, and everything that is wrapped up in this season.  When they saw Santa, they stood there in amazement, just observing and taking him in.  Then, when it was our turn to talk to him, Emma went right up to sit next to him, and continued to sit there the whole time with the BIGGEST, cheesiest grin on her face as she looked at him.  It was so adorable!  Abigail, surprisingly, became shy and didn't want to sit by Santa unless she sat on my lap.  So I held Sophie and Abigail while the girls told him their names (including Abigail telling him Sophie's name), and that they both wanted "lots of toys" for Christmas.  Santa told them he liked their hats, so Emma told him there was a "flower" on it and was super proud of it.  Too cute!  After they talked to him, we got a photo together, and then it was off to eat a little bit of a pancake breakfast they were having there at the YMCA.  Overall, the girls did a great job with Santa and are super excited for Christmas. 

  

Santa talking to Abigail and Sophie (left) and to Emma (right).

Abigail, Mommy, Sophie, Santa, and Emma

Sophie is amazed at meeting Santa for the first time! 

On a side note, check out my three little monkeys all in the same jammies this morning...

Abigail, Sophie, and Emma

By Geri Imler on 12/11/2009 9:44 AM

I am WAY behind on this blog!  I have not been able to catch up since before Thanksgiving!  We have just been too busy around here!  First, we went out of town for Thanksgiving.  Then, when we got back, I had two days to pack for all of us for a vacation to sunny Florida.  We then left for a week, returning late Wednesday night.  So, I have a ton to catch up on here, but have no time as now I have to get some holiday shopping and errands done!  Hopefully I will be able to post some photos from our Thanksgiving holiday and from our trip soon.  Stay tuned!  :-)

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.