My input on the calls is that it is nice she chose to discuss what was going on during her vacation. Look at it this way....she's having a good time...seeing new things...trying new things...and she wants someone to tell about it. Who does she tell? You. That's a good thing.
As for the "I don't miss you stuff" I think you might have handled a little different. It's okay to say "he's fine" and I'm sure he probably is, but I would have taken the opportunity to be understanding of her feelings. She's going away for a couple weeks, misses her son, and expects/wants him to at least miss her some. I would have said...."I've been keeping him busy" or "I'm sure he misses you, but we've been having fun to keep him occupied" or "that's just how 5 year old are I bet." No parent wants their kids to be miserable without them, but it's natural to want at least a little missing. I just think telling her he's fine is a little invalidating. Kind of like..."see, he doesn't need you." And Gabe, don't take that the wrong way or anything. I'm just trying to get into her head.
Have a good day.
In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. Abraham Lincoln
It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed. Theodore Roosevelt
