By Geri Imler on 11/26/2008 1:18 PM

We just want to wish everyone a very Happy Turkey Day!  At this time of year, it seems that people start to think of the things they are thankful for in their lives.  Although this is a wonderful sentiment, I think we should all count our blessings each and everyday.  I think having kids makes you do that more as you realize it is the little things each day, each moment with them that matters and make the world go round.  I guess that this blog is a way to show those little moments as they bring me so much joy.  It is easy to get caught up in the stress of life and by the time we open our eyes and hearts to those around us, they are grown or the moment is gone.  So I have tried to take in each memory made, even if it is something as simple as coloring together, reading a book as my girls sit in my lap, or checking on them as they sleep.  And though I don't see others in my life that are important to me all of the time, the moments we do spend together I cherish and hold dear in my heart.  So, in the spirit of the holiday, I want to say that I am so very thankful for my family, my friends, my life.  Today, the girls helped me color hand turkeys to send you all a message:  "Happy Thanksgiving!"

                                   Abigail    Emma

Our Hand Turkeys!

By Geri Imler on 11/24/2008 7:31 PM

Today was not too exciting here in the Imler household, though it wasn't boring, either.  My girls woke up with a cold (just in time for Thanksgiving!), and the weather was not all that pretty all day.  So, we played inside the house, and the girls really had a good time together (and with Mommy) today.  Even though they don't always get along, it is nice that with a twin they each have a built in playmate, so to speak.  We colored, built things with blocks, used flashcards, played "I Spy," read books, and a whole lot more inside our cozy home to pass the day.  Abigail of course asked, "What's this?" for just about everything and anything as she is quite the curious little girl.  Emma said a lot of "Uh-ohs!" throughout the day as that is her word of the choice lately.  Overall, today was a nice, fun, relaxing day with my girls!  Below is a photo of the two of them when we were bundling up and playing in a bunch of blankets.  They were actually cuddling together with the blanket wrapped around them so only their heads stuck out...TOO CUTE!

Abigail & Emma

By Geri Imler on 11/23/2008 7:53 PM

Making a mess can be so much fun!  Today we decided it would be fun try out some finger paint.  So, we packed up our things this morning and headed over to see our friends, Hayley, Kirsten, and Addie.  Once there, we set up paper in the kitchen, got the girls in some old shirts of mine (their "paint smocks"), and put out plates full of paint.  Kirsten and Addie were paint rock stars as they jumped right into the activity and started coloring their legs, hands, feet, diapers, shirts...you get the idea.  Emma, after painting on the paper for a while and watching her friends, decided she should also go for the painted leg look.  Very attractive!  Abigail did not want to touch the paint at all for a while.  Then she started with a single finger, very daintily painting the paper with her index finger.  Finally, after a while, she also thought it a fun idea to paint her legs and feet.  By the end of our painting fun time, all of the girls were covered in paint and happy as can be!  We decided it best to just throw them all in the tub to wash it off.  That turned out to be another great highlight of the day as the four girls splashed and played for about twenty minutes in the tub tub together.  Overall, making a mess today was a great thing to do!  We had an absolute blast with our friends! 

 Left to Right: Abigail, Emma, Addie, and Kirsten

    

                        Emma     

                        Abigail      

By Geri Imler on 11/21/2008 7:13 PM

Not too much exciting here today except that we had a fabulous time out to lunch with our friends, Hayley, Kirsten, and Addie.  Thanks, guys, for a wonderful time!  Can't wait to do it again soon!  In other news, it seems like it is the little things these days that make the girls happy.  Below are some photos from them eating yogurt at dinner (fun yogurt faces!) to them playing (again!) in the laundry baskets.  Whoever invented the laundry basket should be given an award because it seems to be the favorite "toy" right now in the house!   Tonight they sat in them and played with their "food collection" and even put the buckets on their heads.  I just sat in the other room and watched as they had a good ol' time for about an hour in these baskets.  I think they liked having everything right there around them in their own little space.  Whatever the appeal, it is funny to watch!

Abigail     Emma

 Playing     Together

    "Bucket Heads"

By Geri Imler on 11/20/2008 9:10 PM

We found out the other day that going to the pet store is like going to a "mini zoo."  The girls have a blast as they run around looking at all of the animals, which are mostly at their eye level.  They get to see different birds, guinea pigs, reptiles, and lots and lots of fish.  At the PetSmart that we go to they also have a adoption cat center, along with a grooming center for pets (mostly dogs), and even a PetsHotel where there are sometimes dogs out being excersized.  After buying a ton of fish the other day, we have had to return a few that have, well, gone belly up.  Taking the girls back to the store each time has been a ton of fun.  Here are some phtoos from our trip there today.  In it they are checking out the birds, cats, dogs getting groomed, and fish.  After we went to the "mini zoo" today we decided to try out a new restaurant that is considered authentic Mexican.  The servers were wonderful, and when we left, they gave each girl a ring pop.  Needless to say, the girls LOVED them!  I took photos of them with the ring pops...too funny as they look like baby nuks in their mouths!  I guess they are sort of like baby nuks with candy on them!  If anyone needs something to keep your kids busy for a while, these were a hit! 

  

 

 

                                      Emma                                                                                             Abigail

By Geri Imler on 11/20/2008 8:47 PM

Yesterday we had fun at the YMCA and hung around the house.  Nothing too exciting, but sometimes, that is the best day.  Here are a few fun photos of the girls just goofing around.  Abigail had fun playing with the snowman that is out, and in that photo she is peeking out from behind it.  Meanwhile, as Abigail is playing with a snowman, Emma is dreaming of warmer climates, rocking out and being too cool in her shades. 

Abigail        

Emma       

By Geri Imler on 11/18/2008 7:51 PM

So we decided, based on Tim's schedule, that today would be the best opportunity to take our yearly holiday photos for the holiday card.  This of course means that even though it is not Thanksgiving yet, I am able to put out some of our fun Christmas decorations!  Tim got all of the boxes down yesterday, and I went through them today to get a few items out to use in the photos.  Then we cleaned up the fireplace (so many toys!), dressed everyone in their holiday best, and set up the camera.  Overall, it went pretty well even though Emma did NOT like her dress at first and kept trying to take it off.  She did, however, love the headband she picked out when we were shopping for the dresses, and she decided to walk around the house in just her tights, dress shoes, and headband.  Pretty funny, actually.  After the photo session, we were all pretty tired from all of the preparation and the actual work of getting the girls to look at the camera, sit still, smile, keep their dresses down, keep their headband on, keep their shoes on, and...and...and...(you get the idea).  Though I am not going to post the photos online just yet (you'll have to wait for the holiday card coming next month!), I will post our fun stockings we already have up as well as a photo of the girls all tuckered out after the photo session. The girls were very happy to get out of their dresses and into comfy sweats!  That photo is right before naptime, and boy, were they ever tired!  Of course they had to have their Madagascar pals up on the couch cuddling with them!  Now it is time for me to crop those photos, find a holiday card I like online, order the prints, address the envelopes....see why we are already starting to get this done? 

By Geri Imler on 11/17/2008 7:26 PM

There are many things that I love about the winter season: cozy blankets on cold days, hot chocolate with marshmellows, family time for the holidays, and of course, everything about Christmas.  But there is one thing that I just do not enjoy.  Colder weather means more layers of clothing for the girls, which means a much harder task to get ready to go anywhere.  Not only can it be a struggle to get them dressed (and then have to undress/redress them all throughout the day for diaper changes), but then you have to put on the coats, mittens, hats, put the hoods up on the coats...you get the picture.  By the time I have both of them ready to head out the door and reach for my own coat and scarf I find that one of them has lost a mitten or already taken their hat off or wants their hood down or....etc....Colder weather means fun snow and good times decorating the house up, but it also means hassles in keeping the girlies warm and toasty.  Then when you get to your destination, let's just say the store, you have to decide whether to take any of it off of them so they don't roast while you are shopping.  To leave, you again have to go through the routine of coats, hats, gloves, only to get home to take them right off again!  Along with this comes the struggle to get them in and out of their car seat swith the new added "padding" on them!  My girls are so funny in that their coats are nice and big to keep them warm, but when they are in their car seats, the coats creep up and cover part of their faces.  They either cry about this or play peek by hiding in the coats that are already up to their eyeballs.  Anyways, guess it just comes with the colder weather. But be forewarned all you expectant mothers/fathers or new mothers/fathers out there...to get out of the house will take a lot more time and effort now than in the summer season!  Below are two fun photos of the girls actually posing in their coats today (sans hats and gloves) in front of the fridge to show off their fun, new, warm, bulky, cumbersome, oh wait, I mean cute winter coats.  Funny that even though the coats are irritating to me, the girls like to put them on as it is something new for them right now.  So they are actually proud in these photos of themselves in their coats, and in the second photo, they are waving to you!  (FYI...Emma is on the left, and Abigail is on the right.)

By Geri Imler on 11/16/2008 4:46 PM

The highlight of today would have to be the fun we have had in the laundry baskets.  I decided to do a few loads of laundry today, and the girls just could not wait until I was done folding the clothes in order to get the baskets.  They have now been sitting in them for about an hour, reading books and eating popcorn!  It is funny how such ordinary things like a laundry basket can be so fun for them.  Just the other day they played and played for hours with a basket, filling it up with ALL of their stuffed animals, then taking them out to line them up somewhere, only to put them back in it later.  They would give the animals "rides" around the house, and they even took turns pushing each other in the basket.  Here are two photos of the girls in the baskets today, reading their Little People books (which they love).  Wonder how much longer they will be in there?!?

By Geri Imler on 11/15/2008 4:48 PM

Hello! Well I have finally joined the cyperspace world of blogging.  I don't really consider my life all that interesting to post online, but at least it will be a way for me to journal what it happening.  It will be a good place to post my observations and the accomplishments that my girls make each day or week.   For instance, today we went to a first birthday party for a (second) cousin of mine, and it is always so interesting to see how the girls act in that type of situation.  They were a bit shy around people they didn't know, but of course dived right into the massive amount of toys available in the house.  I have found that kids LOVE to go places where there are new toys for them, even if they are not "new" so to speak.  If it is a toy they don't have already, they are all over it!  And it is nice for me to see what things they like and don't like for future reference.  The girls still are figuring out the idea that sometimes the gifts are not for them, but overall they did a great job.  I would say they had fun, and of course the cake was a highlight for them.  Now we are home, watching some football, and thinking about dinner.  The weather here has definitely changed to a much colder climate so outside time today has been limited.  Just a side note...even though it has not been that long since the girls' first birthday party, it seems like it has been forever!  Can't believe how much they are like "little kids" now instead of the babies they use to be!  Anyways, hope you enjoy my blog, and I will try to keep up with it as well as keep it interesting!   Here is a photo of me with my girls when we were at the beach in October.  It has nothing to do with today's activities but is a picture I really like.