TRAVELING BLUES

(I finally downloaded some pics so I can begin to post some things.) Rob has been traveling so much lately, so when he's home all we are doing is playing catch-up on everything! So my blogging has suffered. The kids miss Rob so much when he's gone. Gage continuously asks what day he is coming home and then each day says, "Is it Friday yet?" When Bella wakes up, she asks for Dada first thing. I miss him too and wish he didn't have to go.

We had Mike and Lora over for dinner and it was really fun. The kids love Uncle Mike and Aunt Lora and Bella will go to Lora happily - which makes me happy! We have been planning Grandpa's Surprise 80th Birthday Party. On Monday (August 11th), Mary Kay and Nathan invited us over for Family Night. Rob left town on Sunday and wasn't coming home until Friday. Mary Kay is so good about inviting me over when Rob's gone to help me pass the time and have fun. We had a yummy dinner and the kids played non-stop. Every once in a while, Bella would come running to me from whatever room they were in with a huge smile on her face, just to make sure I was still there. Her run is hilarious...one of these days I'll catch it on video and post it. We watched the Olympics (we love the Olympics!) and visited. Paisley slept the whole time so I had a really nice break. We're so lucky that the kids have their little cousins to play with. Rob is the baby of his family, so all the cousins on his side are older. The youngest cousin is 16 (I think). But they still love to be around their older cousins (I think Gage even has a crush on some!)

Gage is still entertaining us at every turn. He is always looking for ways to make us laugh and tells jokes that don't really make sense, but we laugh anyway. He is sort of regressing on some things, though. He insists on taking off all his clothes to go to the bathroom and then throws a fit because he "can't put them back on....I promise!" He used to feel so proud undressing and dressing himself and now he always wants us to do it. When I tell him that we aren't going to help, he throws a HUGE tantrum. Just another phase! But he is still a fantastic helper. He and Bella are really into pulling out all the utensils and playing with them. Each day they come up with a new game or story for the utensils. One night, after a long day, I came up to the kitchen to find Bella had gotten into the crackers and they were all over the floor along with the utensils. I gave a heavy sigh and said something like, "Oh, come on, you guys", and Gage immediately jumped up and said, "Don't worry Mom, I'll clean it all up" and he did. It was wonderful. He just seems reluctant to be a "Big Boy" and do things for himself. Probably because I am more anxious for him to do things for himself! It's really fun to see Gage and Bella play together. She is his biggest fan, and he is hers too. They go throughout the house just playing and making up games and laughing. It's awesome. I think he can't wait for Paisley to get old enough to play. Sometimes he forgets that she is just a little baby and tries to include her. He has recently taken to one of Bella's dolls and says that she is his baby and he carries her around. Best of all, he'll sit on the couch and lift up his shirt and "nurse" his baby. He'll sit there for like ten minutes, pretending. Sometimes he'll cover himself and the "baby" up with a towel to be modest. Rob doesn't like this role-play, but I think it's hilarious.

Bella is so much fun. She seems to have five new words each day. It's cool to see her discover and explore new things and see the little light bulb over her head as she figures things out. She is into EVERYTHING and loves making messes. I cannot take my eye off of her or she'll be pulling out every drawer, cabinet, roll of toilet paper, makeup, clothes, etc. She is into climbing up on everything and has had two bad falls. It hasn't scared her away from climbing yet. It's so interesting how every child is so different, even in the same family. Gage never got into ANYTHING and he never was a climber. She is also obsessed with cleaning. She'll say, "wipe", and demands you give her a baby wipe so she can walk around and clean everything she can reach. She loves to have wet paper towels to clean her hands and face and all the tables. She will say, "wash hands" all the time. When I hold her, she plays with my hair so sweetly. She is so sweet to Paisley...she'll kiss her gently and say, "Hi, Baby!" very excitedly. When Paisley is sleeping, she puts her finger to her mouth and says, "sshhhhh".

Paisley - I still just want to eat her up. She is chubbier than ever and so happy. She is a dream baby - I'm so lucky. She gives big smiles constantly and loves to grab onto my shirt or my hair. Her eye color is gray for now. Gage's eyes did the same thing - they didn't turn to brown until he was about 8 months old. I think that's going to be true for Paisley as well. Rob is still holding out...in fact, we have a bet on it.

Each day just flies by and I wonder what I got accomplished. I wish there was more time in the day......don't we all?