By Geri Imler on 2/22/2010 3:41 PM

On February 14th, 2010, we celebrated Abigail and Emma's upcoming third birthday with a party at our house.  The girls were super cute and so excited about it all.  They loved the decorations I put up (they chose Tinkerbell together this year as the theme), were thrilled about their Tinkerbell cakes, and could not wait to open all of their fun presents.  It was mostly just immediated family and a few of their friends.  When their friends showed up, Abigail said with a big smile, "All of my friends are here!"  It was a-dor-a-ble!  For their party, we had a ton of yummy food, had cake and ice cream, and opened presents.  It was just perfect for them, and I think they had a wonderful time!  I can't hardly believe they are three already!  Such biggie girls!  

     

In the morning, before the party, the girls played with PaPa (left).  Tinkerbell birthday cakes (middle and right).

      

Photos of Emma and Abigail before the party.  Tim and I made the shirts for them to wear, and they looked SUPER CUTE!

    

Before their friends got here, my parents gave out Valentine's Day goodies to them.  Sophie (left), Emma (middle), and Abigail (right) really liked all that they got!

  

Singing "Happy Birthday" to Abigail and Emma (left), and them blowing out their candles (right).

  

Still working on those candles (left)!  And enjoying their cake and ice cream (right).

       

Abigail (left) and Emma (middle) really liked the icing on their cakes!  The girls had quite the funny faces after eating all of those colors (right)!

 

Abigail (left) and Emma (right)

  

Friends Kirsten and Addie (left) enjoyed cake and ice cream, as well as did their sister, Lily (right), with her mom, Hayley.

  

The girls waited anxiously at the bottom of the steps as Gramma and Grandpa brought down their new reading chairs with their names on them (left).  After that, the girls opened their gifts in their new chairs (right).

  

Teamwork (left)!  And getting fun purses with stickers inside (right).

     

Getting cool flipping race cars (left), and Abigail and Emma opening gifts (middle and right).

  

Emma and Abigail working on opening the big present from Mommy and Daddy.

  

It turned out to be a big tent that will go up in their room.  Abigail tested it out by laying on it while Emma checked the directions (left).  Sophie playing with MawMaw after the party was over (right).

  

More fun photos of biggie girl Sophie as she sits up to play with her penguin (left), and a spatula and plastic cup (right). 

  

The girls in their new "reading corner" in their playroom (left), and having fun in their new ladybug tent that is set up in the playroom (right).

By Geri Imler on 2/22/2010 11:28 AM

We took some photos of Sophie when she turned six months old on February 14th, 2010.  She did have a bad cold when she woke up, so her nose is a bit red and her eyes are a little tired looking.  But overall, we think her photo session with us went great!  There were a ton of cute ones, but here are just a few of them!

  

  

  

By Geri Imler on 2/22/2010 10:48 AM

The weekend of Abigail and Emma's thrid birthday party started out with a lot of fun!  First, MawMaw came into town on Friday to help with running errands and getting ready for the party.  That Friday night the Olympics started, so the girls got to see a few skiers on TV.  They thought it was super cool when they would "blast off" and jump, yelling out "wheeeeee!"  Then, on Saturday, we got up early to head over to a party for their friends, Kirsten, Addie, and Lily.  It was super fun, and the girls LOVE hanging out with their friends.  They played with toys, ate cupcakes and Jimmy Johns, and helped them to open their presents.  Of course, they were not shy in wanting to help test out the new things their friends got, but they were pretty good overall.  Then, after a nap, we went over to a hotel to meet up with cousins Ethan and Austin, as well as Aunt Mimi and Uncle Ryan.  They were staying at a hotel so the kids could have some pool time, so Abigail, Emma, and Sophie got to enjoy some water fun.  Emma especially liked the hot tub (which was surprising) because it had tons of bubbles in it.  After some swimming, we all headed out to dinner at Max and Erma's and then back to our house for some family time together.  It was a great start to an already exciting weekend! 

     

Friday night with MawMaw -- enjoying some goldfish before bed (left).  At their friends' party -- Tim with Sophie (middle), and Abigail working a party horn (right).

     

At their friends' party -- Tim and Sophie (left), Abigail trying to get a balloon (middle), and both girls chasing balloons (right).

Their friends -- Addie, Lily, and Kirsten -- opening presents.

   

Abigail and Emma helping Lily open a present (left).  Abigail demonstrating how to swim in new floaties (right).

  

Later, out to dinner with cousins Austin and Ethan (left).  Austin and Ethan enjoying some Wii time at our house (right).

By Geri Imler on 2/22/2010 8:33 AM

Let's see...the first half of February included a fun snow day outside making snowmans with Daddy, Sophie getting to try out a swing for the first time (in the snow!), Sophie holding her own bottle, fun puzzles from a friend, Valentine's Day, and great sister time!  Abigail and Emma also learned to use the potty (yippee!) while we are still working with Sophie to get her to sleep through the night.  Overall, it was a VERY busy start of the month!  Check it out!

     

Abigail swinging in the snow (left).  Sophie enjoying her first time in a swing (middle)!  Emma also having some swing fun (right).

  

Emma and Abigail helping to build a snowman (left) and the end result (right).

  

Meanwhile, inside Sophie works on getting a Nuker to chew on.

  

On to building another snowman in the front yard with Daddy (left).  Emma and Abigail with their second creation (right)!

Sophie holding her own bottle!

  

Abigail and Emma with some fun puzzles a friend of mine sent them to enjoy.

    

Our Valentine's Day!  Abigail & Emma opening their cards (left), and Sophie with her first Valentine's Day card (middle and right).  Of course she had to eat it!

    

Abigail and Emma being super adorable (left)!  Emma, Sophie, and Abigail ready to head out to do some errands (middle).  Sophie rocking her shades (right)!

By Geri Imler on 2/15/2010 1:41 PM

So, let's try to get caught up a bit.  Back in January, Tim and I took a little time to ourselves and left the girls for the weekend with his parents.  It was the first time since Abigail and Emma were born that I had left them (almost three years!), so I was a bit anxious, but also excited.  We went to Chicago for the weekend, enjoying dinner out with friends, the Shedd Aquarium, shopping on Michigan Avenue, and a romantic dinner out together (with no kids!).  It was a wonderful weekend, and the girls had a ton of fun with Gramma and Grandpa!  I must admit it was nice sleeping all night and sleeping in the next morning, but it was sure strange to not have anyone else to look after, pack up, clean up after, worry about, etc.  I can't remember the last time when the only bag I had to lug around was my purse! 

     

Photos of Tim and I before heading out to dinner both nights. 

The day after we got home, I had walked out of the family room to get something, only to return to find Sophie had discovered a new toy....the box that holds all of her toys.  She had somehow pulled it over the top of herself, and when I lifted it up to peek in at her, she just smiled and tried to pull it down over her head again.  She played with this box for a long time, proud of herself when she would pull it down and surprised when I would lift it back up.  It was super cute and shows just how ornery Sophie is!

  

This is how I found Sophie (left), and this is her reaction when I picked up the box to say, "peek-a-boo" to her (right).

  

Sophie trying to pull the box back down on herself.

  

She had so much fun with it (left)!  Somehow she got herself turned around, too, and instead of her head, she got her legs in the box (right).

Sophie

Tim also had the fun experience of feeding Sophie her "mush" (rice cereal), which was the first time he has done that with her.  She seemed to enjoy it!

  

Tim feeding Sophie (left) and her thinking, "Do I have something on my face?!?" (right).

Lastly, we all went to a bounce house one day.  Abigail and Emma ran around like crazy while Sophie slept a bit and then hung out in the Snugli with me.  The girls became more brave the longer we were there at the bounce house, and Emma even went down some really big slides by herself several times.  The girls had a lot of fun, and I am sure we will make a return trip some time!  We didn't take our camera into the bounce house, but we did get a cute photo of Sophie in her hat later when we got home.  Check her out!

Sophie in her cute hat!

By Geri Imler on 2/1/2010 9:12 PM

Sorry again for not keeping the blog up to date!  We have been busy as bees: from Tim and I having our first weekend away in three years (yes, I said three years), to Sophie's sleep training and starting solids, to Abigail and Emma starting potty training, I have not had time to update the blog.  I will try to get some things posted tomorrow or at least by the end of the week.  We also got a new kitchen table, which is super exciting!  So check back a bit later for more fun photos and stories of our cozy life!