By Geri Imler on 12/29/2008 7:52 PM

The big Christmas gathering for my family happens on Christmas morning at my mom and dad's house in Ohio.  We were fortunate enough this year to have everyone there in that all of my siblings and their spouses/kids could make it.  We started the morning with a HUGE breakfast that my mom cooks each year.  Then it was time to head into the family room where presents are piled high around the tree.  With there being five young kids, it is only sensible for them to go first in opening gifts.  Before there were any kids in the family, we use to go around and open them one at a time, starting with the youngest adult.  Now it is a free-for-all since the kids just dig in and get to it!  So, I handed out gifts (the yearly Elf that I am) while the others helped kids open them.  Emma did not hesitate and when she found that her first big gift was a Cabbage Patch Doll, she immediately wanted it out of the box.  Abigail (like at another gathering) watched the other kids open their gifts instead of opening her own.  But when she saw that Sissy had a new doll, she got the idea that she had to open her gifts to find her new doll.  Though, by the end, my mom and I were basically opening her gifts for her.  Emma did a great job keeping up with her ever growing pile to open, until she came across clothes and lost interest in opening things and went to playing with them instead.  After the kids opened all of their gifts, the adults then opened theirs while the kids played with their new toys.  The hit of the day was a gigantic train table set up by Santa for their cousins Ethan and Austin.  The girls loved playing with it with their cousins!  Overall, it was a wonderful morning with family...I just loved watching the kids get so excited about their new gifts from Santa.  Many thanks to Maw Maw and Paw Paw for a WONDERFUL Christmas!  Here are fun photos of the morning:

       

Trying to get all of the kids in front of the tree.  And my little Elves ready to go!

    

Elf Abigail                                                           Elf Emma     

  

Opening Presents!

   

Tucker waiting patiently for a present to open.  Austin and Ethan opening their train table.

    

Emma going for another present, while Abigail plays with her new doll babies.

     

Emma making sure there is nothing in the bottle that she is missing out on, while Abigail feeds her baby with the bottle.

Our Christmas Morning Family Photo 2008

By Geri Imler on 12/28/2008 9:01 AM

Christmas morning for us was just wonderful!  We actually did it on Christmas Eve morning since we would be leaving town, so it was wonderful that Santa knew to come to our house a day early!  The whole morning is one great memory for me.  The moment the girls came down the stairs and saw the tree full of gifts, their faces just lit up and they got very excited!  Of course the hippo and monkey from Curious George was the first thing they grabbed (they were not wrapped), but once they realized that there were toys inside the wrapped gifts, they got the idea that they had to open them to get to the toys.  The did very well opening presents, though we often had to stop and let them play with the new toy before moving on.  (And man, do they make it hard to get some of those toys out of their boxes!)  What was nice is that usually there was a similiar gift for each girl so there was no bickering over who had what toy.  The girls got quite a lot from Santa: a ton of new books to read, nursery rhyme cards, a huge coloring book, new clothes (not the most exciting for them to open), wooden alphabet blocks, puzzles, fridge toys, the Little People school bus and zoo train, a Winnie the Pooh phone, My Little Ponies, and stollers for their baby dolls.  After we all opened our gifts, we moved some of their new things into the kitchen so Daddy could make his homemade donuts for us.  I just loved watching them play and play and play with all of their new things in the kitchen.  They had the toys spread everywhere in there, and after they played with one for a while they would move on to another one.  Of course the stollers were huge hits as they LOVE taking care of their babies and stuffed animals.  Also the Little People stuff was great for them as they really like playing with the Little People Farm stuff they already have.  Even as I type this up, Emma is pushing her Curious George monkey in a stroller while Abigail builds with the wooden blocks they got.  Overall, they must have been good girls this past year as they got a lot of new fun stuff, and I got a lot of new special memories to keep with me forever.  Now we just have to go through all of our old toys and weed out some or there won't be any space for all the new stuff! 

    

Our Christmas Tree with LOTS of Gifts!

          

Emma                                                                                Abigail

    

Emma                                                                    Abigail

    

Opening More Gifts

      

Emma pushing both strollers and then just her monkey, as well as playing with the Little People School Bus.

   

Abigail playing with her Little People Zoo Train and then showing us her My Little Pony she has.

By Geri Imler on 12/28/2008 8:21 AM

Hello!  We are home from all of our Christmas excursions, and boy, there is A LOT to put away!  The girls had several wonderful get togethers with family and got many great new things to play with now that we are home.   One of our first get togethers was in Ft. Wayne, IN with the Imler side of the family on Christmas Eve.  Though we were missing some people who couldn't make it this year, it was awesome catching up with those that could be there.  The girls wore their pretty Christmas dresses and looked quite the adorable sight!   We spent the evening chatting, eating great food, opening presents, and just enjoying the holiday season together with family.  The girls got some fun Doodlepros from their Uncle Dean and Aunt Debbie, savings bonds from Grandma and Grandpa Great, and a fun bag of goodies, including Hello Kitty necklaces and bracelets and a coloring/activity book, from Aunt Becky.  Thanks everyone for the nice presents!   But the best present was just being there with everyone, though it was fun to watch the girls open their gifts!  Here are some fun photos from the evening. 

     

Family Photos -  Mommy, Abigail, Daddy, and Emma in our Christmas Best

   

The girls really like to play on pianos, so they immediately took to playing the one there.     

      

Opening gifts:  Abigail and Emma with their Doodlepros.  And Daddy & Mommy helping Emma and Abigail with gift bags.

   

Abigail watching as Emma gets her Hello Kitty necklace on.  And a photo with Grandma and Grandpa Great.

Abigail and Emma with cousins Avah, Owen, and Paxton.

By Geri Imler on 12/22/2008 7:50 PM

So this isn't really a holiday story but it is pretty darn funny so I had to share it.  Today as we were playing around the house, I heard Emma go over to where we keep the diapers.  This is not unusual as the girls often get out diapers to put on their baby dolls and stuffed animals.  But then I heard her get excited.  I turned around to see she had somehow found a left over swim diaper from our trip to Florida (might have been in the bag of regular ones that I threw back into the diaper bin).  Next thing I know, Emma has pulled the diaper up over her pajama pants, and is walking, or more like strutting, around the house in it!  Once Abigail got a sight of her Sissy, she, too, wanted a swim diaper.  I had to go find one for her, and she promptly pulled hers on also.  The girls were so proud of themselves, walking around the house with swim diapers on over their jammie pants!  Then, as I had Christmas movies on this morning, when the TV caught their attention, they just decided to relax by the couch, but did not attempt to remove the swim diapers.  You will see below...they just kept them on!  Maybe it is the cold outside and they are wishfully thinking of warmer weather by putting on swim diapers, but more likely they are just being the silly, cutie-pie girls that they are!  Sending sunny thoughts your way!

          

Emma proud of her swim diaper discovery.  She is wearing it around the house in the second photo.  Then it is Abigail's turn to get one. 

  

Abigail working to ger her diaper on while Emma shows her what to do.

The girls watching a Christmas movie while still wearing their swim diapers. (Can't be that comfortable!)

 

By Geri Imler on 12/22/2008 7:51 AM

We had our first family holiday gathering to celebrate Christmas yesterday, and it was a GREAT time!  We caught up with relatives, ate a ton of yummy food, and had fun opening gifts.  This was the girls' first official gift opening, and they were so fun to watch !  What a difference a year can make as it seems at holiday times you really see how much "older" they have gotten!  Last year both girls just kind of watched us and didn't really "get" what was going on.  This year they definitely did the opening on their own and took in all that was going on.  Abigail took her time opening her gifts, watching the others around her open their gifts first.  She even took the wrapping paper others threw down and wrapped it around herself like a coat...too cute and such the silly girl!  Emma, on the other hand, had the idea from the start of what to do and wasted no time ripping into her gifts.  And of course she wanted her gift out of the box pronto to be able to play with it.  Both girls got little purse "glamour" sets that have fake keys, lipstick, nail polish, perfume, sunglasses, and a cell phone.  Emma absolutely loved this, trying to put the stuff on right away and carrying it around with her the rest of the time.  They both also got a really great book that we didn't already have in our collection.  Abigail loves to have people read to her so she was all over the books, taking them first to Gramma Imler to read to her, and then later commissioning cousin Jon to read more to her.  Overall, the gifts for the girls were a huge hit...thanks Ella and Kylie!  Here are some photos of the girls opening their gifts.  Can't wait for the next celebration!

 

Abigail (in pink) and Emma (in tan) opening presents with cousins Austin and Ella.

           

Here Abigail is watching the others while Emma is busy with her gift.  Then you see Emma waiting for her gift to be taken out of the box while Abigail checks out the book she got.

            

Emma with her glamour purse, and Abigail showing her book to Gramma Imler.

By Geri Imler on 12/21/2008 8:00 PM

On Saturday night, after dinner, we decided to put on the classic Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer for the girls to watch.  We put the DVD on our computer and put it on the floor with them. The girls were, to say the least, entranced by the movie.  They watched it so closely that we had to keep telling them to move back from the computer.  It was so neat to see my kids watching and enjoying a classic that I watched and enjoyed growing up.  Funny when things like that happen.  It makes you feel like the grinch at the end of the movie when his heart swells like three times larger than it was.  That same feeling of my heart swelling with love and, well, just peacefulness that all is right in the world for us, came over me as I watched them.  It is small moments like those that can make you truly know how blessed you are in life.   I get frustrated at people when they don't step away from all of the madness and craziness in their lives long enough to just look and take in the moments that will pass by in a blink.  Moments that seem like ordinary, plain times in our lives that are actually the most special.  Please enjoy the moments below, and I do hope you have gotten a chance to watch a classic of your own this holiday season with someone you love.   

 Looking Closely at the Movie

 Emma and Abigail like Rudolph!

 Emma on Left, Abigail on Right

By Geri Imler on 12/18/2008 7:41 AM

From our family to yours....HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Tim, Abigail, Geri, and Emma

     Abigail and Emma

An Unposed Photo

 

By Geri Imler on 12/16/2008 8:02 AM

I have been so busy around here trying to get our shopping and other things done for the holidays that are quickly approaching. I have not been alone in my endeavors, though!   I have had the help of two little elves!  Check them out below...real, live, super cute elves!  Today when the girls were playing, I looked up and saw them with these hats on.  Too funny!  Of course I had to snap up a few photos to share!  Hope everyone has a few "elves" out there to help keep them smiling throughout the season!

Abigail (she has pink eye right now...no fun) and Emma as Little Elves

The Elves Laughing at Each Other's Hat

By Geri Imler on 12/14/2008 5:07 PM

Since the last blog was so lengthy, I thought I would keep this one relatively short.  This weekend was full of holiday activities.  Friday night, Tim and I went to his holiday party, which was a ton of fun as we got to catch up with people we haven't seen in a while.  Then, on Saturday, we attempted to make it over to see Santa at the YMCA, but I learned a very important lesson....never, ever take your kids to see Santa (and wait in line to see Santa) when they did not sleep well the night before and got up way too early.  Little sleep + early wake-up + line to stand in + Santa (he is scary to them!) = a mixture for complete and utter meltdowns!  We did get one (sort of) good photo, which is posted below.  There was also a pancake breakfast there, but we did not get a chance to try out the yummy smelling food as the girls needed a morning nap.  While they were napping, my sister and her boys arrived from Lima to stay the day and night with us.  We did some holiday shopping and then, when it got darker outside, we took all the kids to the zoo.  It is so neat there this time of year as they hang hundreds and hundreds of lights, including different shapes of animals and trains, etc.  The animals are a bit more active on cool nights, so we got to see a few that were up and moving.  We did make it to Santa's village, but it was very crowded and there was no way we were going to stand in the long line to see Santa (again).  We did, however, get to see a real, live Reindeer, which was super neat.  My sister and her boys headed home today, and we have been relaxing and watching Sunday football.  Overall, a fun weekend full of holiday cheer!

 

Santa with Abigail, Geri, and Emma

     

At the zoo, Emma, Abigail, cousins Austin, and Ethan all bundled up and ready to go!

Geri with her sister, Emily, and her sister's son, Ethan, in front of a lot of lights.

By Geri Imler on 12/12/2008 8:31 AM

Well, be prepared for a lot of photos and reading!  This is a long blog!  We just got back this week from a vacation in Marco Island, Florida.  We flew down there and met up with Tim's parents, who were renting a house for two weeks.  The plane ride there was a bit rough as I was in one row with Emma while Tim was in another row (several back from us) with Abigail.  But, we made it!  The week overall was very fun and relaxing for everyone.  The first day we went for several walks and played with toys Gramma and Grandpa Imler had brought down to the house.  The next day we had a beach day where the girls absolutely LOVED playing in the sand and collecting shells.  This is our third trip to the beach this year, so they pretty much have the "beach baby" thing down by now!  We went back that night to walk the beach and watch the sunset, which was just beautiful.  Then next day were had another beach day at a different beach.  Later that afternoon, after naps, we went back to that beach to play on the playground that was there.  The girls had a blast, to say the least!  They ran everywhere, climbing up and down all over, going through tunnels, and sliding down just about every slide there!  Then we decided to watch the sunset at a part of the park that is like a lagoon, which actually turned out to be one of my favorite moments of the vacation.  The reason being that the girls decided to chase birds down the shoreline, determined to get them.  Abigail especially was on a mission as she even waded out into the mucky water without a blink of the eye!  She then decided to play in the muck, and had a great time!  The girls "chased" the birds for a LONG time, with it finally ending when Abigail got stuck in the muck and fell completely into the water.  I had to go out to "rescue" her, getting my own sandals stuck in the water. Quite the sight, but such a memorable night!  The next day, while the guys were off golfing, my mother-in-law and myself took the girls for a nice long walk and played in the pool with them.  Later that night, we all got dolled up and went out to eat at a yummy Italian restaurant call Arturios.  We had actually been to this same restaurant last year with the family, and it is really neat there because they put up a HUGE Christmas tree with a train around it and lots of nutcracker statues and stuffed bears.  To say the least, the girls loved looking at all of the decorations, which were much larger than life for them!  The following day we rented a boat and took the girls out on it.  They enjoyed looking around at all of the sights, and then had fun playing on a beach we stopped at.  It was the coldest day for us, so they were bundled up most of the time.  On the way home on the boat, both girls fell asleep while being held.  I guess the white noise of the boat, along with the activities of the day, was just too much for them!  That afternoon was a fun pool day as the girls splashed and jumped off the sides of the pool to their Daddy.  Our last full day we all went to a state park called Collier-Seminole Park where we took a nature walk (and the girls acted as though the palm branches were brooms to sweep the boardwalk with...too funny), played on the playground, and ate a picnic lunch.  That evening, we returned to Tigertail Beach one last time to just walk, sit in the sand, find shells, and enjoy the sunset.  Boy do my girls love the beach!  That night, the girls tried on outfits given to them by Uncle Dan that he got while visiting Vietnam.  They looked so cute in their long silky outfits...thanks, Uncle Dan!  The plane flight home was much better as I sat between the two girls, and they watched movies most of the time.  Overall, the trip was a wonderful escape from the stress of the holiday season, as well as a great time spent with family.  Now getting back to life here has been a bit difficult for my overtired girls, but we are slowly getting back to normal.  Funny how vacation, which is suppose to be relaxing, can often cause people to be more tired!  It is a lot of work to pack, get there, get home, and catch up on sleep!  But those things are only temporary, and the awesome memories made will last a lifetime!  Enjoy some photos (I picked only a few of the hundreds we had!) from our trip below.   Be sure to click "Read More" to see all of the fun photos!

         

                                 Emma and Abigail playing on the beach                                               Mommy showing the girls a shell at sunset

                     

                                     Abigail                                                                                                       Emma 

   

                                         Emma and Abigail chasing the birds                                                                        Abigail & her reflection

           

                     Emma out for a walk            ... Read More »