News from the Muller front

Hi Mom!

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 04:10:00 +0000

Just wanted to post some of the latest pictures of the girlies!

Hi Mom!

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 03:38:00 +0000

Well, I think you're the only person who reads this little blog, so I might as well say "Hi!" I'm going to do a better job of updating you with pictures - bad daughter!
Here are some latest ones of the girls:

It was over 100 degrees that day, but Emma insisted on wearing her hat - can we say Independent??

Emma likes to feed Abby - my little Mini-Mommy.

Emma and Abby playing dolls together. They love playing together and are usually upset if they are not together.

Me and Abby on the train at the local zoo. Too bad she didn't look up!

Emma on the same train ride - think she liked it?

Emma in her current favorite princess attire.

Abby discovered the sprinklers - yep, right in the face!

Emma's a little older and wiser about the sprinklers!

Hope you like the newest pictures!!

Abby's 1st birthday

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Mon, 18 May 2009 23:04:00 +0000

Our little Abby turned 1 yesterday! This year has really flown by and we feel so fortunate to be able to share our life with this sweet girl. Here are a few pics of our wonderful day:

Cannibal King

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Fri, 08 May 2009 21:17:00 +0000

So my mom taught Emma the "Cannibal King" song while we were in Hawaii...and she's completely obsessed with it!! We sing it multiple times each day and I was lucky enough to finally catch it on video. Here we go:

Easter and Aloha!

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 05:41:00 +0000

It's been a whirlwind around here! We had a really fun Easter this year, which was basically all about an egg hunt (or rather, multiple egg hunts)for Emma and lots of cheerio-eating for Abby.

Tuesday morning (after Easter) we left bright and early for Maui. Ted and I were attending a medical conference so we took my sister along to help with the girls. My mom also flew over from the Big Island and stayed with us for a few days. We had a FANTASTIC time!!! It was (of course!) still a lot of work, even with a 2:1 adult to kid ratio but still worth every minute. Hoping for a longer post soon...here's some pics (and don't worry, Mom, I'm working on your picture cd!)

Spring has arrived!

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 22:26:00 +0000

Spring is definitely in the air here in Sacramento. Despite a few really windy days, we have had some beautiful weather here. The girls and I have been spending lots and lots of time outside, even filling up the little baby pool for the girls. Emma is all about getting herself dressed and changed multiple times a day, sometimes in "real" clothes, but usually in some sort of princess dress. She has been thrilled to be able to put her Little Mermaid swimsuit on and splash around outside. Abby seems to enjoy the water a lot and has no problem getting splashed by big sister :) We've added a few new fish to our pond, a few new flowers to the backyard and we're getting ready to build some raised garden beds for a little vegetable garden this year.

Emma is officially 2 1/2 years old this month and seems to be growing by leaps and bounds daily. She is really independent (shocking, I know) and gets herself dressed, is fully potty trained, and even has a "job" (she feeds Oscar every night - even remembers on her own). She's really a lot of fun to be around and cracks me up with her verbal abilities - this past weekend she took to saying, "Mama, I have a question for you."

Abby will be one next month! I cannot believe that. Her first year has really flown past. She is not yet taking steps but seems ready to at any moment. She goes from sitting to standing by herself, without holding onto anything, and then stands for awhile, sort of not sure what to do next. She's got the speed crawl down and can traverse the house in no time flat. She is constantly babbling and squealing and can even say a few definite words. Mama is a clear favorite, especially when it's naptime and she begs to differ. Her other favorite is, "Hi, Dad-y" - it is so cute and definitely earns points with Daddy.

Our big plans for this month include a family trip to Maui - looking forward to beach baby pics!

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 05:18:00 +0000

I just wanted to post a couple of quick videos of the girls. We're drowning in a sea of snotty noses over here but here's some clips to keep you entertained :)

Don't you love the nose wipe???

It's a new era...

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 05:55:00 +0000

Drum roll please......

Emma is potty trained!!! Yahoo! Only 1 in diapers! I have to say that she was (and is) completely amazing. It really only took about 48 hours for her to "get it" and now she's completely figured it out. She's even dry at naptime and overnight. Amazing.

On the Abby front, she started "cruising" the couch today. Still slow and a bit unsteady, but definitely taking those steps (while holding on to the couch). She's got a bit of a handicap at the moment - her right eye is pretty swollen, apparently the result of an allergic reaction. It doesn't seem to bother her any, but she certainly looks like she's been in a prize fight! Poor girl! So here's a couple of photos of Abby, pre-shiner :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 06:47:00 +0000

This is my favorite picture from a little photo shoot I did with the girls on the front porch. I usually get about 5-8 minutes to try to get a good shot so I always feel lucky if even just 1 of the 50 I snap in those few minutes actually turns out. And this one did!

This picture makes me laugh!! Now that Abby is pulling up everywhere, this is pretty much a routine shot of her - her big, beautiful, blue eyes peeking up at us.

Could she be any more beautiful?? This her "Belle dress" and it is her new favorite dress up attire. She cracks us up, running around in her princess dresses and plastic high heels - diaper in tow.

And big news around here...Emma had her first day of school last week! It's a parent participation preschool type of class. We go once a week and Emma already loves it. This is Emma on her first day - all smiles.

Happy February!

Quick video

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 06:38:00 +0000

Just wanted to share a quick video clip of the girls. Abby is crawling and Emma is dressed up like a princess (a princess with crazy, post-nap hair). Enjoy!

Hello 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 05:16:00 +0000

Maybe it's just the new year, but it seems like both of our girls have grown so much in the last few weeks. Emma is all about dress-up. She received some beautiful dress-up clothes for Christmas and has spent each day trying them out. She especially loves the princess dress and the little high heel shoes (which, surprisingly, she's able to walk in very well). She loves reading the Fancy Nancy books and, at times, could give a drag queen a run for her (his?) money!
Abby is now mobile! She's crawling all over the house and loving every minute of it. She's also eating cheerios, which is a milestone in this house (and a favorite activity for Oscar!). She idolizes her older sister and is happy as a clam being anywhere close to her.
We have been doing some more projects around the house. We're working on making our back garage usable as a craft/work/play room and it's really coming along great. We are also hoping to get started on some kitchen work (new cabinets and countertops) this week. Things are going really well around here - a good start to 2009.

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 06:16:00 +0000

Here are some more Christmas pictures...enjoy!

Christmas 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 03:56:00 +0000

We had such a great Christmas! The whole month was really filled with lots of holiday fun. Here are a few highlights from the season:

** driving around the neighborhood looking at Christmas lights (over and over and over)
** Emma jumping up and down about the giant inflatable penguin in our front yard
** Abby all snuggled up in cozy hats
** Singing Frosty the Snowman a thousand times!
** Emma crying at Charlie Brown Christmas because she thought Snoopy was hurt (all was well after I explained he was just pretending - then everytime we watched it she would say, "Snoopy's okay.")
** Emma asking Santa for a "new puppy" for Christmas (good thing she means the stuffed kind!)
** Decorating a gingerbread house on Christmas eve

Here are a few pictures of the season...enjoy! Happy New Year!

***Okay, picture uploader is not working right...I'll post more pictures later.

Is it really December already????

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 07:26:00 +0000

Wow! I can't believe it's already December - and nearly half over at that! We are very much in the Christmas spirit over here at the Muller house. Emma is LOVING all the Christmas lights and decor, particularly the snowmen and penguins. I think by now I'm singing Frosty the Snowman in my sleep! It is certainly her favorite and who can resist her little voice saying, "Snowman, one more time, please?" She has no idea that Christmas leads to presents, only that it means lots of pretty lights and fresh baked cookies - works for me!

Abby is turning 7 months old tomorrow! She is certainly becoming her own person - complete with likes (mommy, breastmilk, making lots of noise, breastmilk, her sister, breastmilk...) and dislikes (napping, rice cereal, peas, her car seat). She was a bit underweight at her 6 month appointment (VERY hard to believe, given her abundance of baby rolls!) so we were on Operation Milk Production over here. It worked! She passed her weight check on Monday and is back on track. Yeah! She is still working on the crawling - still no forward motion yet but coming ever so close! She's sitting up like a champ and loves bouncing around in her exersaucer. She has her moments, but overall she is still such an incredibly happy baby. Such a joy!

Here are a few video clips of the girls. The first one is Emma and Abby having a little rock concert in the living room. It was so stinkin' cute! The second one is Emma saying her ABCs. She's been saying them for a bit now, but she's finally (sometimes) willing to do them on command. She was brushing her teeth the other night and was willing to let me video her singing them so this is actually taken in the bathroom - not the best scenery for the video, but beggars can't be choosers around here! Enjoy!

Just a few pics

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 05:21:00 +0000

We had a great Halloween with the girls. We took them (well, really just Emma - Abby wasn't too impressed) trick or treating in a really great neighborhood nearby that turned out to be a popular spot. There were people everywhere and many of the houses were decorated, complete with lights, sounds, even a projector screen! Emma was a bit scared at first and although she had been practicing her "trick or treat" for days, she was too shy. After a few houses she caught on, and about halfway down the street she took to saying, "Couple more, please?" Very cute!

Abby is growing by leaps and bounds everyday. She is so close to crawling - I think I've had the video camera on standby for days now! She's up on all fours, rocking back and forth, and is able to scoot backward, but no forward motion yet. As she is quick to let us know, it's very frustrating!

Fall and a Birthday!

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 07:14:00 +0000

Fall has finally arrived here in California! We are really taking advantage of this beautiful season - in the last few weeks we've been to Apple Hill, a pumpkin patch and are heading to a little Harvest Festival tomorrow.

Emma is now an official 2 year old! We had an Elmo-themed birthday party for her at the park, complete with an Elmo bounce house - she had a ball! It was really a great time.

Hope you're enjoying this wonderful time of year!

Is it really October already????

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 06:06:00 +0000

Wow...I cannot believe that it is already October. This means that my sweet girl is almost 2 years old! I look at her everyday and am amazed at what a grown up girl she is becoming. Sometimes I wonder if she's 2 or 12 - she's independent, fiery, full of life, and continually makes me smile (when she's not sitting in time out!).

We had a fantastic trip to Disneyland. The girls were wonderful, the trip went off without a hitch and Disneyland was magical. Emma's favorites were meeting the Little Mermaid (of course), watching the parade, riding on the carousel and watching the Princess Bedtime Stories in our hotel room. Abby's favorite was napping in the stoller :)

Here are a couple of photos and a video from our trip. There's also a video of Abby rolling over. She is now literally rolling across the house - she's on the move! Enjoy!

Just a couple of videos...

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 05:29:00 +0000

Just wanted to post a couple of videos of our sweet girls - enjoy!

September update

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 04:38:00 +0000

It's the beginning of September, but it sure doesn't feel like it here in Sacramento. It's been hot, hot, hot! I am so ready for fall - my favorite season! This month is going to be very busy for us - Ted has his annual Geek Fest over the weekend, so Grandma is coming to stay. It's always a lot of fun when she stays over. Emma has a ball playing with her and after the kids are asleep, she and I stay up late working on craft projects. I love that she can come and stay with us. The following week, we are headed to DISNEYLAND! I am so excited to make our first family trip to the Happiest Place on Earth...

It's amazing what a "big girl" Emma is these days. Her vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds. She is speaking full sentences now and has no trouble at all conveying her message. "Emma do it" is what we are always hearing these days! Her latest accomplishment is learning how to jump (with both feet off the ground). She likes to do "hopscotch", which means that I draw a hopscotch on the ground, she runs over, jumps up and down and runs away. It is so cute! Emma just started a Spanish class with Ted once a week. It's for toddlers and there are about 10 other kids in the class. I think it's great that the two of them do something special together.

Abby continues to surprise me everyday at how mellow and laid back she continues to be - she has such a sweet disposition. She is really smiley and just started laughing. We were at the farmers market in Davis on Saturday and she was smiling away at everyone that walked by. It was adorable! She still refuses the pacifier, but has taken to sucking her fingers. She sleeps that way every night - and speaking of sleeping, she is the BEST sleeper! How lucky am I!

Happy September!

August update

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 21:10:00 +0000

I can't believe it's already the middle of August! Abby just turned 3 months and Miss Emma hit 22 months today. They are both changing and growing so fast. Abby is coming into her little personality and it's so fun to see her trying out new things. She's discovered her hands and thinks they are completely fascinating. She's also busy trying to roll over and is keeping herself awake with her new antics (not so nice for me!). As you can see from the picture, Emma has discovered the potty and was really into it for a couple of weeks. We thought we were on the road to only 1 in diapers (would be soooo nice!), but alas, she's changed her mind. Now you ask her if she wants to use the potty and you hear, "Nooooooooo!!!" out of that sweet little mouth! "No" is also her new favorite word...oh, the joys of toddlerhood! And the other Emma picture is her first experience with makeup...yep, she found Mommy's makeup and decided to try it out...how cute is she??!!

Is this not the yummiest picture???

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 06:54:00 +0000

Don't you just want to squeeze this sweet little peapod???

Just some updated pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 04:09:00 +0000

I just wanted to post a couple of recent pics of the girls. Things are good at the Muller house. Hope you're doing well, too!

The Flip!

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 04:20:00 +0000

So my new favorite toy arrived last week - the Flip video camera! It is so incredibly easy to shoot fun little video clips anywhere. I think the picture quality is really good, considering, and the convenience factor makes it easily worth the price. Here's a couple of recent videos - Emma at the bounce house and the girls in the morning, being cute! Enjoy!

Our new pond!

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 04:27:00 +0000

We were so happy to have a new pond put into our backyard! When we had our backyard redone last year, we had a VERY small pond put in as sort of an afterthought. We put some fish in it and found that we really enjoyed it. Well...it got attacked by a raccoon and that was the end of our fish! Then the filter broke, and it just became a real problem. So, we decided to have a real pond put in...and we LOVE it! We have 4 fish so far, but are able to have about 10 in it. We really love our backyard and I've been enjoying all the planting and growing. These are pictures of a couple of my dahlias that I planted when I was pregnant. They are beautiful!

Our not so happy fourth!

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 04:37:00 +0000

We had a crazy 4th of July to say the least...and these pictures show it exactly! Emma had a nasty case of gastroenteritis prior to the 4th, which including a major vomiting session in the new minivan in the midst of being stuck on the Davis Causeway! So not pleasant! Then, little Miss Monkey learned how to climb out of her crib...so not a good thing for a little girl who hates to sleep as it is. So we spent a couple of nightmarish days of trying everything to get Emma to sleep on her mattress on the floor. We finally succumbed to a crib tent. Yes, we have a baby prison. But, we are all sleeping again. And through it all, Abby continued to be little Angel Baby.

So, prior to our crazy week, I had bought little 4th of July outfits for the girls and was so excited to take them to our friend's bbq that day. With all that was going on, we didn't make the bbq. So I dressed the girls up yesterday to try to capture some cute pictures, now that we're all healthy and semi well-rested. Well, as you can see in the pictures, Abby is little Angel Baby...and then there's Emma. Our little free-spirit. Enjoy!