By Geri Imler on 8/18/2009 5:56 PM

For this blog, I will let the photos speak for themselves....and the captions will help, of course! 

     

Our family before I headed to the hospital to have the baby (left).  Mommy checking in to the hospital (middle). Sophie right after she was born (right).

   

Sophie right after her birth (left), and Daddy holding Sophie in the C-Section room (right).

  

Mommy and Sophie in the Recovery room (left).  Emma and Abigail ready to go up to meet their new little sister (right).

  

Emma and Abigail meeting Sophie. They were so gentle with her, patting her on the head and smiling at her.

 

Emma (left) and Abigail (right) giving Sophie a kiss.  So cute!

     

Sophie all bundled up with a bow hat on (left).  Ready to head home!  Sophie is in her car seat (right), looking so tiny, and ready to head home!

 

Daddy, Mommy, and Sophie ready to head home (left)!   Sophie looking oh-so-adorable as we head home (right).

 

 Later in the day, the girls played together in their sandbox, pretending it was a beach.  They got on their tummies and gave each other kisses (left) and buried things in the sand together (right).

   

Abigail holding Sophie for the first time (left).  Emma holding Sophie for the first time while Abigail looks on (right).

  

Both girls holding Sophie together.  They are such good big sisters!  They loved holding her.

 

By Geri Imler on 8/18/2009 1:33 PM

WELCOME SOPHIE KAYLEEN!

Born August 14th, 2009 at 1:54pm, 7 lbs 14 oz, and 20 inches.

 

(Of course many more photos to come soon!)

 

By Geri Imler on 8/13/2009 8:31 PM

So this is a combo of several things as I am going to be a bit busy starting tomorrow, and I want to catch up the blog before then.  First, the girls are so cute with their Daddy during what we call "down time" at night before they take a bath and head to bed.  We usually watch a movie as a family, sometimes enjoy popcorn, and definitely snuggle and cuddle together.  The other night, Tim was on the floor when Emma decided it would be a cozy nest to sit back behind him, nestled in his legs.  Meanwhile, Abigail sat on his back and read for a bit before moving back to "nest" with her sissy.  They were TOO cute, all cuddled up in Tim's legs and putting their heads back on his feet as if they were pillows.  The second fun thing in this post deals with the chore of grocery shopping.  The girls are good helpers when we bring home groceries.  They like to take the stuff out of the bags and ask, "What's this?" before putting it wherever we tell them ("Take it to the fridge, to the pantry, to Daddy, etc.").  The other night we went to the store a bit late, so we didn't put all of the pantry stuff away before dinner.  Instead we left it on the kitchen floor to put away later, and when Tim and I looked later, we found the girls thoroughly enthralled with building a tower out of the groceries!  There were a few cereal boxes, boxes of pasta, a few cans of stuff, and some salad dressing.  It was so interesting to watch how they would build a tower out of these random things!  Who knew that groceries could be so much fun?!?  They actually built a great tower, but it fell down, so they just continued to try different combinations of the boxes and things.  They loved trying to get it to stay, putting the different "shapes" together, figuring out that the big stuff had to be on the bottom, and just working together to build something fun.  Third, and finally, we just wanted to let everyone know that tomorrow we will be adding another daughter to our family, so there will be many more blogs about life through my daughters' eyes.  Stay tuned! 

    

Emma nestled in Daddy's legs (left), while Abigail reads on his back (middle).  The girls enjoying down time with Daddy (right).

Emma and Abigail together, cozied up in his legs.  Tucker also snuggled up to Tim. 

     

The girls and their various grocery towers (Abigail in purple, Emma in blue). 

By Geri Imler on 8/13/2009 3:58 PM

On Sunday, since it was so hot out, we took the girls to the Children's Museum; it is so nice to have a membership so we can go whenever and for as long as we want.  It was super fun again as there is always so much to do.  The girls visited the dinosaurs, had a blast with these blast "things" that they put into a tower, rode on the carousel, played in the kiddie houses, fished in the water table, had fun at the sand table, and put puzzles together on the wall of magnets.  Here are some photos from our day there this past weekend.

  

Emma dressed as a dinosaur (left), and both girls exploring a tunnel together (right).

  

Emma riding a giraffe on the carousel.

     

Abigail riding a horse on the carousel.  This horse went up and down, which she thought was awesome!

  

Both girls played with these plastic things for a long time (left).  They would take them out of the wall and put them in the holes of the tower.  And the girls also played with magnets (right). 

By Geri Imler on 8/9/2009 7:28 AM

On Saturday, we headed to the Indiana State Fair early in the morning, hoping to avoid a bit of the heat that the day was to bring our way.  The girls were super excited to go see the animals as we told them that they would be able to pet and feed them.  When we got there, they were very interested in all of the sights and sounds.  There was just so much going on!  We first saw horses just standing around as well as people in a rehearsal ring riding them.  Then we got to see a ton of sheep, which was interesting for the girls because most of the sheep were shaved already, so they looked a little different to them.  The girls kept trying to feed them through their cages, giving them the wood chips that were used as flooring for them.  Needless to say, the sheep didn't want to eat the wood chips, but some of them did come over and smell the girls so that the girls got a chance to pet them.  After that we saw goats, and then gigantic pigs and boars, which the girls just kind of stared at because most of them were just sleeping in the heat.  After that, we took a long walk over to the kids' area of the fair, where they got to do something they absolutely love....they got to ride ponies!  The girls did a fabulous job of holding on to the ponies by themselves as we walked close by them, and they kept smiling and laughing, saying "Weeeee!" and "Getty Up!"  After the pony rides, the girls went to what was called "Little Hands on the Farm" where they walked through a bunch of different things, acting like farmers.  This was also another highlight for them.  They got to put on aprons and hats, plant seeds, pick pretend vegetables, take them to the market and sort them, get fake money for their products, and then got to "shop" with the fake money in a store where they came away with a real snack of their choice (they both chose string  cheese).   Also in this area of the fair they got to see a bunch of different kinds of tractors, and in one of the smaller barns, they got to pet and brush a real cow (it was huge!).  The cow kept looking over at them as he ate hay, and his face was right there by theirs, so the girls were a bit hesitant at first, but they were also interested in the cow and wanted to stay right by it.  I think that is the closest I have been to a cow before, and that cow's face is definitely much bigger than I thought it would be!  By this point, it was getting pretty hot, so the girls sat in their stroller with the shade up and had a snack with their drinks.  We had told them that they would see chickens and bunnies, so we decided to head to that barn for them.  Along the way, they got to see the rides and ferris wheels, which they found fascinating.  Finally, at the poultry barn, the girls got out and got to pet a ton of bunnies, as well as see a "baby animal" display that had baby ducks, chickens, quail, and bunnies in it.  It was adorable!  And the girls were enthralled by the baby animals!   At this point of the day, it was getting pretty steamy out, so we found a spot in the shade to eat some fair goodies before heading out.  Tim had the best buttered corn-on-the-cob, while the girls and I shared a funnel cake (they loved it!).  At a health awareness station, we even got them emergency contact cards made with their photos on them before heading out, and the funny part is that both girls looked right at the camera and smiled so cute for them!  We decided to head home after all of that fun, seeing as I am 38 weeks now and all of us were getting a bit overheated.  By the time we got the car moving and the air conditioning blowing on high, the girls were sound asleep in their car seats.  It was a very big and adventurous day for them, and we were only there half of a day!  They had a great time, and even tonight wore their hats they got to keep from the farm exhibit, played with beach balls we got at the health exhibit, and colored chickens, ducks, and bunnies in a coloring book they got at the poultry barn.  Definitely a very memorable day for all of us! 

      

The girls checking out the animals and trying to feed them (left and middle).  The girls riding ponies (right).   Abigail is on the left pony with Emma on the right pony.

     

Abigail on a pony!

     

Emma on a pony!  (She looks unhappy in the right photo because she was about to get off of it!)

     

This is at the "Little Hands on the Farm" area where they got to pick different pretend vegetables and put them in their baskets.

   

After picking them (left), they got to put them in the market bins while sorting them out (right).   Don't they look adorable in their aprons and hats?!?

   

Getting up close to a cow!  They got to pet it (left) and brush it (right). Notice how hot we are getting as their hair is wet!

  

In the bunny barn, they got to pet a bunny upclose (left), as well as go around to tons of cages to see and pet more bunnies (right).

By Geri Imler on 8/5/2009 7:54 PM

Over the weekend we all went to a cousin's birthday party.  It was for a little boy turning one, so there were lots of other kids there at the party.  The girls had a wonderful time and were worn out by the time we left.  The party had a luau theme, so the girls thought it would be fun to put on all of the leis that were there.  They also had a great time playing with all of the other toys and kids that were there.  But the hit was the new play set that had been set up in the backyard.  It had different kinds of swings on it, a house to play in, a slide to go down, and a climbing wall.  The girls absolutely loved it, and they did a great job as big girls on it!  Abigail loved carrying around a telescope that was part of the play set, while Emma loved climbing up to the crows nest as well as swinging on the bar above the slide like a monkey.  They also got to use squirt guns for the first time, and it didn't take them long to figure out how to get someone wet with them!  It was great seeing family and spending the afternoon together.  Overall, it was a wonderful party!

  

Both girls putting on all of the leis (left) and then playing in them (right).

     

Abigail and Emma thinking, "What?!?  We don't know where all of the leis went!" (left).  Emma (middle) and Abigail (right) looking adorable and having fun, luau-style.

    

Abigail with the telescope at the top of the slide (left) and looking through it (middle).  Abigail ready to go down the slide (right).

     

Emma swinging like a monkey at the top of the slide (left) and going down the slide (middle).  Emma up in the crows nest (right) -- can you spot her?

  

Emma is excited to find a squirt gun (left), and Abigail is proud of herself for squirting you (right).

By Geri Imler on 8/5/2009 2:36 PM

Hello!  So today as we were sitting at our table having lunch, looking out in the backyard at the squirrels that constantly try to eat the bird seeds, this HUGE thing flew into our view.  I looked up in the tree and saw this large bird, which I think is a hawk, sitting there watching the squirrels with quite a bit of interest.  I quickly grabbed my camera to snap up some photos of him.   The photos don't really do him justice...he was HUGE!  The girls were super excited about the bird and kept saying, "big bird!"  and watching him in the trees.  I first took photos from inside of the house, and then managed to get some after I snuck out to see him.  Meanwhile the girls cheered me on from inside the house as they stood at the windows and watched.  He flew around to a few trees and then to our fence before he took off.  I tried to get one of him flying as his feathers really spread out wide and he was gorgeous, but couldn't.  So here are some photos of him: in the tree (can you spot him?), up close (my best photo!), on the fence, and then up in another tree (the back of him so you can kind of see his tail feathers).  Sorry if this doesn't interest you, but we all thought it was neat lunchtime entertainment.

  

Up in the tree and then up close

  

On the fence and the back of it

By Geri Imler on 8/3/2009 8:12 AM

Lately the girls have enjoyed playing with their sticker folders.  Inside of them are a bunch of different types of stickers, as well as a sticker book to put them in.  The other day when I cleaned out our "junk drawer" I gave them a bunch of those labels you get in the mail, which they added to their folders.  Well, Abigail has come up with the great idea that she doesn't want to put them in her sticker book, but instead put them all over herself!  She usually starts with her legs, and then moves to her face and head.  She especially loves the labels I gave them.  Emma likes to put them on her face, but is not crazy about putting them all over herself like her sister.  Instead, she would rather watch Abigail make a sticker mess of herself!  Abigail is usually pretty proud of her little sticker creations that she makes on her legs, etc.  And if she tires of putting them on herself, she moves on to anyone that is available.  Even now, as I type this, Abigail has the idea to cover ME with stickers, so my arm, cheeks, and forehead are covered with smiley face stickers, various sports stickers, and labels!  At least I will know my address if I get lost......

     

Abigail showing off some of the stickers on her legs (the labels). 

Emma watching from the couch as she sits with Tucker and enjoys her Cheerios. 

By Geri Imler on 8/3/2009 8:01 AM

This blog is pretty simple.  Abigail and Emma have only one question for you:  PUDDING, ANYONE?!?  The girls would sometime rather "paint" themselves with their food than to actually eat it! 

  

Abigail                                                                                                  Emma

By Geri Imler on 8/3/2009 7:33 AM

Sorry that it has taken a while to get back to blogging.  We were trying a new format and server, and well, it didn't work out.  So now I am going to try to play catch up a bit.  Here goes!  Two weekends ago, Tim's parents came into town to see the girls for a bit. We ended up going to the Children's Museum for the day. There is really SO SO SO much to do there that you can't really get to it all in one day. Plus there has been a lot of new construction that was finally done when we went this time, so it was more spacious, offered even more to see and do, and was really nice all around. The girls did a ton of stuff, from seeing dinosaurs to train, playing in water and sand, riding the carousel (always a favorite!), to so much more! We stayed a long time, and boy, were they exhausted when we left! There is so much stimulus there! Each time we go there seems to be more and more they do and get into, so it is always fun to watch them try new things and experiment. And of course it is interesting
to watch how they interact with the other kids that are there, too. Anyways, we had a fabulous time there, and then later the girls played at home a bit more with Gramma and Grandpa. The next morning they played even more both inside and outside before Tim's parents headed home. Overall, the girls enjoyed their weekend, and here are some cute photos from our day at the Children's Museum.

    

The girls digging up dinosaur bones (left).  Both of them putting together a dinosaur puzzle (middle).  And Abigail picking up dinosaur eggs with dinosaur hands (right).,

      

Emma as a dinosaur (left and middle).  Abigail also as a dinosaur (right).

     

Our little dinosaurs (left)!  Gramma playing with the girls and dinosaurs (middle).  The girls building something together with blocks (right).

    

Gramma and Abigail on the carousel (left).  Emma and Grandpa on the carousel (middle).  Abigail fishing in the water table (right).

    

Emma playing in the water table (left).  Grandpa and Abigail playing with trains (middle).  Emma (with a ponytail now!) playing (right).

Both girls enjoying the sandbox together.