Labor Day Weekend in the Hoosier State

We headed to southern Indiana for Labor Day weekend to spend time with our families in Evansville and Ferdinand.  We actually left Thursday night to have more day to spend at home.  We stayed at Derek's mom's house on Thursday and Friday night and spent the entire day with her on Friday.  It was a scorcher on Friday and Saturday in Indiana, so we elected to stay mostly indoors. We headed to a new inflatable play area in the morning and the kids burned off lots of evergy.  We also went to lunch at our usual Evansville lunch destination, Chik-Fil-A.  We don't have a single Chik-Fil-A anywhere near Bloomington, so it is a place we always want to eat when visitng Derek's mom.  We spent the rest of the day hanging out and playing at grandma's house.  Carter and Addy always love visiting their grandma and playing with all of her toys.

A good "brother/sister" moment

Addy loved the obstacle course!

IU!

On Saturday morning we headed to my parents' house. We were supposed to head to Holiday World that morning, but decided to rearrange our plans to head there on Sunday when it was supposed to cool down.  Rain was forcasted for Sunday, but we decided to trade the scorching heat for a rainy day and we were SO glad we did.  Even though we battled morning showers, the crowds at the park were significantly lower and the afternoon was virtually dry.  On Saturday we hung out ot Mom and Dad's.  It was nice having a day with little planned.  Mom and I took the kids to the Candy Castle in Santa Claus.  I love to go there for their Christmas themed children's books!  Derek was also super excited to get a dinner of Jenk's Pizza.  It is one of Derek's favorite southern Indiana meals!  No one makes pizze quite like Jenk's!

On Sunday  We took Carter with us in the morning to do the kiddie rides in the dry park.  He had his first ride on the bouncing fish and the train.  At lunchtime we headed back to my parents' for lunch and naps.  Then we headed back to the park with just Addy for an afternoon at the waterpark and "big girl rides" with Mommy and Daddy.She really enjoyed her alone time with us and braved a few pretty big rides.  She loved Splashin' Safari and went down two big slides with us--The Watubee and  Zimbabwe.  She really enjoyed the slides, but was a little intimidated by the height of the stairs we had to climb to get to the tops of the stairs. 

Taking a break from the rain to meet Holidog

Family pic with Santa

Carter wasn't so sure about his first ride on the fish. Check out that death grip!

In the dry park Addy continued her new found bravery and rode the Spider with me and the log ride with both of us.  After picking up a duck at the duck pond and an ice cream cone we headed to the gate to pick up a keychain at the gift shop for her collection and then we headed back to see my family. 

We had a great visit with everyone and really enjoyed just hanging out.  On Monday we headed home to Illinois and made a pitstop in Arthur, IL to check out some Amish Furniture.  Little did we know that the Arthur Cheese Festival was going on.  We explored the booths and a few furniture stores and then continued our journey home.  We had a great Labor Day weekend with family and had so much fun in southern Indiana!

Mr. Carter is 15 months!

On August 27th Carter turned 15 months old. Yes, I know this post is a bit delayed!  He had his 15 month check-up on Tuesday (8/30).  The doctor was pleased with his development and said that he is right on track.  Carter weighed 27 lbs. 5 oz. (85th percentile) and measured in at 31.5 inches long (70th percentile).  I was a little concerned because Carter hadn't gained any weight or grown in length since his 12 months appointment, but the doctor wasn't concerned because the numbers were proportionate.  I guess it was just odd to me because I've never had a child drop out of the 90th percentiles! 

Carter is showing more and more of his true personality everyday.  He is a sneaky little guy and is always looking to explore new things.  He is a true blue boy and loves to play with his cars and balls.  He has recently become very interested in his indoor basketball goal and often takes our hand to lead us in the toy room so we can lift him up to shoot some hoops.  He also loves to push things around the house including dining room and kitchen chairs, Addy's easel, and even his sister's baby doll stroller which he fills with things he colects around the house. At the end of any given day or playtime it is not uncommon to see my dining room and kitchen chairs spread all throughout our main floor. 

He has also started to say more words and make more of an attempt to communicate.  He says quite a few words very clrearly including Dad, Mom, Addy (which he pronounces ADD eee), Car, Hi, and several others.  Carter loves to look at books.  He will sit on our family room floor with a mountain of books in front of him and flip through them for twenty minutes or more.  He is turning into quite a bookworm and especially enjoys books with pictures of animals. 

He is quite the little character.  He and Addy have started to quarrel more about things, which makes some days very interesting and challenging.  It is so much fun watching him make observations about and connections to the world around.  He is a very cuirous little guy!  We are really enjoying watching him become his own person!

A Festive Weekend

During the last weekend in August we returned to our festival going ways and actually headed to two festivals.  Friday evening we made the drive to Lincoln, Illinois for the Lincoln Balloon Festival.  The Balloon Fest is one our our family's favorite festivals.  We love to watch the balloon launch in the early evening and the balloon glow at sunset.  Derek's mom came up this year for the balloon fest because we have talked about how awesome it is for years, so she wanted to experience it for herself.  She really enjoyed seeing the balloons and said she's coming back next year. 

Balloon Buddies

We also went to the Sweet Corn Festival in Normal on Saturday.  It is another one of our favorites.  We do have a long list of favorite festivals!  We went to uptown Normal to eat a few ears of corn and browse the arts and crafts booths that lined the streets.  Addy and Carter each had an ear of corn and loved it.  It was a pretty warm day, so we didn't stay downtown for long, but we enjoyed every minute of it.  As the fall season rolls around we look forward to our typical run of area festivals.  It is something we love to do as a family and as the fall weather starts to show itself we begin to get festival fever! 

Enjoying some yummy sweet corn

Addy's First Day of Pre-K

Last week was a huge week for the Freihaut household because Addy offically started her school journey.  On Thursday (August 25th) I dropped Addy off at the elementary school to begin her first year of PreK.  Addy was very excited about beginning school and practically bounced out of bed that morning so excited to get dressed and ready for her big day.  I, on the other hand, barely slept and woke up with a huge knot in my stomach.  I was full of anxiety about sending my little girl to school.  There's something about the thought of Addy going to school EVERYDAY for two and a half hours in the morning that made me uneasy.

Addy got dressed in her pink flower t-shirt and plaid shorts that she has selected on her own the night before.  She then came downstairs and enjoyed her self selected breakfast of waffles and yogurt and was ready to go.  After a pictures were snapped we loaded into the vehicle and were off to drop Miss Adalyn off for her very first day of school.

The teachers come out to get the kids out of the vehicles in the drop off lane so there wasn't a lot of time for gushy hugs and goodbyes.  Addy had not problem jumping out of the car and heading to the line with her teacher.  It was a tearless moment (for her anyway) and she was excited to start her school journey.  I on the other hand watched her every step as she headed into line and I even jumped out of the car (Derek was driving) to snap  afew pictures of her heading into school (yes, I was that mom:). 

Addy's first day went great.  She had lots of things to share with us when she got home.  Her hightlights for the day were recess, metting new friends, and completing her classroom job which was to ring the bell to signal that it was time to clean up.  I also survived Addy's first day.  Carter and I enjoyed our time at home together and I managed to get a few things done whicl Carter was taking his morning nap.    Addy loves school and we are so lucky to have the opportunity to send her to such a wonderful program with fantastic teachers everyday.  It's just so hard to believe that our little girl is now a school girl!

Addy's first day of Pre-K





Addy picked out her own clothes fir her first day

Backpack Shot--Addy was determined to have a Ponies backpack

Getting out of the car with a quick wave goodbye

Hands up and ready to push the door to get into the building

Last Minute Getaway

The weekend before Addy started school we decided to head to St. Louis for a last minute get-away,  We headed down on Saturday morning with the intent of checking out a place that sells the playgrounds we were interested in installing at our houase and then heading to the Magic House.  We got to see all of the playgrounds and the many options and Addy and Carter had fun playing on them and trying them out.  After that we headed to the Magic House and had a picnic outside before heading into the fun.  We are big fans of Children's Museums and love the Magic House.  Addy and Carter loved exploring all of the exhibits.  It is so much fun to see Carter being more curious and wanting to explore everything his big sister is exploring.  Addy loved the huge tonado slide in the building and the baby nursery where she got to pretend she was a doctor.  Carter enjoyed the water table and the contsruction site where he got to play in rocks and dirt. After a fun afternoon at the Magic House we headed to our hotel to get in a quick swim in the hotel's pool.  At first  Carter was hesitant to be in the pool, but quickly got used to his floatie and began to love the water.  Addy was fresh off of swimming lessons and loved being in the water.  After our swim we headed to the Cheesecake Factory (which just happened to be next door) for dinner. It was a great end to a wonderful day!

Sunday morning we headed to the zoo bright and early.  We were so excited to take the kids to see the animals.  Addy has always loved watching the animals and Carter has really taken a liking to seeing them during the last few months.  He makes several animal sounds and screams in excitement anytime he sees an animal.  We had a wonderful day filled with lots of fun animals sightings and wonderful weather.  Addy finally got to see the elephants she has been waiting all summer to see.  Carter and Addy enjoyed seeing the hippos swim underwater.  Carter also loved watching the black bear and Derek and Addy taught him how to growl like a bear.  We also rode the train and hit up the souvenir shop where Addy picked out a stuffed elephant and Carter got a stuffed grizzly bear.  After we had seen much of the zoo and the kids were exhausted, we headed home.  It was a great get-away to say good bye to a wonderful summer!

Posing with the elephant statue

An otter and his otter daughter

Getting buggy

Addy and Carter loved watching the hippos

Posing with the realistic looking statue

Funny face

Checking out the bears

Penguins!

Loving the zoo!

Zonked out!

State Fair with Mamaw and Papaw

During the second weekend in August my parents came up for an extended four day weekend.  Their visit marked our third straight weekend with visitors.  Although it was a busy few weekends, we love having visitors!  Mom and Dad came on Thursday and we planned to go to the State Fair on Friday.  They hadn't ever been to the Illinois State Fair and the weather forecast was calling for beautiful weather, so we decided that a trip to Springfield was a no brainer. 

Mamaw, Papaw, and a little piggie

We headed out early Friday morning and got to the fair around 10:30.  The weather kept its promise and produced a beautiful day.  We tasted lots of classic fair food and saw lots of interesting sights.    Addy and Carter loved the fair.  Carter especially loved seeing all of the animals.  After going through several barns and the FFA petting barn we learned that Carter will pet any kind of animal including goats, calves, pigs, sheep, fish, and turtles.  Addy wasn't as enthusiastic about petting the fish.  She and Derek did participate in the fishing clinic in Conservation World.  Addy has been requesting to go fishing for quite some time now, so this was the perfect opportunity to take her.  They used real poles, learned about fishing safety, and fished in an overstocked pond.  Addy was very excited that she caught her limit of two fish and we were excited that we could do the whole "fishing experience" at the fair.  Addy was also excited to make a tye dyed t-shirt.  She chose the pattern and colors and she and I applied the color.  We were very happy with the way it turned out.  We had the perfect day for the fair and really enjoyed showing my parents "our" state fair.  The kids enjoying taking in the sights and Addy loved collecting all of the free stuff from the various booths. 

Spinning the Wheel.  Someday I hope to spin the real one! 

Papaw enjoyed taking the kids aroundto see all the farm animals. 

FIshing with Daddy

Addy's big catch--a sunfish

Carter wasn't so find of Smokey

Carter and Papaw taking a walk

No visit is complete without a trip to see the Butter Cow

Playing in the soybeans

Addy was so excited to be on a tractor her own size

We designated the next day as girls' day out.  My mom, Addy, and I headed out on our own to enjoy the day.  We started with a pedicure for Addy that she had earned through the local library's reading program.  Then we went to see The Smurfs, which we really enjoyed.  We ended the afternoon with lunch at Olive Garden. Addy has wanted to take her Grandma Schum to Olive Garden ever since she and I went there for lunch one day and I told her it was one of Grandma's favorite restaurants.

In an attempt the boycott girls' day, the boys decided to organize their own day out.  Derek, Papaw, and Carter headed to Peoria to check out a few playground stores and eat lunch at Red Lobster.  They seemed to have a good time and came home with a ton of information about playgrounds. 

Mom and Dad headed home on Sunday.  We are so glad that they decided to make the trip up for a long weekend!  We a had a ton of fun spending some quality time with them. 

~Freihaut Cousin Camp 2011~

The first inagural Freihaut Cousin Camp was held at our house during the first full week of August.  The festivities began on Sunday evening when Cory, Cameron, and Grandma Freihaut arrived in the evening.  Addy had been looking forward to Cameron coming to play for weeks and was so excited when they arrived.  On Monday morning we headed to Miller Park Zoo.  The kids loved the zoo and had a lot of fun exploring and checking out the animals together.  The zoo wasn't very crowded, so it was an excellent opportunity to allow the kids to wander about and not have to worry about avoiding crowds or keeping a tight reign on them.  We watched the sea lion feeding and the kids got to ride the carosel.  We also went into the petting zoo where Carter loved chasing the goats and Cameron was mezmerized by the chickens.  Addy also got to pet a pig, which she loved.  After the zoo we headed to lunch wuth Derek.  Then we headed home for a much needed naptime. 

Making breakfast

Add caption

Squirt gun Fun!

After naptime we grilled out for dinner and then headed to the splash pad for some soggy fun.  The park wasn't very crowded and the kids had a great time playing in the water.  I was very surprised at how much Carter loved running through the sprinklers and playing in the water.  We knew that Addy was a waterbug, but had no idea that Carter would take to the water so easily.  Carter loved following Cameron around the splash pad and the playground.   It was a lot of fun watching them interact and play with each other.  When we returned to the house we had the dessert that Cameron and Addy had made for everyone earlier in the day--worms and dirt.  It was a tasty way to end a great day!

On Tuesday we headed to the Children's Discovery Museum in the morning.  It wasn't a very busy day, so the kids basically got free reign of the museum.  They particularly enjoyed that water table and paint wall.  Cory was stressed about Cameron getting messy in the paint room, so I kicked him out and made him watch from the outside.  I did let him know that the paint was washable:)  After leaving the museum we headed to a local park to eat lunch and play for a little while. 

 Then we headed home for a much needed naptime.  Later that afternoon we headed to the bowling alley where kids bowl for free during the summer.  We had never taken the kids bowling before and weren't sure how it would go over, but the kids all had a blast.  The bowling alley had a ramp for the kids to use and they put the bumpers up in their lane.  Even Carter enjoyed taking his turn and did lots of clapping for his ball.  The grown-ups bowled in the lane next to the kids and Derek came out victorious by one point over Cory.  However, none of us should quit our day jobs and join the Pro Bowling Association.  It was a pretty sad display of bowling!

Check out those fancy shoes!

After dinner Cory, Cameron, and Grandma headed back to Indiana.  We had a great time during cousin camp and are so glad that they came over to visit! We pakced a ton of activities into two days and the kids and the adults were exhausted afterwards.   We look forward to next year's cousin camp when there will be a fourth cousin, (Cameron's little sister) to join in on all of the fun! 

Making stepping stones

Making worms & dirt