FIVE

 Happy Birthday Joel! 

 He's been talking about this birthday FOREVER and was always inviting kids to his birthday party. I had to tell someone in November that Joels birthday wasn't for a long long time. 

 I always knew if he had a good time playing with someone because he would tell  me later that "so and so was invited to my birthday party"  He would also uninvite us when he was upset at us. Colin told him once he couldn't uninvite mom to his birthday party because mom was the one who planned it!  but that didn't stop Joel from trying to uninvite me at times. 

He has also been counting down for weeks.  20 days, then 15 days then 8 days then it was "6 days because 2 days ago it was 8 days mommy"  and so on. Each morning he would wake up and first say how many days left until his birthday.  And he was always right. 

 Sarah spent the 4th of July weekend with us so my parents came over for dinner one night and we celebrated Joel. 

This morning we tried to take him out for breakfast but he just wanted me to make him eggs and to play with his new toys.  He's not a big breakfast person.  

You would think for the boy who had been talking about his birthday party for months that we would be more on top of planning his birthday party but it all came together last minute.  I tried to talk him into the Kona Ice Truck again but he wanted a pool party like Colin and when your birthday is in July a pool party it is. And to me it was the perfect pool party weather.  
 

 Brent was in high demand today.  I'm pretty sure he had more fun than the kids!

Happy Birthday Joel!  We love you and cant imagine life without you. 

You try so hard to keep up with Colin and for the most part you do in every way. Its hard to imagine you are only just turning 5 sometimes because you act much older.  

You don't like big crowds and get nervous in new situations.  You rub my pretty ear less and less and that makes me sad a little bit.  But once you conquer your fear you are unstoppable.  You were so afraid of the deep end that even in the shallow end for swim practice you'd rub your coach's pretty ear sometimes. Then after you jumped in the deep end once you now spend most of the pool time in the deep end where you can't touch.  Its fun to watch you and Colin swim around and play together in the pool.  Same thing with VBS this week - you didnt want to go in at all but once you realized it wasn't so bad you've loved it.  And I hope the same thing happens with school this year.  

You are still so strong willed and determined which makes life hard at times but I hope that you never lose that and use those for good as you grow up. 

 You are our snuggliest kid still and we are just soaking it up since Colin doesn't snuggle very often with us. You like to have a snuggle buddy to fall asleep next to and it starts out with daddy putting you to bed and then somehow you end up in our bed every night RIGHT NeXT to me.  You don't understand personal space when it comes to being snuggle buddies.  

You still love to make us laugh and its fun to watch you and Colin interact.  You and Colin are best friends but its Norah who is your little shadow. You are usually very patient with norah who tries to boss you around.  

You dont like writing but love to sound out words.  Especially figure out the silly ones.  Like BUTTER - "mom did you know that butter has the word BUTT in it!" things that I never knew or though of before. 

You still can't poop and had us really worried a few weeks ago when you went 2 weeks without popping and no amount of medicine or suppositories were working.   We are still working on that.

You are very thoughtful and even today after getting some birthday money was planning on using it to buy a friend some legos.  Another friend has a feather collection so you've been collecting feathers to help him add to it.  

We have VBS every night this week and I told our pastor it was Joel's birthday so somehow he spread the word and they sang Joel happy birthday everywhere he went.  He doesn't like attention on him but he had the cutest expression on his face when my class sang to him.  He told me in the car that "they sang me happy birthday 4 times and I didn't like it!" But it made his birthday special and Colin told him that he never had that many happy birthdays sung to him in a day and Joel then thought it was pretty cool.  

We love you Joel and I hope this day is everything you've been wanting it to be for the past few months. 

Fireworks

It looks like most of our 4th of July plans are going to be rained out tomorrow but thankfully Chesapeake does their fireworks the night before. 

We met up with a bunch of friends and it was fun watching the kids enjoy thefireworks  show.

Colin and his friend Elijah. 

The group of kids.

I wasn't sure how Norah would do. She's afraid of loud noises but she actually took a nap today. Naps have been very rare this summer. Then Brent came home from work and said his friend had said we could park at his house which is right across the park so we tried it. 

Sweet thing clung to me. TIGHTLY! And wouldn't watch a thing. It then occurred to me how afraid she is of birthday candles and no wonder she blocked the world out with her blanket. She wouldn't look at the fireworks or let us pull the blanket from her face. There was a death grip on that blanket. 

I asked her in the car if she liked the fireworks and she said "NO! Norah hide under blankey! Fireworks over there (points behind her since she had turned her back to the fireworks when they started) Norah want to GO HOME!" 

Don't think we will be able to talk her into another night of fireworks anytime soon. 

Things kids say

Colin: after asking a few weeks ago how his day at school was, "great! I didn't get hot until 1:59. I usually get hot around 1:36"   (random but he had been keeping track.  He also hates wearing shorts and still insists on wearing pants.  I figure if he's keeping track of the precise minute he gets hot he can wear whatever clothes he wants)

Joel: after telling him I wasn't going to buy ice cream during grocery shopping, "well if you were a little girl and I was YOUR mom and you asked for a doll you really wanted then i am going to say no!" 

Norah: after she goes down a slide will stand up and say "I am awesome!"

Joel also doesn't DO cleaning...so a lot of his toys have been put up since this mommy doesn't DO his cleaning for him either.  Oh Joel.  

Norah: calls the shallow end of the pool the "baby deep end" which is pretty good when you think about it compared to the baby pool. The real deep end is the "big deep end"

Norah calls Joel her Joelly and its so cute.  Colin is now Colin. Joel or Norah rarely call him Bubba.

Joel: "dad, do not disturb a man when he's changing his clothes" 

First swim meet

We had our first swim meet this morning. Colin set his alarm last night and he and I were up and at the swim meet by 6:30!  I really love my Saturday mornings with colin. Brent kept Norah and Joel at home this meet since it was away. And the fact that they probably wouldn't have lasted the 6 hours we were there. 

Colin swam events 2 (relay) and 9 (free) and then waited a long time until event (41) for back  (51) for fly and (61) another relay. I was volunteering in the clerks of course this meet which kept me busy but it was fun to get to know a lot of the kids on the team. 

Colin was amazing! He placed 4th in both free and back (4th out of 20 swimmers in boys 7/8 age group) and second in butterfly!  So proud of my boy! 

And more importantly he dropped I think 14 seconds in his fly from time trials last week, 5 seconds in free and 8 seconds in back. Now granted time trials weren't an official meet but that's impressive. 

He is loving it and now wants to bring home a first place in butterfly next time! 

Joel is still in the guppy group but is also getting better. But I'm not sure he will move out of guppies this summer. The other day at practice his coach was having him work on backstroke and I saw him start rubbing his coaches pretty ears! Ha! He was nervous about floating on his back. He's getting better and loves going. Sometimes I forget he is only 4. 

I'm so glad they are both enjoying swimming. Norah has stopped asking/crying about swimming too during practice and made friends with some kids who are also waiting for their older siblings. Which is great since we have practice every day. She is very cute when we go to the pool in the afternoon and asks a few times Norah swim now? 

Pool Party

We finally had Colins birthday party today. And thankfully it all worked out - even better than I thought.  He got to pick a few friends and invite them to a pool party. Half the kids weren't going to be able to come but Brent went and picked them up or we took them home while we worked around work/sibling schedules.  But we got most everyone there and it all worked out.  It was the perfect weather for a pool party and I think everyone had a great time. 

 After swimming for 3 hours they all walked back to our house to watch The Lego Movie and then had a huge water balloon fight outside. One of the kids told me it was the second favorite birthday party he's ever been to. When I asked what the first best party was he said paintball so I think it was a success to be right up there with paintball! 

But more importantly Colin had a blast and we only took them home when all these boys had eaten all our food.  Really - it was dinner time and I needed to go to the grocery store so there was no food left in our house for dinner besides plain pasta :) 

A great start to our summer vacation. 

Norah stayed with my parents and she keeps telling me "norah had fun with ma-ma-maa and grandpa" and all about what they did.  So she's not too mad at them for not getting to go swimming too.  They also bribed her with german chocolate and a stuffed animal from germany! 

End of Second Grade

 I now have a 3rd grader and a kindergartner.  It seems like school was never going to end with all the added saturday schools and minutes added to each day. But it really went by so fast when you think of the fact that in 12 short weeks or so Joel will be going to school too. 

Colin LOVED LOVED LOVED second grade. He couldnt wait to get to school each day and loved his teacher and class.  I was talking to a mom of one of the kids in his class today and we were both so impressed by his teacher and all that they did in class and hoping that 3rd grade is just as great.  Colin was so proud of the display he made of Giant Squid.  He did all the research himself and has been spouting enough facts of giant squid that makes me not want to swim out in the middle of the ocean. EVER. 

They did an econonomics study and each had to either make something or provide a service and then one day they went around and bartered for money/goods.  Colin was going to teach basketball lessons and came home and said that he only taught 3 lessons - and one of those lessons was a pity lesson according to Colin.  poor thing but the great thing about Colin is that it didnt bother him at all. But then we saw his sign and maybe he needs to reduce his price for a first time basketball coach. 

He also came home with this award in which the mother in me is proud but the math teacher in me was beaming!  so proud of my boy! 

When he came home from school on the last day Joel and Norah and I were waiting in the backyard for him.  We heard the bus and all hid (well NOrah followed me around and then tried to go to JOel so Joel was yelling that she was giving away his position....) But Colins excitement was really fun to hear as he read the note then came back to find us. 

 

Beach

We've gone to the beach a few times already this year. I told Brent that it's the most I've come to the beach during the summer and it's only the beginning of June. 

Mary, Sarah and Robbie joined us once

We are hoping to make it once a week this summer. We've started going to duck donuts with friends Sunday mornings and then all heading to the beach. The kids love it and the afternoon naps are worth it

DC

This past weekend we spent Friday night at Ant Ants house and then drove saturday to visit Regis and Lydia and meet their sweet baby boy. It was really good to see them. We went into DC one afternoon and walked a lot with the kids but they all loved it. Joel didnt complain too much except when he saw people with ice cream and wanted one! 

It was a great weekend with great friends. And I got lots of baby snuggles when Norah wasn't awake. She doesn't like me holding other babies when she is around. But baby Tucker  is so sweet and still has that newborn smell to him.  

We stopped and had dinner with some other great friends and the kids played hard until it got dark. Then we made the drive home.  It is nice to be at the stage where all the kids do really great traveling.  It makes us excited for more weekends trips this summer. 

 

Butterflies

One way to keep Joel still for several hours is to get a butterfly kit and watch them emerge from the chrysalis. He sat there a whole afternoon just watching. 

Joel has this thing for bugs. He got so tickled when a huge carpenter bee followed him around the yard and claims that its his bug.  Also a firefly keeps following him everywhere (not sure thats the same bug but he thinks it is and is fun to watch)

He enjoyed watching the whole caterpillar to butterfly experience more than anyone. I loved watching them. Its such an amazing process... but also sad when you realize that the butterflies dont live for very long.  Such a short life for such an amazing transformation. 

 

Swim team

Swim team has started and I have two very excited boys. Joel is loving it this year so there is hope he'll keep with it this time. He even jumped in the deep end and swam the first day of practice. I was sure that would scare him into never returning but thankfully I was wrong. Colin loves it and just flies down the pool. 

This girl was SO excited too the first day and got her goggles on and couldn't wait to walk to the pool.....and the look on her face when we reached the pool. Priceless 

Broke my heart to not let her go in. 

Poor thing screamed and cried " I go swimming too!!!" Most of the first practice. It might be a long swim season for Norah. 

Shopping

Norah got to go shopping with Ant Ant.  She went straight for the shoes and necklaces. It's so fun to see how girly she is. Then she wanted all the bracelets.  ALL OF THEM! 

Rubber Ducky Your the One....

This past weekend we got to see Mary, Robbie and Sarah.  It was so much fun.  Made us not as jealous of mom and dad in europe visiting the wandering hokies. 

  One of the things on our list was going to see this huge inflatable rubber duck that was just in Norfolk for a week.  Joel was not impressed and Colin was just hungry.  But Norah keeps talking about the big duck or as she says it "bee ducky"

After we saw the duck the girls went and picked up Grandma to take her out to dinner and the guys took the grumpy, hungry boys back home for kid movies and food. Brent was really excited to hang out with Robbie. 

And Norah enjoyed being the center of attention with the girls. 

Gardens

Joel loves picking his radishes in his garden.  The boys love eating plain radishes.   

 Norah loves hiding in the tomato plants.