Lots of Catching Up To Do...

Yes, I do realize that it has been a while since I have posted and that I'm not meeting my goal of getting back to a weekly post just yet.  However, long length of time between posting has provided me with a mass of material to blog about, so this blog will include subtopics...

Spring Break

In early March Derek and I found a very good deal to fly from Owenboro, KY to Orlando over my scheduled spring break.  We decided to go ahead and book the flights for Adalyn's first plane ride. We know that this would be the only opportunity for a while to take Adalyn on an airplane, as we are not brave enough to take a newborn and a toddler anywhere that involves flying. We planned to spend a few days on the beach at Daytona and head to Orlando for a few nights and a one day visit to the Magic Kingdom.  We left on Saturday (March 27th) from Owensboro.  Addy did a wonderful job on her first flight.  We weren't quite sure how it was going to go at first because just as we were getting settled and the plane began taxiing Addy proclaimed that she was "ready to get off the plane now."  Needless to say, we kept her very busy throughout the 1 hour and 40 minute flight and she was great. 

I did my best to capture pictures over Spring Break and Easter but our little girl has developed a resistance to pictures and runs anytime I break out the camera.  So posing for pictures was out of the question:)

In Daytona we spent most of our free time playing in the sand and enjoying the beautiful weather.  We did get the opportunity to meet up with our friend Kristy who used to live in Bloomington, but moved back to Florida a few years ago. We had a wonderful lunch with Kristy and her boyfriend Iain. 

Addy resisting a picture with Kristy and Iain

Unfortunately storms rolled through most of Florida on Sunday night and Monday morning, so our beach time was rather limited on the last portion of our stay in Daytona.  We did manage to get a beach walk in after the storms cleared and just before we departed to Orlando.  Addy just couldn't resist the water and got very dirty.  She rode from Daytona to Orlando with no pants.  It was so much fun to watch Adalyn play on the beach.  She is truly a "beach baby" and would have spent all of her time playing in the sand if we allowed her to.  Her favorite thing to do was to "make soup" and pretend to add all sorts of ingredients into her bucket to concoct a gloppy mess that she declared as soup.  She made several batches of good soup in Daytona!

On Monday we headed to our hotel at Disney just in time to get Addy an afternoon nap.  After the nap, we took her swimming in the hotels huge pool.  Even though the water was a bit chilly, we had fun at the pool.  Addy even went down the hotel's waterslide. I was very hesitant to let her go down it since we weren't allowed to go down with her.  However, after the lifeguards and Derek reassured me that she would be OK to go down in her life jacket, I walked her up the stairs and sent her to the bottom where Derek was waiting.  Adalyn laughed on the way down and said it was a blast.  She even asked to go again, but when I took her back up the stairs she changed her mind and decided once was enough.

On Tuesday we did our one day tour of the Magic Kingdom.  Since we were flying into Orlando and we would be so close to Disney, I wanted to take Addy for just a day.  I am a big fan of Disney and jump at every chance I get to go to the parks.  So really this part of the vacation was just as much for me as it was for Adalyn.  We woke up very early on Tuesday to head to the Magic Kingdom--5:00 a.m. to be exact.  Orlando is an hour ahead of us and opened up for Disney hotel guests at 6:00 our time.  I had done lots of research on the Magic Kingdom and came to find out that the day we were going was going to be super busy!  So, we took advantage of the extra early hours and got there before sunrise.  I've never been to the Disney parks before opening before and experienced the mad rush to the rides once the gates were opened.   Derek and Adalyn were riding Dumbo before sunrise. 

Much to our surprise--Addy loved meeting Goofy and  Donald

 Our early arrival allowed us to ride most of the rides on our list in the morning.  Addy enjoyed Small World most of the other rides we went on.  She even liked the Haunted Mansion the Pirates of the Carribean. We headed back to our hotel for lunch and a long afternoon break.  After our break we returned to the park and Addy got a chance to meet a few of her favorite princesses.  She was a bit bashful when meeting Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Belle but managed to get their autographs and answer their questions. 

Adalyn's favorite event of the day was the SpectroMagic parade in the evening.  We staked out front row seats in Frontierland and Adalyn managed to earn lots of attention from the characters in the parade. Little Mermaid and Cinderella both blew her kisses and caught the kisses Addy blew them.  Pluto came by on foot and gave her several hugs and Snow White came by and gave her a hug and called her adorable. Derek and I couldn't believe that she was getting so much attention.  I was so excited during the parade that I failed to get many good pictures of Adalyn capturing so much attention. 

Getting love from Pluto

Passed out from a Magical Day

We rolled out of the Magic Kingdom gates to catch our bus to the resort at about midnight Orlando time and Adalyn was passed out. It was a wonderful day and I can't wait to return with both of our kids!  I was so proud of Derek for being such a good sport about the Disney craziness, even though since returning from Florida he has told everyone that I had him at Disney at the crack of dawn.

Easter in Indiana
We flew back to Owensboro on Wednesday and spent the rest of the week going between my parents' house and Derek's mom's house.  We had a lots of fun with all of our family and in just a few days mangaged to get in a trip to the Evansville Zoo with Grandma Freihaut, a trip to the Gasthof with my whole family, three egg hunts, a trip to church, and Easter celebrations with both families.  The Easter Bunny did find Adalyn in Indiana and left her a ton of candy, sidewalk chalk, and a Snow White figurine set complete with the Seven Dwarfs, which Adalyn affectionately calls the "Hi-Hos."  She really loved all of the outside play time and running around in Grandma and Grandpa Schum's big yard. It certainly was a busy, but enjoyable visit.  Needless to say, I took full advantage of a personal day on Monday to "rest up" for the work week. 

Sharing smiles with cousin Cameron

Hunting eggs at Grandma Freihaut's house

Addy's Grandma Schum was very surprised we let her touch her chocolate bunny

Batter-up!

Other Noteworthy News.....

Big Girl Bed
I hadn't posted this yet, but Adalyn has made the official transition into her bog girl bed.  The switch took place shortly after her birthday party with little issues.  She enjoys her new big girl room and loves her bed.  Although we still need to hang a few things on the walls and I am always on the search for additonal decor for her room, we have made great strides in it being complete. 

Nap time in the big girl bed

A New Chapter
On another note a major decision in our household was made official a few weeks ago and we will soon begin a new chapter of our family life.  I have officially resigned from my teaching position at RES.  Many factors contributed to my decision of  resigning after six years of teaching including the upcoming arrival of our little guy, the 45-50 minute drive I would be making with two children, and Derek's work/travel schedule.   As the end of the school year nears and I begin to pack up my room and say goodbye to RES I know that I will have many feelings of sadness, but I am also extremely excited (and just a bit nervous) about having the opportunity to stay home with Adalyn and our little guy.  I feel so fortunate to have had to opportunity to teach with such wonderful people and I cherish all of the friendships that I have established at RES.  My teaching team has become part of my family and I am very sad about leaving them and about the fact that I won't get to see them every weekday during the school year.  The decision to stay home is not a permanant one and I do want to continue to stay involved in education, but for right now it is the right decision for our family and I am so thankful to all of my family, friends, and co-workers who have been so supportive throughout my decision.

Happy Birthday Daddy!!
Last Thursday (April 8th) Derek celebrated his 29th birthday.  Yes, only one more year until the big 3-0!  We had a low key celebration with ice cream cake at home.  At Addy's request, we did light candles for him and sang Happy Birthday.  Addy loves birthdays and always wants to know who's birthday is next.  On Saturday we headed to Peoria to go out to eat for Derek's birthday.  We also went to the zoo and ran a few errands.  Overall it was a low key celebration and Derek's last as a 20-something!

Make a wish Daddy!

Happy 2nd Birthday Adalyn!

We had a fun-filled last few weeks celebrating Addy's 2nd birthday.  Since her birthday fell on a Tuesday Derek and I decided to take her out for a day of fun on the Saturday before.  We began the afternon by taking her to the Children's Museum in town.  She had lots of fun playing with all of the exhibits and took special interest in the water and train tables.  We were there until the museum closed at 5:00 and had a difficult time convincing Adalyn that is was time to leave.  After all of our playing, we went to eat at Desthil so that she could eat her favorite dish, spaghetti.  After grabbing a few party supplies at the party store we made our last stop for the evening at Coldstone.  Addy asked for strawberries and bananas on her ice cream.  She loved every bit of it and tried to lick the bowl several times.

Her birthday was on a Tuesday, so we went about our normal weekday.  Addy went to Kalee's house and got to go to McDonald's for lunch.  That evening we made dinner at home and had a small ice cream cake to celebrate Addy's day.  Derek and I tried to sing Happy Birthday to her, but she broke down in tears.  Everyone I told the story to said that they would cry too if Derek and I were singing to them, but she also cried later that weekend at her birthday party when everyone was singing to her.  I guess she just doesn't like to be sung to, or she doesn't like everyone paying attention to her all at once.  Shying away from attention?? Usually that's not the Adalyn we know!

The following saturday we had a small get together of several family and friends to celebrate Adalyn's big #2.

Adalyn's birthday had a Yo Gabba Gabba theme.  She loves the t.v. show and when other themes were suggested, she always came back to requesting Yo Gabba Gabba.  For those of you who have been fortunate enough to not have seen the show, it features a man in a bright orange jumpsuit who intreacts with odd little characters that live in his radio.  Lately, Addy's favorite characters are Foofa and Toodee, who were featured on her cake.  Several of Adalyn's friends came to her party, which she was very excited about.  At first she wasn't so sure about sharing her toys with them, but warmed up to the idea and had a great time.  We got her a sand and water table for her birthday and Derek set it up for the kids to play with in the garage.  It was a hit and the kids didn't want to come back inside.  Needless to say, I think Adalyn can be officially diagnosed with SPRING FEVER!

We were so happy that everyone took the time out of their busy weekends to celebrate Addy's day with us. We are espiecially thankful that our families made the long trips from Indiana.   Addy loved seeing everyone and still talks about everyone who came to visit.  We are very lucky to have such wonderful family and friends.

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!