What We've Been Up To

Oh, we've been some busy little bees. Here's just a few of our adventures...


Lots of walks...sometimes with lollipop in hand :).


A little bit of tree-hugging.




A little bit of edible art with Grandmom.

Some painting of our bedroom...finally.

One very big snowstorm...

One very bundled up Da...

One very bundled up Ma...

And one bundled up and stuck in the snow Norrin.

Our snowy neighborhood.

Posing for Ma.

And posing for Da.

My handsome boys.

One truly goofy child...

Hamming it up for his parents.

And the completion of a quick knit for a wintry weekend.

Many Adventures

So, our trip to NY was a success and there were many, many pictures taken. Here is just a taste of what we did with our four day weekend...


The candy crane game at one of the rest stops...its amazing we made it to NY at all.

Norrin woke up to turkeys outside the window.

My dad's house and the house I grew up in :).

Breakfast on Jay Street...

with Pop Pop Fish and Uncle.

Snuggling with Grandmom Jump and one of her kitty cats by the wood stove.

Jumping with Uncle on the outdoor trampoline and the reason Norrin calls my mom "Grandmom Jump".

Posing with Da in front of the giant woodpile...

and posing with Uncle, too :).

And one more picture with Pop Pop Lollipop before their walk.

Now for the hike...one of many outdoor moments.

Lots of rock collecting while he walked.

Walking with Da.

Walking with Uncle.

"Helping" in the kitchen. Chocolate cake....mmmmmmm.

Sledding with Ma...

Grandmom and Pop Pop going down the hill....

Now its Brian and Colleen's turn...

And last, but not least- sledding with DA!

At Friendly's with Pop Pop Fish and Uncle.

Uncle and Pop Pop Lollipop starting the bonfire in the snow.

Ma, Norrin and Uncle toasting marshmallows in the snow.

Norrin's done now...time to go inside where its warm.

How most nights were spent- drawing and knitting in front of the wood stove.

Some snow-covered scenes before we left to come back to Philly.

A quiet walk with my hubby.

We're Off To NY Again

And here's a few pictures to get you through until we come back :). We will return with a lot more photos, a few crafting projects completed or well on their way to complete and the excited story telling of our two year old. He will most likely spend every waking second exploring the great outdoors (with Pedro, Jamie's dog, by his side...if he had his choice). And if confined to the house, he will slowly deconstruct every neat little play area that Grandmom Rose has put together. Lots of adventures to be had. Here's what Norrin has been up to this week...

Wake up, sleepyhead!

Play dough,

Play dough

Play dough,

And even more play dough....he really likes play dough.

Making cheesy eggs with Da...

And singing "stirring and stirring my spoon" while he does it :).

Have a happy weekend, everyone!

Conversations with Norrin

MA: Then, we pour the oil in....
NORRIN: I do it, Norrin spill it!

DA: Let me help you into your car seat...
NORRIN: Norrin big boy!

POP POP: Go home!
NORRIN: I get you!

GRANDMOM (as Norrin gazes off into space): Where'd you go Norrin?
NORRIN: I right here, Gam-mom.

ROLO: Meow, meow, meeeeoooow!
NORRIN: Shut up, Rolo!

And my favorite....

MA: I love you, Norrin.
NORRIN: No, I love you.

The Lights at Longwood Gardens

On Saturday, we chose to visit Longwood Gardens. We had wanted to go around Christmas to see the lights and decorations, but the holidays flew by and we were left with one week to fit in a visit. So, naturally we chose one of the coldest days of the year :). We bundled up in lots of layers and braved the cold for some of the most beautiful displays we've ever seen. And Norrin was such a trooper. He didn't cry or complain once. Kids all around us were melting into a puddle of tears and tantrums, but our lil man enjoyed every minute.


Below are a couple of pictures of the indoor displays. They were pretty amazing, but all Norrin wanted to do was throw as much change as he could into the fountains (or "waterfalls" as he calls them).

Give me more monies, Ma. More monies Da:

The Children's Garden is one of the best displays and its open year round. Tons of fountains for the lil ones to get wet in. I took off Norrin's hand knit sweater so he could really get his hands in there.

In an effort to get out, we had to more or less be herded through all the plant displays...mazes and mazes of greenhouses. Norrin pointed out all the colors. His favorite section was the orchids because they had so many different colors, but he was equally in love with the huge pointsettas. When we were in the cactus room, we told him to be careful and he took it upon himself to yell at everyone who got too close "careful of the catfish".

Outside was cold, but beautiful.

We tried to get a photo with Da, but Norrin was set on sticking with Ma...well, A for effort :)

Norrin had no problems stealing Da's soup though. When we were waiting for Da to bring back some food, I asked Norrin what he thought Da was getting him for dinner. Norrin replied, "potato chips and broccoli"....uh, huh.

More outside lights.

Evidence of how bundled up we were. Poor Norrin could barely move his arms.

Evidence of why Da is the photographer for this family...could it get any more blurry?

Happy New Year!

So, we were actually awake at midnight...thanks to Norrin's odd nap time of 5pm- 8pm. All parents have told us that when they don't take an early nap, you need to try everything in your bag of tricks to keep them awake...yeah, well, our kid doesn't care. I've even gone so far as to tickle Norrin and he is able to ignore it completely, close his eyes and sleep. He's so zen...when he wants to be :). So, we all said "Happy New Year!", smothered each other in kisses, watched the neighborhood kids run wild with their pots and pans and saw some very nice fireworks from our bedroom window. Norrin is very color oriented right now so the fireworks were very exciting- "Ohh, green one, Ma....Ohh, red one....Oh, white, white one!!!". We spent our New Year's Day, at Rita and Joseph's. Norrin knows the route and he announces where we're going once we get to the main corner of Frankford and Grant. Rita made a delicious dinner and Norrin ate none of it :). Instead, he requested applesauce and yogurt. Another odd nap time and we were up to 11pm that night. Norrin is at a really interesting age. He is very, VERY assertive. I love that he can tell me when he has an ouch and how it happened. I love that he tells me what he wants for dinner (although fruit snacks are not an option, even though Norrin begs to disagree quite loudly). Unfortunately, if he's not buying what you're selling, its an all out war. And as the adult, I know I'm supposed to choose my battles, but there are some power struggles that are completely unavoidable. The car seat is a constant issue. Lord only knows if Norrin will get into his seat without a fight. Anyway, its fun and frustrating and amazing all at the same time. My lil boy is growing up so quickly. The pictures below were all taken on New Year's Day. Just thought we should document how we looked the first day of 2010.

New Year's Eve

Waking up to snow. Is there anything better? Well, maybe waking up to snow on a non-holiday and finding out school is cancelled...those were always exciting mornings :). I had to work 10 hours on New Year's Eve, so Norrin hung out with Da. They played in the snow...before the rain showed up and washed most of it away. They also got together with Uncle Joey and his cousins, Quinn, Shea and Cole. He had a blast at Nifty Fifty's with them. Norrin absolutely LOVES all his cousins. Nobody can make him laugh harder...or nap harder for that matter.




Our backyard.

Peek-a-boo!

Snowball making is serious business.

The last evidence of fall...a snow-covered fairytale pumpkin.

And I rung in the New Year with a little yarn goodness. Some Cascade and some Woolen Rabbit. Happy New Year!