Kitty Snuggles and Scones

At least three times a day, Norrin looks for a cat to snuggle. Its usually Rolo- he's smaller and Norrin can carry him wherever he's decided the cat snuggle location will be. I used to feel bad for Rolo, but I've realized on more than one occasion, Rolo has walked right up to Norrin when its time for a snuggle...he practically asked for it. Scout has also received quite a few snuggles from Norrin, but he's a lot heavier (fatter) than Rolo, so Norrin has to snuggle wherever Scout has planted his body for the day and that just isn't as much fun. Below is a tribute to these snuggle sessions...may there be many more to come :). I also took a picture of the scones I made. I love scones. I've ordered them from various places and I've liked just about every kind I've ever had. Some people think they're too dry, but I just love their texture. Until today, I've only ever bought them. Had I known how easy they were to make, I would have been making them much more. I used a recipe from A Homemade Life and made cherry and walnut scones. They were so yummy. Norrin and I ate two of them while they were still hot and a third one after dinner. I can't wait to make them again.

Weekend With Da

I had to work this weekend...but I came home to many adorable pictures taken by Da.


First thing in the morning...love that hair.

Mmmm...juice.

Baby foot with cow sticker

Norrin signing "more".

Such a beautiful boy.

Yet Another Trip To New York

Last week I spent my four days off making a trip to visit my family...with my 21 month old son...by myself. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Norrin had no interest in staying in his car seat for very long. We had to make two stops on the way there. The first rest stop, he rode the escalator at least ten times. The second stop I didn't even feel like getting out of the car, so I just let him climb back and forth between the front seat and the back seat while we ate goldfish crackers and Annie's bunny fruit snacks. This trip was really nice. My mom insisted on watching Norrin so I could go out with my dad. We went to the movies and when I got back, I was told once again what a good baby he is (guess he saves all his worst behavior for me and Todd). The next day, Thom watched Norrin while Mom and I got a manicure and pedicure. On Thursday, we spent the morning with Pop Pop Boyling and then it was back in the car for another five hour drive. Norrin had a great time. He ran all over Jay Street (great coffee and bagel place and a fabulous bookstore), played with a dog and two kitties, stayed up extra late with his uncle, had a lollipop once a day (Norrin learned very quickly where Grandpop Wayne hid his candy stash...he could seriously point at which cabinet it was in), played in the kiddie pool Mom got at a yard sale, watched all his favorite shows (I think Thom is a huge Wubbzy fan now), overfed Pop Pop's fish and just enjoyed showing off for his family. As for me, it felt good to get coffee with my dad and brother, to eat my mom's food (so yummy), tear Thom's store apart (sorry, but Norrin didn't care for the shoe arrangement), get a couple rows of knitting done and a couple of chapters in my latest book and just relax with the ones I love. The hardest part was the drive and that is only because Norrin doesn't like being strapped down for long. I was amazed how many activities we fit in the few days we were there and while I was tired from not sleeping in my own bed, I had a relaxing visit. And now for some pictures....

Norrin and I sleeping in our bed before we got on the road...Da is a little sneak with the camera :)

Norrin and his uncle...they both look truly devilish together.

Norrin and I hanging out waaaayyyy past his bedtime.

Love that smile...the result of him saying "cheese"...too funny.

Chasing up the hill after Pedro.

Norrin would yell "Drop!" in an attempt to get the dog to drop his ball. Grandmom Rose or I usually had to intervene...Norrin just wasn't threatening enough.

Norrin loved running down the hill...which gave Ma a heart attack since the pond is at the bottom of the hill.

Swimming in the kiddie pool.

Going down the slide...Yay!

Pool Time

Goofing Around

Summer Days

Well, the beautiful summer weather has been pulling me and Norrin outside on a daily basis...which also means I haven't been able to blog as much. I also really wish I had some pictures to show you, but Norrin gets me so thoroughly absorbed into his world that its never a spectator sport. If he's in the dirt, so am I. If he's in the pool, so am I. If he's wearing half his dinner, well, so am I. Todd was out for two weeks on disability. Its been a very slow healing process and its been frustrating, but as slow as it is, he is recovering well. Norrin has learned to be somewhat more gentle with his Da...sometimes. Yesterday was the first day Da was able to get into the pool with Norrin and he was thrilled. He didn't even notice when his Ma ran off to do some chores (I can be pretty sneaky when I want to get something done). We have a small Intex pool from Target which is basically like a huge toddler pool. Its big, but not very deep (it reaches up to Norrin's chest). Norrin loves it...he runs all around, hangs on the edge kicking his feet, plays with the water toys we have in there and despite lots of protesting from his Ma, takes an occasional drink (yuck). Our other outdoor activities have included lots of chalk drawing and harvesting our garden. We already have had a couple of ripe tomatoes and the peppers and eggplants are growing nicely. Most of our strawberries haven't made it...if Norrin isn't picking them before their time, then the birds have helped themselves. This was a good practice round for me. Next year I'll have a better idea of what I like, what we need, what's easiest to grow, etc. I love getting my food from my yard...its such a great feeling of accomplishment. As for Norrin news...hmmm...where to begin? A few days ago, I caught him tap dancing in our upstairs hallway. He had found some coins and stuck them to his sweaty feet and was using them to tap dance. Very creative. He's struggling with his communication every day. He uses a mix of words and sign language and its been getting so much easier to figure out what he needs. Of course, there's many times throughout the day that I haven't got a clue. So, I hold out my hand and I say, "show me". His needs are pretty basic, so his frustration has been pretty minimal. He's also been working on his fine motor skills. Today he saw Ma coloring inside the lines and he worked very hard at staying inside the lines himself. Of course, that's way beyond him at this point, but he took great pride in his ability to keep the crayon working in one section of the paper. Absolutely nothing in a ziploc bag is safe from him anymore. And he knows how to turn on every button, knob or handle in my car. I'm just praying he doesn't figure out how to unlatch his car seat harness. And last, but not least. He loves music and dancing. He will dance to anything and everything and he expects everyone in the room to dance with him. He will forcefully remove you from your seat, if necessary. And he tries to sing. He loves Rocky Raccoon on Todd's Beatles CD and he will attempt the words to just about any song on the radio. Its pretty stinkin' cute. And that's our life at the moment.

4th of July

My brother, Thom and his girlfriend, Brittany came for a visit on 4th of July weekend. It was a truly great visit, as my brother's visits tend to go :). Norrin loves his uncle and became his little shadow for the entire weekend. Whenever Thom escaped Norrin's watchful eye, it wasn't long before Norrin would look up at me, hands up and say "un-cle?". For the 4th, we decided to check out the fireworks at Philadelphia Park Racetrack and Casino. We brought Smartfood, fruity bunnies and mint chocolate chip oatmeal cookies and found a nice place to spread out a blanket and set up some chairs. Norrin more or less attached himself to the couple sitting a few feet away from us. They had two puppies with them and Norrin loved them. He wanted to run with them, he tried walking them on their leashes (with their owner's help) and there were many hugs and kisses being handed out (of course, Norrin wasn't too happy when they tried to kiss him back). When the fireworks started after ten, Norrin was done. He had a busy day of swimming and running around and the loud fireworks were enough for him at that point. I tried to calm him down, walk a little further away, speak soothingly, but in the end, we went back to the car and watched through the window.



The beautiful sky



Eating mint chocolate chip oatmeal cookies with Thom and Brittany.

A visit from the dogs.

Norrin trying to hold them captive.

And....he's spent.

Christine's Wedding- June 20th

It rained the day of Christine's wedding, but it really just enhanced the lush greenery of the place she was married. The church was beautiful and the manor that was down a short path from the church was equally as fabulous. Norrin and I had a blast running and splashing in the muddy, squishy yard and Todd got some really great pictures of all the nature surrounding us. Unfortunately, we didn't get too many shots of the bride and groom...in fact, we really didn't interact with them much at all. It seemed like a whirlwind of activity and we bailed out early due to a child who hadn't napped more than 45 minutes all day. Christine looked like an absolute princess and I'm really happy for her.

Walking down the aisle...the new Mr. and Mrs. Favata.

Crazy lil boy taking a very short break on one of the steps.

Squishing our toes in the wet, wet grass.

Splashing in puddles.

Walking back to the manor.

Looking for chipmunks.

A wet, but still very functional playground.

More water...does it get any better than this :)?

Philadelphia Comic Con- June 19th

Da and Pop Pop Boyling tried their best to wrangle Norrin through his first comic con, but he was more interested in running around the Pennsylvania Convention Center...well, "A" for effort :).