This One's For You

Hi there, three people besides the grandmas who take the time to read my ramblings and look at all my eight gazillion pretty photos.  This post is for you.  I figure you deserve to hear the news before a boring email or Facebook post goes out.

Dexter's gonna be a big brother.  I'm not sure he's really as excited as he looks in this picture.  Although I am also not sure he really understands what this whole concept of being a big brother really means.

Baby Norman #2 has been cooking for about 12 and a half weeks and is due to make an appearance on October 5th.  Yes, this was on purpose.

The Norman household has been an enormous mess for the past month and a half because I am a terrible house keeper, and even MORE of a terrible house keeper when I feel like I am going to be sick all the time.  Plus I need a nap during nap time.  So things like laundry and general cleaning have kind of fallen by the wayside.  I am sllloooowwwwly feeling better.  Ever so slowly.  My low carb diet has gone by the wayside, though, as I just try to find foods that my stomach can deal with.  If it's Ritz crackers, so be it.

Next week I have to go in for an AMA screening.  Which is basically a thorough exam for people who are old and having babies.  Because I am old.  Old, old, old.

That's all I got tonight.  Pregnant.  Feeling mildly better.  Need a nap.

The Last Day of Summer

Last week it was summer on the East Coast.  Not spring.  SUMMER.  Actually, more summer in New York than it was here, as we seemed to be socked in by fog every single morning that was cold and damp and didn't clear out til at least noon, leaving our daily highs in the 60's when Lansing, NY and even the damn Arctic Circle of Massena had temps in the upper 70's.

Everything here is blooming. Dexter's class has been going for walks outside looking for signs of spring.  So he already knew about daffodils and was SO EXCITED when ours bloomed.  He looked at them every day.  And then as we drove down our back country roads I pointed out forsythia and cherry trees and Bradford pear trees and now damned if he doesn't know all those, too.  John took him for a bike ride the other morning and he wanted to turn around to go home, so he could ride past the forsythia again.  John was floored - how did he even know what those were called?  And how does he say that word better than John does?

Dexter took a daffodil from our yard in to school for Show and Tell on Thursday (seriously, the bane of my existence is this Show and Tell.  EVERY Thursday.  Every week I have to think of something for this child to take to school to show his friends.  Something that he can talk about.  I asked him what he told his friends about his daffodil.  He told me he told his friends how much his daffodil talks.  Ummmmm.  OK.  I guess?)

Anyway - we had kind of vague plans to go see cherry blossoms again this year, but the only day I didn't have something planned in the evening (meaning I'd need to get home) was Friday.  And John had a meeting he couldn't miss.  And I ended up breaking my finger on Thursday afternoon and went to the doctor on Friday morning, anyway.  So cherry blossoms were out of the question.  But it was a glorious day, and on a whim I asked Dex if he wanted to stay home or go to Longwood.  Oh, my, did he ever pick the right answer...

The tulips are out!  ALREADY!  Now, granted, not all of them are blooming.  Just pockets here and there. Along with daffodils, and, oh, just about everything else.

Like, for instance, cherry trees.  And see?  Those tulips right behind Dex are not yet blooming.  Give em a couple more weeks.

From the "white" end of Tulip Lane - white cherry tree, and some early blooming white tulips.  Or maybe they were hyacinth.  I can't remember.

Mr. G.Q. thought he was hot stuff walking on the wall and not falling off.

Someone was, ummmmmm, kind of NOT PLEASED at being plopped down on a cherry tree and told to smile.

He eventually warmed up to it a little bit.

Love this huge weeping cherry down by where we feed the fish.  Unless the geese come out of the water.  In which case we drop our bread and run because geese are MEAN.

This patch of daffodils isn't quite all the way in bloom yet, but the cherry tree above it is fabulous.

Someone asked for me to please take his picture as he was going up the stairs.

How could I say no?

Sitting on the gazebo steps.  We were delighted to find fish to feed here, too.  Feeding fish for us is basically a "two pieces for me, one piece for you" bread eating event.

Another wall.  Of course it must be walked upon.

Throwing magnolia petals

After lunch and ice cream the small one requested we "play inside first, then look at more flowers outside."  Hey, whatever you want to do, little man.  You're in charge today.

So much joy in chasing water

Fortunately, when you're all hot and sweaty from running after the water, there's a shower to cool off in.

This one reminds me so much of a cheesy school photo from the 60's or something, that I had to include it.

One last bout of splashing to ensure total soaking and a change of clothes.

Outside again.  Daffodils abound.

Dex loved being able to get close to the forsythia.  He said the other day that "some time we can get forsythia in OUR yard."  Sure, buddy.  I'd like that, too.

Climbing a cherry tree.  He asked for help and I told him no - I wouldn't help, he could do it himself, and if he couldn't do it he shouldn't be climbing in the first place.

Look who was all proud of himself!  Granted, he's about six inches off the ground.  But I was impressed, too.  He climbed up AND down by himself, twice.

Unexplained sad face.

Smelling daffodils

Checking out the very cool tulips

The view in my most favorite place in Longwood in the spring - the perennial tulip beds.  Still lots of green there waiting to bloom.

Another tree spotted.  Another climbing mission.

Checking out the big magnolia flowers

Of course we found another wall to walk on.

After four hours at Longwood, we were sitting in the grass listening to the bell tower play its music when Dexter looked up at me and said "We can go home now."  Thank you, Lord.  I love this place, but four hours is a long time to be pushing 35 pounds around in a stroller.

Thank you, one week of summer.  We enjoyed you thoroughly.  Now I'm just hoping that tonight's frost won't kill off MY yet to bloom tulips.

The Pony

Almost four years ago we traded in this large fuzzy money sucking bundle of joy:

for concrete plans to create this smaller, less fuzzy, equally money sucking bundle of joy:


That's how John knew I was serious about this whole having a kid thing.  When I said I made an ad to put my horse up for sale.  That was it.

I'm not saying it wasn't a good trade.  I kind of like the small bundle of joy, and the large fuzzy one went to an awesome home and has been taking fantastic care of a very nice teenage girl who keeps me updated on his well-being.

But man, do I miss him.  He's a good little horse.  And I miss the whole horse "thing."  The smell of the barn.  The nice warm snuffles of horse breath in my hand.  The freedom and ability to go ride at night after work, and take Saturday and Sunday trail rides to wherever.  And I know, I could still do it.  There's people who need horses ridden.  But it's not the same, riding someone else's bundle of joy instead of your own.  It's not the same freedom.

Dexter's lovey in his crib is a horse named Frazier, after my guy I sold.  Dexter sees pictures of Frazier on the digital frame and asks "Who's that?"  Dexter sees the horses in the field behind our house and wants to go climb over the fence so he can pet them.  He adores horses.  I hope some day soon I can find him a pony to ride.  While loaded up with Benadryl so his little eyes don't swell shut.

Today I went to a nearby farm to see my horse - he and his mom were showing in a little dressage show.  He looks exactly the same as he did when I last saw him four years ago, which is absolutely awesome.  His kid rides him great, and she loves him and has done all kinds of fun things with him.  I couldn't be happier.

But I still miss him.

Frazier from today.  Still fuzzy.  Still cute.

I'm a Big Kid Now

I've been trying to remind Dex that he's a big kid now.  He's wearing underwear.  So big kids take bites out of their food, instead of making their moms cut their toast in to tiny little pieces.  Big kids take a bite from their apple slice and from their PBJ.

He's still kind of trying to convince us that he wants his bed to be a big boy bed.  When he remembers and tells Daddy about it, Daddy says sure.  Some time.  But that some time hasn't come yet.  We're putting off the whole REALLY being a big boy thing.

But we went to the Please Touch Museum today, for the first time since November.  And the things this child will do now, that he wouldn't do before...  He really IS becoming a big kid.  Sniff, sniff.

I was FLOORED when we entered this room and the very frist thing Dex did was go play with these balls.  That float.  On AIR.  That, like, BLOWS THE AIR with MOTOR and all things scary like that.  Previously he has been enthralled, but also terrified, by the balls floating on air.  Also new?  He willingly, totally on his own, went on the pretend bus, sat on the seat, and pretended to drive it.

AND he was delighted.  No.  BEGGING.  To ride the carousel.  For the very first time.  He named his horse "Horsey" and said that the next time we come to this museum we can ride on a different horse.  I was a proud Mama.

Sunday we went to the Brandywine Zoo and Dex liked petting the goats and watching the river otter and seeing the monkeys.  He also pet an ENORMOUS snake skin, which would have freaked Aunt Jeanne right the hell out.

My big kids.

Playing Hookie

It was 70 degrees and windy as all heck today.  Far too nice to go to school.  So we played hookie and went to Longwood, instead.  A trip which you almost didn't get to see pictures of, because I lost my camera for 20 minutes or so.  Left it in a bathroom.  When I realized I left it and went back, it was gone.  Fortunately some nice person turned in my camera to guest services.  Thank you, nice person, for not walking away with my Rebel!

Orchids on display.  Photo courtesy of small child's request of "Take my picture!"

Fountains are turned off outside so we had to look at all the fountains inside instead.

Orchids are on display for a couple more weeks, and then it's officially spring and tulip season!

Yep.  Back here again.

Apparently these blue poppy things are famous.  There were a gazillion professional looking photographers gathered around snapping away.

Chasing some water.  Some more.  Again.

Oooops!  They need to do some trimming around the running water.

Awww.  Reminds me of when he first did this, almost 2 years ago.

Goofy.

We found the only six blooming daffodils and grabbed a photo op.

We found a little field of flowers to romp through.

And a tree to climb

Gotta hold on tight

Taking a little roll in the flowers

Different field, different flowers, still pretty

Look, Aunt Jeanne!  We found your tree!

Found our own balance beam

Skipping school.  Totally worth it.  Til about 5:30 when lack of nap, run around for five hours at Longwood meltdown finally occurred.  But by then John was home - not my problem any more.  :-)