Our home has been invaded by the dreaded BELLY BUG this week. Gage has been sick since last Thursday, and has just now caught a break. I have felt so sorry for him and so helpless. I can truly say that the worst thing about being a Mom is the helplessness you feel when the little ones are sick. There's just simply nothing you can do to make them feel better. So...

Last Christmas, Gage got so many toys from family that I decided to put a few things up until he was tired of playing with what he had. I had really planned on bringing them down before now, but those grandparents of his won't quit buying new toys to replace the old ones. Anyway, since he has been so sick and I have felt so sorry for him, I got his Little People farm out for him. He LOVES animals so I thought it was only appropriate!

He drove the tractor down both our legs numerous time making the "vroom" noise!

Turns out, I should've got it down months ago...he loved it!

Blogging Challenge

So, I've been blogging for a couple of years now. From time to time, I tend to get discouraged from it and forget for a while. I very rarely have comments on my posts, and I very rarely comment on other peoples posts. Blogging seems to be a waste if no one is listening, giving advice, or just simply letting me know they've been there.

This week, on Jenna's blog, she's having a challenge for everyone to comment on atleast 10 blogs per week. I'm so excited about this and I hope it gives me reason to do better myself.

So, with all this being said, let me know you've been here and I'll do my best to hold up my end of the deal ;) Talk to you soon!

a little man in the tub...

I cannot even begin to explain to you how much Gage loves bath time. Every night when we get finished with dinner, he goes straight into the bathroom and pulls back the curtain. The first few times we thought it was coincidental, but we soon realized that this was very much on purpose. I guess there's nothing better than a good bath before bedtime!

Usually by the time his bath is over, there is a huge puddle of water in the floor and water splashed all over the walls.

At least he doesn't fight me when bath time rolls around!

Another of his favorites is running around naked when he gets out. When he was a baby, he had a terrible diaper rash and the doctor told us the best thing for it was air. So...to this day, Gage still feels the need to "air out". Usually the airing out lasts about an hour and luckily we haven't had any accidents on the carpet...yet!

I feel quite sure that's the cutest naked booty I've ever seen!

Puppy Love...

When Michael and I met, I had a dog. She's not your ordinary dog though. As a matter of fact, she thought she was a human. She followed me everywhere I went and stayed inside most of the time.

When Gage was born, her poor little life changed a bit and she grew to be second in line. She has never been the friendliest of dogs, and I really wasn't sure about having her around a baby.

Needless to say, Roper and Gage have developed into being pretty decent buddies. She isn't big on him being rough with her, but just like always, she loves the attention. Last night, I caught him giving her hugs...

and isn't that sweet?

Outside, Momma...

Gage has learned a new word this week, and he feels the need to use it quite frequently. Apparently the heat isn't as bad to him as it is to me because he can't get enough "outside".

He loves it out there! I don't think we've ever spent money more wisely than the money we spent on the playset!

He loves it and he's even learned to climb the ladder by himself! Scary...I know!

One of his favorite things to do is to stand at the bottom of the slide and jump off. To be honest, it scared me to death the first time he did it. I felt certain he was going to break something and I feel sure there are injuries to come. They say its just part of raising a boy ;)

He falls head first everytime...

I guess it's good thing he's tough!

I had a few more pictures of our day at the ranch that I wanted to share. Pictures certainly don't do this place any justice, but I had to post them anyway!

This is the creek Gage was playing in! It is such a beautiful place!!

And here's Papaw perched on the creek bank!

This is such a neat picture to me. You can barely see the cows ears above the grass. Those things watch every move you make!

I feel so sorry for this little lady. I think she's quite possible about 12 months pregnant ;)

Last but not least, the men in my life! I love them more than life itself!

I hope you have enjoyed a "mini-tour" of Dad's ranch!

Have a great rest of the day!!

Visiting Papaw...

Michael, Gage and I went to see my Dad yesterday. It was so incredibly hot, and we weren't sure what we would do when we got there, but we went anyway. It is still so hard not having my Dad living 15 minutes away anymore. We spent the majority of the day inside visiting and playing with Gage, but when the weather cooled off, you had better believe we were outside.

I have been wanting to take Gage to play in this creek since the first time I saw it. Every other time we have been there it has been too cold, but yesterday it was perfect!

He LOVED the water!!

I never dreamed I would be one of those Mother's that would allow my son to be absolutely filthy the majority of his life. The truth is, there's nothing cuter than that little dirty face when he's having fun! As long as he loves it, so do I!!

He would bend down, pick up a rock, throw it back, and do it all over again! SO CUTE!!

This little boy melts my heart!

Thanks for having us, Papaw!

Sometimes it's hard for me to believe how fast my little tiny baby is growing up. In fact, he's not a little tiny baby anymore at all. He's getting bigger by the minute and running around so fast I can't keep up with him.

His Daddy has taught him a terrible thing...he now climbs UP the slide! Not good...not good at all!

He thinks it is really fun to climb up and go down...face first!

Yeah...lovely huh?! The thing is, it's really hard to get onto him when he turns around and does this! He is so excited, he can't quit laughing!

He has learned to do the "motor" sound with his lips. He does it everytime he sees a 4-wheeler, golf cart, motorcycle-mainly just anything that has a motor. His face is so cute when he does it!

I love this little dare-devil with all my heart!!

Some more 4th of July...

Big Daddy had a 4th of July party on Monday, so we spent the day there. MeMe and Paw joined us and had a good day playing in the pool!

For dinner, Big Daddy cooked Crab Legs and shrimp...it was YUMMY!!!

Happy 4th of July and I hope it was good to all of you!

Until next time...

4th of July...

Our 4th of July weekend was a lot of fun this year! This was our first year to actually be able to enjoy the fireworks and all that goes along with celebrating the Holiday.

Sunday, Mom and JD invited us to the lake for fireworks. We had plans to spend the evening with Brian, Kelea, and Joe, so we just took them along with us. This is Gage's buddy, Joe. He is the cutest little thing, and as country as he can be! I just love his little accent!

We got to the lake a little early so the boys could play and I'm so glad we did! They loved the water, and of course...Laine! Gage loves Laine!

This is such a neat picture of Brian and the boys! They loved playing in the sand!

It didn't take Joe long to realize that Laine was a pretty cool guy!

He got up in the middle of the fireworks to sit with him.

Gage sat with his MeMe and was passed out before the show got started good. It was a long day for a little boy!

I ended up getting some great shots of the fireworks!

We had a great time and can't wait until next year!