Happy Birthday, Noh-man!

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy birthday to you,

Happy Birthday dear Noh-man,

Happy Birthday to you!

Noh, do you know that you're now my favorite 8 year old in all the world?

You are a treasure... a gift... a blessing from above,

and I love you with all my heart~

Snow!

Wonder of all wonders... we all awoke Tuesday morning to a yard blanketed in snow!  Immediately the boys started begging to go outside (they were afraid it might melt if they waited too long!), and how could I argue with that?  Our first snow of the season... surely school work could wait a bit!  So I dressed Lolli in her new raspberry pink snowsuit (I know it looks red in the photos), and the boys hopped quickly into their gear, anxious to drag their sleds from storage.  

They played.  And they played.  And they played some more.

By day's end, we all climbed into bed, exhausted.  All the extra outdoor activity tuckered us out, but no worries at all... the boys slept beautifully and awoke fresh on Wednesday morning, ready to attack the outdoors once again!

Now I've heard it all!

Here's a snippet from a recent conversation---

Noh-man: "Mom, do you have any spare candles I can use?"

Me: "Why?"

Noh-man: "I'd like to practice blowing them out."

Evidently, my soon-to-be 8 year-old is expecting a conflagration atop his birthday cake :)

Wordless Wednesday

JOY!

My boys have been itching for snow,   

and yesterday... it. came. down!

The boys played outside for hours, 

but first... a taste of that freshly fallen powder!

Evidently, there's just nothing like it~

It's week 3 at I heart faces.  Pop on over for a peak at all the other joy-filled faces :)

The Snowflake Classic, part 3

Over the course of two days, we spent 20+ hours at the natatorium. Bub swam in the morning session (he had to be there by 6:45; the rest of us straggled in around 8), while Noh-man swam in the afternoon session (typically they swim in the same session and it's much nicer!). So... the rest of us had a lot of time on our hands in between their events.  We passed the time well, however... we had fun, and we even have a few pictures to prove it~

As we wait...  

And watch.

And cheer.

And play.

And eat.

And hydrate.

And tickle.

And prepare.

And emulate :)

The Snowflake Classic, part 2

Noh-man... my very favorite 7-year old in all the world.

He's the third one up from the bottom in the yellow cap~

On Sunday, I watched him during warm-ups~

 

And then later I found him tucked away w/ his friend's Nintendo DS :)

As for my big, big Bub... did you know he's my very favorite 10-year old?!

 This next one is awfully dark, but he likes it :) 

 If you strain your eyes, you can see him on the block wearing his black cap and his "itsy-bitsy, teeny-weanie, very expensive black bikini."  ("But it's not a bikini, mom-- it's a Speedo!!"  But I so love to sing that song :)

And some congratulations from dad after a job well done~

The Snowflake Classic

... introduced our family to the world of competitive swimming exactly one year ago.  Then, the boys competed for the very first time with their year-round team, and while they had a blast, reaching the top of the leader board was a mere impossibility. Sometimes, they were just happy to reach the finish line!

Now, one year later, well... the results speak for themselves.

The Snowflake Classic

January 24-25, 2009

790 swimmers representing 11 teams from Virginia & Maryland

NOH-MAN: about to win the 100 Yard Freestyle, above

(Swimming his last meet as a 7-year old in the 8 & under category) 

• 100 Yard Freestyle: 1st place with a personal best time of 1:18.99 (an 8.5 second drop from his seed time!), and a "BB" time for the 10 & under age group!!
• 100 Yard Breaststroke: 1st place with a personal best time of 1:48.69 (he had never raced in this event before)
• 50 Yard Backstroke: 2nd place with a personal best time of 44.82 seconds (a 4 sec drop)
• 50 Yard Freestyle: 2nd place with a personal best time of 36.64 (a 2 second drop)
• 100 Yard Butterfly: 2nd place with a time of 1:49. 92 (his first time racing in this event)
• 25 Yard Butterfly: 2nd place with a personal best of 20.22 (0.7 sec drop)
• 100 Yard Backstroke: 1st place with another personal best time of 1:39.13.

BUB

• 200 Yard Individual Medley: 3rd place with a time of 2:50.59 (his first official time for this event).  This is an "A" time, thus qualifying him in this event for Age-Group Champs in March. 
• 100 Yard Freestyle: 2nd place with a personal best time of 1:07.56 (only half a second behind the winner!).  This is a his first "AA" time!
• 50 Yard Butterfly: 3rd place with a personal best time of 33.79 (only 2 tenths of a second behind the 2 boys who tied for first!) and another "AA" time!
• 200 Yard Freestyle: 2nd place with a personal best time of 2:26.16 (a 10 second drop from his seed time!!), and only a quarter of a second behind the winner.  Also, another "A" time (he missed an "AA" by less than half a second!)
• 50 Yard Breaststroke: A personal best time of 43.77 (he dropped half a second).
• 100 Yard Butterfly: 2nd place with a personal best time of 1:17.32 and his third "AA" time.
• 500 Freestyle: he didn't place in the top three in this event, but he swam a great race with a time of 6:51.71.

So, another fabulous weekend in the pool, 

and another super weekend together~

 The boys fought their way through the water and they have the results to prove it!

 Many proud, proud mama moments!!

Big Man and his tattoo

Big Man loves tattoos.  Sharks, pirates, cowboys, horses... he's not particular (though I'm pretty sure he'd draw the line with princesses, if princess tattoos even exist).  

So, a few days ago he asked Bub to help him with his most recent choice--- a USA swimming shark.  Now if you know anything about kiddie tattoos, you know they don't look sharp for long. The edges start to show wear, the colors fade-- they just lose their pizzazz and generally look a mess.  Well yesterday, Big Man realized his shark was on its last legs, so he asked me to take a picture of it for him.  He'd didn't opt for any particular pose; he just wanted the shark saved for posterity.  

Oh, the priorities of a 4-year old... 

A new find

On Inauguration day, Chris and I took the boys to the Air & Space Museum for a fun get-away of sorts... a mild diversion from our normal fare.  We've been there several times before, but all the boys love ooh-ing and aahhh-ing at all the amazing aircrafts on display. They also love riding the elevator to the watch tower, 165 feet in the air, to watch the commercial airplanes land at the neighboring airport.  On Tuesday, Bub thought he saw Air Force One, but it turned out to be a United Airlines jet instead :)

So, as our departure time quickly approached, the boys asked if we could stop off at the souvenir shop for a few minutes... they hoped to coax us into buying a goody or two (no luck!).  Well, right there in the front window, sat a gi-normous display of Obama paraphernalia-- hats, t-shirts, magnets, stickers, books, photographs, lighters, pins, coffee mugs, and on. and on. and on.  Naturally, I asked Chris... "why here?" It's the Air & Space Museum, for goodness sake, not presidential headquarters.  His response-- "because it makes money." I guess so.  Everything is about the bottom line these days.  But good grief.  Can't we go anywhere without seeing his face imprinted on the front of something??  Evidently not. 

Of course, had the display not been there, I would have missed out on this treasure--

Yep.  Those are genuine Barack and Michelle Obama paper dolls. 

 What will they think of next?? 

Oh, and Gretchen... don't you run out in search of this little gem.  I've already picked one up for your birthday.  Grin.

Wordless Wednesday

Anything goes

I wasn't going to submit a photo this week.  But, when I saw that my bff Gretchen entered a snapshot of her adorable, monster-loving son, I figured I oughta find something, too.  

So here's Lollipop.  In the tub.  Just this past week.  Perhaps one day I'll have a photo of one of my sons to enter.  Unfortunately, they're not cooperating very well these days with my efforts to capture them on film or digital media or whatever it's called.  No, their favorite poses now include footballs or gloves or ski caps-- anything they can quickly grab to cover their sweet little cherub faces so that I can't get my shot... little turkeys.  

Anyhoo, it's week 2 over at I {heart} faces... click on the link to peak at all the wonderful entries!

Our extended family

5 boys.  1 photograph.

5 angelic faces smiling for the camera, all at the same time?

I don't think so.  

With this crew, we're just lucky to get them all in the same shot!

Anyhoo... thank you, Jeremy & Gretchen, for venturing north with your precious cargo for a weekend in our crazy home.  We all had a blast and hated to see it end :)  I think Mosby will sleep for days (he hasn't moved much since you left a few hours ago!) and I know the boys will surely miss the "monsters."  Chris and I will miss the extra laughter and all the antics that come along with a houseful, but will certainly look forward to our next reunion--this spring-- when perhaps we can put those ball gowns and tuxedos to use (hee hee)!  

We are truly blessed to call you friends-- best friends, to be more precise... and we treasure you as family.  Sending much, much love from all~ me

Far out, super great, really cool news...

Today at swim practice, Coach Bob passed along a bit of far out, super great, really cool news...

With regards to the

50 yd breaststroke, 

Noh-man

is currently the 

fastest 

7-year old 

 in the state of 

Virginia! 

Is that cool, or what??

Verse #2

Today's the 15th, so that means it's time for verse #2.  I've committed my first passage (Hebrews 12:1-2) to memory so I'm ready to move on to my next one.  Unfortunately, the task of memorizing anything doesn't come naturally anymore; it actually takes a bit of time!  My boys, on the other hand... they read something once and they've got it locked away for good. I guess that's why the younger ones are often referred to as "little sponges." I just don't think most gals my age (you know, 27-and-holding) fit in to that category :)  No, the brain is tired these days... so review, review, review is the name of my game.  But hey, it works... eventually! Anyhoo, here's my verse:

In that day He will be your sure foundation,

providing a rich store of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge.

The fear of the LORD will be your treasure.

Isaiah 33:6

Wordless Wednesday, almost

My goofball-of-a-son wanted to prove that he could last 10 minutes in the 30 degree weather outdoors, wearing only his socks and jeans. He only lasted 5, but he did manage to perfect his dance moves while he was out there :)

Edit:  After my goofball-of-a-son saw this post, he wanted me to make a notation:  he only came in after 5 minutes because I forced him inside, not because he couldn't handle the cold :)