July

I can't believe it's already the end of July and Joshua is almost 1. Just two more weeks and he'll officially be a toddler. Anyway, we have been keeping slightly busy with doctor appointments and a week long beach trip to Emerald Isle. Joshua didn't know what to think of the cold ocean and the sand (the sound of it soothed him though) but Emily had a blast playing in the sand and ocean. Prior to this trip she was nervous about water that went higher than her knees. She loves baths and playing in shallow water but non-kiddie pools and lakes made her think she was going to go under the water. So I didn't have high expectations for her liking the ocean. But about 2 days into the beach trip she wanted her aunt Laurie to take her out deeper in the ocean. And she loved it. Go figure, the scariest body of water she has ever been in is the one that she loves the most. She is no longer so frightened of the lake either (we went a few days after we got back from the beach) and had a good time "swimming". Josh and I are both thrilled. She also had a good time playing with her cousin Aubrey (who is a year younger than her) at the beach. It's nice for her to have a girl cousin kind of close to her age that lives nearby. Playing with her two 6 year old boy cousins isn't always possible since she's a girl and she's 2 years younger (they often don't want to include her). Anyway, she keeps busy being creative (she comes up with so many made up words,games,and activities) and playing with her brother. They are usually cute to watch together. He often finds her very amusing and just laughs and giggles at her. Joshua is busy, busy, busy. He is into everything. He has a particular affinity to the white caps that cover the screws on the toilet base. If he manages to get into the bathroom he bee lines it for those. We're constantly snatching them from him. I joke that we should get him a bunch of those from Lowes for his birthday. He is also still very much into balls. He could chase those around for a long time. He cruises very well and sometimes stands unassisted (until he realizes it and grabs onto the closest stable object). He hasn't taken any steps yet. I don't think it will too much longer. I'm guessing by 13 months or so. Emily didn't walk until she was 17 months and so who knows. I doubt he'll take that long though. He's such a sweet and happy boy and soooo easygoing. As long as he's not ready for a nap or wants to eat he's good to go. He's also a good traveler. He cried maybe a minute on the way to the beach and about the same on the way back. Hopefully he hasn't changed his mind about it since then because we're heading to Pittsburgh in a week for a family reunion. That's 10 hrs and so I'm expecting some protesting. He went for his 2 month post op check up and the surgeon said he's healing wonderfully and if he hasn't had any complications by his 6 month post op check up he shouldn't ever and so that should be his last appointment. So, hopefully he doesn't and won't later either. Well, that's about all we're up to. Just getting ready for a long trip and both kids' upcoming birthdays.