"Two y a haf!"

It's official! Nosy has turned the big 2.5. Here's a peek at how we celebrated Noah's special day:

Nothing can beat sugar free vanilla pudding with a candle in it. Delish!

Being sung to--always a highlight of the day!

Noah wasn't too interested in his gifts, but Owie stepped forward as a willing model. He was a little bummed that he didn't have any "splashy boots" or a new umbrella. Hold on, Fella. Your happy half birthday is right around the corner!


The next day, we partied hardy with Gramps and Yaya with a movie day at their house.

Nosy is always generous with sharing the opening of his gifts.

Yummy kisses for Yaya.

He topped the day off with a tangerine popsicle...a very frigid tangerine popsicle!


Happy Half Birthday, Big Boy!

Getting Older Every Day

Nosy?! Two and a half?! Seriously? This can not be possible. And yet, here you are. Two and a half, and big and strong and absolutely wonderful.

I could just gobble you up, Noah. You are a joy to be around: up-beat, funny, opinionated, smart. You light up my days, keep me in stitches and give me such delight. You have to deal with so many things a toddler should never have to face, and yet you do it with a happy heart and great attitude. No sign of the terrible twos around here! They are the amazing twos as far as you are concerned.

You are one busy Guy these days. Your imagination has taken off. You love to play restaurant and cook up my favorite treats. Many times a day, you come up to me so gently cradling an imaginary brother. "I have a bee-bee for you to hold, Mommy. A bee-bee boy-ee." You like to color and play "hide and peek." But your absolute favorite things involve sports, always sports. Baseball is your number one pick, with football a close second, then "goal ball" and "koccer." Volleyball, hockey ("ho-ee"), tennis, badminton, track and field, even bowling are often played as well. Pretty much if it can be considered a sport, you're in!

You talk and talk and talk and talk and we love it!! You are so expressive, and everything that is going on in your super-smart brain comes out. We can't always understand it all, but we are so glad you are sharing it with us. Owen is our resident interpreter. He helps translate for us when we get stuck. He understands your language even better than Daddy and I do.

And you have started praying your very own precious prayers. You are a bit long winded as you thank God for every sport under the sun ("Thank you for baseball and baseball player, and koccer and koccer player...") and everyone you have seen that day, but it is a joy to hear you communicating with God on your own.

You LOVE to sleep...and I love that you love to sleep. If nap time is nearing and you don't see me getting things ready quite fast enough, you will prod me with a friendly reminder, "Need nap, Mommy. Need to sleep now." You never make a peep going down to bed and sleep straight through the night, often even sleeping right through your middle of the night blood sugar checks.


Oh how you adore your big brother! Even though hugs often turn into wrestles, you keep on going back. You guys are the very best of friends, and the game-playing and scheming is only beginning. Lately, O has been a bit bossy towards you. You take it up to a point, and then you balk. It usually ends up with you abandoning the game.


A funny, little known fact:
You are one of the cuddliest, most affectionate, loving guys I know, but you do NOT like kisses. We plant smooches on your squishy cheeks often throughout the day, and almost every time, you patiently wipe it off. Now, I admit, Owie's kisses can be a bit wet and may be deserving of a subtle wipe-off, but Mommy's kisses? You don't even want to keep one of Mommy's kisses? Nope. You are not a fan.

Your most used phrase?

"NOBODY GO PAST HERE!"

You plant yourself firmly in the doorway, arms and legs spread wide and adamantly prohibit passage around you...for no known reason. Maybe you are just exercising your power? Who knows?

Noah, you are my sunshine. You bring me more joy (especially in the midst of the trials we have been experiencing lately) than you could ever know. Your bright smile and sparkly eyes and happy heart lift my spirits every day. I love, love you, Nosy Posy. I am thankful for you. I wish I could keep you tiny forever, but I delight in the little boy you are growing into. I am blessed to know you.

Here is a snippet of you in school, reciting "A Catechism for Boys and Girls." You are one smart cookie!

Cheap Thrills

Yaya joined us at the mall to fulfill her Mother's Day wish: professional pictures with just her and the Boys. It was so much fun watching the three of them giggle and pose their way through the photo shoot. And the pics turned out great!!

While we waited to view our photos, we had a great time gallivanting around the mall.

My poor, stroller-bound children are so deprived! They squeal with excitement at the mere mention of an escalator. Yaya indulged the Boys and rode up and down, up and down, up and down for as long as the kids wanted.

Oh, the joy of it all!

Next up on the agenda: Dippin' Dots! As we meandered past the booth, the Boys were filled with curiosity about the strange balls of ice cream. I can't ever remember trying them, and since they had a sugar free version, we decided to indulge. Yum!!

Owie, after much thorough consideration, finally chose cotton candy flavor...mostly because of the pretty colors.

Nosy's fat free, sugar free chocolate fudge was not half bad!

O soon decided that although Dippin' Dots were great fun, Dreyer's is so much more pleasing to the palate. Poor Yaya barely got to sample her own ice cream. She was more than happy to share. Now if I could just get all the chocolate stains out of the Boys' clean, white polos!

Last stop:

The carousel

Usually I ride too, to help keep the Boys from being bucked off their ponies. This time, I was just a spectator so I could snap a few pics.

It doesn't take much to keep us happy and entertained! What a fun day!

Who Needs a Waterpark?

Elliot's onesie says it all:
"Splish Splash."

That is exactly what Oliver came over to do. Even though it is super hot outside, we could not just let our new swingset go to waste! We rigged up a waterslide that is the perfect size for these guys.

What fun we had!! That slide is FAST and the water felt so refreshing! After we splashed the morning away, we came inside for lunch and I got to cuddle my newest nephew for awhile. What a great way to spend a summer day!

Erin Is a Rockstar!

My cousin's wife, Erin, took on the daunting task of teaching a group of 2-6 year olds all about American history. No small task! (She lives in Boston. We convinced her that being immersed in history gave her a slight advantage. She was gracious enough to accept the challenge!) Erin has done such an amazing job planning out our school days!! What a creative Mama she is! And what fun it has been for me to relax and just carry out someone else's lesson plans and crafty ideas. Here is how we have filled just a few of our school hours lately:

Building a tepee when learning about Native Americans

It got really crowded in that tepee!

Sporting the appropriate headwear to inhabit the tepee.

Noah decorated his headress while wearing it. Silly Boy!

Our Mayflower hats.

We have also learned so much about the Pilgrims, colonial children, and the origins of the flag. Next up: the Fourth of July, complete with a patriotic parade!

Erin, your hard work is so obvious and appreciated. Thank you!! We three have had a wonderful time!

An Oooey, Gluey Mess!

Just one more craft gone bad at The House of Halpin! Sadly, this idea was shared with our summer school buddies. Hopefully it went better for you guys!

As we were studying the topography of Colorado (a rather dry subject, if you ask me!), I came up with a cutsie little craft to lighten the mood. The idea was to make teddy bears out of coffee grounds while singing a catchy little diddy about bears going over the mountain to see what they could see. Sounds harmless enough!

The Boys did a great job painting their bears with glue.

We ran in to a problem when it came to the coffee grounds. I am an avid coffee drinker, but I have never actually learned the art of coffee-making. I drink instant. Every day. So I made an executive decision and just swapped the coffee grounds for instant coffee. They're both brown. Shouldn't be a problem.

Nosy was unsure from the get-go. Far too messy! He does not enjoy getting his hands dirty!

He then assumed the role of official operator of the dustbuster, sucking up all the wayward coffee granules. What a great guy to have around!

O wasn't quite as grossed out. In fact, he was a very thorough sprinkler.

We set our teddies aside to dry while moving on to other things. When I walked by a little while later, I learned something. If you distribute instant coffee over a gluey puddle, what do you get? Coffee glue. Everywhere. What a MESS!

Summer Fun Has Begun!

It has gotten HOT. All of a sudden it is drippy, sticky, sweaty hot here in Texas.

It's so hot that sometimes all we can do is strip down and jump in the nearest water we can find.

And keep cool eating tons of popsicles.

Then swim some more...this time wearing proper swimming attire.

(Thanks Julianne and Rob for donating the pool to our backyard!)

Even the water at Gramps and Yaya's pool has warmed up to the perfect temperature.

O and Gramps had the best time shooting water at empty soda cans lined up on the deck.

Nosy and I played seemingly endless rounds of "tennis."

This darling face full of mischief is what I saw just seconds before getting a face full of water!

Bring on the summer fun! We will soak up every minute of it!