Jam Packed Week in Indiana

A few weeks ago we took a trip back home to Indiana.  We had planned this trip well before we knew we would be buying a house and had purchased tickets to take Adalyn to Yo Gabba Gabba Live in Louisville, so we went ahead a made the trip home even though there was lots to be done in Illinois.  The plan was for the entire family to head home on Friday and then Derek would take his mom's car (she was on a trip with her church) and head back to Illinois on Monday after the Yo Gabba Gabba Show.  He had to go on a business trip to Florida for the remainder of the week, so it was a perfect time for us to spend some extra time at home visiting family and friends.  Then on Sunday the kids and I headed back to Illinois and picked up Derek's mom in Terre Haute to make the trip with us.  I know it sounds like a giant riddle, but it all worked out very well and we had a wonderful time in Indiana.  Like any trip that I plan, it was jam packed with lots of activities, visits with friends and family, and little down time. 

Fishin' for a prize

We stayed at Derek's mom's house on Friday and Saturday.  We wanted to spend some time with her before she went on her trip with her church to Michigan and Wisconsin.  On Saturday we went to the West Side Nut Club Festival.  It had been several years since we had been to the festival and we wanted to take Addy to sample some of the yummy food.  Addy enjoyed the corn on the cob, cobbler, and bread pudding.  I had also told Addy about the game where you choose a color by putting a quarter down on it and then a mouse is released in a larger wheel and chooses a color by going through a hole.  Addy was excited about playing the game and won a hot pink dolphin when the mouse finally chose her color.  Thank goodness Grandma had lots of quarters at her house!




Carter's first visit to Holiday World.  Too bad he couldn't see most of it:)

On Sunday we packed up and headed toward Spencer County to meet up with my parents and take the kids to Holiday World for the day.  It was an unusually hot day and Holiday World was pretty crowded. It was their last day of operation and usually crowds are low, but the weather brought everyone out. When packing for the family I didn't think about packing Addy's swimsuit for the fountains at Holiday World.  Being able to Run through fountains in October in Indiana just doesn't happen very often, so we let her go wild in the water in her clothes.  She had lots of fun going on rides and was so excited that grandma and grandpa each rode a ride with her.  Carter

had a lot of fun taking in the sights from his stroller and slept through most of the trip.

Monday was an exciting day for Adalyn.  We were going to Yo Gabba Gabba Live in Louisville.  I had made the mistake of telling her about the show a bit too early, so everyday when she got up she asked if we were going to Yo Gabba.  Finally on Monday when she got up I could give her the answer she was looking for.  My mom took off work to watch Carter, so it could just be a day for Addy. She loved that is was "Addy's Day" and mentioned it several times during the trip.   We went to the afternoon show so that Derek could head back to Illinois in the evening.  Yo Gabba Gabba is a kid's show on Nickelodeon. Yes, it is a little bizarre, but it includes music from alternative rock bands and is actually a show Derek and I can watch without losing our minds.  The songs are pretty catchy and after the concert I had them in my head for the rest of the week.  When I went online to buy the tickets it just so happened that the front row was available, so I jumped on them.  We were in the front row of theater seats, but had two rows of super crazy Gabba fans in front of us who paid $130 a seat to have "VIP" status.  Yo Gabba Gabba followers are very enthusiastic and I knew that there would be many super fans at the show. Clothing with the characters is very hard to come by, so I had planned on making Addy a shirt with her favorite character, Foofa. Well, since I was already making her a shirt, I decided to make myself and Derek shirts too, so that we would fit in with the crazy fans.  Derek was Muno and I was Brobee.  Addy loved the fact that we were also wearing shirts and we got many compliments from fans at the show.  Maybe I should start my own Gabba shirt business:) The show was great and it was great seeing Adalyn's face as the characters came on stage. She talked about the show for the rest of the week and has since asked if we could go back. 

Our homemade shirts

Dancing to the show

On Wednesday the kids and I headed back to the Louisville area to visit my good friend Jill and her family.  Jill and Zack welcomed their first baby, Ethan, to the world a month before we had Carter.  It was the first time I had seen Ethan.  He is adorable!  It was fun watching the boys look at each other. Addy loved meeting Jill, Zack, and Ethan and enjoyed playing with their dog Emmit.  It was great to see them and I am so glad the were able to make time in their busy schedules for us to visit!

Carter & Ethan hanging out.  Ethan is one month older than Carter.

On Thursday evening we dressed the kids in their Halloween costumes and my parents and I took them trick-or-treating to some of my relatives' houses. It was great to be able to take the kids to trick-or-treating to so many of our relatives.  We got to see a lot of people in a short amount of time.  I feel as though no matter how long we're home, we always wish we could have seen and visited with more of our friends and family.  So, it was great to see so many of our relatives all in one evening!

On Friday the kids and I went shopping with my mom ad Ashley.  We had a great time and found a lot of cute clothes for Carter and Adalyn.  Adalyn devoured her meal at Fazoli's and asked to go back to the "tomato place" to eat the next day.  Our last full day visiting in Indiana was Saturday.  Mom and Dad had planned to take us to the new Paula Deen Buffet in New Albany.  After much anticipation, it was quite the disappointment!  The food at the buffet wasn't near as good as the food she makes on t.v. looks.  After eating we headed to Huber Orchard, which was a madhouse.  There were people and lines everywhere!  It was such a beautiful day that everyone decided to head to the orchard.  Needless to say we weren't too enthusiastic about the super-long lines for everything so we didn't stay too long.  We did manage to leave with some yummy apple cider and apple cider donuts though!

Carter's first time in Grandma & Grandpa's swing



Enjoying a beautiful fall evening



Huber Orchard (Carter was sleeping:)

Ashley with her niece and nephew

Cheesin' with Grandpa's pumpkins

Sunday afternoon we headed back to Illinois.  We stopped in Terre Haute and Cory and Courtney's house to pick up Derek's mom.  We got see Courtney and Cameron very briefly and Addy and Cameron had a few minutes to play together.  The kids were very good on the way home.  It was another great trip back to Indiana filled with lots of great visits and fun.  We look forward to returning for the holidays!

Check Ups

I'm 4 months old!

Both kids had check ups at the doctor a few weeks ago.  I know this is old news and that some of you may be wonder why I even bother writing about this since it was so long ago, but since our family blog is a kind of substitute for a scrapbook I need to document the milestones (even if they happened weeks ago.)  We were ablet o take both kids at the same time which was a great timesaver, but also a bit chaotic in itself.  Adalyn had her 2 1/2 year check up and Carter had has 4 month check up. 

Addy knew that we were going to see the doctor and was surprisingly ok with it.  She knew was was probably going to get at least one shot and didn't show much apprehension about it.  As soon as the nurse walked into the room the chitter chatter began.  To say that she talked the nurse and doctor's ears off may be a bit of an understatement.  As soon as the Doctor stepped foot in the door she let him know that she was going to be a doctor for Halloween.  Dr. Boe seemed to be amused by that and gave her several rubber gloves for her costume.  Addy talked to him about everything from her baby Carter to moving to a new house.  When going down through his developmental checklist he stated "she certainly has quite the vocabulary."  Adalyn's height was 37.25 inches and weighed 34 lbs 8 ounces. The doctor was very happy with Adalyn's growth and development and made Addy's day by giving her those gloves for her costume!

Our little guy was checked out after Adalyn.  Throughout Carter's check up kept one eye on what the doctor was doing to her little brother and one eye on the I-Spy books she was flipping through.  She was very interested in and concerned about what was being done to him.  Carter weighed in at 19 lbs. 13 oz.  (greater than 97th percentile..of course) and measured to be 25.5 inches long (90th percentile).  Yes, he is a big guy and certainly doesn't miss many meals!  The doctor was happy with his numbers and while examining Carter by pulling him up to a sitting position mentioned how strong he is for his age.  Carter got a shot in each leg and took them like a champ.  He cried for only a few second and was his smiley self soon after. The doctor also gave us the ok to begin solids.  So we gave him cereal starting on October 1st.   He wasn't at all fond of it at first, but has taken more of a liking to it in the past week.  We plan to start him with veggies this week.  That should be interesting!

The smiley baby before the shots.

First bite of cereal goes in....



and comes out!



Cheesin for the camera!

One proud daddy!

A Lot Going On!

OK, for those of you who check in regularly you've noticed I've taken yet another hiatus from the family blog.  I could blame it on a number of things, but the reality is that I just haven't been getting it done as of late.  I have been dropping the ball when it comes to keeping this thing updated.  I could just start anew and report on only what happened during the past week, but that would be taking the easy way out.  Besides, some pretty exciting and fun things have taken place over the past few weeks that need to be documented so that in future years when I'm reading these posts I can say, "wow, that was quite an interesting month!" So I'm not giving you any lame excuses as to why I haven't been posting nor can I promise you that it will improve in the near future.  As you read on you will understand why....our family life is only about to get crazier before it settles down.  So, without further adieu...here is a VERY lengthy post with lots of subtitles and pictures!

A Summary of the Last Three Weeks...

Potty Training Success!

During our vacation form the blogging world Addy made some serious potty training progress. It all started during the first week of September--that's when the something in her little mind clicked.  We had been keeping a potty chart that was connected to rewards earned after so many times gone on the potty.  Before that week, Addy was hot and cold about the chart.  She knew what it took to earn the rewards and showed some interest in receiving the rewards, but had absolutely NO interest in using the potty full time.  I started the week off by putting Addy in underwear while we stayed home.  (I had done this before with little success.)  On Monday she started going to the potty when she needed to go and started earning stickers for her chart and various prizes left and right.  She was clearly excited about her accomplishments and kept it up with just a few accidents throughout the week.  Needless to say, I was hesitant to venture too far away from the house that week in fear of breaking "the streak" and planned any outings around Addy's potty times. Since that first week she has done very well.  Pottying foreign places is still an adventure, as Adalyn still isn't quite sure about the "normal" sized potties, but we are slowly getting her to accept that there are times when she must use them.  She has a variety of character undies and enjoys being able to pick out a pair to wear each morning.  We are still putting her in pull-ups when we go out and about.  She is doing a great job and we are very proud of her!

Balloon Festival
The last weekend in August always marks the date for the Lincoln Balloon Festival.  We have been going for several years and really enjoy the sights of the balloons taking off in the early evening and glowing at night.  This year was no exception.  There were over twenty hot air balloons participating this year and they were quite the sight!  Addy always loves to see the balloons and this year we had a new addition to the family that enjoyed them as well.  Although Carter wasn't as animated as Adalyn at the sight of the balloons, it was evident that he was noticing the balloons and enjoyed being outside.  Our friend Kelleen and her daughters, Evelyn and Elizabeth also joined us at the festival.  The three girls had a great time together and Addy talked about going to the festival with her friends for days and days.  We can tell that Addy really loved the festival because she still insists on keeping the program with the pictures of all the balloons.  She sits and looks at it from time to time and will ask anyone in earshot what their favorite balloon was.  Addy's favorite was the one with the sunglasses:)

A New House
The biggest thing that has happened in the past few weeks is that we placed a bid on a house closer to Bloomington and much to our surprise, it was accepted! Derek and I have been talking about moving closer to town since I stopped teaching.  We originally moved from Bloomington to our small town when I got my full time teaching job in Rochester because it cut my driving time from over an hour to about 45 minutes.  Now, since I'm not teaching anymore we thought it would be great to move closer to Bloomington which would shorten Derek's commute, which is currently 30 minutes, and would put us closer to everything.  It was one of those situations in which we hadn't planned to seriously consider moving until next spring or summer, but we started looking to see what types of areas we would be interested in looking and we found a house we couldn't pass up making an offer on.  For many of you that know me, spontaneity isn't usually my thing.  It took me three years to pick out furniture for our dining room.  I usually over analyze huge purchases to death!  However, this house has three of the BIG things we were looking for: a particular school district, no backyard neighbors, and a large backyard.  We got the house for a very good price and are very excited (and just a little nervous) about moving.  Our lives just got a whole lot busier as we have put our current house on the market and began the ominous task of packing.  Adalyn is very excited about the idea of moving to a new house and asks daily if it is time to go to our new house yet.  Although I am very excited about the move, I am also a little sad about leaving our first home where Derek and I started our married lives and where our babies were born.  I know that this new house will be wonderful for our family and we will be so much happier living closer to town, but I will miss our house in our little town with no stoplights:)  I'm sure much more will be posted about our upcoming move in the near future!  In the meantime if you know anyone who would like to live in a small town in central Illinois--give me a shout:)

Our new back yard

Meet Me in St. Louis!
Over labor Day weekend we took a short trip to St. Louis.  Derek and I packed up the cars and left Thursday evening.  We took two cars because the kids and I were going to head to Indiana from St. Louis to visit family for the week following Labor Day and Derek had to come back home because he had to work and travel for business at the end of the week.  We actually stayed in O'Fallon, Illinois and my parents met us at the hotel on Friday after they got off work. 

On Friday Derek and I took the kids to the zoo.  The weather was in the lower eighties and was beautiful.  We had a ton of fun at the zoo and wore both kids out.  Addy loved the elephants and got to touch a sting ray. We also rode the train and saw the sea lion show.  Carter took everything in stride and seemed very happy to be outdoors in the beautiful weather.  We stayed until well past nap time, which resulted in a very cranky Adalyn.  We headed back to the hotel in the late afternoon and met Grandma and Grandpa for happy hour at the hotel.  We stayed at a Drury Inn, which is a chain that I highly recommend.  They have a happy hour in the evenings in which they have free drinks and food.  It was a great perk for those evenings when you don't feel like packing the kids back up to go out to eat.

Carter loved taking in the sights at the zoo.

At the end of the day Addy was falling asleep on the Sit-N-Stand

On Saturday we headed back into St. Louis to eat at Hodak's restaurant.  Derek saw Hodak's on the Food Network Channel a few years ago and has been wanting to go there ever since because they are famed to have the best fried chicken in St. Louis.  Many of you know that Derek loves anything and everything fried.  So we headed there to test out their chicken and I must say it was pretty tasty!  Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures of the experience, so I can't show you our places, but I assure you that they were cleared!  After Hodak's and a stop at Ted Drew's for custard (another St. Louis favorite) we headed back to the hotel for naps.  That afternoon Grandma and Grandpa stayed at the hotel with Addy and Carter while Derek and I took the metro into town to see the Reds vs. Cardinals game.  We were also going to  meet my best friend Sheila and Mikey, our team manager from Olney, at the game. The Reds are actually doing very well this year, which is quite a pleasant surprise, so I wanted to see them take on the Cards while we were in town.  I even got Derek to wear a Reds shirt! We got quite a few comments from Cardinals fans throughout the day, but also befriended quite a few Reds fans who also made the trip.  It was a lot of fun being the enemy, especially since the Reds were victorious 6-2!

Anytime you get these two together there's going to be trouble!

We found these awesome Reds fans with a Reds yard gnome and asked if we could take a picture with the little guy!

On Sunday all of us headed into St. Louis for some up close views of the Arch and to go to the Magic House.  The line to go up in the Arch was super long, so we decided to save that for another time.  Addy said the arch looked like a rainbow and enjoyed seeing it up close.  Carter was a bit fussy and didn't really like the sunshine.  The Magic House was a lot of fun.  Addy enjoyed the giant legos, water table, and the nursery in which she dressed up as a doctor and cared for babies.  Derek enjoyed watching Addy's and my hair stand straight up when we were touching the ball that creates static electricity. Derek was really looking forward to snapping pictures of the hair-raising experience!  We left the Magic House about mid-afternoon when Addy started her meltdown from being tired and headed back toward the hotel so Derek could get his car and head back to our house and my parents and I could take both vehicles to southern Indiana. 

Addy and her "rainbow"

A not so successful attempt at a family picture at the arch/

Derek really got a kick out of shooting this picture. 

Playing with the giant legos

The kids and I visited Derek's mom in Evansville for the first part of the week.  We took Addy to "Pump it Up" to play on the inflatables again.  We also took the kids to Chuck E. Cheese's and had a lot of fun hanging out and playing with Grandma Freihaut.  I got to go to Eastland Mall by myself while Grandma watched the kids, which was great!  It was a great visit and Addy always enjoys visiting her Grandma Freihaut.

On Thursday we headed to Ferdinand to visit my parents.  We went to dinner with my parents and Ashley on Thursday and visited Great Grandma Heilers on Friday.  On Saturday we went to my cousin Katie's wedding.  I am so glad that the kids and I were able to make it to the wedding.  It was great seeing all of our relatives on my Dad's side, as that isn't something we get to do enough.  Addy had a blast dancing to the music and running around the reception hall.  I'm not sure how many laps she did around that place, but it was exhausting just watching her and chasing after her.  Even Carter enjoyed the music, lights, and seeing all the people! Katie and Adam had a beautiful wedding and we wish them lots of love and happiness as they begin their life together!

Carter and the beautiful bride--Katie

Addy and Grandpa dancing

Addy loved the sweets table.  Maybe this was the reason Adalyn stayed up until past ten--thanks Katie:)

On Sunday the kids and I headed home after going to the church picnic in Ireland with my parents.  The kids were worn out from the exciting week and slept most of the way home, which was great because I was a bit nervous about doing the drive with them all by myself.  It was a wonderful week at home and I am so glad we got to see so many family and friends.  I look forward to future extended visits!

OK...So that is the last few weeks in a nutshell.  I will do my best to keep this blog updated during the next few months.  But as you can see our lives are going to be pretty crazy in the next few months!  I know, I know...I'm already making excuses:)

The picture says it all.......

Yes, our little Carter is a "really big deal" and we also learned at his 2 month doctor's appointment (although we had our suspicions) that he is a really big baby as well.  Carter's two month appointment was scheduled a little later because our doctor was on vacation for most of July.  On August 12th he weighed 17 pounds 9 ounces (97th+ percentile) and measured 24 1/4 inches (90th percentile).  He also received three shots and was a brave little guy.  The doctor said that he looked great and is obviously growing well:)  Getting his official stats only confirmed what we already knew...he's a BIG Boy and quite the eater.  It's interesting to hear the responses from people when we are out and about.  They'll say how cute he is and ask how old?  When we tell them 12 weeks, the look of surprise on their faces is classic.  Some people have even called their friends or co-workers over to check him out.  Seriously,  I feel like we should wear shirts that say..."yes, our child is a big boy and we're proud of it."

Here are some other highlights from our last few weeks...

• Carter loves to laugh and is trying to talk more and more.  He'll babble and respond to your babbles with even more babbling. Watching Carter and Addy interact and "play" with each other is so much fun!

• Our festival season is in full swing.  We went to the county fair and the Illinois State Fair over several weekends.  Addy enjoyed her first snow cone and loved checking out all of the animals.  She also got to check out the butter cow at the state fair, which she wasn't all that thrilled over.

Checking out the tires of the combine at the county fair.

Yes, the cow is carved from a huge block of butter!

Trying to stay cool at the State Fair.
• We found a really neat nature center very near our house. I have heard about the area before, but had no idea there was so much for kids to do and explore.  We checked it out this past Sunday and Addy loved it.  Since Derek and I grew up exploring the outdoors we love to find places where Addy can do the same. 

Hanging out on a tree.

Loving the horse tire swing, which she named Bullet.

Addy and Derek took the hard way and Carter and I took the bridge!

• We have had some potty training progress!!  I don't want to jinx her, so I'm not going to say much about it yet(3 days accident free:), but I will keep you posted:)

Sweet Home Indiana--Carter's First Visit

During the last week of July we packed up our vehicle and headed to Indiana for a 6 day visit with our families. We headed out on a Tuesday night after Derek came home from work and we shoved the last of the baby/toddler gear in the back of our SUV. It's always a surprise to me to see just how stuffed full our vehicle is as we pull out of our driveway for a trip home. I catch a lot of flack from Derek for packing "too much," but you never know what you're going to need!

First we headed to Derek's mom's house in Evansville.  This was Addy's first experience sleeping at Grandma's house in something other than the Pack-n-Play.  She slept on an inflatable bed and did a great job!  Since it was so hot outside we decided to so some inside activities.  Addy loved playing with Grandma's toys.  In the afternoon after lunch at Chik-Fil-A (one of our favorites) we headed to Pump It Up.  We had never been there before and didn't know what to expect.  It is a warehouse with huge inflatables for kids and their parents to jump around and play in. Addy was a little hesitant at first, but after a little coaxing and participation by us she warmed up to all the bounce houses and slides and ended up loving them.  Derek and I had a great time too, but several of the items on the inflatable obstacle course helped to remind us that we aren't so young anymore. 

I think I can, I think I can....

After spending the day with Derek's mom we headed to my parents house to visit my family for a few days. As you can see in the picture, Carter's first visit to my parent's house included his very own cake, which he couldn't eat but we were happy to enjoy it for him and he did manage to shove his head in the yummy icing during the photos.    On Thursday my mom took off work to watch Carter, and we took off with Adalyn to Holiday World.  She LOVED Holiday World.  It was interesting to see the park through her eyes.  After working there for so many years (seven to be exact) I still tend to walk through the park with the mentality of an employee. There were even several instances when I saw trash on the ground and I has to remind myself that it wasn't my responsibility to pick it up, which I know is very sad.  So, it was nice watching her take in all of the excitement.  She loved Splashin' Safari and played in the water playground with her dad for quite a while.  She even went down a few of the water slides on her own.  Addy also enjoyed the kiddie rides and the fountains at Holidog's Funtown. 

We took a break midday and headed back to my parent's house so that Addy could get her nap.  Addy gets down right cranky when we are out and about and she doesn't get her nap!  After resting at mom and dad's Ashley came along with us back to the park for more fun. In the evening we stayed in the dry park and Addy rode most of the Kiddie Rides.  We also ate in the restaurant I used to work in--Kringles.  The highlight of the evening was taking Addy on the Frightful Falls log flume.  Since Addy is a tall two year old she met the height requirements and acted very interested in giving it a shot.  We were a bit nervous about how she would do, but she showed no nervousness in line and after going down the hill she asked to go again!  We finished a great visit to the park with Udderly Blue ice cream, which may have been Addy's favorite part!

On Friday we spent the day with my parents.  We considered doing several things but ultimately decided to stay close to home.  We actually went to the Candy Castle and Christmas Store in Santa Claus.  I have been wanting to go to the candy Castle for a while now, but never found the time when we were home.  It is a really neat place with great frozen hot chocolate.  Since we were in Santa Claus we decided to drop in to the Christmas Store and much to our surprise Santa was there.  Addy eagerly sat on his lap (another surprise!) and we took pictures of Addy and Carter with Santa. 

Addy's always manages to find the books and suckers someone into reading with her!

Carter modeling a hat at the Candy Castle

Later that evening we went to visit my Grandma Heilers.  This was the first time she met Carter and she hadn't seen Addy since we were home in April, so she was very surprised to see just how big both kids were.  We also went to visit my cousin who was recovering from back surgery after a crazy fall.  We were glad to see that she was up and about and doing well.  Carter got to meet several of my aunts and uncles, which is always a trip:) I caught some flack from my aunt Ruth for being late on posting to the blog and I'm sure that she is currently not happy that it has been three weeks since I last posted!  It was great to see all of them and catch up.

Visiting Great Grandma--She's got her hands full in this picture!

Saturday we spent the morning packing up our overstuffed SUV and headed back to Derek's mom's house to go out to eat and spend the night before heading home.  Sunday morning Carter and I headed to Red Robin to meet my friend Sheila and her mom for lunch. Sheila and I played basketball together at Olney and have been very close ever since. She hadn't met Carter before then and it was great catching up with her in person instead of on the phone.

Our trip home to Indiana was great.  As usual we didn't get to see everyone we would have liked.  It seems as though that's the way it always goes.  However, it was great seeing everyone we did get the chance to see and enjoyed the time with our families.  Carter did relatively well in car and seemed to really like his first visit to the Hoosier State!

Carter got to meet his Uncle Brian on this visit to Indiana.

Sporting the Holdiay World gear Brian bought him.