This is about the cutest thing I've ever heard. Of course, it was just as cute when her big brother did it, too, but there's just nothing that tugs at a mother's heart strings like hearing her baby say "ma ma"!

Doesn't Rosalie look so cute in this little red dress with matching shoes? I can't imagine what a dress like this would've cost new, but I got it at our local used kids' clothing store for only a few dollars! The shoes are new, but I got them plenty big since she's not even close to walking yet. The bigger size, however, is what enabled her to pry one off her foot, which she's definitely quite happy about!



After church this afternoon, here she is again discovering the wonders of this little mirror! She thinks it's pretty amusing seeing herself, and sometimes her mommy, too, right in her own two hands. What a sweet pea!

Here's Joseph enjoying a little more after-birthday fun this morning, this time with these star balloons his Gedlaman grandparents sent him. Since I know they'll be wondering, I'll mention that he doesn't seem nearly as wary or frustrated with these as he was with Rosalie's foot balloon. Thanks again, grandmas and grandpas, for making Joseph's birthday extra special!

This afternoon, we've been working on getting some Christmas lights up outside our house! This may not be the most spectacular display of lights ever seen, but it's festive and, most importantly, it's done!



Of course, we had lots of supervision from this little girl...



and lots of help testing out the lights from this little guy! Notice the bike helmet on his head: Joseph spent at least an hour riding his bike around out here and even now doesn't want to take the helmet off! He's already showing improvement and I'm just so glad he's enjoying it.

It's time to clean up and go inside now, but we'll leave the lights on out here! I just love the Christmas season!

This morning, Joseph got right up and came in here to play with his new puzzle clock. Aren't birthdays so fun when you're a kid?









Around lunchtime, here we are harassing Rosalie (one of the fun things we get to do together as a family when Tim's on vacation) trying to get a look at the tooth she has coming in (bottom, front, her right). Unfortunately, the tooth is still way too small, and Rosalie is way too squirmy (not that I blame her for fighting back), to really see it. I'm sure as time goes on we won't be able to miss it!



Last, but not least, here are Joseph and Tim playing the new Memory game Joseph got from his Allison grandparents this afternoon. As long as we keep the number of matching pairs down, he's doing fantastic! It's amazing watching him do all this big-kid stuff!

Our gift to Joseph this year was this nifty little running bike. It has no pedals (which have caused him grief with tricycles before), but is maneuvered simply by walking and running. He'll learn about steering and balance just moving it around, and when he gets going fast enough, he should start to glide here and there, too. Supposedly, the transition from one of these to a real bike is seamless, but our main goal at this point is just to get him outside and excited about being on any kind of wheeled vehicle!

Here he is walking up the sidewalk with it for the very first time! Tim wisely thought that seeing one of us on a bike might motivate him even more, so here he comes bringing up the rear...



and back they come together!







Meanwhile, this is the reason my videos are a bit shaky. Rosalie's having as much fun trying to grab the camera as she is watching Joseph and Tim. She sure loves to stick that tongue out!







In the few minutes we've been out here, Joseph has already 1) gotten better at getting on and off the bike and turning it around, 2) become more comfortable with the idea that everyone falls down sometimes and just has to get back up and try again (Tim even demonstrated this idea with a faux fall of his own), 3) started moving a little faster, and above all, 4) remained genuinely excited about the whole thing! Although it's time now to get the turkey out of the oven and head off to our Thanksgiving potluck, we've all had a lot of fun celebrating Joseph's birthday this morning. It's been amazing for Tim and I to watch him grow these past three years and we just love him so much!

One of the main reasons Joseph is so excited about his birthday is this! I've always heard that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, and in Joseph's case, I believe it. He's supervised every part of the cake-making process this time around, and we're finally putting the finishing touches on the chocolate cake he asked for specifically. I think if we did nothing else to celebrate today, this would be enough!

Of course, we are going to do more to celebrate! Joseph is off getting a diaper change that he doesn't really need while I set up the gifts.

He got a peek at them coming in to get Rosalie up from her nap, and now it's time to open them up! He noticed these eye-catching "scanimation" books from Grandma and Grandpa Allison first, but it's hard to focus on just one thing for long!

For our little music lover, there are plenty of CDs...



and a new Children's Songbook, also from the Allison grandparents. He sure is having fun...

and so is little Rosalie! She even got a CD and lullaby songbook of her own to celebrate her big brother's special day.

From Grandma and Grandpa Gedlaman, he got some stylish clothes...



a wooden play clock with removable numbers that he is really excited about...



and a Little People nativity set! Although he's a very considerate brother, and always wants to make sure Rosalie has something to play with, he sure doesn't like her grabbing things from him! I love the way she's got his foot, too, in the shot above.



Now, without further ado, it's finally time to eat that cake! Here he is blowing out the candle all by himself for the first time...

and here he is digging in! It's been such a fun morning so far!

It's Joseph's third birthday! This year, he actually knows it's a special day, and here he is getting it started by cutting the last link in his birthday chain! There are many more festivities to come!









Meanwhile, we decided to give Rosalie some Cheerios for breakfast for the first time. Joseph just loved them from first taste, but Rosalie's a little more dubious. She's having fun trying to grab them, but doesn't really want them in her mouth!



After eating his own breakfast, Joseph is back at the microwave timer typing in the significant digits of the day: 27 (it's Nov 27th), 2 (he used to be two), and 3 (now he's three). He sure is excited it's his birthday!

Here's just a cute video of Rosalie and Tim being silly together tonight.

I'm just playing around a bit more with the deflector this afternoon, and here are the results. I'm not sure fluorescent lights ever do great things for skin tone, but the second shot does look more like real life, and there's no glare on Tim's glasses!

In the meantime, Joseph has been into playing with the microwave timer lately, so here he is in action!



Once again, the deflector allows me to add some light to the scene without blasting it with direct flash, but the image is so grainy! I've obviously still got a lot to learn, but I'm enjoying just trying things out!