Back home!

After 11 1/2 long weeks, we are finally back in the good 'ol U.S of A and our home in TN. Maggie makes some great progress when we're in Toronto and it's definitely worth the trip, but still hard to be away. We've only been gone for 4 weeks at a time previously and that was tough. We only got to see the boys in person a couple times, so it was tough. And we girls and glad to be back HOME! (Well, Allie may not know she's happy, but her behavior suggests she still somehow knows)

We arrived home Thursday afternoon and then went to a 60th/40th wedding anniversary party this weekend. But now that we're officially settling back in, we are all very happy to be back together. Jake keeps telling me, "mom, you're back" or "mom, you're back home!" It's so sweet.

Happy Father's Day!

To my hubby, my babe, my Daniel. Happy Day devoted to you and your ever important role as Father in our home. I'm upset we can't be there with you, that you're not with all of your kids on your day and we can't fully celebrate you as a person and daddy. We love you very much and are so grateful for your presence in our lives. The kids love you unconditionally. And in my absence, Jake is quickly turning into a daddy's boy (and probably quicker than he would've if I were still there). Thank you for providing for us, being our spiritual leader and a resolute calm in a storm. Thank you for loving me and showing the kids what a loving relationship looks like. Hopefully they take it all in. Thank you for working so hard, especially in my absence, as you're taking on an additional role on top of your stressful duties as sole provider.

You are such a strong, constant leader and I pray the boys will truly look to you for the type of man they need to become and the girls will truly look to you for the type of man they need choose. And I pray none of them settle for less than the example you give. How insanely blessed are we to have you as our leader, our support and as their daddy.

We love you!!! Happy Father's Day!

Baby Allie- 10 months

And another month bites the dust. I'm gonna have my work cut out for me getting your party together when I get home! It is certainly not ideal to still be here, watching you grow, apart from our whole family and our home. But we'll be there soon!! You are still my precious little sweet pea Allie wallie baby girl. Maggie likes to call you Allie wallie now after hearing me say it a couple times. :) So what are you up to at 10 months?

• Pulling up to stand! I knew you were getting close and shortly after turning 9 months you went for it- on daddy's birthday, in fact. :)
• You have stood by yourself for just a few seconds a couple times and have taken just a couple steps while standing, but no cruising down the couch yet
• Still no teeth!! I feel so bad, you're in pain, grabbing at your gums and head. I just want to take it away from you. Hopefully those little boogers will break through soon :)
• Wearing 6-9 month clothes and size 1 diapers but we have size 2 at home and I'm sure you'll fit into them when we get there and make that move up
• You love table food. I started feeding you mashed up bananas a month or two ago but now you'll just take a bite out of it! One day at the clinic Maggie and I were eating and you just took a big 'ol bite! You mash it really well, so I give you bigger chunks to eat now. I'll give you peas now too after you helped yourself to several from my plate at dinner one night. :)
• You're down to 3 meals now- mostly revolving around our meals- plus snacks like puffs, rice rusks or bananas. You like chewing on apples- I think it feels good on your gums
• You are full on clapping now, it's so cute! In fact, it seems you've confused it with "so big" (since we'll play that then I'll clap) 'cause now when I say, "how big is Allie?" you start clapping :) So cute
• You have the cutest little baby laugh
• You still love playing with toys and really like making noise with them. Like banging puzzle pieces on the coffee table or measuring cups on the entertainment stand
• You sometimes talk with your toys when playing too
• You wave your hand bye and a couple times you've said "bah" for bye while waving

Oh how I love watching you grow my sweet baby girl! Mommy loves you sooo much!

My birthday

Being away from your family is pretty tough. Being away on special days- birthdays, anniversaries, mother's/father's day, etc. is even tougher. That being said, I was not at all looking forward to my birthday. I kind of wanted to skip it. But even ignoring days doesn't eliminate their existence.

So the night before my birthday I just decided not to make a deal of it or feel sorry for myself. I decided to approach it as any other day. I think this really helped me get through the day. No expectations = no let downs. (I'm pretty big on celebrating things if you didn't know, so this was a big step for me). And you know what? Yesterday turned out to be rather pleasant. It didn't "feel" like my birthday, but honestly, it hasn't felt that way in a long time. Just not the same as when you're a kid. The weather was beautiful so during our break, the girls and I picked up some lunch and ate in the park- it was nice, relaxing and enjoyable. I may not have the boys, but I'm blessed to be with my girls. After we finished for the day, we headed to our friends' place for dinner and they even surprised me with a cake and sang happy birthday! Maggie enjoyed hanging out with her little friend and I enjoyed the company.

Overall it was a really great birthday. Still miss my boys and wish they could be here in person- or me there- but the day was as wonderful as it could be in their absence. I meant to take a picture of me and the girls, but didn't. :( I did take a few of the girls though:

The boys visit

The boys just left after visiting us for just over a week. They arrived on Friday, May 29th, surprising us by coming a day sooner than planned. Daniel, Will & Jake showed up at the clinic while we were on a break- I was actually planning to stay at the clinic during the break, but I wanted to get to the Farmer's Market. They're usually closing up around the time we're done for the day, so I had to go during our break. The boys were waiting for us when we returned from our little excursion. I  parked and they both ran to me, it was good to hug them again! Daniel opened the back door to find a very happy Maggie and gave her hugs. Then Daniel and I were finally able to hug. The reunion was sweet, then we headed inside the clinic and finished our weekend before heading to "mommy's house" as Jake called it. Maggie rode with Daddy and Jake rode with mommy, very excited to be back in "mommy's car." That sweet boy loves his cars!

Unfortunately, it rained most of their first and only full weekend here. We were able to get to the park Saturday morning and relax but it was raining by the time we finished lunch so we were indoors most of the remaining day and Sunday. Will was pretty upset about the lack of pool- swimming is what he's been looking forward to the most since summer commenced. And they left for Toronto the day after school let out, so there was no time before the trip. We still enjoyed being with each other again. I'll admit, it took me a few days to get used to the extra mess. Three more people really bring more stuff and clutter.

We were able to make it to the park a few times during the week and go for walks.,I did, however, forget the camera each time. But my hands were full anyway, so. Plus Daniel and I took trips going to the clinic so the boys didn't have to go each time. This also gave me a break from going or having to take both girls and Daniel a chance to watch Maggie work and see her progress. When we did all go, though, one of us stayed in the back room with the boys and Allie. Lots of toys back there to keep them busy. Everyone went to the end of the last session to watch Maggie walk.

invasion of the Belcher kids!

Daniel didn't really want to leave- he wanted to get home- but didn't want to leave us and needed to get the drive over with before heading back to work Monday. So they stayed long enough to have lunch with us then hit the road. It was hard to say goodbye. At least we're over halfway done with our trip so there's only a few weeks left before we're together again.

 last morning together

The boys are on the road and it's just us girls again. The weather is beautiful today so we'll be back at the park soon. We miss you boys and love you!! Can't wait to get home!