In the Spotlight- Joseph!

Favorite Color-  Blue (except some days he declares "Blue is no longer my favorite color. Today it's Red. Red is so colorful!)
Favorite bedtime lullaby- Winnie-the-Pooh theme song (which is strange since he's only seen t he movie once) and Itsy-Bitsy Spider
Favorite books- Are You My Mother? and The Hungry Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear
Favorite breakfast- Oatmeal! He laughs in delight any time we serve oatmeal.
Favorite lunch- Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich
Favorite Dinner- Oatmeal (we don't let him pick dinner very often!)
Favorite movies- Blues Clues, classic Sesame Street episodes, and Kipper the Dog
Favorite game- Cranium Hullabaloo (but when he plays by himself, he cheats. When the game announces which pad is the winner, he quickly hops onto it then dramatically gasps and acts surprised before shouting, "I won!"
Favorite thing to do outside- ride the tire swing or dig in the dirt. I can't tell you  how many household objects have been smuggled outside and re-purposed as shovels. Spoons, butter knives, screwdrivers, and even paintbrushes are common sights in our dirt patch.
Favorite chore- Collecting eggs. It's like Easter every day, and he never loses the thrill of discovering fresh eggs.
Favorite past times inside: Building train tracks, reading books, playing with playdough, or painting. (Unfortunately sometimes he climbs my studio bookcases to the top shelf, sneaks into my professional acrylics and turns his body into art. Luckily so far he's been meticulous the 2 times this happened, and paint didn't stray onto any furniture but stayed nicely confined to his body.)

Some of the things we love about Joseph- He is almost always happy, and lives life with exuberance. His laugh is a full-body laugh, with his head tossed back, knees bent, and hands clutching his stomach in glee. He laughs over the most mundane things, making life delightful. For example, no matter how often I serve PBJs for lunch, he always laughs in delight and acts like it's a rare treat to be savored.

He knows he's cute, and knows how to maximize that power by deliberately striking adorable poses or using cute voice inflections. (Actually, when strangers comment, "You're cute!" he usually replies with a nod, a shrug, and in a matter-of-fact voice and says, "Actually, I'm cute and adorable."

He loves scripture time and always gets his own little Book of Mormon when we gather to read (even though the rest of the family is currently reading together in the New Testament, Joseph still insists on bringing his Book of Mormon and pretends to follow along with us on random pages). He waits very eagerly for his turn to read, then pretends to read a verse (which he actually ad-libs). If I try to whisper the words to a real verse in his ear to repeat, he often gets indignant and states confidently that he can do it on his own. He loves to listen to scripture stories in the car while we commute 20 minutes to the school when we pick up the Big Kids each day.

Random fact- When it's time for bed, he has a particular way of sleeping with his special blanket. He lifts up his shirt to expose his tummy, then carefully places the blanket on his naked skin and pats it lovingly into place. (His special blanket is a soft sheepskin-style blanket that was a gift from his Aunt Lamby. This blanket was originally white and grey, but it's now looking more like light grey and dark grey after so many trips through the laundry and adventures with a busy toddler!)