Our Joe is THREE!

Our littlest blessing, sweet Joe, turns three today!  Three whole years of enjoying his smiles and intensity, his enthusiasm and joy.  We love him so much and have enjoyed this past year of seeing him become less and less of a baby and more and more of a "big boy"!

It was quite a year for Joe!  He turned 2 right in the middle of our adoption process for Toby and had his first flights ever from Las Vegas to New York to Paris to Kiev, Ukraine!  He was a great little traveler (for the most part) and was well-loved by whomever we met along the way!

Joe fills the role of youngest child quite perfectly.  He is doted on and cared for by all five of his older siblings.  But he can also drive all five of them nuts.  He wants so desperately to do whatever the big boys are doing - and for the most part he can keep up quite well!  He loves to do "school" along with us and play whatever they are playing...and he is learning so many new skills along the way.

Within the past six months, Joe's language skills and vocabulary have just exploded.  Last year on his 2nd birthday, the doctor was sending us to speech therapy.  (We went once just before we moved!)  I just knew he was a late bloomer and that it was only a matter of time before he would be as expressive verbally as his big brothers!  One particularly nice thing to hear him say often is, "Thank you, Mommy!"  He says it for anything - I pour him a glass of milk, I serve him lunch, I pick up a crayon he dropped....always, "Thank you, Mommy!" What a grateful little guy!

His intensity and the way he throws himself into everything physical that he does reminds us an awful lot of Jack at this age.  He and Jack really are so much a like and enjoy the same things.  But Joe and George are good buddies, too, and can play for hours together.  Toby is still learning to have patience with his youngest brother - but can often be found hugging him or playing nicely with him, too.  One thing Joe knows is how to ham things up!  He knows just how to make us laugh or smile just perfectly (and genuinely) for the camera!  He is bursting with joy and vivacity!

We are so grateful for our sweet Joe and all he adds to our family!  We are treasuring each day with him, knowing this is the last time we will see each of these stages as parents.

(**The photos are not in chronological or topical order....but there are so many of them, I just loaded them anyway!  There are a lot and some may be repeats from previous posts...but please enjoy a few minutes of cuteness overload for the sake of our birthday boy! :-)**)