Joseph's many hats

the big brother hat:
Jacob has a bit of the cold that the rest of us have been passing around. Last evening he sneezed and Joseph leaned over and awkwardly positioned his arm so Jacob's mouth was in the crook of Joseph's elbow. "Jacob - we sneeze in our elbow."

the dramatic hat:
Now that all of our little boy diapers are "thrown away" and we use big boy underwear exclusively, we cut off the drinks an hour before nap-time and at dinner in the evenings. This is a bit of a hardship for Joseph who is one of the most hydrated little boys I know. Last night he was begging for something to drink about a half hour before bedtime. When I explained (once again) that he did not need a drink and that it was almost bedtime, I got this teary response. "Oh man. . . . I don't ever get anything to drink anymore!"

the student hat:
Joseph loves school and comes home singing some new song or spouting out something I know I didn't teach him. Two songs that he was singing around the house last evening:
1) G-R-E-E-N, G-R-E-E-N, that spells green, that spells green.
2) God our Father, God our Father, once again, once again, we are very thankful, we are very thankful, amen, amen.

the going-to-bed hat:
Joseph has the occasional "I don't want to go to bed!" meltdown . . . but usually he is very good about bedtime. We tell him when bedtime is (clock is at the top - or - clock is at the bottom) and when it is that time on the clock, he'll announce "the clock is at the top! time for bed!" If we don't respond fast enough he'll grab Red George and head for the stairs (at nap-time) or hop up on the couch and start saying his bedtime prayer (at night). The other night he hopped up on Christopher's lap and said his entire prayer so quickly that Christopher didn't even know what was happening.

the my-best-friend-is-a-monkey hat:
Yesterday, after another successful #2 in the potty, Joseph shared his joy with Red George.
J: "George, I poopied in the potty!"
George: "yay Joseph!" . . . and then proceeded to do a happy dance.