Please Pass the Popcorn!

Sunday evening, all four of us donned pj's at a ridiculously early hour and hopped into our bed for our very first Family Movie Night. It was so much fun! We cozied up on our fluffy pillows (as cozy as you can get when it's 105 degrees outside!), nibbled on kettle corn and fruit snacks and thoroughly enjoyed the show!

Daddy's jokes helped pass the time during the previews.

We tuned in to "101 Dalmatians," which someone accidentally left up at church on Sunday. (So whoever is missing their copy, it found its way home with us and we will happily return it!) Strangely enough, I was the only one who had seen the movie before. Owie was appropriately creeped out by Cruella, and I was a bit creeped out by all the "idiots" and insults that were tossed around. And do you know the name of Cruella's residence? "Hell Hall!" (I feel weird even typing that!) Can they say stuff like that in a rated "G" movie?! Hopefully most of it went over O's head, but I was more than a little disappointed. Anyway, I'll jump off my soapbox....

The Boys loved all the roly-poly spotted puppies, and everyone was nice and relaxed for bed. What a great ending to our weekend!

Behind Closed Doors

I couldn't find O earlier today. Nosy was quick to point out where Brother was hiding.

Apparently there has been a new development at The House of Halpin. Owie prefers to do his business in private.

Friday Funday

Jeremy had the day off on Friday, and boy was it a scorcher! We were all restless and had energy to burn off, but it was so extraordinarily hot! To burn off some steam, we headed to Jack Carter Pool in Plano. I can't believe we have never visited this fun-filled pool before! It was amazing...and all for just $2 for swimmers over the age of six!

Here is the wading pool area, perfect for my Guys who like to be able to walk around in the water. The slides were just our speed too!

They were having some chemical issues with the wading pool, so we headed to the big pool after a bit. There is a huge laned off lap area, a water slide (Super fun! I felt like a dork waiting in line between the giggly tweens and the bikini clad teens, but I am not one to pass up a water slide!), and a great diving board. O got to practice his swimming until he could hardly kick anymore!

Sadly, my pics of the Boys did not turn out well. I only took a few since I spent most of my time splashing with the kids, but the wading area was so cool, I had to post pics of it! This is definitely a place we will have to re-visit before the end of the summer!

Pass the Mystery Meat & Other Favorites

We come up with some pretty zany games around the House of Halpin!

Nosy came up with this new fave: Pass the mystery meat.

Requirements to play the game: spatula, rubber mystery meat and a steady hand.

Another crowd pleaser:

SURPRISE!

Object of the game:
Attempt to mostly conceal yourself behind a wall or piece of furniture. When passers-by least expect it, pop out and scare the pants off of them!

These Guys are good!

We have also rekindled our passion for the Wii. We didn't play at all for quite some time, but lately, Wii just can't get enough! Even Nosy waves a remote control around as if it is a Wii remote so the whole Fam can enjoy!

Tailor Made

Joseph's new amazing technicolor dreamcoat!

This was a super fun craft for a Boy who loves to cut but can only manage straight lines so far.

Scary Spice

So O took this pic of me yesterday. Pretty scary looking, if you ask me! Is this what my kids are faced with all day long? This overly cheerful, greasy-haired Mommy? No wonder I get blank stares sometimes!

Tough Cookie

Smitten

Nothing can melt my heart quite like those huge, gorgeous brown eyes of yours, Owie.

Thoroughly Celebrated

We had such a great time celebrating O's half b-day this year. He is finally old enough to anticipate and appreciate the wonderfulness that is a half birthday.

Daddy had night school and would not be home at all on O's actual half birthday, so we celebrated as a fam a day early.

First Owie decorated a spectacular cake for us to enjoy.

Those sprinkles were finger-lickin' good. I love how he closes his eyes, throws back his head, and relishes every teeny tiny sprinkle he samples.

O was attempting to hold up three and a half fingers...easier said than done!

In the evening, we joined Clayton, Oliver and Papa for a swimming/pizza party.

After a fun bath and cozy pj's, we all got to enjoy some of that well-decorated cake.

On O's actual half b-day, Yaya threw a party for O! We had more pizza, delish strawberry shortcake, and best of all...presents!!

Welcome to the downhill slide into being a four year old, Owie! It's going way too fast for Mommy!

Survivors!

We made it through the night paci-less! It was 100 times easier than I feared, especially considering his die hard love for paci. He cried some and bargained quite a bit, stayed up way too late, but all in all, it just wasn't that bad. He finally drifted into dreamland around 10:30.

When he woke up around 5am, I was worried he would not go back to bed. But after a quick trip to the potty, he settled right back down for another hour or so. GOOD BOY!!

Our next hurdle: nap time. I have heard of too many kiddos giving up naps when they give up the paci. We'll see how that goes.

Thank you, again, for all your prayer and encouragement through this! What wonderful friends I have been blessed with!

3.5

Odie-O, how do I even begin to describe how amazing your are at three and a half years old?

You are standing on the brink of becoming a full-fledged little boy. It must be a very awkward place to be, mostly boy but still part toddler. Most days you handle it so well, yet some days...well, some days you get a whole heap of spankings and spend a good amount of time in time out. More about that later...

You are my Buddy. We LOVE to play together, read stories, make crafts, even clean together. You are my right hand man. You so enjoy spending time with Daddy and me, and the feeling is mutual. We can make almost anything fun just by doing it together. On the flip side, you struggle to play alone. If I set you up with an activity and leave the room to get something done, it is never long before you are at my side again, always eager to be doing whatever I am doing.

The baby part of you still loves to be cuddled and kissed and squeezed. I love that about you and hope it does not change too much as you get bigger. You have a Mama that loves to dole out the touchy-feely-lovey stuff. One of my favorite parts of the day is when you are still sleepy-eyed and snugly-warm first thing in the morning. You crawl up in my lap to drink a cup of milk and get some early morning love. We are quiet together while I bury my nose in your hair and try to soak up these minutes to remember forever. Before I am ready, you pop up and are raring to PLAY, but I relish those few minutes every morning!

You and Noah have a pretty typical brother relationship, I think. Most of the time you love, love each other. The kisses and hugs are easily exchanged; you enjoy playing together. But there are times when you guys fight...I mean really fight. A screaming, pushing, chasing, tackling fight. I know it is probably part of growing up, but it still makes me so sad to watch you treat each other that way. And then there are those even rarer times that absolutely break my heart, Owie: When I catch you hurting Nosy on purpose. I am not sure what is going through your head when you hit him in the gut with a baseball bat or push him down when he is in your way, but it hurts my heart and God's so much. We are emphasizing that you Boys are God's precious gifts to each other: your very own brother to love. Treat each other well and with respect. I pray we can instill this in you.

Daddy and I are working on teaching you Boys how to sacrifice for each other, and you are learning the lesson so well. Just today, Noah was crying for you to share a few of your chocolate chips with him. You visibly struggled with the choice set before you...and then you divided your special choco chip pile in half and passed them over to Nosy. It's things like these that make me so proud of you, Owie!

A few things I hear ten billion times a day:

"Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, watch me!"

"Can you tell me a story while I..." (insert "brush teeth," "take a bath," "eat my lunch," etc.). You are especially interested in my childhood and stories from when you were a baby. You keep me on my toes thinking up new material. My fave story to tell you is about the day you were born!

"Can you play with me?"

"I'm not going to eat!" You did not inherit your appetite from me!

"What kind of hug/kiss do you want?" You give the best octopus hugs and basketball kisses ever!

"Your hair/ dress/ shoes look so pretty today, Mommy!" You charmer, you!

"How do you spell..."

Your personality has remained consistent: You are a keen observer and would almost rather watch other kids play and interact than jump in yourself. I am so proud of the times you move out of your comfort zone and join in the fun because I know how hard it is for you. Your heart is so sensitive, Owie, and I love that about you. You are easily hurt but also quick to comfort others, perceptive of when someone needs a bit of extra love, and easily molded. Your desire is to please us and behave.

You love all things about the Bible and God. I can often find you on the couch with one of our Bibles (or any other long book with tiny words that might be easily mistaken for a Bible), "reading" Bible stories you know by heart or quoting some of your verses. You have an unquenchable thirst that I pray remains with you forever.

Right after I typed this, just look at where I found you! I heard you say, "I lost my Jesus!" I asked you what you were reading, and you told me an intriguing story: Jesus' brother had lost Him. He looked everywhere for Jesus with his "vinoculars" and finally found Him flying high up in the sky. The brother was so happy he had found Jesus!

The majority of our days are wonderful, but you definitely have your moments! Moments of fit-throwing (pictured is the "I refuse to come inside fit") or disobedience. Our struggle the past month or so has been arguing with us and talking back. Who knew such a sweet Boy could have such a smart mouth? We are consistently working on it though, and I know you will eventually learn and comply.

This is a series of pictures I took while you sang goofy, made-up versions of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." "Twinkle, twinkle little roof. How I wonder how you woof." Pretty strange, but you crack yourself up! You are so animated! I love it!

You, my Son, are super smart! This week, you read your first real, whole story. (This is a fave website for early readers, by the way!) It was a very simplistic one, but I am so proud of you!! You want to practice reading all the time, which is so much fun for both of us. The book we are working on now is Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss. You are almost half way through it and doing great! It thrills me to watch you learn so quickly!

Owen, I feel so thoroughly, continually blessed just by being your Mom. I have heard so many stories lately that are similar to yours but with far different outcomes. Things could have turned out so differently. May I never forget what an absolute miracle you are, a true gift of mercy from God. Your very presence on this earth is a marvel. But you are not just here, you are awesome! I am still amazed that I have been entrusted with you. I love you more and more each day.

Passing the Paci

Well,it's a done deal.

The paci has been officially passed.

I asked Owie if he'd like to trade his pacis for an ice cream cone or a toy from the store to help ease the sacrifice. He declined. "I will give them to Nosy," he decided. And so, after our bedtime ritual, he handed them right over to Noah, surprisingly easily.

We prayed about it together, and O's words were so vulnerable and simple:

"Jesus, thank you for being by me and helping me not to scream and cry about my paci. Thank you for helping me be to be sleeping without it." Amazing how he prays with such expectation, thanking God ahead of time as if He has already answered his prayer. Oh, the awesome faith of a child!

Noah was very pleased with his inheritance!

Since the passing, however, there has been some screaming, crying, and pleading ("I meant No-nos could have them for one minute, Mommy, then give them back!" and "I DON'T WANT TO BE A BIG BOY" seem to be recurring themes.), although not quite as much as I expected.

I have lots of pictures to catalogue and chores around the house to keep my mind and body busy while he works through this. Thank you for all your prayers and sweet words of encouragement! See ya' on the other side!

Great Strides: 19 Months

Nosy has made some great strides in communication this month:

He now notifies me when he poops. He runs over, grabs his backside, exclaims, "Uh-OH!" spins and runs as fast as he can, sporting an ear to ear grin. Now for the chase...

He's added two more words to his vocabulary: "hot" and "hat." Thankfully they come with gestures (fanning himself and patting his head, respectively), since the two words sound exactly the same! "Haaaa!"

One last new multi-purpose word: "Ba-ball." Now I have discovered this word can mean anything from "ball" (pretty obvious...I can figure that one out), to "paci" (more of a stretch!), to "Owen" (definitely weird, but thankfully he points when he's referring to O! Or maybe he means "Bubba," although we have never called O that).

I love to hear what's going on in your exciting, playful, ever-growing mind, Nosy! Keep those words flowing!

You'll never know, Dear, how much I love, love you!

Confession

I can't believe I am even typing this, revealing a deep, dark secret of The House of Halpin, but my need for prayer outweighs my embarrassment at this point.

Today Owie turns 3 1/2...and he still sucks on his beloved paci.

(I know, I know. What kind of Mom am I?)

We have tried to break the habit several times but to no avail.

The time has definitely, finally come. Even I recognize he is way too old to suck on a paci. We all just love what little sleep we get around here.

Anyway, tonight's the night we pull the plug. Please PRAY for us, Friends! I know in the course of our lives this will just be a tiny blip, but today it seems like a very big deal. Jeremy is gone to night school, so I will be dealing with the turmoil, the screaming, the anger all alone.

O knows tonight's the night, so at least he will not be taken by surprise. This morning I asked him how it felt to be 3 1/2. He responded, "Like a Big Boy that does not need a paci anymore!"

I'll let you know how it goes. And thanks for the prayers!

Insomnia

O gave quite a discourse on the many reasons why a young boy should get a good night's sleep.

"I need to sleep by-cuz sleep helps me grow bigger and to have energy to play well."

"Sleeping helps me run well...like a cheetah!"

"If I stay awake I will run so slow...like a turtle."

"My eyes don't want to close, okay?"

Intriguing conversation. I just wish it had not been going on at 1:14am. Owie finally drifted off for the first time all night (after a desperate dose of Motrin...maybe he hurts somewhere?) around 1:30am. His rooster crowed a little after 6:00am.

yawn

He Insisted!

Who am I to deny him?

How does this thing work, anyhow?

How We Comfort Ourselves When Daddy's at Night School

We drown our sorrows in ice cream.

It works fantastically...
...until the brain freeze sets in.

Just Add Water

I have an announcement to make:

My Boy can swim!

It's utterly unbelievable after the fit-throwing two weeks of swimming lessons we have had.

What made the change?

One word: goggles.

Who would have thunk it?

Today was jumping off the diving board day. Knew that would never happen, so Owie and I settled in on the steps to play. That's when he spotted them: a pair of orphaned goggles lying on the side of the pool.

I adjusted them to fit his head and persuaded him to put just his eyes under the water to take a peek. He was amazed at what he could see.

Brace yourselves for the next words out of his mouth: "May I go under when I swim?" Are you kidding me?! Of course you may! O proceeded to spend the next 3o minutes under the water, like a little fishie, swimming to and from the steps, jumping in. I could not believe my Boy!

I had to drag him out of the water when class was over.

So tonight, we headed to Walmart to hunt for our own goggles, and we have big plans to hit a pool this weekend. Swimming fun, here we come!

I am so proud of you, Owen!

Demoted?

All of O's favorite guys plus two of his three lovies, who used to sleep so comfortably on his fluffy bed, have suddenly been demoted to the floor, leaving O to sleep all alone with the one remaining lovie.

When asked why, Owie answered:

"By-cuz they choosed to sleep on the floor now. It's soft down there."

Miracle Drug

Mommy: "Owen, you need an attitude adjustment!"

O, in a not very nice tone: "I know!! I need some medicine, okay?! That's why!"

Hmmm...Nice try, Owie. I don't think so.

Edification

We're all about building each other up around here.

This is what I heard from the next room today:

"YAY, No-nos! You opened up a bottle of water and poured it on the floor!"

At this point, I stopped what I was doing so I could investigate.

Sure enough, a drenched floor, but at least Noah was thoroughly praised for a job well done.

8 Days Down...2 to Go

Swimming lessons update:

The past two days have gone so much better! I took the advice of a great friend (Thanks, Cheryl!) and decided not to push him. It's just not worth it. He will have to re-learn everything again next year anyway. We might as well just enjoy swimming time, just the two of us, and have some great memories. So we splash and kick and blow our bubbles. We "reach and dig" and jump off the side. I persuade him to go under three or four times each day, but beyond that I just let it go.

We'll leave Olympic swimming for next year!

As Time Goes On

I have been super sentimental lately. It seems like time is going by way too fast all of a sudden and the Boys are getting more mature every day. This makes me sad. I love the baby/toddler stage so much, and even though it is really exciting to watch them grow and learn and develop, I still wish they could stay cuddly babies just a bit longer. I love how they are right now so much!

This weekend, Jeremy and I took the kids to Amazing Jakes for all you can eat pizza with the rides thrown in for free, where it became apparent that Owie is now a "big, brave Boy" (in his own words).

There were three rides for little guys: a carousel, a train, and a flying car ride. The first two, both O and Nosy loved, accompanied by a parent for moral support, if needed. Unfortunately, upon inspection, we realized the flying car ride would have been a rather tight squeeze for us bigger bottomed folks. As we were walking away to find something else fun to do, O expressed his need to ride this ride. We explained that he would have to go solo. After mulling it over, he decided he thought he was big enough to ride alone.

After waiting for eons in a line full of sweaty, sticky, pushy kids, O's turn finally arrived. I fully expected him to chicken out, especially when he saw he had to ride with a little girl he did not know. His face had concern and anxiety written all over it. But as soon as the cars lifted off into flight, the hugest grin spread over his sweet face. He was loving it!! And as his car started bouncing up and down (and making scary creaking sounds that really worried Mommy!) his face brightened even more. So brave! Oh, how proud I am of him for trying something different and potentially scary all on his own.

But what really warmed my heart, made me glow from the inside out was this:

Every time he rounded the corner, as soon as he could view the crowd of parents, O started searching for his Mommy. When our eyes met, he would beam and start waving furiously, excited to see that I was watching and proud. Every time. Round and round. Oh, I love that Boy. Such a tiny bit of baby still remains while big boy is busy taking over. For now he still desires my approval and my time and some snuggles are still acceptable. Even these things will be gone way before I'm ready.

I cherish these days, for they are fleeting.