Grandma Susan always seems to find the cutest outfits for the kids, and Joseph was particularly pleased with this handsome new shirt and tie she sent him for church. He couldn't wait to try it on and look just like Daddy! Doesn't he look handsome and grown up?

Seeing him a few minutes later, though, I'm relieved to find that he's still got quite a bit of growing left to do!

This morning, the dads in our Joy School group took the kids on a trip to the zoo. Tim even took Rosalie, too, because I was at home suffering with the flu. In any case, Joseph has been loving everything about Joy School so far, and this was certainly no exception!

Some of the highlights of the day were watching this grizzly bear eat it's breakfast...

spotting a "family" of fish, complete with "mommy" and "daddy"...

and volunteering to pose for this photo, with a very nice smile on his face I might add! Joseph was excited to see his friends from Joy School, and most especially to spend a little time with his daddy, who he just can't seem to get enough of lately anyway. What a fun morning!

Isn't this amazing? My three-year-old is sitting on the couch reading books he checked out from the library! He's already finished every Amelia Bedelia book on the shelf and has apparently moved on to Fancy Nancy now. He still likes pink, too, but all that will likely change in its own due time!

Meanwhile, here's Rosalie taking good care of her Baby Stella doll. Her interest in it spiked earlier this week when she realized the clothes came off and there was a diaper underneath. She loves to take the diaper off and bring it to me or Daddy to put back on. Every time one of us attempts to put an outfit on the doll, Rosalie emphatically tells us "No!"

On the other hand, she loves wrapping Baby Stella up in a blanket...





and carefully tucking her into bed, complete with a kiss goodnight! I sure do love watching these kiddos play and learn!

Rosalie was feeling out of sorts this afternoon when she woke up from her nap, so Tim helped her snuggle up on the couch with a blanket and a couple of her favorite friends. She sure does look happy now!

Although we've heard so many great things about SeaWorld since we moved here, we've been holding out waiting for today, the SwRI annual picnic where everyone gets admission, parking, dinner, and a return ticket for $6 each, not including babies like Rosalie! Here we are waiting in the splash zone for the private Shamu show to start...

and here we are after the show, quite a bit wetter all around! It's amazing how much water those orcas can project toward the audience, although I have to say the thing that surprised me most, which should have been obvious seeing as they are ocean-dwelling animals, was how cold that water was! The kids didn't like it one bit, and I think next time we'll make sure to sit outside the splash zone. On the other hand, Rosalie in particular absolutely adored the orcas, pointing to them as they swam and jumped around, and clapping enthusiastically along with the audience. It was a great show!

After seeing the penguins, it was time to take Rosalie home for a nap. Good thing SeaWorld is as close to our house as the nearest Target! Joseph and Tim stayed to ride a few rides...





get a little more wet...



and even do some climbing. Joseph was so proud to get to the top of this net climber!

Just before Rosalie and I got back, Joseph attempted his first water slide, and passed with flying colors! He wanted to go again and again, and both kiddos were very sad when the water park closed and it was time to go eat dinner. I sure am glad they were having so much fun, though!



Just after we got eating, Shamu appeared, and Rosalie just couldn't contain her excitement, scrambling off the bench and running over to join the other groupies. Although she didn't want to get much closer than this, she hovered around, pointing, waving, and saying "hi" with her face literally beaming!

Joseph, on the other hand, wasn't nearly as enthralled with Shamu, choosing to stay at the table to enjoy his food instead. That's one thing that impressed me about the park in general, the wide variety of activities available meant we all had a great time. I'm already excited to come back another day!

When Joseph plays his favorite songs on the piano, they certainly have their own unique flair! Anyone who can correctly guess the tune he's playing before he finishes gets a gold star from me!

Now that she's over 18 months of age, Rosalie is eligible to spend some time in the nursery class at church without Mommy or Daddy. I guess it feels like a big deal to me because it's one of those concrete things that proves she's getting older and more independent. This will be her first week since she was getting over a cold last Sun, and whether she spends two seconds or the full two hours there today, I'm just so proud of my spunky, beautiful little girl!





I couldn't resist snapping a few shots of her this morning in another lovely dress Grandma Susan found on sale for her. It's fun to see how good navy looks on her since it was never really my color. Of course, what really stands out to me are her happy face and adorable curls. So many of my friends growing up had curly hair that they fought against, so my plan is to tell Rosalie every day how lucky she is to have those gorgeous curls!

It's been a while since I've had someone to really get down with, but I think I may have found a new jamming partner. Just check that little girl out!

We've had plans to put up a tree swing in our back yard since last Christmas, but now that Joseph is getting ready to start Joy School tomorrow, we finally got our act together and did it! Actually, I can only take credit for the idea, while Tim bought the wood, cut it, glued it, sanded it, painted it, and hung it about 15 up in one of our big oak trees. It's got an awesome swoop to it, so much better than any playground swing around, and it's comfortable enough for us all to take a ride!

Here I am taking my turn. I foresee many happy afternoons of lazy swinging ahead here at our house!

Rosalie figured out that the last page of The Very Hungry Caterpillar has a big butterfly on it, and now she gets out the book at least once a day to look for the "buuuuuu". It's so amazing to me how she naturally latches on to girly stuff like butterflies, jewelry, and dresses, while Joseph gravitated toward trucks, tools, and gadgets when he was this age. We sure love our little girly girl!