A Nice, Simple Day

Today was one of those days that just had a nice flow to it. We woke up and went about our day. There was our daily walk followed by the sharing of a spinach and swiss cheese omelet. Lots of quiet playtime and time for knitting :). A trip to Target followed by a long nap. A nice dinner and a trip to IKEA...where we met Jay from Season One of Project Runway! Yup...just a regular day in the big city :).


Wake up, little sleepyhead.

Helping Mama with the dishes.

He takes his work very seriously.

Probably should give him less water to work with next time :).

Love this t-shirt from Aunt Maren...its 2T size...so its been fitting him for about a year :).

Soaked down to his Fuzzi Bunz...we get him to smile by asking him to say "Cheese".

Time for a snack, Mama.

Weekend Update

So, after Todd worked on Saturday, we spent the rest of our weekend together as a family...and since I work weekends that doesn't happen enough :). While Norrin napped, we started painting our kitchen. Its amazing what a little paint will do. We got the Freshaire brand of paint because its eco-friendly and has no hideous smell...this was the first time I didn't have a headache after painting. Plus the paint was quality enough to make up for our amateur painting abilities. We got one coat on while Norrin slept. On Sunday, despite the weather being wet, foggy and a little on the cool side, Norrin was ready for his usual walk around the block. This was a special day though because this was the first day Daddy was coming on our walk too. Norrin had a great time showing him the sights. When we got home, Norrin actually climbed into his stroller...he had so much fun he wanted a longer walk...except this time he wanted his parents to do the work :). We took another walk then went home for a late breakfast. When Norrin went down for his afternoon nap, we were able to paint a second coat and even decided to paint our blindingly white backsplash. When Norrin woke up, the day had gone from dreary to sunny and warm, so we took another walk. Todd stayed in this time to work on the painting. When we got back, Norrin and I kept Todd company...we danced in the dining room while Todd painted in the kitchen...unfair division of labor :)? The day took another turn and became dark and gloomy and we even had a bit of a hail storm. The hail scared Norrin...he preferred to watch the storm from the couch, safely snuggled in his Mommy's arms. So, that was our weekend. Our kitchen is now a rosy red and sage green (see pictures below). Its so much warmer and more inviting...I love it! And I had a great weekend with my boys. It was so good that I'm sincerely dreading returning to work and I still have three and a half more days off. I posted some photos of Norrin on one of our walks. He's so active its almost impossible to get good photos these days. I should really just videotape him. He picked the plaid shirt he's wearing. I actually think he was just trying to rip it off its hanger...he finds that oddly satisfying and spends most mornings taking all my shirts off their hangers...whatever, its a cute shirt.


In our front yard...the beginning of our journey.

Close up!

Uhhh...Norrin that's not your ball.

He touched the ball.

Our kitchen before...gotta love that painter's tape.

Another before shot.

Our kitchen after...YAY!

The color really makes our "QUITYERBELLYACHIN" sign stand out...which was totally what we were going for :)

Single Parenting

So, the way our work schedule is Todd and I have more or less set ourselves up to be in the role of a single parent the majority of our time. Then, if we try to add in any kind of social outings...well, things get more complicated. Friday night was Todd's 20 year high school reunion. Friday is also the only day of the week that the bank is open exceptionally late. So, Todd worked until 5:30 pm, came home for dinner and was off to his reunion immediately after the plates were cleared. Now, we are both getting quite good at compensating for the absent parent and last night was no exception. I had a long bath with Norrin, then we made some oatmeal and watched Baby Galileo on TV. Then, we had some quiet reading time followed by the first attempt at nursing him to sleep. He checked Todd's side of the bed three times before I decided we should just get up and have some more quiet playtime. After about half an hour of building block towers and reading four more books, we made another attempt at sleep. Norrin was tired, but restless. I sing to him just about every night- I Know A Place, which my mom sang to me as a kid and Somewhere Over the Rainbow, which has been his soothing song since the day he was born. I had already sang to him during attempt number one, so I didn't make the effort to sing this second time around. Fortunately, Norrin took it upon himself to sing. He lay there and sang off key for a good fifteen minutes, pausing only long enough to wipe his nose...on my hand. Then, he fell asleep. Todd was out really late, then he had to go to work the next morning...Norrin had enough of this nonsense. When I asked him to say goodbye to Daddy, he said, "NO!" and proceeded to pout as Todd walked out the door. During the day, our neighbor was working on his house and the noise made it sound like someone was upstairs...Norrin yelled "Da!" and tried to find his daddy, but Daddy was still at work. When Todd got home, it was like Christmas...that child really missed his daddy. I wouldn't let Todd leave to get us lunch because I knew that would break our lil guy's heart (and we had just gone grocery shopping a couple of days ago). Norrin spent the rest of his day keeping a close watch on both his parents. And I value my partner even more...especially when I see him sitting on the couch with Norrin leaning up against him...a quiet moment between the two people who are my whole world. I had to post the above photo...its an oldie, but a goodie. Todd provides safety and comfort for his son and I know that Norrin gives Todd great peace in this crazy life.

Wednesday Morning

The mornings have been getting a little bit warmer, so it was the perfect day to play outside. I finished knitting my first sweater for Norrin and knew that the temperature would be just right for him to try it out :). I also got a bird feeder about a month ago and didn't get a stake to hang it from (or any bird seed for that matter) until last night. So, all the stars aligned and we went out to play. I couldn't get the stake into the ground (I'm small and apparently not so mighty), so Todd had to help me out. After that, we tried to say goodbye to Daddy because he had to go to work, but Norrin had other ideas. When I held him up to the window to give Daddy kisses, he dove right in. Needless to say, Norrin had a bit of a fit when Daddy left without him, but we took a walk around the block and touched all the trees and bushes, pointed out numerous cars and even saw a squirrel. Another sad moment when it was time to go in, but Norrin hadn't had any breakfast and his mood can shift dramatically when he has an empty tummy. We had spinach and swiss cheese omelets...yummy.

Norrin's new sweater.

Love it!

Daddy trying to help out Mommy.

Out of the way, Daddy...I got it.

Showing Daddy how its done.

Norrin has decided he's going to drive Daddy to work.

My Lil Boy Is Getting So Big

So, Norrin weighs in at about 30 pounds now and is no longer fitting even remotely comfortably in his 12-18 month clothing. He is 17 months old, but his short lil legs have kept him consistently in his 12 month pants well past his first birthday (while his long body has put him in 18-24 month shirts). That is not the case anymore. He has hit one heck of a growth spurt and he's starting to make his 18 month pants look like he's waiting for a flood. In fact, yesterday I was trying on these absolutely adorable sunhats...and Norrin's gigantic cranium only fits in the 3T-4T size!!!...its amazing he doesn't topple over more frequently sporting such a giant head :). Other signs that my lil boy is getting bigger is how independent he's become. He plays by himself for longer periods of time (I can get an entire sink of dishes in the dishwasher most days), he insists he can walk up and down the stairs by himself, he knows how to open the XBox, put in a movie and close it back up (of course he has no idea how to work the DVD remote). However, the biggest sign was that he didn't want to nurse all morning. This is the first morning that he just wanted to cuddle when he woke up. Then, he had some juice and scrambled eggs. Then, we went to Target and came back home and it wasn't until 11:30 am that he decided he felt like nursing. I felt like I should have offered, but truthfully the lil guy has never had a problem fishing around in my top for what he has determined is his :) and I feel the need to let him grow up at his own pace...not rush him to wean or discourage him from weaning himself. I don't think our nursing relationship is coming to an end...he still nursed himself to sleep at nap time...but I think its going to take on a new schedule. Hopefully, I'll be able to let go :). Of course, today could have just been a fluke...you never know.

Our Week

This was a busy week...my brother, Thom came to visit, so I just had to fill almost every second with activity. We took Norrin to the Please Touch Museum on Tuesday. They have so much cool stuff for the kids to play with and its set up for every age group. Norrin loved "painting" the roses in the Alice in Wonderland exhibit. He got completely soaked in the water exhibit while playing with ducks and boats. He just loved all the things to see and touch. It was a great experience. Then, we made a trip to Friendly's. Norrin insists on sitting with his parents (no stinkin high chair for our kid!), For dinner, he ate less than half his cheese quesadillas, but seemed to enjoy sucking ketchup then salsa off a french fry that he stole from Daddy. Todd got a chocolate fudge brownies sundae...Norrin seemed to like that part of the meal the most. I wasn't surprised when he didn't settle down and go to sleep until almost 11 pm :). Most nights we play with Norrin's sticker books. He's trying really hard to get the stickers out without his parents' help. He's getting pretty good at getting them off, but he prefers to stick them to our arms rather than place them in his special sticker book. And on Thursday, we went to IKEA. Thom wanted to shop and as I've said before, they are so super kid-friendly. In between all these outings, we spent a good two days outside. The weather has been so beautifully mild and Norrin loves to walk around the block. He also helped his uncle collect pine cones for Margot (a pet bunny rabbit). Norrin's love of the outdoors is really encouraging me to try a garden this year. I have a rather black thumb, but it would be good just to dig in the dirt with my son.

Painting the roses.

Sticking magnets on a metal cylinder at the transportation display.

Splashing in the baby duck pond with his uncle (move your arm, Thom).

More splashing...Norrin was soaked.

Post-dessert at Friendly's.

Daddy got even for all the stickers Norrin sticks on him...we were still picking them off the next morning :).

In the ball pit, at IKEA.

Love that smile!

Eating lunch at IKEA.

I love how Norrin sticks out his tongue when he's concentrating...just like his Daddy.

At The Zoo

Last weekend, while I was at work, Todd took Norrin to the zoo. It was a mild day and as we have all learned, Norrin loves to be outside and active. He also loves animals so this was a genius idea on Todd's part. This is only a small sample of the pictures Todd got. I couldn't believe how many animals were out...lions, giraffes, elephants. However, it seemed like Norrin enjoyed the statues the most (probably because he can pet them :)).


Outside the amphibian house.

Chasing a peacock.

Bear! Growl!

Where's the bear's nose, Norrin?

Pet the bear nice!

Best buddies.

Back in the stroller for a snack- a lil breastmilk, a few yogurt melts...and a french fry?

Mmmmm...french fries are good.

The end result of a day at the zoo :)

And Norrin Got a Haircut

For those of you concerned we were going for the Cousin It look for our son, Norrin got a haircut on Wednesday. He can now see without tilting his head all the way back. He did really well this time. I was pretty concerned he was going to cry, but the lady was really good at keeping him busy. I don't know what's wrong with our camera...a lot of our photos have been coming out dark. I love Norrin's face...I'm interrupting his morning cartoons :).

Daddy's Day Off

Whenever Todd works a Saturday, he tries to take off a day during the week and that day was Wednesday. We try to do something fun together as a family. Thanks to a suggestion from Uncle Stevie, we took Norrin to Bounce U. For only $8 (parents bounce for free), Norrin can spend two hours jumping around on all sorts of inflatable things and a snack of goldfish crackers and juice is included at the end. At first, Norrin was pretty uncertain...he clung to me like a lil baby monkey. But after some careful observation, he spent the rest of the time running around like a rambunctious lil freak. Since everything is bouncy....obstacle courses, slides, boxing rings...it was very hard to take non-blurry pictures. But we had so much fun!



Norrin in the dodge ball course...all the kids just wanted to bounce...there was no official dodge ball game :)

Norrin claimed one of the dodge balls as his own...he spent a good chunk of time running around with it...some kids have security blankets...Norrin prefers a dodge ball.

Norrin and Daddy bouncing.

Norrin kept climbing in and out of the course...he liked the wedge...he thought it was a mini-slide.

Norrin and Mommy at the bottom of a huge slide...see the video at the bottom...it was steep and scary, but Norrin loved it.

Norrin and Daddy

Norrin and Daddy

Norrin and the giant boxing gloves...they were so big and heavy...he couldn't pick them up, so I can't imagine people hitting each other with them.





Norrin and Daddy on the slide.