Over the crib and thru the hall...

No, that is not the way to grandmother's house, but it is the way to the playroom from Will's room.  This morning started like most other mornings.  I woke up to Will talking in his bed and playing with his aquarium.  I let him play for about 10 minutes, got out of bed, turned the monitor off, let the dogs out,  and then headed up stairs to get little man out of bed.  As I walked up the stairs I could see that Will's bedroom door was open.  "Hmmm....I guess Abby visited Will during the night", I thought.  As I turned to go up the next flight of stairs, I heard little footsteps.  Guess who met me at the top of the stairs!  Yes, Will did!  He came running out of the playroom right for me with a  toy in each hand.  He had the biggest smile on his face and was so proud.  So, sometime between me getting out of bed and getting upstairs Will figured out how to climb out of his crib, open his bedroom door, and start playing by himself in the playroom.  He never cried, fussed, or complained that it hurt, that he was alone, or anything!  Amazing.   I think he might be Spiderman!

On a serious note, I am so glad he didn't hurt himself and I'll be watching the monitor screen much closer from now on.  I hope it was a one time thing...but I am sure it isn't.  I'm not sure we are ready for a big boy bed, but we'll have to see how it goes.   Never a dull moment in the Halpin household!

18 Months Old

Will is 18 months old today!  All I can say is I am continuously surprised at how funny, smart, loving, fearless, entertaining and ALL BOY he really is!  We've had an amazing 18 months and like always I'm amazed its gone by so quickly.  We've really watched him turn into a little boy in the last 6 months.  Here is a little update on Will's development:

• Will is talking quite a lot - sometimes we understand...and sometimes we just don't!  
  
• He loves his puppy dogs and won't even consider going upstairs without calling them to go with him.  He can say Murray pretty well and Abby is "Boppy".    
  
• He loves Baboons (balloons) and bubbles and really would rather play with the telephone, TV, remotes, bowls, and spoons as much as his toys.  
  
• Will also loves my hairbrush and any time I pick it up he'll say "bruh".  Good thing I have a couple since they tend to be all over the house after I let him have one.  
  
• We're working on completing words.  Right now most words are only the first part - like bruh, spoo (spoon), bow (bowl), etc.  
  
• Will loves all music and is in a complete trance when music comes on the TV.  He is already learning to tune me out (just like his dad!)
  
• He wants to be outside all the time!  Whether it is just running around the backyard with the pups, swinging in his swing, or going to the park...he is just happy outside!
• Will now has all his 1 year molars in and when he smiles you see a lot of teeth!  He isn't the biggest fan of me brushing them, but he thinks he does an excellent job on his own!
• Stats from the doctor:  96% in height, 55% in weight, said everything looks excellent!  They predict our little man will some day be over 6ft tall!  That is hard to believe!

I could go on and on, but that tells you a little bit about our funny guy!

We've spent the day like most lazy Sundays.  One highlight for Will was finally getting to play in the sandbox the Easter Bunny brought him!  The weather finally cooperated enough for us to set it up.  Here are a few pictures:

Helping Dad fill it with sand!!

Will you just let me play, Mom?  

Cool!  Look at that fall on my leg!

Protesting coming in for lunch.   He would have stayed out there all day!

Will, 

We love you so much and have so much fun with you!  You have changed our lives in so many ways and made us better people!  Your smile and giggles take away all of our stresses and we just love being with you!  We can't wait for you to be a big brother - we know you will be the best!  

We love you, 

Mommy and Daddy

Will is going to be a BIG brother!!

Yes, that is right!  Will is anxiously awaiting his new baby brother or sister.  We anticipate our new addition to arrive mid-October, just in time for Will's 2nd birthday!  What a birthday present!   My due date is October 25th, but we'll have a c-section probably 10 days before, avoiding October 19th!  We'll have a big birthday month in Octobers in our house and can't wait!  We are going to hold out on finding out if this baby is a boy or girl.  We'll try to make it all the way to the end - but Chris thinks I'll cave eventually.  Mothers intuition tells me it is a boy, but who knows!  50/50 chance, right?

We had our 12 week appointment today and everything looks really good at this point.  We heard a very rapid little heart beat (which is good!) and saw it flutter on the screen.  We're already in love and so look forward to meeting Baby Halpin #2!

Here is a sneak peak at the little one:

At 7 Weeks

At 12 Weeks

More to come...as we know more!  

80 degrees!!! It is picnic time!

Will and I went to the Arboretum with friends on Thursday to enjoy the beautiful Texas weather!  It was 80 degrees and just gorgeous!  The kids were able to roam around and enjoy being outside.  They loved it!  Here are a few pictures from the day.

Group shot with all the kids.  It is always hard to get a shot of them all!

Will smiling for the camera.

Will trying on Ella Grace's pink bib and cup.  I guess he figured he's never really worn pink.

Yes, we are here! Guess what - Will is 16 months old!

I know, I know.  It has been a LONG time!  First of all, I'd like to apologize for my delinquency.  I've been meaning to update the blog time and time again.  I still have  goal to get the holidays up, but I figured no time like the present to update you all!  

Will is 16 months old!  Can you believe it?  I sure can't.  He has changed so much since my last posts.  He is the funniest little guy.   Here are some fun things about our little man!

1.  When he walks his hands are still up in the air - like he is waiting to catch himself.  Although I often think he is trying to run everywhere vs. walk.

2.  He gets delirious around bedtime.  Everything is so funny and he belly laughs at the smallest things.

3.  He LOVES his dogs.  I think they love him too.  When they are asleep he sneaks up on them and scares them.  He also feeds them 1/2 of his meals.

4.  Fruit is his favorite food.  Blueberries are his all time favorite.  He calls them BB's (thanks to Dad) and lights up when he sees them.  He also loves strawberries, apples, oranges, mangos, the list goes on and on.

5.  He likes to tell us what he is eating - he says "cheese", "peas", and "beans".

6.  Little man is shy at first, but eventually warms up.  He gets really mad when mom tries to leave him in the nursery for meetings or church.  He also hides his face in our legs when he is being shy.

7.  Will is a bit of a dare devil.  We go to Little Gym each week and he loves bouncing around, doing flips, and being thrown in the air.  He also loves to climb on everything - the stairs, fire place,  and bath tub are favorites.  He actually now climbs on them and says "down" before we can.  Not sure if that is effective...

8.  Who needs toys? Not Will.  He has a 1000 of them, but he really likes plastic bowls, coasters, water bottles, paper cups, etc., a lot more!  We still continue to buy toys.

9.  He loves his shoes, his hair brush, and dad's plastic water cups that he takes to and from work every day.  He loves to play with them and they make him smile so big!

10.  He has the best smile in the world - with 9 big boy teeth!  8 in the front and one molar.  We are waiting on his second molar to come in.  He's learning to brush those pearly whites, too.

Here are some pictures of our little angel!  We hope you enjoy - he is the light of our life and we are so thankful that God gave him to us!

I love this picture, because you can see all his pearly whites!

Will loves his books!

Bath time with his "cousin" Avery.  Ok, they really aren't cousins, but we call them that.  

We did a mini photo shoot in the backyard today.  It was so pretty and I just love playing with the camera.  Will loved playing with the rocks and dirt!  He is all boy!

I will try to be better about posts!  I hope you are all doing well!

Martha!!!

I met Martha Stewart today!!!  She did a book signing at Sur la Table and I got tickets a few weeks ago to have the book signed.  I did have to stand in line for 2 hours for a 1 minute chat, but it was worth it!  She was so nice, gracious, and personable.  She also looks fabulous in person!  Here are a few pictures from the day - unfortunately I wasn't able to have my picture taken with her.  

A DINO-mite Halloween!!!

We've been preparing for the big day for several weeks. Costume - check! Pumpkins - check! Candy - check! I didn't really anticipate Will disliking his costume as much as he does - but he's worn it a few times now and I've learned that no hat makes him happier AND he really likes to take the feet off and play with them. SO, a happy dino means a happy mom! Now, if it was only about 20 degrees colder he'd be better off in the full fleece outfit!

Here are several pictures and events from our Halloween celebration over the last month!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

Babies Playgroup in Lake Highlands. Getting a photo with all of the kiddos dressed up was really hard!  Here is a portion of the group:

Our little dino!

Trick or Treating with Avery and Preston.

Party in Will's crib after Trick or Treating!

Will is 1 year old!!!!

It is so hard to believe that Will is 1 year old!  Where has the last year gone?  Chris and I find ourselves looking at pictures and videos, just amazed at how much he's grown, what a little personality he's developed and how opinionated he is now!  He is no longer a baby, he is a little boy.  We are so blessed to have Will - he is the best little boy in the world.  Our world changed so much a year ago, and I remember in those early days us wondering if we'd make it through the sleepless nights and crying for no reason - but we have!  And we are such better people and our lives are blessed because of Will.   

We had a small party for WIll's first birthday.  We celebrated with our families and a few friends. He had a wonderful time.  He received all kinds of new toys and clothes that he loves.  We found out that he doesn't really like cake!  He actually spit it out.  Chris and I put his hands in it and he played with the icing some.  I am guessing he must be a chocolate cake kid, because there is NO WAY he could be related to us and not like cake! 

Here are a few pictures from Will's party.  

Ready for the big day!

Will opening gifts with helpers!

Playing with his William stool from Aunt Carrie.

The cakes!

Getting ready for cake...

Do you really want me to eat this?

Thank goodness they took it away!

Now I'm having fun!

Getting a "bath" in the sink!

It was a very Happy Birthday for our little man!  We can't wait to see what the 2nd year has to offer!  We love you buddy!

Team Snowbird!

My family (dad's side) walked in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure on Saturday, October 18th.  My aunt and sister coordinated a family team in honor of my grandmother, Hazel Jones.  It was such a great event and was so much fun to hang out with family for such an important cause.  Breast cancer impacts so many families, including ours, and finding a cure for the next generation is something that is very important.  I am happy to report that in total our family raised $4,380 to go towards the cause.  THANK YOU to all of you that donated money to the cause.  I really appreciate it.  

Here is my immediate family (minus Chris who is behind the camera) ready to leave our house at 6am.  Will was a little shocked we were all up and out of the house that early without breakfast!  Don't worry, we did feed him when we got there.

My Dad and his three sisters (Aunt Connie, Dad, Aunt Cathy and Aunt Carol).

The cousins - Michael, Courtney, Kimberly, Carrie & Jamie.

1st Haircut

This week is a big week for Will. He turns 1 on Sunday!!! We decided to get his haircut before the big day. Here are a few pictures - he was really good during the haircut. He loved the car he sat in, was intrigued by the "cape" he was wearing, and really wanted to comb that Dominique used while cutting his hair. Here are several pictures. We love you, big boy!