It's my birthday once again! It sure seems like the years fly by more and more quickly, and I'm now close to 30 than 20! Here's a shot Tim took of me opening gifts just before Church.

Later on in the afternoon, Tim and I enjoyed fixing dinner together while Joseph explored the kitchen drawers!

This, though, is what I've been waiting for all day! Tim made me this amazing Boston Cream Pie, which really isn't a pie at all, apparently. The only Boston Cream anything I've had before is a doughnut, so I guess I'm not exactly an expert. Whatever it's called, it sure looks great! Once again, I've had a fabulous birthday with my wonderful little family!

In celebration of my birthday tomorrow, we decided to go on a hike in the nearby Cascades Recreation Area! There's still a lot of ice and snow of the ground, some of it new, but most of it from the big storm last weekend. We're going to have to watch our steps a little more carefully than usual!

I'm not sure what kind of trees these are, but they are the only ones around besides the conifers with green leaves. They look fairly odd surrounded by all this snow and ice, but pretty, too, I think!



Our trail follows the Little Stony Creek up to the famous Cascade Falls. Here are some shots of all the ice floating around in the water today!

Both Tim and I picked up long sticks to help us with our footing. Joseph is now with me because he's getting tired and the backpack isn't so good for napping. It sure looks a lot colder than it is out here, the temperature is actually hovering around 50 degrees today!

Doesn't this make for a lovely winter scene?

Here we are at our destination! Apparently, college students flock here in the summer to swim in the pool here at the base of the falls, although that's kind of hard to imagine today!

It's freezing today, and I mean really freezing! The big ice storm that's been traveling across the country has made it's way to VA and is dumping rain and snow all over the place. Of course, since the temperature outside is below freezing, the water is quickly turning to ice! Things hadn't seemed so bad this morning, but since Church was canceled after our first meeting, I guess someone must have been watching the forecast. We got home just before big sheets of ice started forming all over the ground! I'm so glad we don't have anywhere else we need to go today!







Since we have some time to kill this afternoon, we're all just goofing around together! Joseph has recently figured out what the word "tongue" means, and he loves sticking his out whenever you say it. What a silly little boy!

Here we are at the National Zoo this morning! We came up to DC so Tim and I could do some work at the temple here yesterday, but we thought we might as well do a little sightseeing before heading all the way back home. It's really cold and windy outside today, but it's toasty warm here in the zoo's Pollinarium!



Joseph is absolutely fascinated with all these butterflies zooming right by our heads as they flap their way from flower to flower! We've caught sight of the resident Costa's Hummingbird a couple times now, too. It's neat to be so close to all these interesting animals!



After leaving the Pollinarium, we dashed over to the small mammal exhibit, where we're having fun watching all the monkeys, rodents, and lemurs chase each other around and around!

Aren't these Hooded Mergansers beautiful? They didn't really seem to be part of an official exhibit, so I guess they just thought the zoo ponds were a good place to hang out. It's hard to believe they aren't freezing in that icy water!

To be honest, Joseph really hasn't been enjoying the day all that much, so we'll probably be heading home soon. He's been so interested in his animal puzzle lately, especially the big elephant piece, that we figured he would enjoy himself here. You win some and you lose some, I guess! At least we know he'll enjoy the car ride back to Blacksburg!

Here are just some more cute shots of Joseph playing outside today!

It's a cold and blustery day, so Joseph and I headed to the park this afternoon to give this new little snowsuit a try. It also seemed like the perfect opportunity to catch some cute shots of him playing in the grass! For some reason, he smiled and laughed whenever I said "ffffffffff!" What a cute and happy little boy!

We finally have some videos of Joseph stepping along! York Peppermint Patties are by far his favorite treat, so it's no surprise that he's willing to walk for a bite or two of this one. On the other hand, his vocal protests reveal that he's not entirely happy about the conditions of this demanding game! In any case, I'm just amazed that our little guy is actually walking!

Just before dinner tonight, Joseph got a little fussy, and although we weren't sure what was wrong, we figured he was just getting hungry. I decided the easiest thing would be to put him in the Kozy so we could get food ready in a hurry, but as it turned out, our little hot pepper was just out of steam. He fell asleep before I realized what was happening! In any case, how sweet he looks as he snoozes away!

Here are a few photos from our walk before Church today. There were lots of birds and lots of dogs!

Joseph must be feeling a lot better today! After two trips to the doctor, we think he had two separate viral infections and a mild ear infection. We were able to escape giving him antibiotics, treating his discomfort with regular doses of Tylenol until he got over the infection on his own. In any case, he's been playing like he's making up for lost time, smiling and talking and not at all acting interested in being held! He's also figuring out how to push the buttons on this pop-up toy!



It's already getting dark, but since it's not really all that cold today, we decided to let Joseph romp around in the grass right outside our front door. We love seeing him have this much fun and finally getting back to his old self again!



After coming back inside, Joseph started cruising between this chair and his highchair, and then casually took his first steps! We were busy making dinner and I just happened to turn around and see him step-step-stepping his way along! Tim and I cheered for him when he reached the chair and he looked really, really proud of himself! I ran for the camera, but Joseph didn't quite manage a repeat performance. We always knew he'd start walking without much fuss and without much help from us, just like he started rolling and sitting and standing! He sure is growing fast!

Joseph is learning to zip zippers up and down this morning, just another example of his improving coordination!

We finally got some snow that stuck! Not that we're complaining about the relatively warm and dry weather we've had, considering that so many other places have been totally inundated with snow and ice this winter. Seeing that bright red cardinal in the snowy tree does make for a lovely scene, though!

While Grandma and Grandpa Allison were visiting, Grandma Cindy showed Joseph how to put the shapes in the shape sorter. She'd hold each shape over it's matching hole and Joseph would poke it inside, over and over again! Now that he's figured out how the shape sorter is supposed to work, he wants to do it himself, but since getting the shapes inside is a bit challenging, he's been using these little plastic coins instead. What a smart little guy!

Take a look at Joseph standing up without any support! Every day he gets a little closer to walking!

Even though he's still feeling pretty sick, he still has to spend some time playing. Here's a cute video of him helping me with the laundry!