Carter is.....

On Friday, May 27th Carter turned ONE!  I can't believe that a year has already passed since we were blessed with our little guy.  It seems like just yesterday when Derek and I were headed to the hospital in the wee hours of the morning (1:30 to be exact) so that we could welcome our little guy to the world.  We just love him to pieces and have cherished every minute of his first year.

On Friday we celebrated Carter's birthday with several outings throughout the day.  Derek's mom was still in town for his birthday party, so I had soneone help me with the outings, which was great.  In the morning we headed to Chuck-E-Cheese's around 10:00 in an attempt to avoid the lunch rush of kids celebrating being out of school for the summer. Our plan worked!  The place was basically deserted at the beginning of our visit.  Addy and Carter enjoyed riding the rides.  Addy really loved playing game and earning tickets and Carter loved watching the automated Chuck-E-Chesse on stage.  He just kept pointing and waving at him and clapping his hands.  It was a lot of fun to watch him get so excited about it.  If I would have guessed I would have thought that he would be scared out of him mind of being so close to the freaky giant mouse, but I would have been dead wrong! 

After getting out rides and game playing time in we picked up Derek for lunch and headed to Chili's.  We usually do a birthday meal at a restaurant for birthdays and we dicided to head to Chili's for Carter's big day.  The beauty of a one year old's birthday is that by then they really don't have a favorite restaurant and can be persuaded to eat just about anywhere, so we decided Chili's would be great!  We went during lunch time because heading to Chili's to eat dinner (or anywhere for that matter) is nearly impossible to do in Bloomington-Normal on a Friday night.  Everyone in the town loves to eat out!  After a great lunch we headed home for the ever important nap time.

That evening Carter opened his gifts from us and then we headed to the Discovery Children's Museum here in town for a little more celebrating.  Carter and Addy both really enjoyed the museum and we loved the fact that no one goes on Friday nights, s the place was empty!  It was so nice to let the kids roan and their own and not have to worry about losing them in the crowd.  Carter enjoyed the water table and paint wall, while Addy really loved just about everything!  It was a lot of fun playing in the make believe area where Addy sang a few of her :original" tunes on stage and Derek and Addy put on a puppet show together.

 We capped off the night with a quick trip to Dairy Queen for Carter's birthday ice cream cone. He was loving his cone until it fell to the floor.  Then we had one upset little one year old!  He did manage to steal a few bites of his mom's ice cream though; which made everything all better.

Carter continues to grow and learn new things everyday.  He isn't walking yet, but it always cruising and walking along furniture.  He has been very hesitant to let go and stand on his own.  He now eats only table food and is slowly becoming a more adventurous eater.  He is a much pickier eater than Adalyn was at his age.  I blame Derek for this, as Derek isn't so adventurous with his appetite either.  He says a few words including hi and dada.  Even though he doesn't say a whole it is evident through his body language that he understands much of what we tell him.  Carter loves to give high fives and draws attention from people  when we are out and about by waving at them until they notice him and they wave back.  The kids loves attention from anyone and everyone.  On Tuesday (May 31st) we took Carter for his one yeaer check-up and vaccinations.  Everything checked out  and the doctor said he was doing great.  At the appointment Carter weighed 26 lbs (90th percentile) and measured 31.5 inches long (90th percentile).  Dr. Boe joking commented that he was slimming down because he dropped from the 95th percentile to the 90th. 

 We love our little guy so much and have had such a wonderful time watching him grow and learn so many new things throughout his first year.  We can't believe our baby is already one!  It's amazing how fast time flies!  Happy Birthday Carter!

*Family*Fun*Florida*

Ok, so I haven't been the most punctual at posting the last few weeks.  I know that no one likes excuses (including me) but this past week has been a bit crazy with unpacking, party planning, and picture editing.  But I know excuses are lame, so I'm just going to say "I promise to do better," which is something I remember saying a thousand times to my mom when I was little....but this time I really mean it:)  So I begin my pledge with a super long Florida post and a promise of several other exciting photo filled posts over the next several weeks.  SO sit back and enjoy your little Glimpse in the Freihaut World....

On  May 13th (yes, it was Friday the 13th!) at about 7:30 in the evening we all piled in to our SUV to begin our long drive to the gulf coast of Florida.  Derek and I had  debated going ahead with our vacation in the spring or putting it off until the fall because of our crazy busy summer schedules, but made the decision to go ahead with it in May about a month before.  Now, if you don't know me or haven't been around me in a while you wouldn't know that I am a planner.  I love to plan things and am a list maker.  You will find lists all over my house, car, purse, diaper bag etc.  Vacation planning is one of my favorite things to do in the whole world.  I love the thrill of finding a good deal or a super touristy place that I know my family will love.  Well, usually I begin to plan our vacations months and months ahead of time.  However, our spur of the moment decision to head to Florida before the busy season kind of put a crimp in my vacation planning style.  I did manage to create my vacation folder that is a staple on all Freihaut Family vacations and is something that Derek constantly makes fun of me for.  Much to my dismay I followed Derek's advice and threw caution to the wind and decided not to plan out our week ahead of time and elected to play it day by day.  This was very difficult for me to do at first, but so glad the I did.  This vacation was meant for relaxation and lots of family and beach time.  We needed some time away from the office, stresses of selling the house, errands, appointments, etc. 


The drive down went surprisingly well.  The kids slept most of the way down and Derek's mom came with us, so she was able to entertain and tend to them if they needed something.  It took us about 14 hours including stops and only made stops for gas and restrooms breaks.  Since Addy and Carter slept most of the time neither of them required any additional bathroom or rest stops which really helped us on time.  Our vehicle was packed to the brim and we also had things strapped on our roof in a luggage bag.  I remember traveling as kid and seeing all those station wagon like vehicles with paraphernalia strapped on top thinking who in the world needs to travel with that much stuff.  Well, I realized on our drive down that I was now part of one of those station wagon families and I wouldn't have it any other way:)

When were were allowed to check out our condo we headed to Seagrove Beach to check out our accommodations for the week and take a nap.  We were staying in a townhouse right on the beach.  Our steps from the lower balcony led directly to a staircase that took you to the sand.  It was a great set up for us because there were three bedrooms and there was more than enough living space.  Addy loved her loft bedroom and was a big fan of the cheesy beach decor of the townhouse. 

After taking our afternoon nap to catch up on sleep our vacation really began.  We spent the rest of the week exploring the surrounding beach towns, heading to nearby Destin and Panama City for activities, and most importantly spending hours and hours playing on the beach.  We stayed in an area referred to as the "beaches of 30a" which is known as a much quieter and less busy area than Destin, which is exactly what were looking for.  Since our kids our so young we knew we only needed the beach to entertain them and the Beaches of 30a are much less commercialized and also less crowded.  Addy and Carter loved playing on the beach and it was so nice to be able to head to the beach in the morning, go back to the condo for lunch and naps, and then head back to the sand for afternoon beach time.  I also took advantage of' nap time by heading to the beach chairs to read and relax on my own while everyone took their afternoon siesta.  I was convinced that since Carter wasn't walking yet that he would be more confined on the beach and would generally stay in one location.  Boy, I couldn't have been more wrong.  Carter crawled EVERYWHERE.  He loved the wide open space and enjoyed destroying sand castles, splashing in the water, and crawling after the birds.  Addy enjoyed getting dirty and building things out of sand.  She also liked playing in the water and searching for seashells; although there weren't many to be found, we did manage to come home with a few good ones.  Derek and I have decided that we have two official beach babies!

We did go out and about a few days for some planned activities.  We found a pirate themed cruise on the Internet that got great reviews, so we headed to Panama City to board a pirate ship.  The cruise was geared towards kids and was a 2 hour ride packed with things for them to do.  Addy loved it and had such a blast having water gun and sword fights, firing the "kid cannon," dancing, searching for treasure, and picking out her share of the treasure from the treasure chest that they pulled out of the ocean.  Carter enjoyed the music and watching all of the older kids running around having a ball, dancing during the Pirate Dance Party, and just being out on the boat.  It was a great activities for the kids and a very relaxing day for us because they had so many great activities planned that we could focus on enjoying ourselves and taking pictures.

We spent several evenings in a cute town called Seaside.  It is the town that the movie the Truman Show was filmed in and is a picturesque beach town.  They have several airstream trailers that serve as roadside food stands, which was really neat and also have a great downtown area to walk around. We headed there one day to paint pottery at a pottery studio.  Addy painted a flip flop trinket box for all of her "treasures" from the trip and I painted a sea themed plate with Addy's hand print made into a fish and Carter's footprint made into a foot.

Of course I spent a lot of time taking pictures and attempting to improve my skills.  We traveled to several beaches and state parks seeking out great backdrops for taking family pictures and pictures of the kids.   Derek and I managed to fit in a date night on our last night in Florida.  Even though we headed to a very nice restaurant early enough to get the Early Bird 2 for 1 special (yes, we are frugal!) we had a wonderful dinner and it was nice to have some time on our own.  We headed back on Saturday May 21st  and left at about 9:00 a.m.  Our trip back to Illinois took a bit longer and the kids were more of a handful during the daylight hours.  We drove straight through again, but made more stops than on the way down and rolled into our neighborhood  at about 1 a.m. Sunday morning.  I am so glad to decided to head to Florida in May and we all had a wonderful time spending time together on the beach.  Even though it wasn't our typical jam packed full of outings vacation we normally plan, it was very relaxing and very much appreciated!

Beachy Birthday
When we started discussing possible dates for our vacation in May I eagerly threw out that we could go over my birthday.  I was excited about the idea because I've never really been on a trip over my birthday and I though it might make the idea of turning the big 3-0 a bit easier to swallow if it happened while lounging in a beach chair overlooking the Gulf.  Well, I am so lucky that I actually got to spend my birthday on the beach with my family.  It was a perfect birthday and a great way to start those dreaded thirties!  We spend the morning and afternoon playing on the beach together and enjoying the mild 80 degree weather.  We headed into Destin for dinner at one of my favorite restaurants from our last vacation.  After dinner we took a stroll through the marina and then headed to the Melting Pot for dessert.  We had been to the Melting Pot in Chicago for dessert once before and wanted to head back there because we enjoyed our first visit so much.  It was a great ending to my birthday and Addy LOVED dipping everything and anything in chocolate. 

  My first week of my thirties was wonderful! It's amazing how great family time and beach time can make you forget that you're getting old:! :)

More Florida Pics...

A delayed Wordless Wednesday

Chicago....My kind of town!

During the last weekend  of April we spent a few days in Chicago for some much needed family time before Derek flew out of O'Hare to Vancouver for the week.  Derek had a meeting at a hotel near the airport all day Thursday and was scheduled to fly out on Saturday, so we loaded up the car early Thursday morning to spend a few days together in the "Windy City."  When visiting the city and exploring many of the fun things there are to do in the Chicagoland area I often find myself thinking "Man, it would be great to live here!"  But then something happens, usually traffic related, and my opinion changes to "Man, I love visiting here!"  We truly loving visiting the city and are so lucky that we are only two hours from so many wonderful things to explore and do. 

While Derek was in his syllabus committe meeting all day (which I am sure was truly mind blowing and interesting) I took the kids to Schaumburg to check out Woodfield Mall.  This mall is one of my favorites.  At one time it was one of the largest in the country and has more stores than I could ever visit in a day.    We spent a few hours browsing a few stores (mostly kid related) and playing on the indoor playground.  I know the that those indoor playgrounds are "germ-farms" but I couldn't resist after seeing how excited Addy was when she saw the area.  She and Carter had a great time and Addy made several new friends whom we kept seeing in the mall afterwards and each time they would yell "See you next time!" After the playground, Disney Store, Lego Store, and a few other stores Addy was less excited about we decided to do lunch at Rainforest Cafe.  At first the giant hissing snake at the entrance to the restaurant made Addy a bit hesitant about my choice of restaurants.  However, she eventually warmed up to the idea and loved all of the animals and fish tanks.  Carter was also entranced by his surroundings and just kept looking around and letting out random screams of excitement. Before ordering I asked Addy if she wanted dino nuggets and with a disgusted look on her face she responded "Are they really made of dinosaurs?"  After assuring her that they were made of chicken and only dino shaped, she devoured all six.  The girl must be on a growth spurt or something!

Enjoying lunch in the "Rainforest"

After a family nap in the hotel room we headed to the hotel pool.  They had a great kiddie pool complete with a mushroom thing and water jets.  They also had tons of beachballs of all different sizes, which Carter loved playing with. On Friday Derek took the day off and we headed to the Brookfield Zoo, along with what seemed like everyone else.  Apparently it was a popular day for school field trips and many people were taking advantage of the nicest day Chicago had seen in a few weeks.  Although it seemed a bit busy at the beginning, thankfully the zoo grounds a large which spread out the crowds and allowed us to steer clear of as many school groups as possible.  For a few weeks Addy had had her heart set on seeing the elephants; it was all she talked about.  So, Derek scoped out the pacyderm house on the map and trecked across the zoo to fufill her wish only to find out that they have gotten rid of their elephants and won't be getting them back for two years.  Needless to see Addy shed many tears and was VERY disappointed!  We finally got her to cheer up and settle for going to see the kangaroos instead. 

Loving pool time!

Carter was a litlle scared of the water, but warmed up to it eventually.

Addy and Daddy at the Zoo

Later the night we headed to U.S. Cellular Field to watch Derek's Chicago White Sox play the Baltimore Orioles.  It was Frank Thomas bobblehead night, who happens to be one of Derek's favorite White Sox players of all time.  So we intended to get there early to ensure that we were one of the first 10,000 to enter to secure our bobblehead.  However, we greatly underestimated travel time into the city on a Friday evening and had to hustle to the ballpark from our parking spot.  We did manage scoring 3 (yes 3) bobbleheads, which Derek was very excited about....One for his office, one for the basement sports decor, and I'm not sure where'll he put the other one...probably on his nightstand:)  The game was Carter's very first baseball game and he really enjoyed the sights and sounds.  The biggest surprise to us was how much Addy enjoyed the game.  She loved watching the action with her daddy.  At one point I took her to the restroom and decided to swing by the giftshop since we didn't have time before the game.  As we were heading in the store the crowd cheered about action on the field and Addy said "Mom, we're missing the game."  That's the last time I ever try to buy her a souvenir at a game!  The game was a 7:10 start so we certainbly didn't expect to make it the whole game.  We left at the beginning of the 7th inning, which was good since the White Sox gave up four unearned runs that inning.  We had a great time and have already planned to go to several other games this season.  The White Sox ended up losing 10-4, which was one loss in a very long losing streak! GO Reds!

Carter's First Baseball Game

Enjoying the fireworks after a White Sox homerun

On Saturday we had the whole day before we had to drop Derek off at O'Hare for his 8:00 p.m. flight.  We hit the pool one last time and then headed out for lunch at Weber Grill and checked out the Cabela's Store.  Derek has been wanting to go tent camping and is supposed to pick out a new tent for his birthday.  So we went to check out their camping gear.  They also had a ton of stuffed animals and Addy finally got to see her elephant.

After a quick snack at a toll road oasis we dropped Derek off at his terminal curbside and said out goodbyes.  The kids did great on the two hour drive home and slept most of the way.  Even though we were sad to say goodbye to Derek for a week, we had a great time spending the weekend with him in Chicago before we he had to go.

Easter Weekend

Carter's First Easter

The Thursday before Easter weekend we packed up the vehicle and headed for soggy southern Indiana to celebrate Easter with our families. It had rained there for several days straight and showed no signs of letting up for the holiday.  Even though the weather was super rainy, we had a wonderful time visiting family and celebrating Easter. 

On Friday we headed to the Gasthof with my family.  It is an Amish restaurant about an hour from my parents' house that has a great buffet and cute shops on the property.  This is the second year in a row that we made the trip to Montgomery on Good Friday, so I guess you could say that it's almost a tradition.  After having a great lunch and running a few shopping errands we headed back to my parents' house and spent the rest of the evening there. 

On Saturday we headed to Derek's Mom's house to celebrate Easter with his family.  Derek's younger brother and his family came down from Terre Haute to spend Saturday celebrating with us.  Addy always gets very excited about seeing her cousin Cameron and now Carter really enjoys seeing him too!  It's a lot of fun watching them interact with each other.  Due to the soggy weather outside we decided to forgo the Easter Egg hunt we had planned on taking the kids to and elected to visit the nursing home where Grandma Freihaut volunteers.  The kids got to travel from room to room to "hunt" eggs from the residents trick-or-treating style.   It was a great experience for all involved and was a great alternative to the muddy mess that I'm sure Addy would have been after an outdoor hunt.   Later that evening we went to church with Derek's mom.  Addy loves visiting her church because she gets to go to childcare with Miss Leslie.  She always has a great time there and comes away with a craft and song that she has learned.

Checking out Addy's Easter book.  We have continued Derek's family tradition of giving the kids books for Easter.  Each year they get a new book with a short inscription from us.  This year both kids got collections of Disney stories and they have become bedtime hits!

Sunday morning we headed back to my parents house to see if the Easter Bunny found us there and sure enough...he did!  Addy and Carter had fun checking out their Easter baskets and their gifts from Grandma and Grandpa.  The kids also hunted the eggs the Easter Bunny left in the yard.  Yes, the bunny was crazy enough to brave the mud and muck to hide eggs in Grandma and Grandpa's front yard.  I was suprised that the kids managed to stay reasonably clean and mud free.  We had a yummy easter lunch with my whole family and grandma and spent a bit more time together before heading back just as the kids were getting a bit cranky and were ready for naptime. 

Checking out his loot from the Bunny

Addy was very concerned about the Bunny finding us at Mamaw and Papaw's house.  She even let him know where we would be when she saw him at the mall.  He obviously listened!

Even the eggs were soaked!

They miraculously stayed fairly clean!

Addy loved the Bunny decoration!

Although we fought raindrops and gray skies all weekend we had a fabulous time visiting family and celebrating,  It was the first time we had made the trip home since Christmas and we were so glad to be back in Indiana again.  We have several more trips to Indiana planned over the next few months and hope that we can see more family and friends during those trips.