He's a Cowboy Baby!

My sweet baby boy is rapidly turning into a whirling, twirling, crazy, screaming, feisty, giggly, wild tornado of a little man. Joey seriously operates on two speeds…asleep and 200 miles per hour. He is constantly on the go go GO! Even when he is sitting still (which is not very often) you can almost see the little wheels in his head spinning trying to decide what he wants to do next. He is at that awesome little sponge stage where he learns something new every minute and is constantly trying to figure out the world around him. His vocabulary is expanding and he is really into repeating words and phrases. It is becoming increasing obvious that Joey has his daddy’s personality. He is a friend to all and knows no strangers. He loves to be the center of attention, but is just as content to amuse himself if no one is around. He loves to dance and sing (shout) and really loves to throw, kick, and attempt to catch balls. He LOVES shooting baskets and is trying to figure out baseball now that the weather is nice enough to play outside and he has been introduced to the baseball tee! Also like his daddy, Mr. Joe has a horrible temper!!! You don’t often see Daddy’s temper flare, but we see Joe’s almost every day. He throws fits (though not as often lately as he did a couple weeks ago) and screams when he is frustrated. It is actually pretty funny! He also is a hitter, which is not so funny. I have never seen him hit out of anger, but for some unfortunate reason he seems to find entertainment in randomly bopping his mom, brother, and the dog on the head with a toy hammer. It actually really hurts and the more we react the funnier he thinks it is. He has been spending quite a bit of time in time out the past few days…though he also seems to find great joy in being in time out too so who knows if the message is getting through! Joey still is not interested in television and does like to read, though we almost never finish a book now; he is constantly turning pages and handing me another book. He loves taking baths (I can’t wait to see him in the pool next week when we are on vacation) and continues to find no greater thrill than being anywhere with his big brother. No one makes Joe smile like Ben. They are truly best friends and Dean and I hope it stays this way forever. Also, as you can see from these pictures, Joey has found his "cheese" face! He loves the camera and whenever we got to take a picture he runs over and says CHEESE and makes this face--

Maybe not the most flattering of faces, but it sure is cute and definitely melts our hearts!

Joe completely wears us out but is such a joy to be around. He is such a blessing to our family and we all love him so much. I thought Ben was a handful when he was a toddler…I am beginning to think Ben was just a practice run and Joe is going to be the full on handful!