Here are a few photos of Elliotte Sophia, Belle’s little sister and Josiah’s new cousin. You’ll also see her parents, grandparents and aunties. Enjoy!

He also told us there was a 6% chance he was wrong. But then he said he was very confident it was a girl.

So, as far as we’re concerned, this is the first photo of our baby daughter! Can’t wait to meet her in 20-ish weeks … we love her already

No name yet, and we’re not going to announce a name until she’s born, but whoever gets closest to the name we choose (first and second names) will get a nice prize

Fantastic as our trip to the USA was, it’s lovely to be home with Bella and Gloves, cars with steering wheels on the correct side, and toddler-proof accommodation

We’ll be “business as usual” from Monday, but more photos from San Diego, Yosemite and San Francisco will appear as I go through them. It was a little more difficult than expected to blog while traveling with an 18-month-old boy who had just learned to walk!

Here are a few more photos from our time in San Diego. I shot some scenery too, promise! Will get to those photos later

Bobby and Lindsay put us up in their attic, which was awesome! Josiah was an especially big fan. He could reach the top unassisted. We were torn between pride and disbelief.

The day after meeting a bunch of other photographers at Chick-Fil-A, a few of us had a little shoot-out. Cindy posted her photos of us on her blog ... go check them out! Here's Leif and Erica getting some baby bump love.

Meanwhile, hiding in the grass ...

Lindsay and Clive didn't make it to the shoot-out, so here they are straight afterwards.

Hanging out at Bobby and Lindsay's place. We've spent a lot of time here :)

Joey demonstrating that, contrary to popular belief, he doesn't need to be in his cot to fall asleep.

Our second visit to Chick-Fil-A, Bobby and Lindsay's favourite hangout!

Cindy and Daniel from Orange Turtle. So good to meet them!

Joey took a liking to my camera. He shot all of these himself. OK, so we may have helped a little ;)

The rest of the Chick-Fil-A crowd.

Her name was June. She was married to one of our church’s founding elders, and her sphere of influence – within her family, her church and much further afield – would be impossible to overstate.

She might not have been influential in an obvious, public way, but the depth of her love for everyone she met was evident in lots of little ways: hospitality, random acts of kindess, her listening ear, her gentle advice, and so much more.

We traveled with Don and June to Rockhampton in 2004 – Don and I were preaching at a small conference up there. We’ll cherish that special time with her, and like so many others – most of all Don – will miss her terribly.

Thanks for everything, June. Until we meet again.

Anyway, allow me to present a day in the life of Josiah. I missed a few bits, but the important stuff is covered: sleeping, eating and playing

Enjoy

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This is what it looks like when he wakes up happy.

Who'd have thought pumpkin would be the first solid food he'd actually enjoy?

This right here? Mummy's fault. Good one, Mummy.

Still smiling for the last mouthful.

Playpen time!

We've just started letting him self-settle. The results can be ... random.

And this is what it looks like when he wakes up unhappy.

Bella and Radar are usually happy to oblige with pen-side entertainment!

Hanging out with Mummy on the front verandah.

At first, we were worried that he and Bella weren’t going to be the sort of friends we’d been hoping for. They were getting on ok, but Bella didn’t really want to play with him. She didn’t even want to share HIS new toys with him!

Happily, that is changing now. They’re having a good wrestle a few times a day, and are hanging out together more often than not (proof below ). We still need to work on Bella’s toy-sharing, but that’s improving too. Yay!

Anyway, here are some more photos

More from Radar's first day with us.

And here's a little series we like to call, "What do you mean, I can't sit on my sister's head? I luvs her!"

His name (for now, at least) is Radar. He’s a 6-month-old Australian Terrier. Hopefully he will love us as much as we love him by the end of his 2-week trial

My days have been sucked up in a vortex of silly little unproductive things.

I’m trying hard to get back on track (part of which will mean hiring a post production assistant – contact me if you have time and skills), so lots of photos are about to hit the blog.

Meanwhile, check out how big Josiah’s getting!

Mickey’s story, for example, came to a sad end at 3.30pm this afternoon.

You might not think the story of a dog – especially a lap dog like Mickey – is worth telling. A few years ago, I might have agreed with you. But our sadness over losing him is very real, and our desire to honour him with a small tribute on this blog is difficult to ignore.

If he was an ordinary dog, we might not have much to say about Mickey’s 10 years on this earth. But for all his barking, escaping, conquests of imaginary lady friends and determination to walk in the opposite direction to his lead, he accomplished a lot in a short time. Before we get to the photos, here are a few things we can remember:

• As a puppy, he consumed wallpaper, chairs and other delicacies.
• Later in life, he developed a fetish for McDonald’s Cheeseburgers. He would even go to town on the bun. Sadly for him, Michelle always stole the pickle before he could get to it.
• At the tender age of 14 (dog years), he survived an escape attempt despite being hit by a car on a major expressway. (I swear he was half-cat.)
• In 2002, he made the cover of Playboy the Newcastle Herald. Just for being cute at a Christmas lights display thing.
• In 2003, he scared off a home invader before he could pick up much more than a mobile phone stereo remote. Ha!
• Until recently, he slept in our bed, near our feet. Amazingly, there were no problems with claustrophobia OR oxygenation!
• He was a road-tripper extraordinaire. He went with us to the Gold Coast, Coonabarabran and Tuggerah without being sick ONCE.

So many happy memories.

Today, however, will be remembered as a day of heartbreak. Last week, we were told that Mickey had a tumour. The treatment and care involved in keeping him alive was going to be risky, traumatic and costly. So we decided that his time had come.

We’re happy that he’s not in pain anymore. But we miss him. A lot.

Here are some photos from his life. A few of them predate me being serious about photography, so please overlook the poor quality.

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When Michelle and I got married, Mickey and Gloves became siblings. Mickey was very much under the paw.

Bella joined the menagerie a few months later. They only ever cuddled by accident, and they certainly had a few fights, but all in all, they got on pretty well.

Mickey's eyes were bright and intelligent until the very end.

He made a habit of stealing Bella's basket. Occasionally, Bella retaliated by stealing his. We still don't know how she managed to fit!

Mickey always was a mummy's boy ... hardly surprising, considering she was the only human who stayed in his life from beginning to end.

His head wobble was legendary. This is only a mild example. I'm surprised he didn't break his neck every time we said, "walk?"

Here's a series from a visit to Mickey's favourite park. We returned here the day before he was put to sleep. I'm so grateful for these photos.

Nothing quite like marking a piece of litter!

Michelle was ready to pop with Josiah, so it was bath time! Definitely NOT a happy event for Mickey. Running the taps would usually kick off a game of hide and seek!

Bella wasn't such a big fan of bath time either. Mickey sympathised. Awww.

Eventually, Josiah arrived! Here's proof that Mickey still got cuddles. And was at least mildly interested in the human child ;)

Somewhat mildly interested?

Fan heaters were heaven on earth for Mickey. He never quite understood heat sources that didn't blow hot air all over his face. How he managed not to ignite is still a mystery.

I wasn't sure whether to include this one or not. In the end, I decided that this post would be incomplete without it, even though it would be easier to enjoy the happy photos without being confronted with the reality of Mickey's death.

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If you have any memories from meeting or knowing Mickey, feel free to share them by leaving a comment.