Our Little Eating Machine

Okay...so this bi-weekly post thing has become somewhat of a habit.  Well, it is a bad habit that I am going to do my best to break!  We've had a pretty low key couple of weeks.  We are still fighting through the freezing cold weather, but are hoping for a heat wave soon.  We have started to get Adalyn's new room in order to make room for our little guy.  Derek painted the room and put together the furniture over the past few weeks.  Addy is starting to get very excited about all of the new things in her new room, but we decided to close the door to the room and keep it closed until it was a bit more finished.  I have been browsing stores for wall decor and her mattress is being delievered on Monday.  We are well on our way to having one of the two rooms complete.

Playing tea party with her friends

On Valentine's Day weekend we decided to go out to eat with Adalyn on Saturday to beat the lovebird rush.  We went to Destihl, which is a really good restaurant in Bloomington.  We ordered Adalyn the spaghetti and she loved it so much she ate and ate.  That day marked the beginning of an eating marathon that is still going strong.  We have decided that she must be on one serious growth spurt!  The other day Derek asked "when did our two year old begin eating like a teenage boy?"  I'm not sure how long this eating frenzy will last, but it sure is encouraging to see her eat all of her vegetables! 

Adalyn is finally having a more positive attitude towards her brother.  At first after our ultrasound she would tell everyone that she was getting a sister and got very angry if someone tried to tell her otherwise.  Now, she refers to him as her brother and is even occasionly talking to my belly.  The other night she was eating macaroni and cheese crackers and came over to my belly, lifted up my shirt, said "here baby," and attempted to stick the cracker in my belly button.  When I explained to her that babies don't eat crackers and that they drink milk she offered her sippy cup to my belly button.  Well, at least she's looking out for her little brother!

We are so happy to see February come to an end and March begin for many reasons:

• February is Derek's busy reserve season, so March means no more long Monday nights and weekend days at the office--hooray!
• On March 2nd we will celebrate our little girl's 2nd birthday.  It will be her golden birthday and we can't believe she's already two!
• March=SPRING BREAK!!
• March will hopefully bring warmer weather!
• Tonya's favorite time of the year happens during this month--March Madness.  Even though it doesn't look like our Hoosiers will make the big dance there are plenty of other teams we will be rooting for and against!

It's a..................

Yes, it is true.  Addy will soon have a little brother.  I am almost 23 weeks along and had an ultrasound on Monday.  Derek, Adalyn, my parents, Brian, and Derek's mom were all there to see what we are having.  He left little suspense and wasn't shy about showing off his parts, as the first view the technician pulled up was the "money shot." He looked great and was very active.  Our little guy was measuring a bit ahead of schedule and according to the ultrasound weighed 1 lb. 9 ounces.  It sounds like we're going to have another big baby on our hands.  Oh well you know what they say....go big or go home:)  Here is our little guy making his debut on the family blog...

This weekend was an eventful one, as we had lots of visitors in town for the ultrasound.  On Saturday we went into town with my family to eat out for my Dad's birthday.  We also picked up the things we needed for the Super Bowl on Sunday.  On Sunday we had a Super Bowl celebration with our families and watched the Colts and Saints battle it out.  We were all super excited about the Colts being in the big game and couldn't wait for the game to finally begin.  Each one of us staked out a place in our living room and did a lot of cheering and yelling for the guys in blue in white.  Adalyn wasn't as excited about the game.  In fact, ten minutes into the first quarter she came up to Derek and let him know that she as ready to watch Snow White now.  He gently let her know that Snow White wasn't an option and she went on to playing.  Unfortunately the Colts didn't pull off the win and we were all a bit disppointed in the outcome.  However, it was a lot of fun to watch the game with our families.  We just wish we could have been celebrating together at the end.

Waiting for the big game to begin

Baking Valentine cookies with Mamaw 

Fun with hairbows

We have been working on things around the house in preparation for our new little guy's arrival.  During the past few weeks we cleared out the office in a bedroom upstairs and started making plans for Adalyn's move into her new big girl room.  We still have to decide on a paint color, but this weekend Mom and Dad brought up the furniture they had been holding for us at their house.  We have also started to organize part of the basement area to create a more usable playspace for Adalyn.  We many many books inherited from Derek's mom after she retired from teaching which needed a home.  Derek worked on assembling bookshelves for the basement and Adalyn was happy to offer her assistance.  She loved hammering the nails and couldn't get enough.

Daddy's little helper

A Colts Weekend

This past weekend we headed to Indianapolis to go watch the Colts play the Jets in the AFC Championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium.  Derek and I bought tickets the weekend before after the Colts beat the Ravens and made plans for Derek's mom to come up to Indy to stay with Addy in the hotel while we went to the game.  So on Saturday morning we packed up the vehicle and headed towards the Hoosier state.  After checking into the hotel, we spent Saturday afternoon shopping and we also went to eat at the Cheesecake Factory.  It was Adalyn's first visit to the Cheesecake Factory and she loved the desserts!  Even though we ate a bit later than usual, she was very well behaved and sat very well through the entire meal.  This was a pleasant surprise considering that eating at restaurants with her lately has been a bit of a challenge.  My favorite part of the night was when Adalyn quickly snatched a spoonful of whipped cream off of Derek's strawberry shortcake.  I have taught her well! 

Sunday morning Addy and her Daddy went swimming in the hotel's chilly pool.  Addy referred to the pool as the "ocean" on several occasions and had a great time in the water, even though the water was a bit chilly.  Later in the morning Derek and I headed to downtown Indy.  Being downtown was a lot of fun.  There were tons of fans wandering around and it was very interesting to see them show their Colt spirit with their creative attire.  We certainly saw some interesting wardrobe choices! 

The game itself was great!  It was very exciting to be in the stadium and the first half was a bit nerve-racking.  The Colts came out victorious in the end and are headed for the Superbowl again! We got to watch the celebration on the field afterwards and enjoyed taking in the festivities on the streets after the game.  Addy and her Grandma Freihaut had a great time at the hotel.  We had brought a huge rubbermaid container filled with some of Addy's favorite toys to keep them busy.  Adalyn loved her play time at the hotel and when it was time to head home on Monday, she wasn't ready to leave. 

Addy continues to increase her vocabulary and is talking in phrases more and more.  Over the weekend anytime she would see the Colt's horseshoe she would say "Go Dolts!"  We have celebrated several friends' birthdays over the past few weeks, so she now randomly tells people "Happy Birthday."  When I ask her to do something she doesn't particularly want to do she tells me to "Wait a minute."  She is also becoming more and more independent.  Recently our mornings have become a bit rushed because when we are getting ready we often hear her say "Addy do it."  She wants to do more and more things on her own and is becoming Miss Independent. 

Snow Days

Throughout the past few weeks Addy and I have had the opportunity to spend quite a few days together at home.  We had our first two snow days of the school year which excited and saddened me at the same time.  Everyone loves a snow day and is relieved to see their school's name scroll across the bottom line of the screen, however we don't have built in snow make-up days.  I know...pretty crazy!  So each snow day we take now is added on to the end of the year.  Needless to say, I don't want school to be in session in June and especially want to be out well before my due date.  Addy and I did have a good time at home and managed to get a lot of things accomplished.  Addy has started to take an interest in the chores I am doing around the house and wants to help out.  In the few days we had off she became the official dryer unloader.

Mommy's Little Helper!

We also started to clear out the upstairs office to start on Adalyn's new "big girl" room.  Our hopes are that she is moved in to her new room in March, but we have a ton of things to accomplish for that to happen.  At this point in time Addy isn't too keen on having a younger sibling.  When anyone asks her about mommy having a baby she says "no baby."  She has occasionaly started acknowledging that there is a baby in my belly and told it "goodnight" and "I love you."  We are hoping that as the day gets closer she starts to warm up to the idea of being a big sister, but for right now she's pretty content with being princess of the castle!

The Princess on her throne

This past weekend was a three day weekend for me due to the Martin Luther King holiday.  We worked again on organizing the house and moving room around.  On Sunday we went to Charli's birthday party.  Charli is Addy's good friend and is about 6 weeks older than Addy.  Adalyn has lots of fun playing with the other kids and all of Charli's fun toys.  On Monday Addy and I headed to the Children's Discovery Museum of Normal.  We got there when the museum opened, which was grat because Addy had the whole place to herself for 20-30 minutes.  We spend that time running from exhibit to exhibit.  She was so excited to have the whole place to herself and didn't quite know what to do with all of the freedom of having choices without having other kids around.  It was great!

"Milking" the cows at the museum

Painting a masterpiece

As far as Adalyn goes, she continues to surprise us and make us laugh everyday.  She has started to use many more phrases and has become much better and answering and asking questions.  Addy knows many of her colors and has also started to really love finger plays.  We sing a lot of Isty Bitsy Spider, Little Bunny Fu Fu, and Ring Around the Rosy.  She continues to test her boundaries each day and has started to excercise her independence in eating and choosing foods.  As we near the two year mark, it is evident that she is no longer our baby girl, but a full grown little person with an attitude and personality all her own. 

This week I will reach week 20 of my pregnancy, which means that I am halfway!  I can't believe it!  It really has flown by.  We have scheduled our ultrasound for early February and we do plan to find out the gender.  We'll keep you posted!

Playing with laundry baskets....getting in was a lot easier than getting out!

Celebrating the Holidays

   We have finally returned from our nine day holiday visit to our families in Southern Indiana. We had a wonderful time and Adalyn enjoyed all of the extra attention she recieved from all of her aunts, uncles, and grandparents. We also had the oppotunity to see a lot of extended family, which was wonderful! As always, we didn't get the chance to visit with everyone as much as we would have liked. We are always amazed when we plan to go home for a week or more and by the time we arrive in Indiana our entire weeek is already planned; this week was no different as it seemed like we were always on the go! Derek ended up having an extra vacation day that he needed to use by the end of the year, so he took off Christmas Eve at the last minute. On Christmas Eve morning we headed to Cracker Barrel for breakfast. While we were at breakfast, Santa's fufilled our request of an early visit and left Addy's present under the tree. We are so glad that he is so accomodating! Adalyn had a blast opening her presents and spent the majority of the day playing with her new toys. Since Derek ended up not working, he and I decided that we would head home that evening instead of early Christmas morning. On the way to Indiana we stopped at Derek's brother and sister-in-law's house to say hello. They just moved in, so it was good to see their new home, Adalyn's six month old cousin--Cameron, and Derek's mom. I hadn't told my parents that we were ocming early, so I called them at Terre Haute to tell them we would be home in a few hours. They didn't quite believe me at first but were very excited once they did believe me. When we got home that evening we exchanged gifts and stayed up late.

Since this blog is already getting quite lengthy, I'll make a list of the rest of the highlights of our week:

• We spent Christmas Day with my family and ate a wonderful dinner. Adalyn was so worn out from her fabulous few days of Christmas that she fell asleep with her fork and spoon in hand!


Four Generations


• 
  
  Adalyn picked out a special gift for her Uncle Brian all by herself--a Cookie Monster T Shirt!
  
  
  

• Mom and Dad hosted the Schum Christmas Party on Sunday (12/27). I was great to see everyone and watch all of the little ones play together.
• On Monday and Tuesday Derek and I went on a short shopping get-away to Louisville while Adalyn stayed with her Grandma and Grandpa Schum. They took Addy to Chuckie Cheese, while we actually went to see a movie. That's something we haven't done in quite some time!
• On Wednesday we picked up Adalyn's big girl furniture in Evansville and visited Derek's mom. We went to the Children's Museum of Evansville, which was a lot of fun! Addy loved the rice table (and so did Grandma)!

• On Thursday Derek, my dad, Brian, and I headed to Bloomington, Indiana to see the IU vs. Michigan game. The Hoosiers came away victorious and it was an exciting game to watch. Adalyn stayed home with Grandma Schum and her Aunt Ashley.
• Thursday evening we rang in the New Year hanging our at my parents' house and then headed to Derek's mom's house on Friday. On Friday we went out to eat at Red Robin with Derek's mom and brother's family.
• On Saturday Derek's mom had a Christmas party at her house. It was great to see his entire family and Adalyn really enjoyed playing with Jamie's boys!

Uncle Derek and Cameron

We headed home on Saturday afternoon and arrived at our house around 9:00 that evening. We were greeted with 2-3 inches of snow that fell in central Illinois earlier in the week. Since Adalyn had been cooped up in the car for five hours, she was ready to get out and play with her toys. She had been away from some of her toys from Santa for over a week, so it was a lot of fun watching her get excited about them all over again.

With the arrival of 2010 we are happy to welcome the new year but also feel very blessed for 2009. We are very excited about what 2010 will bring as we look forward to adding a new member of our family and all the changes that come it. We would like to wish everyone a wonderful and happy new year and hope that your 2010 is filled with many blessings!

Hello Holiday Break!

The past few weeks have been very crazy in the Freihaut household. I always forget how crazy the holidays get in second grade until they quickly approach. In addition to teaching our daily lessons, there are many extra projects to complete and events taking place that get the student super excited about Christmas. Managing their excitement while still trying to get things accomplished is very challenging. Our last day of school was the 18th and we will be on break for TWO weeks! If you can't tell....I'm SUPER excited!



To celebrate the beginning of break on Saturday we decided to take Addy to Shedd Aquarium in Chicago for a bit of a day trip. Adalyn really liked seeing all of the different kinds of fish and sea animals. She spotted her favorite fishy celebrity--Nemo on several occasions and got very excited! She also enjoyed seeing the dolphins, penguins, and playing the kids area. It was a fun day and just what we needed to kick of winter break!



This week Adalyn and I have enjoyed our time together. We finished Christmas shopping on Monday and went to lunch with Derek. On Tuesday we wrapped gifts and worked around the house. Tonight we made sugar cookies to leave out for Santa tomorrow. Adalyn really enjoyed making the cookies and did well with pushing the cookie cutters into the dough. She left her mark on each cookie she cut out by leaving thumb prints in the dough. It gave them real character.



Tomorrow we will spend our very first Christmas Eve in Illinois. Derek and I have always headed to Indiana to spend Christmas Eve with family. Since Adalyn is older this year, we decided to spend it together at home and then head to Indiana on Christmas day. We are hoping that Santa honors our request and visits our house very early on Christmas Eve, so that Addy can have extra time playing with her toys on Christmas Eve before we take off. Hopefull he will honor our request and work us in to an early appointment!



I know that lately I haven't been a punctual poster! One of my New Year's resolutions will be to post more faithfully on Sunday evenings. Hopefully I can stick to it. However, I'm not sure when our next post will be as we will be crazy busy over the next week spending time with family. We are looking forward to seeing everyone in Indiana and want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and wonderful New Year!!


**For some reason blogger won't let me upload pictures. Sorry! I'll try again at another time!

Wonderful Wedding Weekend

This past weekend was a very busy weekend for our family as all three of us were in our good friend Kim's wedding. Kim and Derek worked together at State Farm. In fact, Kim had to sit next to Derek, which I am sure was quite the headache for her:) In spite of Kim having to put up with Derek, we have developed a great friendship with her that has continued to grow. Kim loves Adalyn (and Addy loves her!) and we think of her as another aunt to Addy. She watches her often when we need a sitter and even took her to Relay for Life this past summer. We were honored that she asked us to take part in her special day and we are so happy for her and Nate.

The wedding took place at Starved Rock State Park, which is a little over an hour north of Bloomington. We pulled into the lodge late on Friday and got all settled into our room. After seeing Kim for a little bit and an attempt at painting Addy's fingernails, we got Addy to bed well past her normal bedtime. On Saturday our day began with a quick breakfast and then hair appointments for Addy and me at 9 am. I got my hair done first and then Addy sat on my lap to get her hair curled. The hair stylest curled her hair with a tiny curling iron and Addy sat very nicely the entire time. When it came time for the hairspray she asked the stylist to spray her again. She must have liked the smell!



After getting our hair done, we had a rehearsal and then a lunch. After lunch we managed to get Addy a short nap in the hotel room, which we knew was a must if she was going to make it down the aisle. While I was getting ready with the bridesmaids, Derek had the pleasure of waking Addy up from her nap and getting her dressed; which apparently wasn't too pleasurable. We started pictures at 2:30. After pictures we had a little bit of time to rest in the room and then the wedding began at 5:00. Derek was an usher, so he was able to walk Addy to the beginning of the aisle and then I stood at the end, so that Addy could walk to me. She did walk down the aisle by herself, which made us very happy. You never know what you're going to get with a 21 month old! Of course, Derek did tell her that Mommy had a piece of candy and that she should go to me to get it. Addy will work for Reeses Cups!! Derek and Adalyn hung out in a back room while the ceremony was going. We weren't sure how she would handle the actual ceremony. The wedding took place in a large room at the lodge in front of a giant stone fireplace. It was beautiful and perfect! Addy lasted through the dinner and dancing and headed to bed late again. She really enjoyed all of the attention she received from the wedding guests and made sure that she was noticed on the dance floor. Addy calls Kim--"Nim" because she doesn't quite have her k's. It was funny because frequently throughout the evening Addy would yell out "Nim" and expect Kim to drop everything pay attention. I guess she didn't quite understand that it was Kim's day!

Sunday we took our time waking up and went to breakfast at the lodge and then headed home. We made a few stops at several stores and at a friend's house to see a friend that was in town from Florida for the wedding. When we finally got home Addy and I took a nap and then Addy checked out her stocking that St. Nick had filled. Addy was happy to see a set of Mr. Potato heads and parts. Lately she had been very excited about Mr. Potato head!

It was certainly a busy weekend and we had such a blast sharing Kim and Nate's special day with them! We wish them lots of love and happiness as they begin their marriage!I have posted a few pics from the wedding, but if you would like to see more Addy wedding pics be sure to visit our picture site, which is bookmarked in the sidebar.