Halloween

I know it's December, but here are the Halloween pictures. Sorry I'm so behind, but I think I have a pretty good excuse. ;)

The kids got to go the the church for the "Trunk or Treat" and then we took them to the zoo for "Boo at the Zoo." That's trick or treating through the path at the community college zoo. It's a lot of fun for the kids every year.

Josh was Superman. He wanted to have the fan going to blow his cape and make it look like he was flying. He had so much fun running around with his one fist in front like he was superman for real. No, he's never seen Superman, but I told him how to fly. :)

I gave Emily the choice of Tinkerbell or an Angel. She chose to be an angel. Such a beautiful one at that.

I included this picture to show how excited the kids were about Boo at the Zoo. Just kidding. I thought it was funny because they were so excited, then Emily fell asleep on the 10 minute or less ride to the zoo. My little sleepy head.

Emily thinks EVERYTHING needs to go in her mouth. Isn't the bucket so much better than all that candy?

Playing with Daddy

We took these pictures right after we brought Jessie home. The kids were dying for some daddy play time, so he complied with their wishes.

Horseback rides are the best!

Flying like an airplane is pretty cool, too

Emily's turn to fly

Comparisons

When Josh and Emily were born, they looked exactly like Peter did when he was born. When Jessie was born, she did not. I couldn't figure it out. I actually thought she was a little funny looking. :) And then, a few days later, I thought, "Hey, what did I look like when I was a baby?" So I looked up the picture of my baby announcement. Yep, just like her mommy, a funny looking baby. ;) She is absolutely beautiful now, though.

Jessie getting ready to come home from the hospital

Angie's baby announcement photo

Like mother like daughter!

The Birth

In the previous post, Peter promised I would fill in the blanks when I got around to it. So, I will do my best. First, I will start by saying that this was the most uneventful birth yet. Thank goodness. Just a background, Josh got stuck, so we had a c-section. Emily came by VBAC, but she had a bunch of fluid in her lungs that she couldn't get rid of by herself. She was turning blue, and they had to take her to the special care nursery to get her on oxygen. So, we were ready for a birth that was a little bit on the less exciting side. We are so thankful we got it.

A woke up on Thursday morning (October 22) with contractions at about 1:00. I laid there through a few of them before I realized what was going on. I'd had a few contractions in the middle of the night before, but these seemed to not be stopping. So, I got my phone and started timing them. They were about 5 minutes apart. At about 1:30, I woke up Peter and had him pack a bag for the kids while I hopped in the shower. I was really trying to put off going to the hospital if we could, but when the contractions continued, and got closer, we decided it was time. We called the hospital, then called our good friend Michelle. She came over and slept on the couch, then took the kids to her house for the day. Thank you, Michelle! Then off to the hospital.

This is really not a very exciting story. Sorry about that. We had a ton of questions to answer when we got there. After about 2 hours, we were finally done checking in and answering questions. I still wasn't progressing very fast, then I got up out of bed for a minute, and went from a 3 to a 7 all of a sudden. So, they gave me the epidural, and I felt much better, so we waited for the doctor to come in for the day. This was good, because the contractions were able to push Jessie down far enough that I only had to push through 3 contractions, and there she was. I was shocked. I absolutely knew I was having a boy. I guess I had a 50/50 shot at it. But I was wrong, and I am very happy with this little girl. The only thing that could have been a complication was that the cord was wrapped around her neck. So, I had to not push through another contraction while the doctor cut the cord. Thank goodness he was there when she came.

One interesting thing is that with each of my kids, I've predicted a day for their birth. I guessed the right day for Josh and for Jessie, and I was only one day off for Emily. Anyone want to play lotto with me? ;)

Baby News!!

Jessica Pearl Datin was born at 9:06 am this morning (October 22, 2009). She weighed 6 lbs 6 oz. and was 19.5 inches long. She was born 9 days early and is a little smaller than both of our others but is very healthy and eating well.

Angie woke me up this morning between 1:30 and 2 am. We had to wait for our babysitter to get here and then got to the hospital by about 3:30 am. Once she started pushing just before 9:00 she came fast. The doctor barely got there and got his gloves on in time. Here are a couple of pictures since everyone is dying to see them.


About a minute after birth.

She was sure crying good.

Now everyone is settled down and Mommy is happy.

The kids were ecstatic to hold her. They are both calling her "My baby."

Emily was especially excited.

Everyone wanted to be on the bed.


Emily wanted to be with whoever was holding Jessica.

I'll let Angie fill in everything else when she gets around to it.

Homecoming Parade

This last weekend was Homecoming here at UF. We played Arkansas and won... though Peter says we played so bad we should have lost. Oh well. Homecoming Friday is a HUGE holiday here. I think most of town is closed so everyone can participate. We enjoyed the day so much last year, we decided to go ahead and do the exact same thing this year. We drove down as close as we could. Then we walked down to the parade route, made a stop in Jimmy John's for lunch, (It's my all time favorite sandwich shop. If you ever get a chance, you should definitely try it out. The french bread is amazing.) the stepped out on the sidewalk to watch the parade.

The kids sat in the double stroller. We thought it would be easier to keep track of them that way. Here they are watching for the Fire Trucks coming down the street. I think that was their favorite part. It was LOUD but it's so neat to see the fire trucks and police cars come by with all their lights and sirens. I just love how you can see the anticipation in their faces as they wait for all the excitement to come their way.

They both had a blast waving at the people in the parade. However, Emily was quite distracted by the Sprite for a while. Not often that she's allowed to hold a huge old cup all on her own and drink as much as she wanted.

Pumpkin Patch

The other day, I took the kids to visit a "pumpkin patch" here in town. I showed up at the wrong time. 10:30, but it didn't really open until noon. The website was awfully confusing because it looked like it was open from 8 am - 9 pm. They just happened to have a field trip there, so there were a ton of people, so the let me stay and pick up some pumpkins anyway. They had hayrides and moon bounces, but I wouldn't let the kids do any of it because I was a little confused about whether that was part of the patch or something special. Later, I talked to my friend, Heather, who informed me that the stuff was in deed part of the experience. So, I took the kids back on another day with another friend of mine, Sandra, and let the kids have some fun. Here are some pictures from the second outing.

Sandra was kind enough to take a couple pictures with me and the kids. I am making quite an odd expression because I was really trying not to blink. I don't know which was worse, closed eyes, or this look? Oh well. The kids are super cute at least.

Josh in the moon bounce. Emily got in and stood around until I got in with her. Josh wouldn't even get in until I'd been in there with Emily for a while. After some other kids came over and bounced around, Josh and Emily finally got the idea and started really enjoying themselves. This is Josh mid-bounce. I'm amazed it turned out, since I only had my phone on me.

Emily thought this pumpkin was nice. She really tried to pick it up, but I think it weighed nearly as much as she does. I think she's standing here trying to figure out how she can take it with her.

Walking through the pumpkin patch with Sandra. I wish I'd taken the photo a little higher so you could see my friend as well, but I thought the kids were too cute right here to pass this photo up.

Ultrasound

Since I had Josh by c-section, and I don't want another one, my doctor likes to do an ultrasound toward the end to check on weight and position. Mostly to determine if he feels comfortable letting me do a VBAC. Anyhow, we had an ultrasound on Tuesday, October 13. The baby measured about 6 lbs 4 oz. It's right on target to be about the same size as the other two when he/she finally decides to join us. Here is a picture we got from the ultrasound.

After the ultrasound we were supposed to get, the technician switched wands (or whatever they call those things) and started a 4D ultrasound. She said that there was so much fluid around the baby's face, she just couldn't help herself. We didn't complain too loudly. I've always thought the 4D ones looked a little strange. Now we have one of our own and we can compare how close these pictures actually are to the real thing when our little one arrives.

More Belly Pics

So, I posted some pictures of my belly a couple weeks ago. And then the baby dropped a few days later. My mom wanted to see if she could see a difference, so here you go mom. I don't think it's that noticeable, but I do think you can see it if you really look. You can compare it to this post if you would like. I even wore the same shirt to make it easier to see.

I think it looks a little bigger a little lower? These pictures were actually taken on October 12, so about a week ago.

My Cuties

Just a few more pictures from September, and then I think I'm all caught up! Yeah!

Look at this smile. I just love it! So cute, and such a sweetheart.

Josh is just as adorable here. I think I need to get these two pictures printed and hung on the wall.

Snack time with Daddy is so special. It only happens a couple times a week, if that. They sure to love their Daddy. So does their Mommy. ;)

This was an engineering marvel. Josh decided he wanted to use the lifts we have to take the track to the top of the waterfall, but not use the waterfall. Daddy helped him figure out how to get the track back to the ground. Quite the creative little group we have here.

Football Season

Peter is a HUGE NCAA football fan. For the first time in our married life, we finally got tickets for him to go to the games. Here, you have to enter your name into the lottery, and hope you get them. We did. We got a set for him, and one for me. So far, he's been to 2 games, and I've been to 1. We've been selling the ones we don't use.

Peter with two guys from the office, Kenton and Akwasi, at the Florida vs Charleston Southern.

Here we are at the Florida vs Tennessee game. Boy, was it hot! I had been planning to go to the Arkansas game here in a couple weeks, but I was so worn out from this adventure, I will have to pass. It occurred to me while I was there that I had never sat in a student section before. The people behind us were quite vulgar. Made me really appreciate the time I spent in the band section... where people are generally not allowed to swear because they are in uniform.

Tractor Carwashes - Revisited

Last year, one of Josh's favorite things to do was to build "tractor carwashes." It had been a long time since he'd been doing it, but a few weeks ago, he decided he wanted to start building them again. He's also building train tracks again, which he had taken a break from as well.

One big difference from last year, however, is that Emily likes to help build things. That is before she dives on them to destroy them.

So proud of his handiwork. Emily, on the other hand, wants to taste the goods.

Biggest feat to date? A new DOUBLE tractor carwash. Good job! Already looking for more efficient ways to get things done.

Random Cute Pictures from August

I was going through my pictures, and I realized that I had several pictures of the kids that I enjoy, but that have no connection to much else. So, here are several pictures, just for the sake of pictures. Enjoy!

Is Emily practicing to become a model???

Josh wanted a picture, then, too. Whatever Emily gets, Josh wants too. It goes the other way as well.

Here is Emily "keeping company on" Josh while he uses the bathroom. It's so sweet of her to help him feel more comfortable in there. He's not a fan of being alone. She loves to sit in there like this. Just lounging away, like it's the most comfortable seat in the house. Who would have guessed?

Family Home Evening Refreshments. It's their favorite.

Josh was insistent that every photo taken of him should include him eating his ice cream cone. I guess we just needed to know that he could lick his cone with the best of them by the time he was 3 1/2 years old.

Every Saturday morning, Peter makes pancakes for breakfast, and the kids love to get up at the counter to help out. So, here they are being such big helpers in the kitchen. I also was quite surprised at how big Josh looks here. He no longer looks so much like a toddler, but is really getting to be quite the little boy instead.

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.