Noah is Four Months Old!

Noah Cole

15 pounds, 10 ounces (75%)

26 3/4 inches (95%)

He's a big'n!

Love those cheeks!

"Cheese" Before Church

Owen politely asked to "Hold No-Nos please?" before church on Sunday. How could a Mom refuse? Come to find out, he actually just wanted to sit near Noah, rather than hold him. Hey, I just follow my toddler's all too specific directions these days!

O had to get a little tickle in!

The Low Down on O

A few funny, little-known facts about The O:

He likes his "tummy OUT, please!" He would prefer his tummy to be out all day long. We compromise with revealing the tummy at nap time and bed time.

Owen is such a caring, helpful Big Brother. He is also a clean freak. This combination makes for a very spic and span Baby Brother! He is constantly hunting for Noah's "mopper" to wipe up remnants of spit up or drool that I carelessly overlooked.

O's favorite past-time? "Race, please!" said with the cutest little lisp you've ever heard. How can you turn that down? Mommy and Daddy get LOTS of exercise!

Owen's Theme Song: "Owie, DO IT!!" Such adamant independence is emerging! It's so exciting to watch him mature and become more self-sufficient, but at the same time it sometimes tries Mommy's patience! To see the look of pride on O's sweet face when he succeeds is definitely worth the frustration though!

Aren't We Crafty?

On a rainy morning, O and I got in touch with our creative sides. We decorated left-over (uncooked) lasagna noodles and crafted a very long, and colorful, road for our Matchbox cars. What fun!

I love O's toes in this picture! Such concentration!

Bubbles

What's even more fun than a tub full of bubbles? My two sweeties splashing around!

Crazy Cousins

Try getting four energetic Boys to all sit still and face the same direction. Not the greatest picture, but I'll take it!

Oliver-14 months old

Clayton-4 years old

Noah-3 months old

Owen-2 years old

Scooter is Growing Up!

Three months old and as cute as a button!

All bundled up during our cold snap in April. It was so fun to be able to dress him in some of my favorite outfits that O wore. Owen was 10 months old when he wore this!

So handsome!

Our little Jumparoo! Surely Noah is not already big enough for this! He is growing up way too fast!

I think he likes it! Many thanks to Aunt Julianne and Aunt Erica!

Trendsetting

Tummy Time is a priority for some members of our household. I guess you could say it's becoming trendy! Everyone is doing it!

Randomness in our Travels

I captured so many images of our traveling adventure to Iowa. I will spare you from listening to most of the story. But here are a few of my faves:

Noah, who has been know to scream (remember shrilly!) for extended periods of time while riding in the car, was a perfect angel the whole eight hour drive. He was so tickled to have Mommy in the back seat with him. He just cooed and smiled the whole way to Nana's house.

We stopped at this tiny pizza place on the way to Emmetsburg. We put Noah right up on the table for some much-needed tummy time after being cooped up in the car. The owners of the restaurant were so super-sweet and even pulled up a chair to join us after awhile! We enjoyed their company!

A celebrity sighting in Iowa! Owen made friends with Ronald McDonald.

After a particularly trying time getting the Boys to bed one night (all three of us were in tears!), I finally sat back on my bed for some relaxation in the form of a good movie and a McFlurry. I glanced over to check on the Boys and became overwhelmed with how abundantly God has blessed me. Right there in those pack and plays is love personified (sweaty and tear-stained from throwing fits they may be). Thank you, Father, for allowing me the privilege of being their Mom. How precious they are! I cried more than a few tears (standing up on a dresser taking pictures)...and then dove into my McFlurry!

Owie talking on the cell phone to Daddy. Jump forward about 30 years and I can see the savvy businessman cutting a huge deal, can't you?

Gramps and O are air traffic controllers from afar

O could hardly contain his excitement about flying on an "airpane," but was so exhausted that he fell asleep (in the midst of a conversation with Gramps) before we even took off!

Yaya and Scooter had some good bonding time on the airplane

Four Generations, Times Two

We were blessed enough to get to see both extended families this Easter season!

The Boys and I traveled to Iowa to see Dad's side of the Fam. Some very precious memories were made!

The Halpin clan...It just keeps growing!

The World Aquarium

For my birthday this year, I wanted to take a family outing to the World Aquarium. I have always wanted to go! It did not disappoint. We had a great time!!

What a fun place to eat! We could look out over the natural habitat and enjoy the birds and aquatic life while we ate! (Notice how bundled up Noah is! Freezing in April! Crazy!)

We made friends with a pretty cute penguin

O and Dad were enraptured with the shark tank.

What a great Birthday celebration, Guys! Thanks!

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'

Tummy Time

Is he going to roll?

He wants to so badly!

"Hep No-ah!"

Hooray! Noah rolled over, with a little help from Big Brother.

Later on, I heard abnormally urgent screaming coming from Noah's crib.

Lo and behold, he rolled over on his own (and wasn't too happy about it apparently)! He's been a rolling maniac ever since! That's my Boy!

Owen vs. Ducks

We headed off with our left-over bread and hot dog buns, and a delightful impromptu song consisting of lots of rhymes about feeding ducks today, hooray, hooray, to see if we could scare up any ducks with empty tummies.

Oh, the anticipation!

These crazy ducks actually charged our stroller when we walked up. Quite aggressive little critters! (Notice N screaming because he wants to be talked to!)

The frustrated ducks chased down O, who was sampling more bread than he was doling out. This guy nipped Owie on the finger before I could run him off trying to get at the bread! Owen finally figured out the art of throwing the bread as far as he could to put some distance between him and the ducks. Fast learner, my Boy!

Cutie Pie

Noah has gotten so smiley and social, quick to engage in conversation with anyone who passes by. What fun!

Sometimes...

Usually all is blissful in the House of Halpin. God has abundantly blessed me beyond my wildest expectations with the most wonderful husband and incredible Babies. I am so content with my life. But sometimes...

Sometimes when I have had less than four hours of sleep, and even those few hours interrupted, I am not the most patient Mommy.

Sometimes the words that I hear the most out of Owen's sweet mouth are "No Mommy! No obey! Spanking!"

Sometimes my mildly high-maintenance baby cries rather shrilly for hours on end for no apparent reason.

Sometimes I am covered in all sorts of (rather smelly) bodily fluids (none of them my own) and feel awfully unattractive.

Sometimes one of the qualities I admire most in O, his endless patience, backfires on me. He can say, "Huh?!" hundreds of times, patiently awaiting just the right answer.

Sometimes precious Noah just wants to be talked to, all day long, and screams (again shrilly) if I try to do anything else.

Sometimes (often!) I have to stop in my tracks, declare my total dependence on God, and pray He will parent these amazing Boys through me because I am so utterly inadequate.

"Happy Day, Yaya!"

Yesterday was my Mom's birthday, and we celebrated her by going to Swan Court for lunch. What a lovely meal we had! Owen was so well-behaved and used his good manners like a gentleman. Noah, although a tad bit cranky, got lots of love from everyone. We even sang "Happy Day to you" (Owen's lingo) very quitely so as not to disturb the other patrons of Swan Court. Happy Birthday, Mom!

Easter Photos: Take Two (action shots)

We attended an Easter Egg Hunt at Firewheel this weekend. We had a great time enjoying the beautiful weather and making family memories.

O has his game face on. He is serious about hunting eggs!

Doing us proud! Afterwards, he shared all but one of his eggs with two little girls that missed the hunt. We are even more proud of your giving spirit, Owie!

Feeding grass to a chicken. O assumes all animals live on grass and takes great pleasure in providing them with a tasty treat.

That is as close to the Easter Bunny as O would get. Can't say that I blame him!