ONE YEAR & Easter Photos!

We finally got Adalyn's one year pictures taken today. We also got her Easter pictures taken too! I have included a few of the pics below. Happy Spring:)

The photos are a read-only file, so my computer won't let me rotate them! Sorry!

SPRING FEVER!

It's been a while since I last posted. These past few weeks have been very hectic. I have been preparing for several big presentations for my Masters class. Last Saturday I had my first of 2 presentations. I was nervous about it and preparing and cramming for it all week. I think that the presentation actually went pretty well. My research partner and I have one more presentation at the Illinois Reading Council Conference this Friday. I'm not too nervous yet, but I'm sure that I will be soon. Speaking in front of people isn't exactly my comfort zone. Okay..now on to more interesting things....

On the Adalyn forefront, she is as independent ever. They always say that once they turn one, they realize they have a mind of their own--boy do they EVER! Adalyn is pretty independent these days. She knows what she wants and when she wants and isn't real good at taking no for an answer when things can't be her way. She has really taken an interest in ALL food and wants to try whatever it is that you're eating. We haven't found a whole lot of things that she doesn't like. I did give her a taste of salsa the other night and that really didn't go so well. She actually got pretty angry at me and made a face of disgust. Maybe mexican cuisine won't be her thing.

This weekend we took a short trip to Chicago. It was the beginning of my spring break and we wanted to take a short trip before I had to start cramming for my presentation on Friday. We headed up Friday after school and stayed until Sunday. On Saturday morning we headed to the Chicago Children's Museum at Navy Pier. It was a neat place for Adalyn to explore. She got to paint at an easel that was her height. I was surprised at how well she did holding the brush and actually painting strokes on the easel. Addy's favorite part of the museum was definitely the water area. There was a giant water table area that she absolutely loved. Unfortunately we spent a long time under the hand dryer afterward because not even a full length rain jacket could keep Addy (or her mommy) dry. On Saturday we also got to see the river dyed green for the St. Patty's day celebration that was going on. It really is bright green! During nap time, Derek and Adalyn went back to the room while I shopped for a while on Michigan Avenue. Later that night we ate at the Rainforest Cafe, walked around a bit downtown, and then headed to the Melting Pot for dessert.

On Sunday we headed out of town and stopped at an outlet mall on the way. It was a great weekend and I wished we had been able to stay a few more days. Adalyn did great on the whole trip. On Friday night she was a bit hesitant to go down to sleep because there were so many new things to check out. I was afraid we were going to have a repeat of our last trip to Chicago, but she eventually fell asleep!

Today was the first official day of spring break. Adalyn and I enjoyed the beautiful weather by going for a walk with her brand new wagon that she got from Grandma and Grandpa Schum. She loved the ride. Hopefully the weather will stay warm and we can spend more days outside and make the most of spring break!

Addy playing at the Discovery Museum.

My family sent me these flowers to wish me luck on my presentation.

They were SO pretty:)

Checking out the Lego Man

Splish! Splash!

Fun with the Fun House mirrors at Navy Pier

Walking through a tunnel to some soggy fun!

We were suprised how green the river really looked after they dyed it!

The big ONE!

It's hard to believe that it is already here, but Adalyn turned one today! It seems like just yesterday that we were in the hospital and now our little girl is an active and happy one year old. We celebrated Addy's big milestone with a party at our house on Saturday. Both sides of our family were able to make the trip from Indiana and we invited several friends from the Bloomington and Springfield areas. I think we had around 25 people, which was a new experience for Adalyn. She enjoyed having so many visitors on her turf and really soaked in all of the birthday attention. There were quite a few young guest invited and Adalyn enjoyed playing with all of them. This is the largest crowd we've ever had in our house during the cold months when the use of our outdoor space wasn't feasible. Our parents were a great help in preparing for the festivities and we are very thankful for their efforts! This was quite the experience for me as well, as I haven't ever been so closely involved in planning and carrying out a child's birthday party. Opening gifts was quite the eye opener and didn't go quite as I had envisioned. By this time addy was getting a bit over stimulated and tired and wasn't interested in sitting down and opening her gifts. In fact, I opened many of them solo style and if you looked at the pictures and didn't know any differently, you would think that it was my birthday party.

After gifts, we went on to the culminating activity--the cake! Addy ate her very own small cake like a pro and made quite the mess of herself and her parents. Her handiwork earned her a quick bath (which was more of a hosing off), which wasn't near long enough in her eyes. All in all the party went well and we were so appreciative of everyone who took the time out of their busy schedules to celebrate with us. We are truly blessed to have so many wonderful friends and family!

On Friday Adalyn had her 12 month checkup. She weighed 25 lbs. 10 oz. and was 30.5 inches tall. She has definitely slowed down on the growth chart, but still tops the charts in heigth and weight. The doctor said she is doing well. Adalyn got two shots and did very well with them. We also got the "go ahead" to start Adalyn on whole milk and to turn her car seat around (which she will love)!

Today I took a half day and Adalyn, her Grandma Freihaut, and I headed into town to meet Derek for a little birthday celebration. Before meeting Derek we headed to the kiddie shoe store to get Addy her first pair of "real big girl" shoes. She had a little bit trouble walking in them at first, but she is getting the hang of it.

After picking Derek up from work, we headed to this child friendly place called "Make a Mess." It was supposed to be a place where kids can play with all types of fun intereactive things. Needless to say it was a dud. The best part of the place was when Addy and I crawled though this giant inflatable obstacle course. It was certainly interesting! Since our first attempt at fun didn't pan out, we decided to give good old Chuck E. Cheese a shot. Derek and I hadn't been to one in forever and we weren't sure what to expect. We didn't eat the pizza, but Addy got to see the giant robotic Chuck E. and rode a few little rides. She enjoyed running around and watching all of the kids and checking out the games. We ended the evening with dinner at Outback. Addy was very well behaved and attracted a lot of attention with her Birthday Girl shirt. It was a fun day!

Pinch Hitter

This post is coming from Addy’s Daddy this week. Mom is busy grading papers and Adalyn’s typing skills need a lot of work so I am stepping up for the team.
This is a big week as we prepare for Adalyn’s first birthday. I was entirely unaware how much was involved for a first birthday party. Our dining room has been taken over by party supplies and I’m still not sure I understand why the cake needs to match the napkins.
This past Friday Adalyn got her haircut for the first time ever at Patty’s. She loved the cape and as you can see in the pictures she had a great time being the center of attention.
Adalyn continues to be a very good eater. She is willing to eat almost anything we give her and generally only turns it away when she sees a better option, like a banana. She is also much more interested in everything mom and dad are eating. Mom did finally find something this past week that Addy hates, salsa. She was very curious about the salsa when we had tacos and was OK with just a small piece, but a whole bite was just too much.
Addy’s walking continues to improve and she is as adventurous as ever. She is also doing a much better job recognizing our words and following directions, at least when she wants to (she gets that from her mom). She has also become much more affectionate lately. She loves to give mom and dad kisses. She also likes to kiss the baby pictures in one of her books and will even give herself kisses in the mirror. This kissing phase is really cute but it does have her dad concerned.

Our Little Valentine

This week was certainly a crazy week. We had a lot of special events going on in second grade. Celebrating Abe Lincoln's 200th Birthday and having a Valentine's Day party all in the same week almost did me in!

Addy is now walking with ease. This week she has also mastered standing up without having to pull herself up on something. At times she still looks a bit like a drunken sailor as she maneuvers around, but she is getting around pretty easily. We have had a few close calls with falls, but nothing too serious--yet.

This weekend we met my family in Indianapolis on Saturday for a late celebration of my dad's 50th birthday. We met up with them in Circle Center Mall, so I put Addy down to show off her newly acquired walking skills. She was a bit hesitant to walk. I'm not sure if it was the unfamiliar surroundings or the fact that she didn't want to pull out her best trick so early in the weekend. We celebrated at Weber Grill restaurant (early in the afternoon to avoid all of the valentine diners) and browsed Circle Center Mall. After shopping for a while, we went to check into our hotel and take Adalyn swimming in the hotel pool. She loved swimming in the pool, but kept trying to drink the water. It was a very low-key trip and was nice to just hang out with my family at the hotel. Addy really enjoyed her time with them.

On Sunday before leaving town we met up with Cory (Derek's brother), Courtney, and Derek's mom for lunch. It was nice to see them and catch up on how Courtney is doing, they are expecting their first child in July (it's a boy!).

It seems as though Addy is recognizing many more words. She says baabaa every time she sees a dog. Adalyn loves dogs and gets very excited anytime she sees one, especially in person. This weekend while hanging out in the hotel with my family, Addy had obviously been working on a dirty diaper and I asked her if she needed to be changed. She then proceeded to walk over to her diaper bag and pull out the container of diaper wipes and brought them to me. Whether it was just a coincidence or not--it made her mama very proud. Derek was even prouder of the fact that she brought the wipes to me and not him! Among other new discoveries we have also found that she understands the words doorbell (she rings it on her toy house), duck, and horse.

Lately she has taken an interest in being read to. Each night before bed we read her a few books and one of the book has to be Goodnight Moon or Night, Night, Baby or she will continue to point to them until we pick them up to read. It has gotten to the point where I hear Goodnight Moon in my sleep; maybe we need to invest in the Spanish version, just to mix it up a bit!

This week is a short week for me because of Presidents' Day. Hopefully the four days of school will just fly by.

Baby Steps!!!

A few weeks have passed since our last post and it is official...we have a walker on our hands. Last week Addy started taking several steps in a row independently. This past week a few steps turned into many! On Wednesday evening Adalyn took 20 steps in a row. Although she is a bit shaky, she is walking from item to item with great enthusiasm. Adalyn is now 11 months old. Over the past few weeks we have seen Adalyn become even more independent. It is so much fun to watch her make new discoveries and take chances.

About a week ago we got carpet reinstalled in our basement. We took many of Addy's toys downstairs and she loves her new space. We also took down a small plastic jungle gym with a slide that I had bought last summer. She loves to climb all over it and go down the slide backwards!

We have also learned that Addy can eat like a champ. We have found very little table food that she will not eat. She even eats things that neither Derek or I like such as cottage cheese, pickles, etc. She loves to eat her veggies and bananas.

The weather was beautiful here this weekend and we got to take Addy outside in temperatures that didn't make her bury her face in our shoulders. Since the grass was water logged from the melted snow, we let her play in our rock flower beds. She loved investigating the rocks and throwing them. Watching her get dirty and play outside was only a glimpse of how exiciting this spring and summer will be!

This week we are looking forward to warm weather and over the weekend we are meeting Adalyn's Grandma and Grandpa Schum to celebrate Grandpa's 50th birthday. We are excited to see them and Addy is very excited to show them her walking skills!

Addy really enjoyed watching the Super Bowl from her rocking chair. She had recently started to stand on top of the chair and use it to climb to get to things.

Addy looking through a hole in her jungle gym.

Adalyn loves spaghetti!

Schedule Challenges

This week Addy had a difficult time getting back on schedule. She had been sick and had been at home with mommy and/or daddy for an entire week, so going back to the babysitters' houses was quite the challenge for her. She apparently wanted to be held for most of the days and didn't want Kalee or Patty to turn their back on her. Hmmmm....can someone say..spoiled?

Adalyn has taken a liking to her bouncy horse and now can get on and off of it on her own with ease. Although she doesn't ride it for very long, she enjoys bouncing on it and climbing on and off and then back on again. It also has an option to hook it up to the TV and to play games while bouncing. Addy seemed to like the games on the TV, but didn't quite make the connection that they were connected to the pony.

I have included a few pictures of Addy and her most prized posession--her silky! Addy never took to a pacifier but grew very fond of a silk blanket we recieved from Derek's work. She now brings it with her everywhere and uses it for comfort when she's upset. She also MUST have her silky to sleep. Since she relys on the silky so much, we have ordered several more and use them interchangeably. Thank goodness she's impartial and loves them all!



Addy is not walking on her own yet but she is getting closer and closer to letting go. She has been letting go when cruising from various pieces of furniture. She will also walk between Derek and I, but always dives at our laps as she gets within reach. She is standing mroe on her own now, but will grab ahold of something when she actually realizes that she is standing on her own.

On the food front, we have been giving Addy more table food. We can honestly say that there isn't a whole lot of food that she doesn't like. Addy's friend Charli is a bit pickier than she is about her food and apparently Addy is more than happy to eat whatever Charli doesn't want right off of her booster tray.

This weekend was very low key for us. On Saturday I had class for most of the morning. This is my last semester and it definitely requires more time than previous semesters. The busy part of the semester hasn't even started and I am already beginning to feel very overwhelmed! I will be so happy when May rolls around. Saturday evening our good friend Kim came to play with Addy and Derek and I cleared out the basement so that installers can come and install carpet. Up until about a year ago we had carpet in the basement, but then the sump pump decided to stop working and we had a giant swimming pool with a carpet bottom! After getting a back-up system installed, we decided to get the carpet installed again!

Addy and her Aunt Kim taking a break.

On Sunday Derek went into work and Addy and I stayed home..nice and toasty in the warm house. January and February are very busy months for Derek at work and he has been putting in extra hours. Sunday evening we had dinner and then I caught up on some school work. This weekend was definitely low-key, but I definitely feel like we were productive in getting things accomplished!

Hopefully next weekend will be just as productive!