A fall weather preview

This week was a pretty low key week in the Freihaut household. Getting into the swing of things has been somewhat of a challenge for us. Adalyn is still getting use to the 45 minute drive with me to work and we have decided the Mondays jsut really aren't for us. Addy is very clingy each Monday and usually remains grouchy and tired for the remainder of the day. She is also cutting teeth with only adds to her discomfort and crankiness.

Adalyn continues to learn new words each day. She is saying please (pease) when she wants something and says "Oh my" when she sees something shocking or when my braking on the highway isn't the smoothest. She has also taken a liking to her puzzles and can put them together and name many of the animals. When putting together her name puzzle she calls each letter a "b" or a "y." Addy has also gotten big into blowing kisses. Anything she likes or gets excited about gets a kiss. This evening on our walk she found the moon in the sunlit sky and started yelling "moon, moon" and then proceeded to blow it a kiss.

This weekend we took advantage of the beautiful fall like weather by going to the nearby hot air balloon festival. They have scheduled time when they take-off from the airport and have a balloon "glow" each night at dusk. We have been attending this festival for several years, as it is my favorite festival. Last year we took Adalyn and the loud noises from the propane and the heat were enough to scare her. This year she loved the balloons and laughed, pointed, and clapped for them as they took off. One group of balloonists took an old balloon and inflated it with a huge fan and let people walk inside the balloon, which Adalyn really enjoyed. During the balloon glow, you are allowed to walk around the balloons and view them from up close. You don't realize how huge those things are until you're up close and personal.

Inside the balloon

Stealing some sips of mommy's lemon shake-up

So excited to spot a balloon

The crowd favorite

Goodbye Summer...Hello Second Graders!

This week marked the official end of summer vacation and the beginning of my sixth school year of teaching. It's hard to believe that I have been teaching that long! I was dreading the end of the summer because it has been such a blessing to be able to spend the summer with our precious little girl. We have had great fun playing, swimming, and laughing all summer and I hated for it all to come to an end. I feel very lucky to have had such quality time with Addy and loved watching her grow and learn before my very eyes. It is truly amazing to think about how much she has changed and grown in just a few short months.

The teachers started school on Monday and the students' first day was Wednesday. Adalyn had her first official day at Patty's on Monday. Addy settled right into the routine and hit the ground running. It was not as easy for me as I missed her greatly throughout the day and wondered what she was playing with or what kind of trouble she was getting herself into at Patty's.

Meeting my new second graders for the first time is always a little bit nerve-racking and exciting. It is always fun seeing their reactions to their brand new classroom. Each year I ask my new students to guess my age. This year many of the students' guesses were in the upper thirties and forties. Their guesses are always good for a few laughs. My students are all a lot of fun and so well behaved. I can tell that this year is going to be another great year.

This past weekend marked the beginning to our favorite time of year.....festival season. Derek and love to attend the various community festivals. Autumn is my favorite season because of the gorgeous weather, pumpkins, apples, and festivals. This weekend we got a good taste of the upcoming fall weather and we took full advantage of it by going to the state fair and the sweet corn festival. Adalyn loved the state fair. She enjoys people watching and the state fair is a prime location to "people watch." She also got to see many animals and had the chance to pet a horse, which she really enjoyed. We didn't know how many animal sounds she knew until we went to the fair. She knows and can make the sounds of a duck, horse, cow, pig, dog, and cat. At the fair M & M's was giving away free ice cream sandwiches. Since they were free I decided to let Addy have her shot at one. So, I unwrapped the entire thing and gave it to her in her stroller. In a few short minutes she managed to eat the whole thing with only an ice cream mustache and a bit of ice cream on her shirt and stoller (and hair) left as evidence.


On Sunday we headed to Derek's favorite festival....the sweet corn festival. I think it's his favorite because the main food is such a bargain (3 ears for $1.00)..yes he is a bit of a cheapskate! Addy ate her own ear of corn and had a great time. We also managed to get quite a bit of work done around the house and I accomplished some school work as well.



Checking out one of the gardens at the state fair.


"Seriously Mom, I can eat the WHOLE thing?"

Cheesin' with a ribbon chip in her mouth.

(Our friend Kim just got engaged last week. We are very excited about her upcoming wedding. We saw this "chapel on wheels" on display at the state fair and want her to consider this as her ceremony venue. I don't think she'll consider it:)


Overall we had a great first week back to school and the sitter and a very fun and productive weekend. Although I am sorry that summer had to go so quickly, I also look forward to my new class of second graders and all of the fun things that we will be able to do with Adalyn this fall. It's time to start thinking about a Halloween costume....stay tuned for further details:)

A Fast and Furious Few Weeks

It has been a few weeks since I posted and a lot of things have happened since the last entry. Last weekend we went home to Indiana to visit family and move Derek's mom to her new house. We were really busy prepping, cleaning, packing and moving at Derek's Mom's house, so Addy spent a lot of time at her Grandma and Grandpa Schum's house (neither party seemed to mind too much). Addy's grandparents took her to see the Clydesdales that were visiting for the Strassenfest and took her to see her Great Grandma. While at home, Adalyn and I were also able to go to my aunt Joyce and uncle Elmer's 40th wedding anniversary. I was so glad that were were able to join in the festivities and see many relatives from my mom's side of the family. After an extended weekend and help from family we managed to get Addy's Grandma Freihaut moved into her new home. Although it was sad to see her leave a house with many many years of memories, we are very excited that she has a found a new house to make new memories in that is closer to her family and church.


Hanging out with Aunt Ashley

During the week, Addy spent three days at her babysitter, Patty's house while I worked in my classroom. It was a perfect situation because Addy got reacquainted at Patty's and I spent some valuable time in my classroom. Adalyn loved all of the attention she received from the Nuding family. Winnie and Sophie loved swimming and playing with her and even managed to fix her hair and paint her toenails. Addy loves her green toenails and shows them off wherever we go.

On Friday, Adalyn and I drove to Indianapolis to meet Derek, who was already there on business. He got out of his meeting in the early afternoon, so we were able to spend some time at the zoo. We loved the zoo. Adalyn especially enjoyed the splash park and seeing the animals. It was a very cool day, so the animals were very active. A tiger came within 5 feet of us and Addy got to pet a shark. Friday evening Derek's mom joined us and we spent the night in Indy. Saturday was a very bust day for us. In the morning we went to the Children's Museum where Addy loved playing in the toddlers only room and looking at all the trains in the train display. We also visited our friends Brad and Molly and headed to Terre Haute to visit Derek's brother Cory and his family. Needless to say we got a lot accomplished over the weekend!

Checking out the polar bear with daddy

Enjoying the splash park

Adalyn continues to talk up a storm and seems to learn new words everyday. While in Indiana she learned to say Brian, which made her Uncle Brian very happy. She has recently taken a great interest in putting together puzzles and giving people hugs. She can name several different animals and say the sounds they make. Addy loves to watch Yo Gabba Gabba and tries to mimic all of the crazy dances moves the characters do on the show. She continues to amaze us everyday and we are very proud of our special little girl.

Sadly, this week marks the final week of summer vacation for us. I am very lucky to have this time with Addy each summer and I have loved every minute of it. It will be very difficult to get back in the swing of things next week as a new crop of second graders busts through the doors. Hopefully this week I can work in my classroom for just a few days and then spend my last few days of summer playing and spending time with my little girl.

Checking out the tractors at the county fair