Joseph's Birthday Party

OK.. there are like 200 pictures in my camera of Joseph's party, so I'll try to condense it down a bit...

He LOVES trains right now, so I decided to make a choo choo train cupcake cake for his birthday this year - he LOVED it (and actually got that it was a train!).


Blowing out the candles (by himself!)


...and picking his nose...


Being silly (notice, he put an olive on top of his cupcake.. yum!)


Patiently watching Daddy get his new Tigger out of the box (from Grandma Paulson).


His new super cool "crash car" (it vrooms, drives, then crashes)from Aunt Liisa.


Yeah! A new flashlight! Joseph LOVES flashlights..


He loves his new Tigger spinny brush from Drew.


New HotWheels from Mommy.


He loves the piano book Grandma Margie sent him.


Daddy gave him Army men and cowboys and Indians - these were definite winners!



Kathrynn looks bored..


Mommy got Joseph Cootie so we can start playing games together..


Grandma Paulson got him a cool new backpack!


Joseph telling me to stop taking pictures. :)

Happy Birthday, Joseph!

Our little guy turns 3 today! I can't believe he's getting so big - he's still just a baby sometimes in my head, but then he's sooo 3 other times. At least we're done with 2. :)

I thought it'd be fun to show him grow over the years, so here you go:

About a day old..

1st birthday..


2nd birthday..


Today..


Joseph is the sweetest little guy. He is so caring and compassionate and has tons of empathy. He gives the BEST hugs! He loves being around kids his age and is especially nice to little girls - treats them like gold (unless you're his sister.. hehe). And, they show their appreciation. So far, he's been kissed on the lips by 4 different girls. The last one was especially hiliarous - we were at a block party over the summer and a little girl his age pinned him down on the grass and gave him a huge kiss right on the lips.
Joseph's favorite things right now are dinosaurs, cowboys, and trains. Any time he hears a train, he stops what he's doing lets out a huge, excited gasps and says "Choo Choo Train!" and runs for the nearest window to see if he can see it. He also really likes Diego and the Backyardigans.
He loves music and is very musically talented - you can sing a song to him once and he'll hum the exact tune perfectly the rest of the day.. he's always humming or singing and I love that!
He's crazy smart and knows all of his letters, can count to his teens now, knows all of his colors and all of his shapes - even oval. :)
We love our little boy so much and are so grateful for him - we wouldn't trade him for the world.
Happy Birthday, Joseph!

Joseph the Dinosaur

As earlier mentioned, Joseph missed out on Halloween this year due to a nasty case of croup. Well, we scoped out the post-Halloween sales for something for the kids for next year and I found this adorable dinosaur costume that's 4T, but fits him perfectly this year, so it just might end up being a fun dress up outfit for him.
Anyway, he spent a lot of Thanksgiving break at Grandma and Grandpa Paulson's house running around in and having a blast. Here are the pics:







Here he is attacking his cousin Karlee:


Kathrynn thought he was pretty funny, too. :)

Our Little Princess

I just had to add some new pictures of Kathrynn because she's just precious! She's finally getting used to the camera and actually thinks it's funny now (insteading something that induces instant crying).

He's Growing Up

Oh my goodness. I was just messing around yesterday, taking pictures of the kids, when I took this one and could not believe my eyes. Joseph no longer looks like a toddler, he looks like a little boy now. This goes way too fast.

Steve Shaves His Goatee

Yea!! It finally happened. After months of subtle hints (because being direct on something like this would only prolong the misery), Steve finally shaved off his goatee. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't discriminate against goatees or anything, I just really, really like to see my husband's face.
We decided to document the process, and since Steve was the model, it's rather funny.

Here he is pre-shave:


At this point, he was pretty convinced that he'd look good as a cowboy and should just keep it like this, while I said a silent prayer that he would come to his senses.


Steve's convinced that he looks, well, 'not straight' with only a moustache.


Well, we had to take one with the Hitler 'stache.


Ahhh. There's the face I fell in love with. :)


I've been seriously giddy since he shaved that thing off. :) It's been like I've seen his face for the first time all over again. Guess you really don't appreciate what you have until you're without the real thing for a while.

How Girly Are You?

In the midst of all my busy-ness, I still have time to be girly! Yea!

You Are 72% Girly

You're a pretty girly chick, and you're not ashamed to admit it (or wear pink). But you're also practical. You can hang with the guys, as long as they're not too gross!

How Girly Are You?

My Little Boy's Becoming a Man

So, Joseph's Halloween got completely shot this year. It was going to be his first Halloween trick or treating, and I, at least, was pretty psyched about it. He was going to be a totally cute cowboy. He ended up being a sad little cowboy with croup. Ugh. He hasn't been sick in a very long time, so it was interesting to see how much he's 'matured' since the last time. He's definitely becoming a man.
The first thing that caught my attention was when we walked in the door after I picked him up from school. Kathrynn was squealing happily, when Joseph turned to her and yelled "Be Quiet!" with a scowl. He then proceeded to sit at Steve's computer to watch his favorite movie, Madagascar. I hooked him up with goldfish crackers and water, which were easily in reach on the desk, but instead I heard a moan and "fish! fish!" So, I handed him his fish. Next was "ugh.. water!" So, I gave him his water.
This has carried on throughout the last few days since he's been ill. He's been feeling much better today, which proved to me that he's milking this sick thing for all it's got. Everything is accompanied by a moan. "ugh.. shoes" "ugh.. tickle" And then as he went to bed, in his most pathetic voice possible, "night-night Kathrynn." And, after prayers, as he's crawling into bed, he kept saying "amen" over and over in this voice that would make you think it was to be his last word if you didn't know him any better.
He's definitely mastered the "I'm sick, I need as much sympathy as you can muster" bit. Yes, he's learning to be a man. :) Oh, they grow up so quickly...

Halloween

Well, we had big plans for Halloween this year. Joseph was going to be a cowboy (because he's just obsessed with them lately), and Kathrynn was going to be a horse. This was going to be Joseph's first Halloween trick or treating and it was going to be tons of fun. Unfortunately, he got sick with croup. And mommy got sick with a cold (great way to spend my 30th birthday). Sad, sad. I was able to get pictures of Kathrynn in her costume (at 6:30 a.m., which is why she looks so groggy), but by the time I had Joseph dressed we had to run out the door and he was already out of costume and feeling like garbage when we got home that day. So, I have pictures of the cutest little horse in the world, but, sadly, no Cowboy Joe.