Pumped!

Owen and I have been at school for a month now. We are falling into a very nice rhythm, a doable, enjoyable routine. We both love the time spent together each morning to learn and craft and read. But since I am doing the lesson plans all myself and combining so many different programs (AWANAs, our Truth and Grace Memory Book, various workbooks, crafts of my own design to accompany our Bible lessons), I feel a bit scattered. My goal was to center our lessons each day around Biblical character traits, and I know I am falling short in this area.

But earlier this week, I revisited a website a dear friend had recommended to me a year or so ago searching for some inspiration. I found exactly what I have been looking for! Michelle Hubbard has already done all the legwork and planning for me, and she has spelled it all out in the Joyful Heart Character Curriculum for four to six year olds, for anyone who wants it...for FREE! One character trait is focused on each week. She includes the Bible characters to study, verses to memorize, songs to sing, library books to read when studying each trait. She even has sections for calendar study, math, reading and early science. Downloads and printables, tracing sheets and easy readers are all free! Amazing...and so exciting to me!

So I completely reorganized how school at our house is done, borrowing bits and pieces from Ms. Hubbard's lesson plans. O loves calendar time, his favorite part being graphing the weather. We then spend a good deal of time working with our Bibles, quoting verses to each other and studying the character trait of the week. When we get antsy, we jump up and sing praise songs while we dance around (P.E.!) or head outside to look for nature's treasures. I am not using the reading or math readiness sections of the curriculum, since we had a good system going already. We work in our workbooks next, tracing letters/numbers, making patterns, matching rhyming words, reading, etc. Then we break for lunch and nap. After nap is usually craft or science time, and Nosy can join right in the fun with us. The craft is something I invent to go along with the character trait. For science, I have taken Ms. Hubbard's weekly unit ideas and added more substance and fun experiments or games.

I know this is FAR more than anyone wants to know about our day, but I am just so pumped about it! I have had so much fun writing out our lessons for each day, planning goals to accomplish, and coming up with fun ways to learn the material. O hops out of bed each morning begging to start school. (This morning we were at our school table at 6:30, reciting verses to start our day!)

So there you have it:

School of Halpin: Revamped

The Halpin Hair Project, cont.

So we've been letting O's hair grow, just to see what would happen. It's lovely: long and curly and a bit wild. But is it becoming a tad too rock star? You know, for a three year old? We need guidance, since I'm no Kate Hudson. The Boy comes from a family of squeaky clean preps.

I'm inclined to let it keep growing awhile longer, and then maybe get it shaped in to some sort of style. (I do trim around the ears and his bangs. Do boys have bangs? That just sounds weird.) Jeremy is ready to get the clippers. What do you think? Chop it or leave it alone?

21 Months

Oh, my sweet and sassy Nosy-Posy, full of baby bear hugs and attitude, squeals of delight and screams of frustration. How grown up you seem to be all of a sudden. This is the month that I suddenly noticed (sigh) that there is practically no baby left in my baby. You are quite the toddler.

No-nos, your personality is HUGE! You are filled to the brim with life and joy and fun. You are almost always happy and trot around with a smile on your face and a spring in your step. Your zeal is contagious, making it impossible not to be in a good mood around you.

On the flip side, oh my word you are a STINKER!! You are super opinionated and know exactly what you want, when you want it. You can throw a pretty impressive fit when you don't get your way, which, I am sad to say, happens quite a bit. And when it isn't quite worth the energy expenditure to throw a full blown fit, you settle for angry grunts and sharp glares. (I love you, little toot! Just writing this makes me grin and shake my head.)

Thankfully, you hold no grudges and soon get over yourself. You are far too afraid of missing out on something to kick and scream for long. If I just leave you alone for a few minutes, you hop right up and join back in the fun, all grievances forgotten.

I love, love that you are talking more. Not a ton, for neither of my Guys have been big talkers, but it is amazing how much you manage to communicate with your 15 or so words, mixed in with sign language and grunting. You make us laugh all day long, telling tiny jokes (like moo-ing when you know it's a horse, just to hear us giggle. You will do it over and over again for the reaction, funny clown!), singing silly little songs that are just syllables glommed together (complete with your quirky marching dance steps), constantly requesting a "bol" full of "nak-nak" (your terms for any type of dish full of any type of food).

My absolute favorite development this month is pictured above. Any time I ask for a helper or ask a "Who wants..." question, your chubby hand shoots in the air, your face splits in to the widest of grins and I hear, "ME!!!" squealed out in the sweetest of voices. Oh, you fill my heart with joy, Noah. Just look at that face...

As much as you love races, jumping, and all things sports, you do have your quiet moments too. This month you have started playing more with toys that aren't balls, bats or golf related. Your favorite quiet activities are cooking in O's kitchen (You dump out every bit of food, stir it all up until you find your fave green skillet, piece of American cheese and yellow spatula, which you then carry around with you, occasionally putting it into the "microwave" or "oven."), playing with Play-do, and looking at books. You love to be read to and even listen to long, involved stories for quite awhile before wandering off. School and craft time is high on your list of fun activities. You can draw a mean squiggle with a marker, and even if no watercolor makes it to your painting, a lot of water decorates the page. I think you are picking up a bit of knowledge too. You can recognize the color blue and the letter "A." And, much to this Mommy's delight, you still love to snuggle in short spurts. Your baby hugs and juicy kisses are the best!

Noah quirks:

You adore shoes and often wear a pair of my flip-flops around the house. You wear Crocs with your pj's until I make you take them off to get in to bed.

Your favorite song is "Blessed Be the Name of the LORD." You request it every time we get in the car (by grunting and shaking your fist in a funky kind of dance), and we often listen to it two or three times in a drive.

You hate to have grassy feet.

You eat ketchup on absolutely everything from pizza to grapes. Hey, if it helps the food go down, go for it!

You HATE to have your nails clipped and will fight me to the death to avoid it. So if you notice long, dirty nails on Noah, I'm doing my best!

You are addicted to baby toothpaste and chapstick.

You are a Boy who loves his Big Bro! You two have been playing together so well, and truly are becoming friends, which thrills my heart. You both refuse to go to bed if we have forgotten to let you hug each other goodnight. You guys are learning to share and trade and respect each other as God's precious gifts to each other. We have been working on putting your brother above yourself, which is a hard lesson at any age, but you are beginning to get it a little...when you want to. (That's a whole 'nother post for a whole 'nother day!)

Nosy, you are completely different from your Brother, and I love that about you. You are an individual, unique, created to glorify God. Your Daddy and I are so privileged to have been entrusted with you for a little while. How thankful I am for every day that I get to spend with you, my crazy, temperamental, wonderful bundle of joy.

This Is the Flu that Never Ends

It goes on and on, my friends.

Seriously.

Noah started us off last Monday, and although his bug has ebbed and flowed (literally!), he still has symptoms. In the meantime, all the rest of us have succumbed. And so the only thing I can do after a week and a half of scrubbing diarrhea out of the tub, off the carpet and the tile, out of clothes, all while trying to remain upright myself, is to focus on the positive.

5 benefits of having never-ending diarrhea plague our family:

1. Jeremy and I can both sing the Veggie Tales theme song from memory.

2. Our grocery and gas bills were amazingly low this week. Saltines and Sprite don't set you back nearly as much as meat and potatoes. And when you are too woozy to leave the house, the gas tank stays full!

3. Our floors/tub/clothes are very clean from such thorough scrubbing.

4. I read all 154 practically picture-free pages of The Boxcar Children aloud to my kids in 5 days. We loved every minute of it! Even Nosy!

5. I lost 5% of my body weight. Even The Biggest Loser would be proud.

Prayerfully this will soon be behind us, and we'll breeze through the rest of "sick season." We're just getting it all out of the way first thing!

Crafty Serpent

To continue with Bible craft time, today we focused on Genesis 3, the happy little story of the Fall of Man. Pretty deep stuff for a 3 year old. While I read the chapter aloud to O, he worked diligently on the project. We learned about the consequences of disobedience and how obeying God brings Him glory, fulfilling our purpose in life.

Owie cut out his curli-q snake all by himself! The kid's got scissor skills!

When Nosy woke up from his nap, the Boys worked together to decorate his serpent.

(Please excuse the major case of bedhead on both my Guys. I am wondering if it's nearing time for haircuts?)

No project is complete without a little pout thrown in.

The finished project!

(Craft time is usually a pants required activity, but we have had some extenuating circumstances, namely the stomach flu. Pants slow us down in our hurried trips to the potty.)

An Official Cubby!

This Sunday was such a special day at The House of Halpin! Owen was to be awarded his Cubby vest at AWANAs! To earn the vest, the kids were required to recite the Cubbies key verse (I Jn 4:10), the Cubbie motto, and two verses from Romans (3:23 and 5:8). Owen accomplished all of this in his first two weeks at AWANAs! His teacher pulled me aside after class last week to tell me the exciting news and to invite our family to come watch the awards ceremony. We would not have missed it!

Jeremy brought Noah up to the church, and I stepped away from teaching my class of Bees so we could all witness this special day for O. Owen was so happy to see us as we slipped into the back of the room.

First the kids listened to a great story about David...

...and sang some praise and worship songs. The guy in the Cowboy's jersey is one of O's great teachers. (It was football night, so everyone was wearing sports paraphernalia.) It was so fun to observe O from a distance and watch him interact with the other kids and his teachers.

And then comes the so sad part of the story. O was next to last to receive his vest. I had our little digital camera (I didn't want to appear to be too obnoxious by bringing the telephoto lens!) set to record O in video form. They called his name. Everyone was cheering and clapping just for O. He jumped up with a HUGE grin, ran to the front of the room to be "vested"...and then my camera malfunctioned. I had been watching the scene unfold through the camera screen. When it went blank, I started frantically pushing buttons, trying to fix it or switch it to camera mode. By the time I had the camera back in working condition, the ceremony was over. I missed it. Completely. I am so sad. I know he wasn't graduating from high school or being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, but I'm still sad I missed it. And the tiny bit of video footage I did manage to get refuses to be posted. Oh well. There will be many more Cubbies award ceremonies to come when O earns patches to adorn his vest.

He was so, so proud to wear his vest the rest of the day and grinned enormously. I took this picture with Debbie, his other teacher, after class. Just look at that smile! Oh, I'm so proud of that kid!

Up, Up and Away

With the hot air balloons launching at 7:00am and 6:00pm each day of the Plano Balloon Festival, I tried and tried to manipulate our schedule so we could catch an evening launch instead of the launch at the crack of dawn...to no avail. However, it turned out to be such a picture perfect morning. I would not have wanted it any other way!

With Jeremy still tucked warmly in bed (He had car work to do as soon as Walmart opened.), my Dad jumped at the chance to meet me to enjoy the view with us. We were also joined by dear friends Mike, Chrys, Oliver and Truett. (We were sharing a camera, so if you frequent her fantastic blog, these pictures will look familiar to you.)

We arrived at the festival grounds right around 6:30am and snagged a spot for our blanket up on the hill, giving us a panoramic view of all the happenings. We were just in time to watch the balloons begin to fill with hot air and to see the sun rise directly behind the balloons. Gorgeous!

The air was crisp and chilly, perfect weather for sipping on the hot chocolate/coffee I had brought.

Owie massaged my head the entire time he was perched upon my shoulders. Mmmm....

This balloon was very popular with the boys, especially the two smaller Guys.

But Owen's favorite, by far, was the "Old Glory" balloon.

Before long, sweet Chrys revealed a sweet surprise! Playdough colored cookies for all the Boys! Hooray!

Treuy and Mike passed some time playing an exciting game of pat-a-cake.

So many moods in just one photo!

Gorgeous blue-eyed blondies! Hugs for everyone!

Nosy and Gramps shared head bumpers, a high form of affection between men.

Snuggles for O

O and Gramps head off on yet another thrilling "a-venture."

After the balloons had all launched and Dad had headed home, the rest of the gang wandered around to see the sights for a bit.

There was a booth taking pictures of passers-by in a balloon gondola. How fun! O tried it out first. They even provided us with a complimentary copy of the photo!

Oliver wasn't nearly as thrilled.

Precious family

Us three

Owen was so proud of his picture afterwards, showing it to anyone who would glance his way.

What a beautiful start to our day! Next year, I am definitely dragging myself out of bed for the early launch. It was spectacular!

Gratefulness

O said the prayer before bed tonight. Listening to him converse with God, his eyes squeezed shut and his hands earnestly clasped together, is always precious and usually provokes a tear or two on my part. My favorite line from tonight's prayer?

"God, thank you for a grateful heart."

Thanking God for thankfulness. I love it! I love him.

Recognition

On this day, Owen Jeremiah Halpin was awarded with the coveted "Cheerful Helper Award." He cheerfully helped Mommy pick up, swiff, dust, and even vacuum the first time after being asked. He did so with such a great attitude and happy heart that he was awarded with a package of The 50 States flashcards at a ceremony around the supper table in front of the whole family. There was much applause.

I'm proud of you, O.

Zew? Zue? Zoo?

How incredibly frustrating this language of ours can be! How is Owie expected to learn to spell when there are just as many exceptions as there are rules? Oh well. We have all learned. He will eventually too.

Anyway...

Monday dawned cool and sunny. Picture perfect weather. We could not even consider staying inside. So we met our comrades DeAnn, Grant and Preston at The Dallas Zoo. We enjoyed it thoroughly! So much so that I even considered getting a membership, but I guess I have enough memberships already.

(Let me apologize for the lighting in these pictures. It was sunny...shady...sunny....shady...You get the idea. I forgot to make adjustments accordingly, but the memories are just as clear.)

We were greeted by a macaw. The Boys laughed and laughed at it strutting about. I think it was laughing at us too.

We paused for a picture outside of the bug house. I had never taken the time to explore the bug house before, but it was very interesting...and not too creepy. Our favorite part was the ant trail starting at the surface of the ground and travelling all the way into the depths of the earth. A few ants were busy transporting bright green leaves down into their hill. It was fascinating to watch as we easily tracked the ant all the way down the trail. We even worked in a Bible lesson: "Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise." Proverbs 6:6

Faces that are so dear to me

We timed our elephant viewing just right! A trainer was working with her, teaching the elephant some new tricks: how to hold a stick and pick up one foot at a time. Each trick was rewarded with a "nack-nack!" (snack) as Noah called out repeatedly. It was so fun to watch!

Owie and Preston were the dynamic duo today, although Grant was the desired lunch partner. It's funny how they switch it up every time and play in different combinations of little boys. Today though, Preston wanted to RUN. And if someone is RUNNING, O is usually right alongside. The zoo was wonderfully uncrowded, so we could let our guys have a bit more freedom.

Silly No-nos. He knows a few animal sounds: dog, cow, sheep, duck. However, when asked for a specific animal sound, the little stinker always answers "Woof!" with a little jump and a huge grin. He's telling a joke! We all die laughing. It really is funny. Especially the jumping part. And he gets so tickled that we are laughing at him. Love that Boy!

It was all fun and games hanging out on the crocodile...

...until the shoving started. I love Grant's face, as if he's reasoning with them: "Come on, Guys. There's room enough for everyone."

And then we headed home...for fabulously long naps!