The siblings enjoyed the party, too...

well, Noah...not so much! Poor guy. He was so tuckered. Sweet boy's only had the four teeth for months now and he's finally trying to get some more. Bad timing. He's had the fountain of a runny nose, diarrhea, and cling-on to Mom. Fun, let me tell ya. He could somewhat hold it together when I wasn't in sight. Charlie sat with him so I could play with the kids on the roller rink. I loved that job! It meant holding Parie's hands as she learned to skate, taking a few turns around the rink doing the same with both of Tommy's hands, and encouraging Fletch's friends who were beginner skaters. Every now and then, I got to chase Fletch and John McBride. That was the highlight...being the reckless Mom that tossed the rules aside (surprise, surprise!) and in a crowd of parents with iddy bitties on the rink, I speedily chased down two nine year olds who thought that was the funniest thing. I only almost crashed twice. No regrets. Fun memory with my precious son.

Paris wanted in on the icing make-up! Eating with no fork was lots of fun for all! (Smearing on your face was about all the cake was good for anyway...)
Tommy wore the rollerblades he got for Christmas (as did Parie). They both made great strides in learning to skate. Parie got quite discouraged at one point as we slowly made our way around the rink with me holding both her hands. She said, "I'm terrible!" as she fought to keep the elephant tears from slipping out of her wet eyes. Just in the nick of time, her almost best friend, Rachel, showed up on the rink and was struggling even more than she was. Suddenly, all those kids zooming past her didn't matter anymore because she could join in the struggle to learn this new skill alongside one of her best buds. Rachel, John Flipse's younger sister, was holding the railing the entire way around the rink. Paris suddenly realized she wasn't so terrible after all. She was just learning a new skill like everyone has to do at one time or another. After the party, Paris stayed and skated with Rachel and her family while we took the party boys home. Paris spent that night at Rachel's house (something she missed out on two weeks ago because she got the stomach bug the morning of her upcoming slumber party at Rachel's). She was ecstatic to have the playtime with her buddy. As soon as we walked in our home after picking her up at Rachel's church on Sunday, she burst into tears that her stomach hurt. She fell promptly to sleep (a rarity these days at nap time), and two hours later woke up vomiting. Poor kiddo. Something about Rachel. Mind you, this is the friend that Paris had spend the night a few months ago, and I heard them TEARING down the stairs at 4 a.m. I leapt out of bed to find them fully clothed playing flashlight tag with full make-up on, their beds made, and enough Barbies out to know they'd been playing for hours. I was hot! I made them go down to the basement because there was no way I was going to have them waking the rest of the household up at that unseemly hour! They played house for a few more hours before I found Paris at 7 a.m. curled up in the fetal position in Noah's (never used) crib in the basement. Poor girl had fallen asleep while playing "baby" during her game of house. She was out for the rest of the morning. Paris started her day (for the second time) at lunch time after her friend had already gone home!
Sarah has really improved at rollerblading! I was quite proud of her at the party! She was super fun to skate with.
Sarah bravely tried the Limbo game along with the boys and me.

Fletcher's Rollerblading 9th Birthday Party

To be honest, I wasn't sure how I'd like this birthday party. I mean, it was going to be so different than other kiddo parties we've had. Fletcher's had an army soldiers party and also a Star Wars light saber party (both in Elizabeth City, NC). When he turned seven, he had a warrior themed party when the guests made their own cardboard shields and battled each other with a multitude of nerf guns. At eight, he held a "Jedi Training Academy" to celebrate with his fellow Star Wars-loving friends. Now at nine, his obsession is inline hockey. And boy, do I not use the word "obsession" lightly! Wowzer! The kid eats, lives, breathes hockey. I knew it was bad when he came home from his first Dallas Stars game (when they played the Avs at home) and kept their schedule right beside his bed to read at night. When I'm bustling around getting Tommy settled, Fletcher is reporting to me when and where the next game is. He wants to constantly be in his rollerblades and practices "checking" his little brother any chance he gets. When we play "Things" during our family game night, his answers were constantly giving him away because they all related to hockey (until we all got smart and started submitting hockey-related answers to throw off the rest of the fam!) The natural choice for a hockey-loving birthday boy was to have a rollerblading party for he and his friends to enjoy doing his favorite hobby. He was thrilled when we scheduled the party for the closest indoor roller rink which just so happens to be where his inline hockey team practices and has their games. He spent much of his party honing his speed skills!

Luckily, his friend, John McBride, an amazing athlete, was super fast on skates and could provide plenty of healthy competition for Fletcher to try and keep up with him! Those two raced around tagging each other throughout the entire party. Mom, of course, had to get in on the action which made them both laugh! I thought John was going to keel over in shock when I raced up beside him with a "nah, nah, na boo boo" face and grabbed him telling him he was "it!"
When we asked Fletcher later in the evening what his favorite part of the party was, he said, "When they called me out to the middle of the rink to sing, 'Happy Birthday,' and I got to race around the whole rink by myself! That was super fun!"
The kids got to play Limbo which they loved. I got out on the second round, but Fletcher and the other kids stayed in for another two rounds.
Joshua Perry and Kofi were both good skaters and seemed to enjoy the party.
John McBride and Aiden took the Limbo game very seriously.
Fletcher was told by the waitress delivering the Skate City birthday cake that their tradition at Skate City is that the birthday child has to eat the first bite of their piece of cake without using their hands. She needn't say more...the boys were ALL into that!
Aiden took the challenge quite seriously (like the Limbo game!) But, he didn't take his icing smathered face seriously...he thought he was a hoot! :) He wanted to wear the icing the rest of the party and proceeded to skate around the rink with his roller warrior make-up.
Josh Perry liked his look, too. He only had the guts to wear it for two laps around the rink before he decided that was enough of the icing make-up!
The boys all went nuts for the new air soft (not sure if that is the correct name!) gun that John Flipse gave Fletch. They are gun buddies and often play nerf wars when they are together. As soon as the Chuckwagon hit the driveway when we got home, the boys piled out racing inside to our kitchen sink to soak the tiny bbs in water so they could fire the new gun at each other.
Sarah and Fletcher couldn't wait to play the Star Wars version of Trouble. They love this new game, although they bicker as they play (much to their mother's annoyance!)
Love this picture of Josh, Fletch, and John McBride.

Fletcher, ready for his inline hockey practice...

The Colgan Kids' Art Gallery...our family room!

Jan.26, 2012 Fletcher's Ninth Birthday

Our Dallas Stars fan (hence the yellow and green colors for the birthday balloons) lays peacefully sleeping on the 25th but...

is awakened by his parents and siblings at midnight (hey, it's the 26th now, baby!)
Fletcher gets to open a present in the middle of the night, and this year it is Noah's gift to him, a Pirates of the Caribbean Lego set.
We can't believe Fletcher is NINE!
A jumping Monster truck from Tommy and from Parie, a Lego plane that is just like Johnny Rocket's plane in WWII (a character from Charlie's made-up stories that the kids beg to hear on car rides).
We had a super fun family day full of outdoor rollerblading at a local park's hockey rink (the snow is finally melted!) and then watching Fletcher's second indoor inline hockey practice at the Aurora Skate City where the kids' public school from last year held their elementary skating parties. Fletcher is having his inline hockey party there on Saturday with his buddies and siblings. Everyone is so excited. Both Charlie and I got fun "dates" alone with Fletcher today, as well. I got him during the little boys' nap time and Charlie got him during Sarah's Bible Bowl practice this evening. They got to see one of Charlie's co-workers play a real roller hockey game at the Parker Rec Center. Micah's team won 11 to 2, and Fletcher was so excited to have seen him slam someone into the wall (despite the fact that they are not allowed to "check" people which is a HUGE disappointment to Fletchie who just loves the rough and tumble checking in ice hockey!) Apparently, this slamming of the opponent into the wall was more exciting even than the three goals Micah scored for his team!

Noah, sweet boy, just watching his big bro painting

Sometimes, when you are the little guy, you just get to stand there and watch all the fun!

A Way to Keep Tommy busy...

PAINTING SNOW!!

Worked like a charm...
and it was a great way to use up the bottom of the bottle of all these paints.
There was plenty of "canvas," too!

Our new friend, the Great Horned Owl...

in our tree, none-the-less! How COOL is that?! This tree is right off our backyard patio. The tree is visible from our kitchen sliding glass doors and from the window by our kitchen sink. We can also see the tree from the windows when we go upstairs to the kids' rooms. SO, it is perfect when our friend, Mr. Great Horned Owl, visits because we have three "viewing areas" from which to spy on him. This is the first picture we snapped of him on his first visit taken through the sliding glass doors from inside the kitchen. He is slightly right of center towards the top right corner of the picture. We could very easily see his huge yellow eyes, feathery tail, and pointed "ears."

In the second picture, the owl is looking at the two black birds that have perched themselves strategically in the nearby branches to SHRIEK their caws in warning that a predator is way too close for their comfort. They were going buzzonkers cawing at him. There must have been more than ten surrounding our tree safely screeching from our neighbor's roof. That was the only reason Fletcher and I found him!

Precious Noah was actually the first to take notice of the hubbub going on out our back door. He tuned in to the black birds cawing like crazy (surprisingly, I'd found a way to notice it with my ears but not my brain!) I heard them but didn't think through how unusual that was that a plethora of birds was screeching insanely in our backyard. Noah began to call back to them imitating them remarkably well! His little hand was just a'bangin' on the sliding door to let him out to investigate these birds he could see on our neighbor's roof and hear squawking. Fletcher and I rolled at Noah calling back to the birds in his own version of their angry caw!
This picture makes him look small. Not so! Online we read that the Great Horned Owl is a fierce bird of prey taking out other birds, SKUNKS, and even cats! Sometimes, they eat so many skunks that they start to smell like the musk of a skunk. Glad I don't smell like what I eat!
Cool view of his "horns."
Peek-a-boo, we see you! For many, many minutes! SO thankful all five kids got to enjoy watching him with me. Poor C. was at work. Maybe next time though...
Pretty neat visitor to have when the kids and I have been praying very specifically for wisdom!

Not wanting to forget...

the sight of Noah doing his "wounded veteran" scoot around every square inch of our house. He was walking by Christmas day (16 months old), just like Charlie predicted. Noah didn't use walking as his preferred mode of transportation until he was 16 and a half months old. By the second week of January, he was walking everywhere instead of scooting. He was initiating the walking on his own and not just cruising between objects and along walls anymore. He surely was pleased with all the fuss he got from his six family members going absolutely bonkers cheering for him when he chose to walk anywhere!

the day I unloaded and reloaded four complete cycles of dishes in our dishwasher. And this was a normal day. Nothing unusual going on. Ringing in my ears was my mom's advice from before I got married, "Find contentment in the everyday stuff. Like washing dishes." I quickly found contentment in that I had a dishwasher- what if I'd had to do these by hand?! How DID Jen do it all those years without a dishwasher in Ventura?

Noah's first word, "Go." Not clearly pronounced by any stretch of the imagination, but still clearly his first word. "Go." Like time to GO, Mom. Like outside now, Mom. Let's go! Time to GO. How appropriate for a Colgan baby. Like Gammy's always said of our kiddos, "Outside baby." Noah, yet another "outside baby" who wants to be anywhere on the other side of that door. Noah sits near and/or pats both the front door and the kitchen door leading into the garage as he mutters, "go." I have to say, Noah probably acquired this word from me addressing him with, "Ready to go? Let's go on a car ride. Time to go, buddy." In fact, when I first heard him mutter, "go!" in reply, I wasn't sure if he'd just said "car." Weird that "go" and "car" in baby talk could sound even remotely similar, but Noah had me stumped. At almost seventeen months, it sure seemed like my fifth child's first words were, "Go! Car." Wow, really? "Go," huh?!

like Tommy like Tio...(kinda)

The Momma in me just wanted to remember how Tommy said "Carolina" today:

As Tommy finished off his second banana in a matter of minutes, I said, "Wow, Tee! You're a good banana eater just like Popsy." Tommy retorted, "Yeah, me miss Popsy. And Gammy. Popsy puts grapes and 'nanas in his cereal!" "You're right, Tee. How do you know that, though?" "MOM! I been there! To Popsy's house. I see him put grapes and 'nanas in his cereal in da mornin'!" "Oh," I reply. "Where is Popsy's house?" Without hesitation, "Care-ah-fah-lina."

Sometimes, Moms just want to know what their kids actually know. Tommy knows. :)

**"Care-a-fa-lina" made me smile. One, because it's just such a stinkin' cute way of saying (North) Carolina but also because it so reminded me of the way my brother said North Carolina when he was Tommy's age...Payson's question at three was, "Mom, how far is it from North Care-ah-jah-bah-lina to da debil?"

Cutie Kiddo Comments

On Jan.5, 2012 I was reading a Fletcher fox book to Tommy in which the author mentioned the "bare trees" of winter. Tommy quickly said, "Uh, WHOA! I guess 'dem bears live in duh trees!" I replied, "No, it means no leaves on the trees. The trees are naked." Tommy quips, "Well, dem fox is naked! Him don't need clothes, though. Him a fox!"

Tommy still says one of my favorite Tommyisms..."preznint" for present. I also heard him say a Sarahism that brought me back to when she was three (seven years ago!)..."pregnick" for pregnant.

Fletcher, at age almost nine, still says one of my favorite Fletcherisms..."fravorite" for favorite. I love how the "r" enters at the beginning of the word instead of the middle.

Tommy loved to call out "rockycom" as we drove around town, and he spotted the "SErocks.com" car magnets Charlie passed out at church advertising the youth group.

On Jan.3, 2012 Tommy said what he has said to me every night for the last six to twelve months as I pull his bedroom door closed for the night, "Bugs-n-cake! Have a good date with Dad!" Umm, MELT me! What a sweet three year old! The "Have a good date with Dad!" comment is entirely a Tommyism. He started saying it because he knows that after the kids go to bed is my precious time with Daddy. I look forward to the evenings when I can hang out with Charlie. The kids know this and have been reminded on more than one occasion if they are lolly-gagging around with getting drinks of water, turning their fans on, getting the Bible story cd of their choice in the radio, "GUYS, you are interfering with my time with Daddy. Hurry up!" So sweet Tommy began following up his "Bugs-n-cake!" with "Have a good date with Dad!" Ohh, how precious his heart is!

The bugs and cake comment originated with Sarah and Fletcher at ages 5 and 3 when we read a book in which the Mommy told her little girl, "Love you like crazy cakes!" Sarah and Fletcher heard me say, "Don't let the bed bugs bite!" just like my Mom always said to me (and Gammy still says to her grandbabies). So after praying together and giving kisses and hugs, the kids and I would exchange, "Don't let the bed bugs bite! Love you like crazy cakes!" Well, after some time, the exchange had evolved into, "Bugs-n-cake!" Now, five years later, the kids and I still exchange "Bugs-n-cake" each night. Precious saying to a Momma's heart!

Tommy and his best friend, Reese

Tuesdays are fun days for the little boys and I because we drop the big kids off at their Options school and have time for just the three of us to be together. Often, we bring his best buddy, Reese, home with us for a playdate. Tommy often says, "Mom, Reesie my best fwend." "Yes, Tee, he is," I reply. The pictures above are from a playdate on January 3rd when the boys had gotten so hot and sweaty from jumping on the couch cushions that had, at one time, made up their fort but turned into their mosh pit. They came upstairs to the kitchen from the basement saying, "We are SO hot!" I told them they could always take their shirts off until they cooled down. Well, they thought that was a fabulous idea. I cracked up watching them sit on the stairs without their shirts "cooling off." Within two seconds of being bare-chested I heard Tommy say to Reese, "Youz lucky! Me wish I had brown skin like you!" Reese just looked at him blankly. Tommy quickly followed up those comments with this one, "You have man nipples. Me have baby nipples!" They then proceeded to pinch their nipples giggling together. So glad I was in the kitchen to hear that exchange!

A "party in back" mullet became an "angry all over" look for Tommy

Charlie is often the one who takes Tommy for his hair cuts on their "dates" together while the big kids do school with me at home. The only thing I've ever asked is that Charlie tell the hair dresser NOT to cut his bangs straight across (my pet peeve!) He left yesterday as normal and I've said the "no straight across" bangs comment for so long I didn't even say anything to them about his hair as they departed on their date accompanied by Fletcher. I didn't think anything about it until Charlie came in first and got the video camera started before calling the boys in from the garage. Apparently, Charlie and Fletch had dibs on how nuts I was gonna go about Tommy's haircut. They knew I was going to HATE it. Charlie had NO idea this was what the hair dresser was going to do to Tommy's hair when he wrongly said, "Mohawk." How could he say, "Mohawk" if he didn't mean mohawk, you ask. GOOD question! Tommy's best buddy had a "FAUXhawk" awhile ago that Tommy thought was cool. Charlie actually said to the hair dresser, "Mohawk" not knowing what he really should have said was "Fauxhawk" (I wouldn't have even asked for that! and neither of us even had a clue that there was an actual hair cut called a Fauxhawk!) The hair dresser messed up in that when Charlie said, "Mohawk," and his very next statement was, "and when he doesn't want to spike it up he can just comb it over." She said, "Oh sure. He'll be able to do that." She then proceeded to buzz the side of his hair and Charlie said he flipped out inside but Tommy just sat perfectly still and called out, "DADDY!! You WANT me have NO hair?!!" The hair dresser thought that was a riot. I wanna know how she ever thought he was supposed to just "comb it over if he didn't want to wear it spiked"??!!! She might have TRIED to clarify with Charlie before taking our son's hair down to the BALD look! Charile has had the FUNNIEST reaction to Tommy's hair! We are both glad that in a SHORT while we can just buzz the center stripe off too and say bye-bye to the mohawk! :)

p.s. it is funny to be in public with Tommy now! the looks he gets are a riot!