generous sibling

Bob's gift to Joseph.

two

Zero

One

Two

HAPPY DAY!!!

lions or at least chickens

We asked Joseph what he wanted to do for his birthday. The reply? "Bye-bye. Roar!" Unfortunately, a major windstorm on Friday prevented us from going to the zoo to see the lions as planned. In spite of major power outages throughout Omaha the zoo was indeed open (we confirmed before making the drive). However when we got there and parked, in the second overflow lot, we were informed by a very thoughtful family that only four buildings were open and the lines were at least an hour long. We opted not to wait. Instead we headed down to the Old Market to catch the end of the farmer's market and enjoy our picnic lunch on the mall.

Joseph and I with his orange dog balloon!

"Hi!" He greeted many of the real animals at the Lincoln zoo like this too.

A comedy act on the family stage of the Omaha Summer Arts Festival-our surprise destination!

Enjoying the toddler tent

jackson pollock

Joseph was most excited to make his own drip art
à la Jackson Pollock.

He made sure to use every color

Here it became spin art

Squinty-eye smile

The final masterpiece,
complete with one-of-a-kind fingerprint swirl!

"retirement"

Helping Papa water the plants at Lowe's

Go Big Green!

The ever-popular riding lawn mower

Wild turkeys spotted on the way home.

carnivore

After helping me prepare our dinner of fish and chips, Joseph declared "I need meat!"

finding nemo

Joseph and I have been taking swim "lessons" at our local Y. The class is for 6 month-2 year old kids, so it is not super structured, but has been a lot of fun! Although he still does not love getting his face wet, he will dunk his whole head and likes to blow bubbles/drink the water and go down the slide. He gets excited when we put on his "Neno" (Nemo) swim pants.

He has learned to float on his back in a mostly relaxed state, rather than clutching my hair and piking up into a V-shape squirming as he says "bye-bye," as he did on our first attempt.

We used the funnoodle to practice kicking.

Joseph also increased his vocabulary. Here he is at the "hoop" (credit Bob for the assist).

family photos rescheduled

Post hair-cut, Joseph took a nose-dive at the park. He took it like a champ. However, two days later he still looks like an extra from Rocky and not exactly what we want in the family portrait. Luckily there were still spots open the final week of sittings.

fun at the zoo

Joseph's favorite monkeys: Milo and Kirk.

Feeding the goats
Joseph thought the pellets were worth a try himself but I stopped him in time!

Albino peacock

Sweeping up at the new Stegosaurus dig
He loves to clean!

new doors

Out of the garage and onto the house, along with a few flies...

Here are our spiffy new doors!!!

Close-ups views:

Front Door with fun window-I love the design!

Side Entry with built in blinds-no dusting!

They still need to be painted and there is a storm door for the front, but I decided not to wait to share the excitement!

m.i.a.

This evening Joseph was quite distraught "like he was missing his twin" according to Jude. He could not find E.O. (Eeyore):

He developed the attachment very quickly, as in, since this morning! However he was unable to nap and took some convincing to go to sleep for the night without this plush companion which had inadvertently been left at Nana's house.

time for a haircut

Joseph's curls are getting a bit shaggy (it makes Jude nervous-he hates having "long" hair and therefore Joseph must too). Plus we have family photos for the church directory on Wednesday, so I am recording the cuteness before he returns to "big kid" hair this evening.

refusal to nap

We headed to Omaha this afternoon for a family picnic celebrating the marriage of my cousin Sarah and her new husband James. We expected Joseph to take his nap in the car.

However, he refused to nap on the way to Omaha. Covering his eyes was his response to the repeated request to at least "close your eyes!" Nevertheless, he had much fun in the pools, on the slip-n-slide,

playing ball with dad

and on the Harley!

check-up

Joseph had his two year check-up today. His "official" stats are:
Height: 34 1/2" (55%)
Weight: 34.2 lbs. (97%)
Head circumference: 20" (95%)
The percentages are where he falls on the growth chart in comparison with other kids his age and gender. Based on the WebMD's kid height predictor calculator, he will top out at 6'2"

two more months

...and "Bob" will make his or her debut. We had our "refresher express" Lamaze class this evening. The paperwork is filled out. Our birth-center tour is Saturday. And now we wait in eager anticipation to meet our newest bundle of joy! Since the blog started after the ultrasound here are a few photos (check back for a clearer scan-these are just photos of the photos!)
The profile is very similar to Joseph's. Based on these 18 week measurements we are on track to have another 9 pounder!
Our alien baby with watermelon tummy
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