NY, NY + Pics

We’re home! 6 states, 2 days, 1 hotel, and a lot of fast food later, we made it back to Charlotte, NC.  It’s good to be back. This is a little while in coming, but here are a few pictures of our time in New York!

First, a few pictures of the boys.  I miss these kids so stinkin much! How sweet are they?  If  I had a bigger house and their mom would allow it, I’d adopt them all and bring them down to Charlotte!

Ellie hugging Evan

Evan and Kyle reading to Ellie

Nate feeding Ellie

This is why the majority of my time is spent cleaning these days...

Peggy and Dean visited and watched Ellie while we went to the city for our anniversary!

Train ride to the city

On walk from train station to hotel... love the energy of NYC!

lunch

Is he real or not? You be the judge

China Town, you make me feel like I'm in China again!

with your non-air conditioned seafood markets

and your sketchy trays of fish

Dinner in Little Italy

Loved the view from our table

Holy Canoli, i love little Italy!

We went to an off-broadway production of the Screwtape letters

Post-show city lights

Central Park Walk

World Cup!

After our anniversary trip, we had some fun with Dean and Peggy before they had to leave.

Concert at West Point

Ice cream (cones)!

Naked baby booty pic!

Mark and Peggy playing Mario Cart

Ellie's first sandbox trip

Our last 2 weeks flew by:

Circleville 4th of July parade

Guess who was IN the parade?

Church float

Evan helping Ellie get ready for church

i think they were watching the Jungle Book

Ellie and friend Maddox having a picnic

I was able to visit my sweet friend Amy who recently graduated from Culinary school in NYC!

Just needed some snacks... you know...

Lovely Courtney Bell was also part of the NYC reunion. Love this picture of these two!

We made a stop in Boston on our way home to visit family. My Aunt Susie watched Ellie so we could explore the city for the day. This was taken at Boston Harbor.

This is the pond where the ducks lived in "Make Way for Ducklings"!

And with our New England experience complete, we packed our bags, crammed our trunk full, and headed home!

New York, New York!

It is hard to believe, but we have just  a week remaining of our internship here in New York.  We have packed a lot into our time here and have become quite attached to the friends we have made.  Amidst the work that Mark has done here, we’ve also had a chance to get out and see the area around us.  Here are a few pictures of friends, places, and events of the past few weeks.

Ellie watching Alvin and the Chipmunks with friend Evan... I couldn't find my camera fast enough, but he sat with his arm around her for several minutes before I took this. Evan is the youngest of the 3 boys we live with. During Ellie's naps, he on average asks about 5 times "When is Ellie going to wake up? Can Ellie play when she wakes up?"

Ellie sporting her karate kid look

For Mark's Birthday (6.19) I planned a hike at Bear Mountain. We took a portion of the AT down to a park with a little local zoo and then back up the mountain again.

Picnic!

visiting the bear at the zoo...

Mr. Beaver taking a swim

I tried to plan a little surprise cookout for Mark after our hike... obviously he wasn't that surprised though. Turns out one of the boys told him that morning, "today we're going to have a surprise party for you!" haha!

He was a little surprised by his DQ cake however!

This is a picture of Ryan, one of the cousins who visit the house frequently. I think this picture perfectly shows his personality. He had been picking blackberries in the back yard during the bday party.

Mondays are Mark’s day off, so 2 Mondays ago we were invited by a man from the church and the pastor and his wife to go on a boat ride on a lake in Pennsylvania.  I’ll be honest, I didn’t know Pennsylvania was so pretty.  Shame on me!

This is Pastor Ski (short for Jaloszynski- you see why he shortened it) and his wife Barbara

and this is Michael who invited us on his boat!

This past weekend Mark’s parents came to visit and watched Ellie while we spent 2 days in NYC for our anniversary.  We had an amazing time and were so excited to be just an hour’s drive from the city.  This was my first time leaving Ellie over night and she did really well- better than me! Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to upload pictures yet because our computer is being fixed.  So hopefully I’ll get those up soon!

Amidst all of our celebrating, Mark has actually been working (in case you were wondering!).  His responsibilities as pastor’s intern are vast, but among them is preaching.  So if you would like to listen to this past Sunday’s sermon (#2 of 3), you can find it at:

http://www.circlevillechurch.org/circleville_church_audio_sermons.html

Sorry, I don’t know how to do a link, so you’ll just have to copy and paste the address to your browser!

Check back for more pictures soon, hopefully!

The Normans in… Circleville!

Circleville, New York, that is.  Mark arrived here about 2 weeks ago and I joined him a week ago.  I’m working on some pictures of the town and the family we are staying with, but I do have some pictures of our little apartment for now. Enjoy a little tour!

our side door entrance

closet, bed

view to left of entry

fireplace across from the bed... it has probably been in house for a couple hundred years and they still use this one and one in their living area to heat the house in the winter

ellie's area. we hung a curtain to separate the space a little

little pic of ellie who took a break from following me to "read" a book

view to right of living area

kitchen

i love our cute little stove!

bathroom

there are 2 doors that have access to the downstairs living area of the house. this is one that goes out into the entry way of the house

the house is over 200 years old and so interesting to me... just thought i would include a few pictures.

2nd door that goes out into the main kitchen

this is one of the family dogs, chloe. ellie is already enjoying stealing her toys!

Living in a small space presents its challenges, but I’ve been surprised at how doable it really is. It’s an adventure!

Packing, Productivity and… Procrastination

May has been a productive month in the Norman household.  Our downstairs area used to be olive green (a color we inherited upon moving in) and now is a lovely shade of “celery” (aka: light blue-green).  *Thanks to Elizabeth for the paint recommendation!* We trained and ran a 5k (both under 30 minutes!).  AND we have completely packed for a 6 week internship in New York!

Weeelll…. I almost told the truth.  You see, the painting and 5k really did happen. But packed and ready on Saturday for a 6 week trip that we leave for on Tuesday?  HA! You know me better than that, don’t you?? I’ll be shoving that drawer full of underwear in the last crevice of my suitcase 5 minutes before we leave for the airport.  And that after performing a marathon packing session the night before.

And I’m 85% likely to forget my toothbrush.

Okay, I’m going to be vulnerable and authentic and all those good things here and show you what my packing job (and bedroom) really looks like:

I do actually make my bed most days (Mom).

I despise packing.  Which is too bad, because I do it a lot.  Alas, my luggage sits empty. Clothes strewn on the bed (floor, chair, etc.).  And I make to-do lists. And then eat ice cream on the porch.  And write blog posts. And everything else I can think of that is not packing.

But packed or not, we will be leaving shortly. Mark has very graciously been offered an internship at a church in Circleville, New York (think 1.5 hours north of NYC).  Not only will this allow him to fulfill a chunk of internship hours needed to graduate from Seminary, it is also a great opportunity for him to try his hand at pastoral ministry, learn from a seasoned Pastor, and discern a calling post- Seminary.  I’m hoping to keep the blog updated as our time there progresses. I might even post a few of Mark’s sermons!

Okay, all you grandparents, I know what you’re thinking. “Where are the pictures of Ellie??” Here are a few pictures from our productive past few weeks:

Ellie learned to pull up on her toy...

... and the shoe basket...

...and the window... (you get the idea).

Ellie logged quite a few hours in her blow-up pool.

Mark did a lot of bedtime duty! (which is obviously not much of a "duty")

Ellie "helped" me with a lot of laundry. Unfortunately most of her help was making it dirty

Ellie learned how to defend her food from the squirrels

Ellie also learned to wave AND ride a horse! Friend Emily Settle gave this little horse to Ellie- she loves it!

I made a bird-feeder out of an orange peel which the elitist neighborhood birds shunned.

We played lots of Tug-o-War

Ellie discovered the joys of Cheerios!

We celebrated the Baby Shower of Kristina Boothe at a beautiful garden in Charlotte.

Ellie and pal Jade hung out and planned their joint birthday party which will take place in late July!

Ellie made many a messy table

And Ellie learned to brush her 2 teeth!

Thanks for being a part of my procrastination!  :)  Wish me luck on the packing!

All in the Family

Okay, I admit it.  I have neglected my blog.  I think about the time it would take to upload pictures, the energy it would take to write (not so) creative comments, and, well, you know.  I find other things to do. And an 8 month old provides so many opportunities for distraction.

Part of my neglect the past few months is all the traveling and visiting we’ve been doing.  Ellie is one well-traveled baby!  In February, I traveled to Florida with Ellie and introduced her to both her great-grandmas on my side and a slew of aunts, uncles, and cousins.  Here are few pictures-

Great-Grandma Bette

Great-Grandma Barbara

Great-Uncle Eddie

Great-Aunt Suzie

Cousin Ryan

Cousins John Michael and Ryan

JM and Ryan are two of the sweetest cousins (I guess technically they are 2nd cousins?) a little girl could ask for, as evidenced in the picture.  The trip made me wish to have family much closer.  Mark and I have family and friends in so many different places, we could probably take a trip around the United States and never pay for a hotel room (which we might do one day, so get those guest beds ready!) No matter where we moved we would be far from someone we loved.

I guess trips that make us wish we lived closer to family is the theme of this post, because in March and April we had a visit from Dean and Peggy, I took a trip to Minnesota, and we took a trip to the Mountains to visit my parents for Easter.  I guess in some ways having a child means family is closer (or just visiting more often!). A few highlights:

Reading with Grandpa

Ellie's 1st Easter Basket

Easter Dress

The church in the Mountains we went to for Easter

Hanging out with Grandpa

The Stratton Clan for Easter

so lady-like...

Uncle Richard

On a hike in the mountains

Tug of War with Aaron and Kristy's dog, Lena

Playing with Cousin Sarah's feet

All the girls at Martha's baby shower

Playing with Cousins Molly and Greta

Uncle Aaron put me in a cooler!

Wearing Uncle Jesse's hat (that's right, Ellie has an Uncle Jesse all you Full House fans!)

And one last picture that sums up the joy of parenting over the last few months:

bff

I remember pretty vividly the fun (and drama) of note writing in middle school.  Besides the importance of writing in a pen that was sparkly and purple, was signing the end of your letter with BFF (best friends forever). If Ellie could write, she would probably write to her first BFF Jade Rhodes.  :-)  You may remember Jade as the little pumpkin from Ellie’s Halloween pictures.

Ellie and Jade are 2 weeks apart and are about as different in personality as they can be.  Most pictures involve Jade leaning toward Ellie, mouth open in “conversation”, grin on her face and Ellie staring, with hands by her face, quietly watching Jade.  Jade is definitely the extrovert to Ellie’s introvert.  Not too long ago though, I snapped a few pictures of the two of them with Ellie playing the slightly more extroverted one in the battle over a sock!

it looks like Jade is waving in this one! ellie is eyeing jade's sock...

Ellie goes in for the sock

But Jade whips off the sock before Ellie can get to it!

Ellie is a fighter though

I love how mischievous Ellie looks in this one and how skeptical Jade appears.

Jade enjoys the success of grabbing the sock first.

Ellie suffers her defeat.

But Jade drops the sock!

And Ellie recovers it!

Just another example of BFF drama

The Fall in Review- Part 2

Just wanted to give a quick recap of Thanksgiving and Christmas!  We spent Thanksgiving in the mountains with my family and had a very white Christmas with Mark’s in Minnesota.

Ellie celebrated Thanksgiving with her first rice cereal!

yum yum... i love my rice in cereal form

poor grandpa got a fussy ellie

quality time with uncle richard

ellie discovered her reflection for the first time!

sweet smile

Ellie and Mark looking for her first christmas tree at the christmas tree farm

its an outhouse... and we took a picture in front of it.

The fruit of our christmas tree hunting expedition. This tree is actually much nicer than our first 2 years' trees! haha

The following pictures represent about 90% of the time i spent in Minnesota…. just looking out Dean and Peggy’s back window.  I could just watch the snow all day. And I had plenty of opportunity to watch snow on our trip as there was lots of it!

snowy day walk

i think the trees are so beautiful!

check out those outfits!

little snow angel

ellie making her pretty girl face in her christmas dress

all dressed up with grandma!

this hat was from aunt martha for christmas!

Norman family reunion!

christmas eve meal

snow shoeing

this was a HUGE snowman that we saw on our walk

This is Aaron and Kristy's dog Lena playing in the snow! She almost blends in

And just like that, Ellie’s first Thanksgiving and Christmas were over!

The Fall in Review- part 1

Somehow, in all of the holiday busyness I have failed to post updates and Ellie seems to have become a different baby in that time!  So following is an explanation for Ellie’s activities and growth this fall:

I just had to feature this cute outfit given by my friend Elizabeth. Ellie was cheering for the Dawgs against Florida I believe in this photo. If cute fans were qualification for winning, we would have won. Apparently that wasn't the qualification. APPARENTLY jean shorts and mullets were.

It was a "nail-biter" of a game...

You can tell Ellie's feet are moving here... it is a rare moment when these active feet are not.

Ellie hears news of Georgia Mascot, Uga's death

A little Halloween fun was what Ellie needed to get over her team’s dissapointing season

Ellie was a sweet pea for Halloween! We contemplated pimping that sweet face for free candy in the neighborhood, but in the end our consciences won out. I bought some snickers instead.

I listened to a Jerry Seinfeld skit recently where he talks about the power of candy over children to the point where they will wear ridiculous costumes to the delight of their parents... highly recommend you youtube the skit. For now, Ellie just lets us have our way with no bribe.

Ellie and her 2 favorite mascots

Olie in his Halloween t-shirt

Olie and his friend Bella dressed like Bees... they look pretty mad about it here.

not amused...

... and sheepish

They are arguing about who looks sillier in their costume.

Ellie and friend Jade are just 2 little veggies in the garden!

Wouldn't want to meet those 2 faces in a dark alley...

Halloween isn't fun anymore.

Proud dads

A few guys that Mark works with at Booster

November was a really busy month! Mark was finishing up with work for the semester and we had several visitors!

lil sis deanna comes to visit!

and Laura! (Ellie is wearing the same outfit- she's so embarrassed!)

We went on several walks this fall- I had to take a few pictures b/c the leaves were SO pretty this year!

Ellie getting ready to go for a ride in the stroller!

In November Ellie really became animated in her interactions and learned to grab objects and put them in her mouth (more difficult than it sounds!)  She had her first big belly laugh when Mark was showing her food in his mouth.  I was just about to tell him to stop being gross when she let out a big laugh.  So we preceded to make utter fools of ourselves to elicit further laughter, to no avail.  Here are some pictures of her just having fun:

One of her favorite activities: flying.

Also in November, Grandma Norman came to visit!  We went to the Museum of the Waxhaws (preeetty interesting for all you Charlotteans).  So most of these pics are from the outdoor homestead part of our trip to the museum.

Ellie found the Museum of the Waxhaws enthralling.

but a 4 month old only has so long of an attention span!

Hanging out with Grandma!

so sweet!

At Mommy's birthday breakfast! "So, you're going to give me some of those pancakes, right?"

"Come on, please?"

"Alright, hand over the pancakes."

Just a little pic of the bday breakfast Peggy treated me to... and yes, I ate it all.

Well, I’m tired just remembering everything that we did this fall… so I’m going to save Thanksgiving for the next post!

“They grow so fast…”

Well, it happened.   After the 523rd person stopped me in the grocery store and told me “they grow so fast! enjoy every minute!” I started to suspect it might be true, but still… surely not my little newborn!  Alas, Ellie has outgrown her first round of clothes. Let commence the fashion show of every outfit that will shortly be outgrown (or inappropriate for the season) that Ellie would let me try on her before melting down.

Love the ruffles.

Ellie's Halloween get-up.... Grandma Stratton was not impressed with the jean skirt, but apparently Ellie still liked it!

We're approaching meltdown here.

Little change in position to keep Ellie happy.

haha

Round 2 of fashion show: She "pity the fool" who makes fun of her gophers....

Who is this gopher and why does he look like a chipmunk?

My shirt may say I'm sweet, but I am really plotting retaliation for mom trying all of these outfits on me....

retaliation plot revealed...

But who couldn't forgive that face?

Newborn Photos

One of my most cherished gifts received at a Baby Shower was from my friend Kristina Boothe.  She gave me the gift of photographing Ellie’s first year of life, from in my tummy (maternity shots) to age 1.  I’ve posted her blog link on my blogroll where you can see more samples of her photography and find her contact info if you find yourself with photography needs (wink, wink).  Here I’ve posted my favorites of Ellie’s newborn photo shoot.  Actually, they were all my favorites,so there are A LOT of pictures here.  I look at them frequently and just smile.  Ellie was an excellent model for the camera and Kristina did a great job!

This was a dress that I wore as a baby