To Addison and Drew, with love

My days as Granny Nanny
Are drawing to a close;
I've fixed your lunch, I've wiped your bottoms,
I've even washed your clothes!

I've rocked you till you fell asleep,
I've held you when you cried;
I've tickled chubby tummies;
I've given a thousand horsie rides!

You've filled my days with untold joy,
You've made me very proud;
I've played with each and every toy,
We've giggled and laughed out loud!

I'll miss my days' beginnings
With joyful, lovely faces,
I'll miss our trips to parks and gyms
And other exciting places.

You've grown and learned so very much
And I treasure each memory;
But time moves on, as people say,
And, my sweethearts, so must we.

I know that I'll still see you
And we'll still have time together,
Not quite the same, but this won't change:
I'll love you both forever!

Babies!

Last week was Spring Break here in Oregon. Addison and Drew's mommy took a couple of days off and we planned for a week that was a bit different - one that involved Drew's first overnight with Gran and Grandpa!


Briana - my d-i-l - thought it would be nice for her to have a special day to devote to Addison - the first day just for him since Drew was born last June - and I thought it would also be nice to have a chance for Drew to spend the night. Funny how it all works out sometimes!

Jim and I were very excited to have a baby in the house again. It's been so long since Addison and Ada were all cuddly and needed holding, and we both have missed that. So, I dusted off the Pak-n-Play, picked Drew up, and off we went!


She's a very good baby, and enjoyed having new sights to see and new things to explore. She had a bit of a cold and woke up a couple of times during the night, but always went right back to sleep. Needless to say, Grandpa and I thoroughly enjoyed having her over, and hope we can do it again soon!


Oh, and Addison had a glorious time at Oaks Park with mommy and daddy!


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We then had the joy of having Ada with us on Friday and after dinner we all went to the hospital to welcome our latest addition to the grandchild team, Felix William!


Isn't he cute?

Isn't she lovely?

I realized today that I really haven't written about my granddaughter since right after she was born! BAD Gran!

Since I resumed my role as Granny Nanny in mid-September, we've developed a comfortable routine .Briana and I crafted my schedule quite carefully, since I didn't want to completely give up my days with Addison. On Thursdays, when he's home from school, we enjoy putting puzzles together, playing games, and - when the weather allows - taking walks. One of our favorite pasttimes is for him to sit next to me while I feed Drew, and I read to him while he turns the pages. Once in a while we share the reading part, but it's all about being together!

Drew is a cutie, of course. I've never taken care of a girl-baby before, and was a bit apprehensive about diapering her girl parts, but I think I've got the hang of it now. Somewhat different from all my boys, but the mechanics of the operation are pretty much the same.

What I have found is that it's really hard to pass the sale racks in the baby department of our local store! I've bought things for all my grandsons, of course, but they were just never quite as cutes as onesies with ruffles on the butt. I do try to be judicious, though, since she has a ton of clothes that her mom got from friends with little girls. And when I say a "ton," please believe that it's not that far from the truth!

She's become very social and is getting more and more vocal, too. I love her cooing sounds, and she can blow and bubble quite well! Like her brother and several other family members, she's teething early and chews on anything she can get to her mouth. She's also mastered the art of thumbsucking, which is a good thing since she absolutely refused to take a pacifier!

She's sleeping now and I'm going to take advantage of the time to eat my lunch, but I knew you'd want to know all about her, right? I thought so!

Back by popular demand! :-)

It's been a long while, and I appreciate those of you who have asked when I will resume blogging. The answer to your question is, "now!"

When last you saw me, I was heading home from visiting my Illinois family, and you're excused if you thought my plane has been sitting on the tarmac in Minneapolis all month! Truth is, I arrived home safely - and nearly on time - and have just been really busy (with a little "lazy" thrown in for good measure).

I've thought about blogging, and have let several good opportunities pass me by. However, with the state of things in our country, I'm sure I'll have lots to say in the coming weeks and months! And, if the truth be told, I do enjoy writing this blog and staying in touch with the blogging community. Writing has always been a creative - and therapeutic - release for me, but I'll never make it in the Big Time because I simply let too many things get in the way of doing it.

Last week I began Phase II of my life as Granny Nanny. As you know, we had a new little addition to the family over the summer and Ben & Briana are once again honoring me with the joy and responsibility of taking care of Miss Drew during these formative (and fun!) months until she is old enough to broaden her horizons and spend her days with other children on a regular basis.

So on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, Drew and I bond, laugh, play, take walks, and just generally have a good time getting to know each other. Our first week was a little bumpy since she was pretty p.o.'d at me for not being her mommy. The bottle of mother's milk was NOT an acceptable subsitute for the original packaging, and she spent two days carefully studying my face so she would know me when I showed up again! It did make all of us laugh because she was so intent and looked so angrily at me every time I tried to feed her. Even when we saw her over the weekend she was quite wary with me. I'm happy to announce that so far today we've had good success, and I am no longer cast in the role of Bad Gran!

At least that's the status this morning; we'll see what the rest of the day brings...

On Thursdays, Addison is home from school, so I watch both kiddos then. Last week was fun. Addison is very good with Drew, and she thinks he's just the best thing ever! She laughs and smiles for him and he's teaching her the States and their capitals. Oh, and that there's a Portland in Maine as well as in Oregon! It should be interesting when she's old enough to start talking!

We've had a camping trip, a couple of barbecues, and, although fall arrives in about 4 hours, we're expecting temperatures in excess of 90 degrees today. It's been just over a year since I started this blog, and it's been an interesting experience so far. I've made lots of friends and have enjoyed reading their blogs. Now that I'm back, I hope you'll all resume reading!

When you're hot, you're hot!

There is nothing that means more to me than my family.

Today - our third day of 100+ degree temperatures (with another hot one promised for tomorrow) - I invited my daughter-in-law, jr. to bring the kids to our house to spend a few hours in the air-conditioned comfort of our 5th wheel. With a three-year-old and a one-month-old, I knew Briana would be facing one more uncomfortable afternoon, looking for ways to entertain two children without having to face the crowded "comfort" of a mall, a park, or some other form of entertainment. She graciously obliged, thinking, I'm sure, that she would find some respite and some company while we endured another day of our heat wave. And, since I know her pretty well, she was also thinking that Gran would enjoy some time with the kiddos!

She's such a smart woman!

After she called to say they would be coming over, I extended the invitation to my son Ben, and also to Jim's son and daughter-in-law, and our granddaughter, Ada. Unfortunately, they weren't able to join us, but we had a fun and impromptu gathering of Ben, Briana, Addison, and Drew. We were cozy in the 5th wheel as we enjoyed slot cars, movies (Elmo and Winnie-the-Pooh), a light - and cool - dinner of shrimp, cucumber salad, strawberries, cantelope, and a little beer and wine.

I'm basking now in the afterglow of a family afternoon, spent with people I love, doing things that were enjoyable across the generations, and knowing that I am, without question, among the most fortunate of people!

We can always weather the vagaries of life, of weather extremes, of misfortune, as long as we have people whom we love - and who love us right back!

It's been a great summer so far!

Oh, gosh, where to begin?

I guess I should show you my beautiful granddaughter, Drew Alexandria, born just two days before my birthday. I haven't had much time with her yet, but am planning to remedy that tomorrow. I'll pick Addison up from school, take him home, and spend the rest of the afternoon with Briana and the kiddos. Then I'm invited to stay for dinner so I can have a little more time with Drew. After all, I have to learn to change those cloth diapers and she and I need to get to know each other a little better!

On Sunday, July 6th, Jim & I took off in our 5th wheel for a few days at the Oregon Coast, clamming with friends. Razor clams are quite the delicacy here and digging them is loads of fun. Cleaning them, not so much. Eating them is awesome!

So, the way to dig is with a "gun" (actually a tube about 3 feet long and 3-4" in diameter), in the wet sand, while the tide is going out. This entails getting to the beach at about 4:30 or 5:00 am (morning tides are best), rain or shine (mostly rain here in Oregon), and being willing to get very, very wet in the process! There is a per-person limit of 15 clams per day, and Jim and I both limited on each of three days, but only dug 15 between us on one day.

That's 105 razor clams in my freezer, folks!

But it was fun. We were with people we enjoy, we had mostly good weather, we managed to take late-morning naps (required when you get up at 3:30 and spend two hours in the surf!), we drank a couple of glasses of wine, had bonfires, roasted marshmallows, and just generally put the cares of the world aside for a few days.

As always, though, it was good to come back home!