Christmas 2011

Christmas for our family this year was an especially exciting time because the kids simply couldn't wait for all of the excitement to begin.  It is the first year that Adalyn really understood most of what was taking place.  She has been learning so much about the true meaning of Christmas in Sunday School and has been really interested in giving to others.  She took more of an active roll in shopping for her family and even insisted on choosing her own wrapping paper to wrap the gifts in. 

This year we sent a note with out Elf on the Shelf--Jingle to ask Santa to come on the night before Christmas Eve so that Adalyn and Carter would have more time to check out their toys. Santa cooperated and the kids for to open their gifts on Christmas Eve morning.  We spent most of the day wrestling toys out of their seemingly impossible packaging and playing with all of the fun new stuff.  We headed to church at 3:00 and then returned home for more playing.  Both of the kids had several small things on their lists, which made Santa's job of shopping and wrapping much more difficult and time consuming than years past.    Santa also brought the family a Toshiba Tablet which has been a huge hit with everyone.  Addy has really taken to it and loves playing several games including Fruit Ninja and Alphabet Car.  I have already read a few books sing the Kindle App and am addicted to the word games. Unfortunately I introduced my mom to Word Pro while we were visiting and I can't beat her high score!  I WILL be at the top of that leader board again....eventually! 

Addy made sure Santa got his cookies and milk and the reindeer got their carrots!

Carter was not a fan of all the packaging that held his toys hostage!

Addy was very excited about her Mobigo games!

Carter is Car CRAZY!

These Lil' Woodzeez playsets have about a bazillion pieces with them.  Santa will be receiving a letter of complaint from me:)

Addy is showing her Dad how to play with the tablet.  She thinks she's a pro since she get to use the Ipads at school!

We headed to Indiana to celebrate with family on Christmas morning.  Although Addy and Carter were excited to visit their grandparents, they were also a little sad about leaving their new toys.  We did let them bring a few small items, but most of the new stuff had to stay behind.  We made awesome time on our drive to Ferdinand and made it in a little over four hours.  We ate breakfast before we left home and only stopped once for gas.  We got home just in time for a yummy Christmas dinner that my parents had prepared.  We spent the rest of Christmas Day exchanging gifts, playing with toys, spending time together, and admiring Papaw's Christmas lights!  It was a great day.

Ashley, Carter & Frosty

The kids wanted to join in on the manger scene

We were in Indiana until Friday, so we had a lot of time to spend with family.   On Monday night we went to the Heilers' Christmas (my mom's family).  It was great seeing so many family members. The kids really enjoyed seeing their second cousins and had a great time playing with them.  On Tuesday we headed to Derek's mom's house in Evansville to spend some time with her.  The kids got in some valuable play time with Grandma's toys and we headed out to a few stores and out for dinner. 

On Wednesday, Derek and I dropped the kids off at my parents' house and we headed to Louisville to eat at the Cheesecake Factory and do a little shopping.  It was great to be on our own for a little while, as that doesn't happen too often.  We like to take advantage of Grandparent babysitting services while we're visiting:)  Carter became sick while we were in Louisville, which began the streak of sickness that plagued us during the rest of our visit.  Apparently the bug was spread at the Heilers Christmas earlier in the week and caught hold of our family.  Carter and Derek were the first to fall victim and then Addy and I came down with it.  As we left Indiana on Friday my parents weren't feeling so hot and Derek's mom was feeling a little woozy.  It was a mean little bug and spared no one.  Thankfully it only lasted about 24 hours!  The drive home on Friday was a particularly interesting and nerve wracking one, but I'm happy to say that we made it home puke free:)  We were supposed to stop on the way home to visit with Derek's brother and his family and exchange gifts, but we decided it wasn't in their best interest since we were carrying "the bug."  We were bummed that the kids didn't get to play together, but plan to head over to Terre Haute for a visit soon.

We had a wonderful Christmas filled with family and memorable moments.  As I gear up to take down the Christmas decorations this week, I'll admit that I will be a little sad that the holiday season is already over.  It was so much fun watching Christmas through the eyes of our children this year.  It truly is a magical time of year!  We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas with their loved ones!  We sure did!

December here...and gone....

OK so I really don't have any excuses for falling short in the blogging area for the month of December.  So, I offer no excuses and have attempted to capture the highlights of the month (minus Christmas) in a single post....so here we go...

We started the month with a late Thanksgiving celebration with Derek's family.  Grandma Freihaut and cousin Cameron came up a few days early to spend some time with Addy and Carter while and Derek's brother Cory, Aunt Courtney and Kerrigan came to our house for dinner on December 3rd.  The kids loved having lots of play time together.  It was a lot of fun seeing them interact with each other. We even managed to get a few pictures of the cousins in their Christmas outfits.

Fun with hate from Grandma

Freihaut cousins

The second weekend in December was a very busy one for us.  Derek and I headed to his work Christmas party on Friday (the 9th) while Derek's mom stayed home with the kids.  The next day we all headed to the Chicago suburbs for our annual Chicago getaway.  On Saturday we took the kids to the Kohl Children's Museum in Glenview.  It was our fist visit to the museum and we had a great time.  They have a fabulous water exploration room that Carter loved, although he did come out a little soggy from all the water play.  Addy really enjoyed the supermarket, baby hospital, and the animal clinic.  They both had a blast performing on the stage.  Later that evening we checked into our hotel, ordered pizza, and watched Indiana upset #1 Kentucky on an exciting last second shot.  The next day we headed to the Lego Exploration Center in Schaumburg.  Although it was a bit smaller than we anticipated, the kids had a lot of fun. 

Dancing on the stage

Taking care of the babies

Light table fun

Carter wasn't so sure about getting messy

Looking through the Lego Lion

Posing in front of the replica of Chicago

During the third weekend of December we took the kids to see Santa at our local park where you can go see him in the community building.  It is very low key.  You can snap your own pictures (for free!) and the local organizations are there making fresh gingerbread cookies, hot chocolate, and selling snacks.  We anticipated Carter being a little intimidated by seeing Santa, but Addy was actually the one who was a little apprehensive about sitting on his lap.  Carter willingly sat on his lap while Addy was more comfortable standing next to him for the picture.  She did tell him that she wanted 2 Mobigo Games, a Doodle Bear, and Crocs for her baby doll for Christmas. Both of the kids were happy to devour a gingerbread cookie after their visit with Santa and Carter even ran up to Santa to get a high five while we were eating our cookies.

Our visit with Santa...Carter doesn't look so sure

Face painting at the Zoo

Our two little reindeer

Addy got to experience her first Christmas celebration at school.  They talked about celebrating Christmas all month long and learned many Christmas carols. One of her favorites is O Christmas Tree and even though she doesn't sing all the correct lyrics, she is SO darn cute singing it.  Addy had a wonderful time at her classroom party.  I helped out with crafts and got to attend the party and help the kids make a few ornaments.  Santa paid a visit to Addy's classroom to hand out candy canes and talk with the kids.  Addy wanted no part in it and went to the very back corner of the classroom.  When I asked her why she didn't want to see him, she said "Mom....I already saw him once.  I don't need to see him again."  I guess Santa makes someone a little nervous! 

Our Elf on the Shelf paid a visit to our household again this December.  However, his name changed from Barney to Jingle.  Addy was very aware that Jingle was always watching and made sure to find his new place each morning.  Near the end of the month Carter was even pointing out Jingle and getting excited about finding him.

Jingle brought donuts and pj's on December 1st.

So, that's our December of 2011 in a nutshell.  We spent the majority of the month trying to keep with the holiday bustle and enjoying each others company. It was a great month that flew by all too quickly, but we made many great memories that we will always cherish.

Checking out the tree



Christmas Card Picture

18 Months

Carter turned 18 months on November 27th. Time sure does fly!  He is learning more and more each day and has really started saying more words during the last month.  He is definitely a little "stinker" and loves to get into things that he knows are off limits.  He certainly keeps me on my toes thoughout the day as he loves to explore the kitchen and enjoys climbing anything.  Carter and Addy have started to interact and play well together, which is so much fun to watch!  Carter loves to look at books and have them read to him.  During the last month or so he has become obsessed with shooting baskets on his mini hoop he got for his birthday.  He has developed a jump shot and even follows through with his hand in the cookie jar.  I am so proud!  He loves to help around the house and can often be found with my broom tying to sweep the kitchen florr and enjoys helping me load and unload the washer and dryer. 

On December 5th I took Carter to get his first haircut.  His hair in the back was getting a bit long and scraggly and Derek was really on me about getting it cut.   I kept putting it off because I wasn;t ready to cut my baby's hair just yet. Well, needless to say I finally caved and took him in.  He did a great job and sat very well for the stylist.  Of course he had to be coaxed with a sucker, but desperate times call for desperate measures!  It was his very first Dum Dum and he defintely was a fan!  Even though I hated to see those sweet baby curls go, his new big boy haircut does look pretty sharp.  Derek was defintely to see that his son without a baby mullet!

On December 6th Carter went to see Dr. Boe for his 18 month appointment and immunizations.  He only got one shot and did a great job.  He weighed in at 28 lbs. 10 oz. (85th percentile) and measured to be 33.5 inches tall (80th percentile).  Dr. Boe said that he looked great and referred to him as a little parrot because Carter was repeating everything that was said during the examination.  It's amazing to hear how much he has started to say within the past month.  Carter is definitley a litle chatter box! 

I know I say this with every milestone post, but I truly can't believe that our little guy is already 18 months old.  We are truly blessed to have him in our lives and we are having a blast watching him grow and develop. 

Giving Thanks

This is the time of the year when I begin to get sappy about things and beginning the Thanksgiving week with Adalyn's preschool program certainly put my sappiness at an all time high.  Yes, it was only 5 songs and a grand total of five minutes long, but  I one proud mama watching my little girl and all of her classmates put on one heck of a Thanksgiving show.  They sang songs about fat turkeys, squirrels with bushy tails, and pumpkins.  But my favorite song was the one at the very end.  During the first four songs the kids had motions to go with their words and mostly watched their teachers and copied what they were doing.  The last song was about being thankful and included no motions.  However, Addy decided that it certainly needed some movement and did what she called her "slow motion dance moves" throughout the entire thing.  Now this wouldn't have been as noticeable in the back row, but Addy was front and center and was dancing for all to see.  At one point her neighbor's turkey hat went flying off her head and we're pretty sure Addy may have had something to do with its flight!  I guess I should have asked more questions that morning when she told Derek that her favorite song of the program was the "Thankful song" when she gets to do her slow dance moves.  I had no idea that it was her own choreography!  Needless to say, Derek and laughed through the entire performance and we are still chuckling about it today!

So proud of our little performer!

Enjoying the cookies after the performance



Addy in her turkey hat from the performance

Addy had the day off school on Wednesday and we spent the morning running errands and getting last minute things that we needed for hosting my family for Thanksgiving.  Mom, Dad, and Ashley came up on Wednesday night.  We were all so happy to see them and were excited to host our First Thanksgiving at our house.  We woke up early on Thursday to put the bird in the oven and prep some of the other dishes we were going to eat.  We ate our Thanksgiving meal around noon and then spent of the rest of the day spending quality time together, napping, and finalizing our Black Friday shopping lists. 

The bird (pre-oven)

The centerpiece that I made..I was so proud:)

Around 9:30 Thursday night Mom, Ashley, and I headed out to a few stores.  I have always enjoyed going on Black Friday.  I guess I kind of think of it as a sport.  I didn't really have any big "must have" items on my list, just small bargains.  Mom was hoping to score a few things for the kids at great deal and Ashley was starting her holiday shopping.  We headed to the typically "less busy" Wal-Mart in town and actually found many of the things we had on our list.  After that we went to Target and after seeing the line that wrapped around the store, we decided not to attempt to make our way in.  We finished up our evening at Toys-R-Us.  We had planned for it to be our first stop, but decided against it when the line to get in at 9:30 went all the way around the store. 

Overall Mom came home the big winner and scored some great deals for the kids.  We had a great time going out and get in about 1:30, which isn't bad considering we heard many people that were in lines around us talk about how they were staying out until 6 a.m. when the other stores opened. 

On Friday Derek and Dad worked outside and hung a lighted wreath above our garage.  Derek and I headed out to a few stores to score a few more deals for the kids.  In the evening the girls went to paint pottery at the art studio in town and the boys went to Farm & Fleet to browse and pick up supplies for Christmas lights.  We all met for dinner and headed home.

Saturday we loaded up in our vehicle to go to dinner and check out the Christmas lights around town.  Anyone who knows my Dad knows that he loves to put up lights for the holidays.  We took him to see several crazily decorated houses so he could be inspired.  Let me tell you, we have quite a few crazy houses!


My family left early on Sunday to head back to Indiana.  We had a fabulous Thanksgiving holiday and are so thankful for so many things.  We had a wonderful year and are so blessed to have so many wonderful family and friends in our lives.

**I apologize for the lack of pictures!  For some reason the camera didn't get picked up as much as I would have liked it to!

Princesses Live

On Sunday, November 13th Addy and I headed to Peoria to meet our friends Kristi and Charli for Princesses Live. Kristi and I had been talking about doing something like this together for quite a while, so when tickets went on sale for the show last summer we jumped on it. Before the show we ate lunch at Panera. The girls were both wearing princess dresses. Addy was Snow White and Charli was Belle. Naturally, they made beautiful princesses and get a lot of looks from Panera patrons. After lunch the girls were so excited to get to the theater. We arrived at the theater, hit up the souvenir stand and found our seats. The show featured the stories of Snow White, Cinderella, and Belle. Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and Donald also made appearances. The show was very well done. The girls were a bit frightened by the villains, especially the evil stepmother/witch in Snow White. Addy had to hide her eyes, and I have to admit..she was pretty scary! We had a fabulous time singing the songs and watching the stories of the princesses play out to their "happily ever after." Afterwards we took the girls out to the theater's lawn to let the girls run off some energy before our car trips back home. It was so cute watching the girls run all around in their dresses. Towards the end Addy started to get a bit cranky, but she was going on no nap and it had been a long day. It was a fantastic day and we are so glad we got to spend it with our two wonderful friends!

October in a Nutshell

O.K. so I haven't exactly been "on the ball" with updating the blog lately.  Quite frankly I have dropped the ball on keeping it up to date.  I wanted to wrap up October in one post, so that I can begin November posts  before we turned our calendar to the December page.  Here are some of our October highlights....

• New Playset--After a ton of research and contemplating what we wanted in a playset we finally had one built in our backyard in October.  It was finished on October 6th and we have already spent lots of time enjoying it.  Carter climbs the ladder to get to the upper deck on his own and will go down the slide over and over again.  Addy enjoys the "big kid" swings and loves to pretend she a pirate sailing on a ship while she's playing on the top deck. 
















• A Visit Home--The kids and I made a trip to southern Indiana during the third weekend of October.  Derek was heading to Phoenix, Arizona for a conference, so I decided to take the kids to visit their grandparents.  We spent four days with Grandma and Grandpa Schum.  As usual, we packed a ton of activity into that time including a craft fair, the Gasthof for lunch, trick-or-treating to our relatives houses, and a trip to Mesker Park Zoo with Grandma and Grandpa.  Monday afternoon we headed to Grandma Freihaut's house to visit her for a day and then we headed to Terre Haute to meet Addy and Carter's new cousin, Kerrigan, who was born on October 13th.  We really enjoyed spending time with so much family and seeing everyone!  It was exciting to meet a new member of our family and Addy really enjoyed getting the opportunity to hold her new baby girl cousin!

Derek admiring his new niece!

Addy is proud of her new cousin!

• Tanner's Orchard--We have loved this place ever since our first visit with Addy as a baby and the thought of not making a trip there this year made us sad.  So, we packed up the kids on a warm Sunday in October and headed north of Peoria to check out Tanner's.  They have a super playground that both of the kids loved.  We also got to do the new pedal carts, which Derek loved.  Carter enjoyed seeing the goats and riding on the pony.  Addy enjoyed running  and play on all of the fun equipment.  One of the highlights of the morning were the apple cider donuts--yum yum!  We left the orchard with two perfect pumpkins and a box full of yummy goodies from the store.  It was a great day!
• Parent Teacher Conferences--At the end of October I met with Addy's teacher for my very first Parent/Teacher Conference as a parent.  It was a very interesting experience being on the other side of the table for the first time. Addy is doing a great job at school. Her teacher did say that she is a bit chatty at times.  Hmmm, I have no idea where she gets that from! :)  We were very proud of her for getting such a wonderful report from her teacher.


• Halloween--This year Derek officially dubbed this holiday as Halloween-a-palooza this year.  It seems like it was a marathon event this year.  We had several parties beginning with a Mom's group meetup of about 13 kids (all under the age of 4) and their moms at our house on Thursday morning.  Then later that night we attended our Mom's group Halloween party which was held at a local church.  Over Halloween weekend we hosted a weenie roast to break in the new fire pit that Derek built in the back yard.  We finished the Holiday off with an evening of trick-or-treating on Monday.   The kids got lots of candy, had a great time, and we were all exhausted when all was said in done.

Trick-or-Treat!

Addys pumpkin--she drew the face and I carved it out.

So, that's October in a nutshell.  In the next few days I hope to post several Thanksgiving/November posts and then I will deem myself officially "caught up" on the blog.  Hopefully I can post a little more regularly during the holiday chaos!  Bear with me!

Welcome Fall!

During the first few weeks of October we have welcomed fall with open arms by spending a lot of time outside enjoying the beautiful weather that found us at the beginning of the month.  We took the kids to the local pumpkin patch to check out all the fun activities going on.  It was a beautiful Fall day to check out Rader Farms.  This was our first visit to the farm and we had a ton of fun.  The kids loved everything they had for them to play on.  Derek and Addy went on the giant jumping pillow, which was a very popular attraction.  Carter enjoyed the grain bins full of corn that the kids could play in and the barrel train rides. 

We also headed to Wisconsin Dells for an extended weekend of family fun over the Columbus Day Weekend.  We had taken Addy there a few years ago and wanted to head back this year since she and Carter both love the water.  For those of you who don't know, the Dells is the self proclaimed indoor water park capital of the world.  There are ton of indoor water park resorts in the area and there all also many outdoor water parks that draw tons of visitors during the summer weekend, which is why we elect to visit in the less busy chillier months.  We stayed at the Wilderness Resort again this year which has four indoor water parks for their guests.   This year we lucked out on the weather and it was gorgeous.  I'm talking t-shirt and shorts type weather.  We were able to spend more time outside and took full advantage by going on a horse and carriage ride through a canyon and a boat ride through the upper Dells.  The scenery on both tours was beautiful and the weather made it that much more enjoyable.

The first night we arrived at the Dells we ate dinner at a restaurant that has model trains deliver your food to your table.  Addy and Carter really enjoyed watching the trains zip around the dining area.

Scenes from our boat tour

We certainly got our share of pool and water park time in as well.  Addy loved going down the water slides with us while Carter stayed poolside with Grandma Freihaut.  It's amazing how many more things Addy is willing to attempt and how confident she is in the water.  She is growing up so fast.  Sometimes I would like to push the pause button to slow her down just a bit:)  Carter also loved the water and by the end of our trip he was conquering the tamer slides in the kiddie areas. 

Each morning the staff at the Wilderness Hotel has rubber ducky races in the lazy river of one of the water parks.  Basically the kids choose a duck and their name gets written on the bottom.  Then the ducks are thrown in the water at one point of the river and float to another designated point.  Each morning their are four races with a total of 10 winners who win a coveted Duck whistle and the winner of the last race wins a t-shirt.  Well, our participation in the Kenducky Derby races all three mornings of our stay just confirmed the fact that when it comes to winning contests that involve luck, the Freihauts are simply unlucky.  We did however obtain a collection of Halloween themed rubber duckies to add to our growing holiday decor.  We also had a great time cheering for our ducks and congratulating the kid next to us who had also won the previous morning (I'm not at all bitter:). 

We headed home on Monday (Columbus Day), but stopped at the Dells outlet mall before making the trek back to central Illinois.  We had a great time in the Dells and will return for more family fun in future years.  It is great place to take the kids and we always enjoy our time there.  This year it was a fabulous official beginning to our Fall Season and a great way to take advantage of the last glimpse of summer like weather. 

**My camera broke on the Thursday before we headed to the Dells.  My lens got stuck on the camera and couldn't be removed from the camera body.  After spending a great deal of the morning on the phone with Canon tech support, it was determined that I would have to send it in to be repaired.  I was (and still am) very disappointed that I wouldn't be able to take pictures at the Dells or of all the beautiful fall leaves.  Thankfully I did receive it back this week in time for Halloween, but just after a big rain that took down the beautiful fall leaves.