Halloween 2010

For Halloween this year, Ellie decided she was going to be Ariel from the Little Mermaid.  Great!  We already had an Ariel costume, so that was easy.  Then a couple of weeks before the big day, she came home from school and told me that another girl in her class was going to be Ariel, so she was now going to be a cowgirl.  Um, okay, that doesn't sound too hard either.  I found some adorable cowgirl boots at Target, we headed to the fabric store to get some denim and pink fabric, and Gran whipped up a cute little costume.

We all headed to Ellie's school for her Halloween party and parade.  Jason was dressed up from work (he didn't just dress up for Ellie's party), and Max had a good time watching the kids.  He always loves going to Ellie's school.

We also headed to the zoo on the day before Halloween for Boo at the Zoo.  Ellie decided to mix it up and wear her Ariel costume this day to get a little use out of both costumes.  That trip quite possibly will be our first and last attempt at Boo at the Zoo, because it quite literally was a zoo that day.  There were so many people!! 

Here are the kids on the big night getting ready to collect their goodies.  We had an adorable monkey costume for Max, which of course he absolutely refused to wear.  So we improvised and he was a Mizzou football player.  At least he was comfortable, and maybe the new little guy will want to be a monkey for Halloween one year.

Soccer Time

Ellie had her first season of soccer this fall, with Daddy as the coach.  Papa Mike helped out Jason on the sidelines and with practices - they both said it was like wrangling cats.  Jason was a great coach with the girls...very patient, very playful, and still managed to impart a few basic soccer skills.

Even though at this age group they don't keep score, our Green Machine team was pretty good.  We had a couple of girls that were really good little ball handlers.  However, Ellie's main focus at the games was socializing, and there were many times when the parents were yelling for the girls to turn around and watch the ball rather than tickling each other and giggling.  Max attended all the practices and games with us, and loved every minute of it - maybe even more so than Ellie.

I'm sure we'll be playing soccer for many years to come.

Old Iron Works Days 2010

We went to Meramac Springs last weekend for the annual Old Iron Works days.  We try to go every year, but weren't able to make it last year, so this was Max's first time.  Jason was on his guys' golf weekend trip, so the kids and I met up with Popi and Aunt Laura and Ella to spend the day.

We walked along the path at the fish hatchery.  Isn't this a beautiful shot?  The trees were just starting to turn, and it was a beautiful, warm, fall day.

The kids had a ball playing on the old playground equipment.  I don't think these types of toys are even produced anymore, and probably for good reason.  I'm not one of those parents that is too protective of my children and restricts them from playing and climbing on toys that are meant for children.  But I was still a little anxious while they played on some of these things.  I mean, come on, check out the flying-saucer-type-spinning thing pictured below.  I'm sure many a child has flown off of this thing and has the broken bones to prove it.  But regardless of the danger, the kids loved it.

We arrived a little too early for some of the activities and booths to open, so we walked around for a while.  The booths are mostly demonstration booths of some past art, such as basket weaving, rope making, blacksmithing, etc.  When I was ready to move on to something else, I'd say, "Let's go find a new activity."  Miss Ellie began to catch on and so she told me, "Mom, I like the kinds of activities that we get to do something.  Not just the activities that we have to watch."

So we found her an activity where she could do something - sawing wood.  Ellie and Popi each took an end of the band saw and went to work.  We have pictures of my dad with me and my siblings doing this exact same thing when we weren't much older than Ellie, so this was a neat "activity" to get a picture of Ellie and Popi doing together.  And E was very proud of her slice of wood.

I guess it's about time...

to announce the latest news in the Freed family's world.  We are expecting another baby.  The word has been out for a while, but I just realized that I hadn't posted about it yet, so some people may still be in the dark.  So let me illuminate the situation...

We are expecting baby #3 on February 27, 2011.

We had the "big ultrasound" on September 30 and found out that the men will soon outnumber the women in the Freed household (that means it's a boy!)

Everyone is very excited!!!  Ellie told us that she wanted a little sister, but then soon after said, "but a boy or a girl will be fine."  Yes, she is very mature for a 4-year-old.  Max is still pretty clueless about the whole thing.  I'm just barely starting to show, so nothing has changed in his world yet.  But I'm sure as my belly grows and there is less space on my lap, he'll begin to feel the effects.

This pregnancy has been tougher than the first two.  The first trimester was rather miserable, with nausea and fatigue sticking around most every day.  But thankfully that stage is over.  I'm feeling good nowadays, and my energy level is back (so the house is not a complete mess and my family usually gets a homemade dinner when I'm home).  And now the fun part begins - shopping for tiny, adorable clothes (just a few are needed though because our new little guy will be born about the same time of year that Max was born), picking out nursery decor, and considering names.

Life is going to be crazy with 3 munchkins under the age of 5, but we're looking forward to lots of fun too!