Thanksgiving 2011

This Thanksgiving was a little busy for us. Todd played his usual football game with his childhood friends in the morning and then we went to two different places that were not even remotely close to one another. The first stop was Grandmom Meatball's. She made one of the best meals I can remember in the almost 13 years I've known Todd. Ani Rose was a big fan of the turnips, although the cranberry sauce was a close second. Norrin refused to eat. He was only planning on eating at our second stop, his friend Henry's house. However, even there I had to sit next to him and convince him to try at least one bite of everything. Between running around, wrestling and barely eating anything all day, Nor must have been the only one to lose weight on Thanksgiving. It was really nice to spend time with family and friends, but we were truly exhausted in the end. Poor lil Ani was the most vocal about her busy day- she cried on and off almost the entire one hour drive from Amy's house to ours and then proceeded to stay awake until 11:30 pm just to remind me that she is to be asleep in the comfort of her own home no later than 9 pm. Norrin was ready to do it all again the next day...crazy child.

Ani and Mommy on the way into Grandmom's.


Norrin bringing a little of Mommy's pumpkin spice bread to Grandmom Meatball.

Norrin and Ani playing with some building blocks.

The architect at work.

Posing by his masterpiece.

Ani was so tired at the dinner table, we thought Uncle Jimmy was going to put her to sleep with the soothing forehead rub.

Norrin pretending to eat a turkey leg very convincingly...my little barbarian.

Two out of three Borrelli children greeted us (blocked our entry to their home).

Amy pouring coffee- the most necessary part of our meal because the turkey sure didn't slow Norrin and Henry down.

Ed showing just how refined he can be :). Love this picture.

Ani nursing herself to sleep on a mama who wishes she could be sleeping, too.

Our beautiful, sleepy girl.

Oona Loona Noona

When I was a little girl, I had an imaginary friend named Christopher. I don't remember every detail of Christopher's existence, but I'm told I yelled at my grandmother for sitting on him. Someone also told me that its unusual for a girl to have a boy for an imaginary friend. I don't know if its a sign of genius, insanity or creativity, but now my son has an imaginary friend named Oona Loona Noona and she is a girl. He refers to her as his imaginary friend and we've had at least three birthday parties for her with three imaginary birthday cakes. We never call her Oona for short- she is Oona Loona Noona and she has curly hair with a bow on top. Sometimes she's as big as Norrin and sometimes she's as small as Ani, but she drives her own car. Norrin has drawn several pictures of Oona Loona Noona. And without further ado, here she is :).

Because I Know You Missed Us

October was one wild and crazy month. Then, we all got sick. First Norrin, then me and then Todd. Ani managed to just get a little bit congested, but she's also working on sprouting a fourth tooth, so she really didn't get off that easy :). These pictures were taken in October...before we all got sick...because who wants to see pictures of us under a blanket of Kleenex?


Norrin posing with one of his great chalk masterpieces.

Norrin creating another chalk person.

Mommy and Ani Rose...and yes, I did knit that fabulous cowl I'm wearing :).

A Walk Down Memory Lane

Todd was looking through some photos and he found a zip drive with some pictures that my brother, Norrin's beloved "Uncle" took. Norrin can't be any older than one and a half to two years old in most of these pictures. It was a really great surprise to find a few more pictures documenting our adventures.

Norrin and Mommy at the farm.

Norrin and Mommy at the Please Touch Museum.

Norrin's favorite game for a while- Stickers on the Face.

Norrin at the Philadelphia Zoo.

At a gas station in upstate NY...being goofy for the camera at an early age :).

Punching ducks game at Jeepers.

Squishing spiders game at Jeepers...a lot of animal cruelty games...hmmm, maybe that's why they closed.

Bouncing with Da at Jeepers.

Smooch break for Mommy.

Never happier than when he's bouncing...should have named him Tigger.

Winter walk with Da.

Mac-n-cheese at Friendly's.

Da in the snow.

Attack of the killer dinosaur...Spike was a gift from Pop Pop Fish.

Knick knack, patty whack give your dinosaur a bone.

Norrin in his super cute stripey jammies trying to figure out Jacob's Ladder.

Snuggling with Rolo.My beautiful boy.

Breaking the rules at an early age at the Camden Adventure Aquarium.

Ice cream at Friendly's. Yum.

Playing with Da.

In Center City with Pop Pop Fish.

Hope you enjoyed this short walk down memory lane. I can't get over how much Norrin has grown.

Halloween 2011

This is Norrin running and Ani and I are the blurs in the background. This was the pace he maintained for his entire trick-or-treating experience. He ran so fast, he tripped...more than once.

Every set of stairs, I held my breath. He was so excited...was he paying attention to each step? Ani was all smiles watching her big brother run around as happy as can be.

The first house gave us animal crackers...a bag for Norrin and a bag for Ani. She isn't ready for an animal cracker yet, but the bag they came in kept her entertained for half a block.

There were many times that Norrin had to empty his little black cat candy bag to make room for more candy. A very rare occasion when Norrin was actually standing close enough to us for a picture.

Ani eventually grew tired of sitting in the stroller and decided the view would be much better in her mama's arms.

This is Rita and Joseph's house. They spent their Halloween exactly how I would've liked it- in a dark house, not opening the door for anyone. But since that's how I choose to spend my daily existence, one night out and socializing didn't kill me...mostly because Todd did all the socializing :).

And here's what a crawling baby looks like.

Halloween really is Norrin's favorite holiday. I have never enjoyed asking strangers for candy. Even with the scripted dialogue, I'm uncomfortable with the whole thing. So, I've had to break out of my shell a little bit more and embrace this candy coated day of craziness. Norrin negotiated for 5 pieces of candy that night, but then only chose to eat 2. He watched one Halloween special, we read 2 Halloween books and we were in bed by 9 pm. Ani has been getting a little power nap around 7:30, then staying up until 10 pm the past few nights. But she's pleasant and she's too busy perfecting her motor skills to bother with anyone, so I knit :). As of 2 days ago, she's started trying to pull up on the furniture. She hasn't figured out how to do this, but she paws at the couch like a little puppy and if you help her stand, she smiles like she won the biggest prize in the universe.