Catching Up

Thanks to my blogger friends who encouraged me to try new things, last week I updated my template and did some click and drag to change my blog a bit. I was adding Bec to my Favorite Reads when I got bumped off the internet. Because my computer is so slow, I did not get back online right away. Then things got busy, and I have rarely been online. It seems that when I did get online, I was trying to catch up with reading and commenting. There has been little time for posting, although I had several things I wanted to share. The last few days have been a wild ride. Starting with Mom’s birthday on Friday and ending yesterday when we took the Grand Baby No. 1 home, it was just busy, to say the least. I am behind on my blogging and on my daily chores. Today is art with my high school girls and a private lesson as well. Mom accidentally ran off with my cell phone yesterday (our phones look alike) which is not a big problem, but it may keep me from being on the computer as much as I would like today. Maybe that is a good thing so that I can get more household chores done. I have lots to share – where to start is the question.

Knowing that my daughter-in-law could be having GBN2 any day, I chose to go to Wichita Falls on Friday to see Mom on her birthday. Besides, I know that baby’s come when they are ready and there is no point in putting off life waiting around. WF is not that far from OK City – I felt that I could get there fast enough, if need be.
Mom had a great 75th birthday. As I arrived in WF Friday morning, Mom called and said her friends were having a surprise party for her at McDonalds – wanting me to hurry and get there. Sure enough, her friends had a beautiful cake and lots of presents for Mom. Some of the birthday cards were very silly. If I had had a video camera, I could have made big bucks on "Funniest Home Videos" as the ladies passed around the cards and giggled at the rather risqué cards. After reading one card, Mom said, "That was a nice card." One of the ladies said, "Well you were with me when I bought it!" Mom laughed – not remembering buying the card. Then there was some discussion and one of the ladies said, "Never mind. You were not there after all" causing much laughter. There was another card that someone had written a paragraph of funny, tacky things, but forgot to sign her name – that brought much laughter, too. Eventually, the party broke up, but only to meet again at lunch. We met at The Secret Garden Tea Room inside an antique mall for a wonderful lunch and shopping. As Mom and I left the tearoom, I got the call that my son and daughter-in-law were heading to the hospital.

After dropping Mom off at her house, I drove home to pick up Toby and Jesse. The plan was for Toby and me to baby-sit GBN1 while Inpassing went to the hospital to be with her daughter. Jesse chose to go to the hospital also. As I said before, baby’s come when they are ready, and this one did not make her appearance until 7:06 Saturday morning. As soon as we got word, Toby and I loaded up GBN1 and headed to the hospital. I was just pretty excited to see GBN2. GBN1 was excited too. She seemed to think the whole thing was a party with all her family gathered together. She liked the new baby (pulled her little knit cap off and smashed it back on the baby’s head, checked out the baby’s feet, and petted her like she does the cat). I am sure she will be lots of "help". After getting to hold and see GBN2, we took GBN1 home with us to give the new parents time to rest and be with the new baby.
At this point, I have to tell you that GBN1 is a joy. She is in constant motion and chatters all of the time. She should be called Busy instead of Lizzie. There is not a button in our house that has not been pushed, not a dial that has not been turned, not a nook or cranny that has not been investigated. She even managed to click and drag the icons on my computer (something I did not know to do – hmm, maybe she could help me with my blog). She rearranged the canned goods. She kept Toby and I hopping. Because I refuse to "baby-proof" my house, we had to watch her like hawks. She is fast and smart. Although we had lots of fun with her, she is a handful. She slept through church on Sunday, which was nice, but Toby and I were hoping for a nap ourselves after church. While she slept in the chairs at church, Toby leaned over and whispered, "I’m just going to lay in the floor." I gave him the "I think not!" look. Jesse rescued us by taking her to the park for an hour while Toby and I took naps. That evening, we took her to a New Year’s Eve party (friends gathered to visit and play games) where she felt right at home with the crowd and noise. She loved feeding the horses. She terrorized the cat and dogs - they put up with her well. It was a busy time.

On Monday morning, my mom drove to Duncan to meet and drive to OK City with us to see the new baby. GBN2 is named after my mom and Toby’s mom. We took several pictures with Great Gran holding her namesake. The new baby is doing quite well in her new world. She is learning to nurse and enjoys being snuggled. Her big sister looked her over again, petted her a bit, and was very interested in the nursing process, but not too interested because she was busy entertaining the crowd. When we got home Monday afternoon, Toby and I kicked back and watched some bowl games. It was nice to be home and not be on alert.

Those are pretty much the events of the New Year’s weekend, but I wanted to share some more personal thoughts. I really enjoy GBN1. She amazes and awes me. She changed my name from "Mama Lou" to Boo Boo." Toby thought that was funny, but now she calls him, "Crewcraw" which I think is rather funny (I will explain some other time). When she sees pictures of her self she calls herself "Bess" which is also rather funny. She has an infectious laugh, which she does often. She puts her little arms around my neck and squeezes like she does not want to let me go – it is a great feeling. I have loved her from the minute she was born, but that love has grown as her personality has grown. When she was born, I don’t think the reality of being a grandparent had hit me yet. Now, I love this job.

With GBN2, there has been a little different feeling. She just feels right - comfortable – like she should have always been here. She feels peaceful. I look forward to seeing her little personality develop. I know that as much as I love her now, that love will grow. This grandparent stuff is just good.