Hay Is for...Who?

I have been attempting to make playtime at The House of Halpin more purposeful of late. Owen is like a sponge, soaking up as much knowledge of any subject as I will pass on to him. This thirst to learn is a gift I do not want to squander! (After all, before I know it, he'll be 13 and would rather toss a ball with his buddies than go on learning adventures with Mom!) One of our subjects last week was a little out of the ordinary: hay. Owen is so curious about hay, asking me zillions of questions about it whenever I point out those huge round hay bales in fields we pass. So off we trekked to Owen's Farm ("My farm, Mommy?") to see what we could see about hay.

We tried to feed the ducks some hay. They were not too thrilled about it. They did enjoy the oats O poured out for them on the ground however. ($3 worth of oats, gone in a flash!)

The buffalo were more interested in playing in the mud than in our offers of some yummy hay.

Ah! The goats and sheep! O made some fast friends with these guys who have insatiable appetites. We spent close to an hour feeding them hay, strand by strand. I was impressed by how brave the normally timid Owen was. He didn't hesitate at all when offering the goats and sheep hay he had found. The donkey must not have been very hungry, but he did enjoy a good ear scratching from O. I don't know what that's about! O called, "Come here donkey! Come here!" until finally the donkey ambled over and what did O do? Stuck his finger right in his ear! Strange!

Now for the highlight! We actually got to sit on a hay bale and go for a hay ride! Oh the excitement of it all! It turns out, O discovered that hay is a bit scratchy to the bum.

The tractor was just as intriguing as the hay itself.

I had to include this pic. The goats nibbled on more than just hay. I guess I parked Noah a tad too close!

Time Out=Time In

It is so hard to believe! Noah has now spent as much time out in the world as he spent in the oven!

He continues to be a Boy of extremes. He wakes up extremely early every morning, extremely happy to start his day. He is extremely smiley and flirty and charming...unless of course he is extremely upset about something. And our biggest challenge of late: He has an extremely horrid case of the dreaded separation anxiety. In fact, when I am not around, even if Daddy is home, he crawls around the house searching for me while screaming extremely loudly. It is extremely pitiful.

Scooter's appetite is extremely large. He is a Foodie to the extreme!

Nine month stats:

Weight: 20 pounds, 4 ounces (50%)

Length: 29 1/4 inches (80%)

My favorite developments from this month are the extremely sweet and sloppy kisses Noah offers upon request and his ability to clap. He is extremely generous with public displays of affection and applause. He also has really begun to play with O, mimicking him and initiating little games of chase and roll the ball. Life with my two Boys continues to get even more and more fun every day!

This is the new look Noah sports a lot of the time, tongue at the ready in case food is stumbled upon. We wouldn't want to waste that yummy morsel of snack O carelessly dropped on the carpet, now would we?

What a precious Boy. You are such a joy to me, Noah!

And the Race Is On!

These are by far not the greatest pictures I've ever taken, but they portray so well one of my favorite aspects of every day life at The House of Halpin. It brings me such joy to see my Boys enjoy each other.

Just chillin' in the office

Uh-oh! What's Scooter up to?

Noah's outa here and the race begins. It looks like Noah is in the lead!

Owen pulled a last minute upset and reigned victorious. Noah doesn't seem to mind coming in second one bit.

Owen Makes Gingerbread

Maisy is one of Owie's favorite celebrities. She is featured in many adventurous books that can be found at the library. She has also been discovered as a television star and plays the lead role in a sweet-natured little show on Noggin.

Pictured is the book we checked out of the library last week. What a good read! Not too much room for interpretation or discussion, just a very straight-forward, heart-felt story about a mouse making some cookies.

Owen was fascinated by the mysteries of gingerbread. "What is it? A bread? A cookie? Would I like it? Are those eggs in it? I like eggs." So off we headed to the kitchen to discover the wonderfulness of gingerbread. (Plus, Mimi had a very important birthday coming up, and who doesn't love gingerbread cookies on their birthday?)

Owie kept me in line, letting me know just how Maisy went about making her cookies. We even got out a red bowl for mixing, since Maisy's bowl was red. It was of utmost importance that we get the cookies just right for Mimi.

Yummo! The dough sure was tasty!

Cutting out pretty shapes. All those hours playing with play-do payed off right here!

Decorating with raisins. O wasn't too sure about this step. Raisins? On cookies? But after consulting our book, it did seem that Maisy's cookies had tiny black things on them that could possibly be raisins. Phew.

Our cookies turned out great! Somehow, Mommy who is constantly looking at life through a camera lens managed to overlook getting a picture of the end result and of lovely Mimi on her birthday. But what a memorable day spent with my O!

Music to My Ears

My days are filled with the sweet music of two tiny voices. One Boy carries on a running commentary of our day while the other babbles away happily. Owen is always challenged to make sensical words out of Noah's chatter. The other day, Noah was diligently practicing his consonant sounds when Owen let out an extremely high pitched squeal. "Mommy!!!! NOAH SAID 'BUBBA'!! Hooray No-nos!" Once my ear drums recovered, I was able to notice that sure enough, Noah was smiling adoringly up at Owen saying, "Bu-bu-bu-bu." What a precious moment. Owen was relishing the fact that, in his mind anyway, Noah was talking just to him, while tiny Scooter was soaking up all the extra attention and praise from busy Big Brother. I love having two Boys and am so grateful that they love having each other.

Milestones

There have been some big developments around The House of Halpin this week!

Look who's smiling in his Big Boy Bed! Remembering back to the traumatic attempt to change beds months ago, I was convinced this day would never come. So how did Owen end up in his new bed? Well, blame it all on the irresponsibility of Mommy. Every single crib sheet in the house (except for the one on Noah's bed) was currently in the dryer at bed time. I had forgotten to switch the laundry after dinner and so the sheets were still sopping when it came time to put the Boys down. Surprisingly, O took very little persuasion to lay down in the new bed. He just hopped right up with John and Jeremiah in tow and got comfy. I was hesitant to believe he would actually last the night there, but just look at what I found a half an hour later! Sacked out! I guess on closer inspection, with all the railings on his day bed, it really is just a super-sized crib! He should feel right at home.

Noah's new nap time antics! Poor, sweet Scooter. He can pull up but can't figure out how to get back down.

He was none too happy about the situation. That Baby needs some love!

Mr. Manners

So here's my O, all sweetness and innocence and obedience, right? Most of the time, I would fully agree. But something has changed dramatically in my little guy's head! To put it nicely, he can become quite argumentative from time to time. I know it is part of him growing up and establishing his own identity, but it can be quite grating after a day full of Owie opinions that don't coincide with Mommy opinions. The funny thing about O is how ingrained his manners are. I guess when I taught the manners lesson, he really soaked it up! Here are a few of O's most frequently used arguments:

"No thank you, I will not eat my supper!"

"Yes, Ma'am! I will go outside!"

"No Ma'am! I do not want to put my shoes on!"

Without fail, even in a heated argument, Owie's perfect manners shine through. It's good for a private chuckle in the midst of a frustrating day!

Grand Parents

One of the greatest blessings God has given me is the fact that both sets of the Boys' grandparents live close by. It is invaluable to be able to share so much with them! Not only do we get to see them for special occasions, but they also love to hang out with us on do-nothing days. Parents are crucial in a child's life (of course!), but I dare not underestimate the value of having grandparents closely involved in my children's lives. Grandparents can love unconditionally without worrying about discipline, spoil my kids rotten without consequences and ruin dinner with a special treat without having to worry about cavities or nutrition. I wouldn't have it any other way! My kids feel so loved and cherished by four wonderful grandparents. I love you all and am so grateful for your presence in our lives! Thank you for investing in my Boys!

(An added benefit of grandparents: There is no one else on earth that lets me tell story after story about my babies without tiring or losing enthusiasm! Even Daddy gets bored eventually!)

Breakthrough

After much agony, many sleepless nights, days on end of inconsolability, and an entire bottle of Motrin...

we are pleased to announce the arrival of Noah's two middle bottom teeth.

They were hard coming, but we are glad they are here.

Devotion

Owie and I have been reading a great devotional book for preschoolers that Uncle Joel gave us on Dedication Day as part of our morning routine. Yesterday, I called O into the playroom for devotional time. "Devotal?" he queried. "Yes, devotional time." "What's that?" "That is when we read our Bible and pray and sing songs about Jesus together." "OH! Play time with Jesus. Okay," he said, with a completely matter-of-fact tone, like Jesus could just drop over for a play date. He settled right down on my lap for a good time with Jesus, asking for more stories after we'd done the one allotted for the day. What amazing truths God has taught me through the raising of this tiny boy with a great big heart that already longs after the things of God. He loves to spend time reading the Word and worshipping God already, always thirsting for more. May I be so passionate!

Swingin'

Sliday Friday

Our Friday seemed to have a theme:

slides!

We all had a great time sliding our way through the day! Bright and early we were off to our park where the Boys tried a lot of different slides.

Later, O, Noah and I found ourselves at the coolest McDonald's in town with Yaya. They have a huge open slide that is just as fun to climb up as it is to slide down.

Mommy couldn't resist!

Owie and I had a blast! I'm not quite sure how Scooter felt about plummeting down a steep, slick surface.

Back for more!

Rest time for Mommy and Baby

Little Patriots

We met the Halpin clan for the Garland Labor Day Parade. We had a great time watching the marching bands and floats. Plenty of candy was scored by all!

"God's Baby"

"'I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.'"

I Samuel 21:27-28

These are the Bible verses O and I learned about all last week in preparation for our Sunday celebration. Both Boys were dedicated to the Lord on Sunday at The Springs. Due to churchial circumstances, O is unusually old to just now be dedicated. What is wonderful about that fact is that I could explain to him the reasoning behind the ceremony. After being schooled on the meaning of Baby Dedication all week, O summed it up very well. Listen in on our conversation.

Me: "What are we telling our friends at church on Sunday, O?"

O: "Owie is GOD'S BABY!"

(Tears in Mommy's eyes! What profoundness comes out of his tiny mouth! It is so awesome to me that he can grasp, to a certain extent, what is going on!)

Me: "Yes! Daddy and I love you and Noah so much and are so thankful that God let you come live in our family, but you are really God's baby."

O: "Noah is God's baby too!"

Me: "He sure is! We are showing everyone at church that we know you are God's babies and we promise to tell you and Noah all about Him and how much He loves you."

The Blur

Noah is gaining speed!

Most of my pictures of him these days turn out blurry and out of focus, snapped as he is cruising past my camera on a very important mission.

One such very important mission:

Must chew on Mommy's camera strap.

Mission accomplished!

Oh, Mommy's lap. A perfect landing spot for a little love and rest. Climb on up, No-nos!

(Notice his eyes are still blue. I keep expecting them to change, even have the post named in my head for when his eyes turn brown. Could it be that we have an actual blue-eyed Boy? Amazing!)

A Father's Love

Owen has taken the love of his "Babies" to a whole new level.

Meet the previously unnamed John and Jeremiah. These guys started spending so much time with us on a daily basis that they were begging to be named. O unashamedly named Jeremiah after his own middle name.

I guess now that the Babies have names, they have become like real members of the family. O can hear them crying from his bed and rushes to their rescue. They need to be fed regularly (He is the only nursing father in history!) and burped thoroughly. He sings to them lovingly (fave song: "Oh How I Love Jesus") and rocks them before bed. He has such a tender way of taking care of them. What a special heart my Boy has!

Singing to Jeremiah