Appeasing My Sister - Belly Pics

It was brought to my attention that I have not posted a belly picture... I have, but you probably didn't see it, since I posted it for a month before the actual posting date. Click here to see my belly at the beginning of June, if you'd really like. So, unless you knew it was there, you wouldn't know to go look. Anyhow, I had this picture taken this morning, so this is me today. I will be 36 weeks tomorrow. I feel HUGE, but this picture isn't too bad, I don't think, anyhow.

Sorry I kept you in the dark for so long, Heather. :)

Pictures from Josh's Surgery

I know it was a long time ago, but I finally have the pictures here. On August 24, Josh had a hernia fixed. It was really not so bad. Peter stayed home with Emily... even though it was the first day of class... while I took Josh to the pediatric surgery center.

First thing Josh noticed when we got there was this fish tank. He absolutely loved it. It kept his attention better than any movie. He noticed the "Nemo" fish pretty quick, and then stood there watching them all swim around. Saltwater fish are so pretty.

Here is Josh laying on the bed waiting for the nurses and doctors to come and go and cover all the information with me. They had "The Fox and the Hound" playing. He had never seen it before, but it was a little slow for him. After a while, they gave him a little medicine to make him woozy. They said it was like giving him several cocktails, and some Motrin, all in about 2 teaspoons of liquid. They do that so they can take the child away from the parent before putting them under for the surgery. Josh didn't even notice that they took him away and mommy didn't follow. Thank goodness!

Josh post-surgery. They let him sleep the anesthesia off, so it took a LONG time before I got to go back and see him. When he finally woke up, they brought me back, and this is how I found him. Here, he's trying his best to muster a smile for the camera. Poor kid.

After he woke up enough, I got to hold him for a while. His mouth is purple because he ate a grape popsicle. On his hand he has a green wrap to hold the IV in place. It was quite a day for him. They also gave him something called a Caudal? block. I can't quite remember the exact name, but it's a bit like a low epidural. He had a rough time walking that evening. I think that was the hardest part for him. All he complained about that night was that he didn't understand why he couldn't walk, and why his legs didn't work. He did such a great job through it all, and he was back up and about the next morning with no problems whatsoever.

Mini-Golf and More

On one of the last days of the trip to Destin... I know, it was almost 2 months ago, but it's better late than never, right? Anyhow, we went to a place to play miniature golf. Unfortunately, there are no pictures of the actual golfing, but we had a great time. Emily ran around playing with the golf balls, and Josh played with his aunts and cousins. This place was really neat. It had several other things for us to do while we were there. I remembered the camera after the golf was over, but I got some of the rest of the fun.

Josh got to go on the bumper boats. But Emily was too short. Poor girl had to sit on the sidelines and watch.

Josh and Daddy getting into the boat.

The boats also had waterguns to shoot everyone else with. What could be better than that?

Emily was not content to stand on the bench seat. I couldn't, for the life of me, pry her off of the fence as she stood perched on top of the back of the bench. At least she found a way to enjoy it too.

After the bumper boats, we visited the kiddie park, where everyone could enjoy their time. Here's Josh riding in the engine of the train.

And Emily really enjoyed her seat on the train as well.

Then there were the airplanes.

And the carousel. Josh was doing a great imitation of the clown right there beside him.

Emily wanted to ride on a horse that went up and down. I don't think we could have asked for a day more fun for the kids. I think they will LOVE visiting amusement parks someday soon.

Early Morning

One morning during our trip to the Florida panhandle, Josh woke up super early, something like 5:30, and sick. After we took care of everything, he seemed to be just fine, and everyone was up, so we headed outside to see the sunrise. It was a nice chance to have a little time with just our family... even though a little more sleep would have been just as nice.

The moon was brilliant looking in the west. This picture doesn't quite do it justice.

At about 6:00 we got this shot of the beautiful sunrise in the east. The only downside to being on the panhandle beaches, instead of the Atlantic coast beaches, is that the sunrise is over houses, not the water. Oh well. It was still beautiful to see.

Daddy and the kids with the gulf in the background.

Mommy with all 3 of the kids and the gulf. :)


Following are just some cute pictures of the kids. Hope you enjoy!

Josh and Emily. Josh looks lost in thought, and Emily is trying her best to smile pretty for the camera.

My beautiful little girl.

Josh. Are you smiling big? Or are you showing us your tonsils???

Fun on the Beach

During our week in the Destin area, we were able to visit the beach every single day. We took pictures on Monday, our first trip to the beach. The rest of the week looked about the same. :)

Josh took the task of playing in the sand very seriously. Here he is working on one of his first sand castles.

Emily has a thing for bottles of water. Who would have known they could be such a wonderful toy.

Here's Josh really letting us know how much he loved being at the beach. I think my kids could live in the sand if I'd let them.

Josh is ever the helper. Boogie boards are apparently made to be used either on land or at sea.

Here is the artisan hard at work. Now I see where Josh gets his serious sand castle building side.

Each of us got a turn to be buried in the sand. It's surprising how heavy the sand can get. Josh had fun, but Emily wasn't so sure about it.

The Beach House

The first week of August we spent with Peter's family just outside of Destin, FL at a house on the beach. (Destin is in the panhandle near Pensacola.) I must say, we were very thankful to have such a short drive for our first Datin family reunion. It only took us 4 1/2 hours to get there. There sure are perks to living in Florida.


Our house was the blue one in the middle. It was a nice big house, 5 bedrooms, 5 1/2 baths. Beautiful on the inside. Perfect for a nice family get together. Josh still talks about the beach house a month later. The other day, he asked if we were going to go to the beach house, so it was apparently a good experience for him too. He loved hanging out with his cousins, running up and down the stairs and playing on the beach every day. Emily had a great time too. I think the were both disappointed when it was time to leave.

Here is the view of the Gulf of Mexico from our balcony. On the left, there's the trail we took to walk down to the beach everyday. The grassy areas are the dunes. Dunes are protected around here, so you're not allowed to walk on them at all. It sure was nice that the trail was there.

Last of July Pictures

Just a few more pictures from July before I move on.


Josh still loves to build with his blocks. I think this is one of the best Christmas presents he ever got, because he has continued to love it as the years fly by. He got these on his first Christmas... now he's about to have his fourth. Can you believe it?

Josh wanted to go ride his bike. He's really getting good at pedalling all by himself. He's also really sweet. He lets Emily have a turn every time, and she absolutely loves it... even though she can't reach the pedals.

First of all, note the look of complete frustration on Peter's face. I thought this was quite amusing... He was stacking all of the dominoes into a really tall tower. We have a really big set, so it was getting really big. I think it was as tall as he is sitting right there. He wanted me to get a picture of it, but just as I got the camera ready, one of the kids bumped the board it was on. Oops! This is all we got. I'm sure it was fun while it lasted. Maybe someday, Peter will be able to look at this picture and smile, or even chuckle. Ah, the memories. :)