Cool-Nice

This is Joseph's new favorite adjective. Whenever he sees something good he says, "Cool-Nice!" e.g. Joseph likes the scenery whilst driving back from the mountains: "Cool-Nice!"
He appreciates the decor of the restaurant we're eating at: "Wow! Cool-Nice!"
He is excited about the dinner I've put on the table: "Cool-Nice!"
...If only you could hear his little voice exclaiming this phrase so excitedly. It cracks me up every time.

In other news, we just got back from a trip to Fontana Dam, NC in the Great Smoky Mountains (near the borders of NC, TN and GA). This was our first exclusive nuclear family vacation. When we first arrived at our accomodations, Joseph was so excited to be in a new place and ran through all the rooms, exploring and exclaming things like "Wow!" and "Cool-Nice!"
We enjoyed practically perfect fall weather. It was chilly in the mornings and evenings (which provided Michael a good reason to build a great big fire) and generally warm and sunny during the day. We saw lots of beautiful fall foliage, enjoyed some easy to moderate hiking trails, went to a fall festival and did a self-guided tour of a cheese farm and pottery studio (where they let me pick a big bag of tomatoes and peppers from their garden!).

We learned that Joseph is not a very fast or focused hiker. Not that we were expecting him to be, but we didn't realize that he would take interest in EVERY SINGLE different stick and twig that he came across on the trail. So, he was not even walking at the pace of a meandering 2 year old. I wore him in a baby carrier for subsequent hikes and that worked out better for us. Then Joseph took more time to look at the trees and scenery and pointed out the many "big tchees" and "baby tchees."

While we were away, we hired someone to repaint our entry way, stairway and second floor hallway including all the ceilings in these areas and the doors and the trim. It was like coming home to a new house and such a refreshing change from the drab colors that used to be there! (We painted the walls a very pale yellow called "lemon-meringue.") Now we are looking forward to actually hanging some pictures on the walls and getting a new light fixture that better suits our tastes. Little by little this house is becoming more and more our home.