I asked my mom if she’d come up and Gage-sit while I went to the British Tea, an annual charity fundraiser put on by New Clevelanders.  This is the newcomers club I’ve belonged to for 10 years and I’m currently the club’s historian, aka photographer.

My mom decided to invite my aunt Judy, my aunt Betty and cousin Kelly too.  So, the foursome arrived on Wednesday and left on Friday and, of course, I wait until they are getting ready to leave before snapping a photo.  Seems like Gage is always getting photographed in his high chair, but I guess that’s the only place he’s still enough.

Gage is going to be an only kid and I wish we lived just a little closer to my family.  It’s a little less than 2 1/2 hours and that’s great for weekend trips, but not as easy for stop-ins.  I want Gage to be surrounded by his extended family and I am always so thankful when they visit.  Gage always loves an appreciative audience and they were definitely that 🙂

As a first time mom, I am somewhat clueless about how or when babies and toddlers learn things.  Each month I religiously look at the milestones from the What to Expect book, oh wait, Gage is now 18 months and I haven’t looked yet, okay, I ALMOST always take a peek at milestones.  It’s nice to be aware of what should be happening or what’s about to happen, but the books don’t explain everything.

For instance, kinda thought that once I put a straw into Gage’s mouth it wouldn’t take more than a few minutes for comprehension.  I mean, he does suck on a bottle every night, right?  Well, it’s taken weeks and I finally broke down and bought the little juice boxes so I could squeeze it through the straw.  After a few days of this he finally caught on that he could do this himself.  I know he is late to the party and other kids have been doing this forever, but what can I say?  He’s been busy doing other things.

Like he is a master nose blower.  When we tell him to blow he shows off his lung capacity.  But, when he wants to be a big boy and  blow bubbles himself this is a problem.  We tell him to blow and, well, let’s just say that he gets very upset because his nose blowing doesn’t produce any bubbles.  It doesn’t matter how many times this has happened, I get a good laugh every time.

Watching Gage learn is fun.  One thing we have not had to teach him is love balloons.  Here’s a bonus picture of him running around the house like a madman with his balloon.