When She is Good

I am enjoying (most of the time) my grandchildren. Alexis turned three in June and Kellan is almost 10 months old. The kids live about 12 miles from us, but traffic turns that into 30 minutes, or more, of travel time.

Alexis goes to preschool programs in the morning 4 days a week. She comes home for lunch, quiet time and then an afternoon of doing whatever toddlers like to do. She stays home on Thursdays, and I have been helping Holly, the other grandmother, with kid care then. I also get to have Kellan on my own for a few hours on most Fridays.

Alexis fails at quiet time. She fails at napping. She even struggles with sleeping at night. Nona Holly and I often wonder what escapades Alexis will have when she is supposed to be quiet or napping. And, in hindsight, it is when she is quiet that she is up to something! Like... the time I came into her room to find all of the bedding removed from her bed... and the mattress moved off as well!

Here are a few more scenes from the summer:

They really need to get a dog!

Clean up would be so much easier!

Alexis is not ready for a car of any size! 

She couldn't quite coordinate pushing the "gas" pedal, AND steering!

Who needs a TV?

We took a break from scooter riding to pose on a funny bike!

Kellan is a sleeper!

Helping Grammy bake is the best!

I can handle this part of baby-sitting!

At the Botanic Gardens

Captured... by the camera, at least.

At the dog beach

Birthday Bash

I can't believe that our grand baby is three years old! On one hand, she hardly seems to have been on this earth very long at all... and on the other hand, she seems to have been here forever!!

Our son and daughter-in-law invited us to Alexis' third Birthday party.... and then mentioned that maybe they could use some help with the Birthday cake! OK... I can help. I used to enjoy making themed B-day cakes for my kids.

Alexis does not watch TV (they don't have one)... but she has been allowed to watch Puffin Rock shows on the computer, an animated show originating in Ireland. So... Grammy CiCi looked at pictures from Puffin Rock and planned how she could make a cake... and cup cakes... that were Puffin Rock themed:

Then I checked the online RSVP's... 54 people were coming. 54?!!! You MUST be kidding!!

We thought they were crazy!

My son had sent me a link to an applesauce cake recipe he thought would be good. I went to the store and bought the ingredients.... then I went back to the store again to buy the applesauce I forgot on the first trip. Evidently... applesauce is a key ingredient of an applesauce cake!!

One batch of the recipe made... one 9" round cake... or 15 cupcakes. I baked 5 batches of the recipe... two for the cake and three for cupcakes. Oh, and I made another trip to the grocery store for more butter. Ugh!

Then I began icing the cake... using a cream cheese icing. The "Mr." made another trip to the store for more powdered sugar. I was less than organized!

I forgot how long it took to making icing, color it and squish it out of a decorating bag. I became very frustrated. The cupcakes weren't going to happen... not as I imagined them. But, a quick fix was to color the icing and make a rainbow... it's all part of "Puffin Rock".

Image from the Internet

The party was being held in a small park just down the street from our son's house. The weather was perfect. The bounce house was delivered and set up and people began arriving. There were toddlers and babies and kids all around. The moms and dads stayed, too. Pizza arrived. Many, many pizzas!

Then we brought out the cake(s). The party goers enjoyed the cake. I received many complements on the applesauce cake itself. After three hours, folks began to leave and the party wound down. The party did not meet our expectations of a disaster waiting to happen. Everyone had a great time. There were only a few tears from minor bumps or affronts. There was one scuffle over who should have a certain stick. And there was only one toddler who went home in wet pants! It was a phenomenal day!

FaceTime

Our granddaughter lives in San Francisco. We live in Colorado. It isn't always easy to hop on over to Frisco for a visit. So, our son does the next best thing by taking advantage of today's technologies to FaceTime with us. We get to see Alexis, and she gets to see us.

I have been amazed at how interactive the FaceTime sessions can be. Alexis truly connects with me through the screen. One time when she was about 15 months old, she had something in her hand. I asked about it and my son explained that it was her doll's hat. I told Alexis to get her doll and put the hat on it. She wandered off and came back into screen range with her doll and tried to do just that - Dad had to complete the task for her!

Another time my son tuned in while Alexis was finishing her dinner. I mentioned that I was hungry, too. Alexis held out some food and I moved toward the camera as if I was going to take a bite. The next thing we knew, Alexis placed an apple near the screen for me to eat! My daughter-in-law took a picture to show me what was happening off camera!

Recently we all got together for Thanksgiving. It appears that the FaceTime experience transfers to real life. Alexis, now 17 months old, showed no hesitation in coming right up to me. I am so thankful that the technology gives me a window on her daily life!

Alexis at Thanksgiving.... RealTime.

Asheville #2

The best part of our trip to Asheville came just after our trip with Adventure Caravan came to a conclusion. Our son, daughter-in-law, and our granddaughter came for a visit!

Alexis turned 10 months old on her visit. 

She has become a little person.

She is no longer a baby!

She eats real people food, for the most part.

Here she is telling me the strawberry was a bit tart!

And, since she is walking,

it was time to get big girl shoes!

However, she is still young enough to take a nap when a nap is needed!

We walked around downtown Asheville and stopped in a few shops here and there. We stopped by Lexington Glass Works. This was a fun stop, as the owners, Billy and Geoff do the art, but also want to teach and inform. They filled us in on everything they were doing as they crafted a large vase.

It begins by shaping clear glass, before colored glass is added.

Here the glowing glass, which will cool to red, is pressed around the clear glass.

Glass blowers work in teams on larger pieces.

Geoff is blowing in the tube while Billy rolls and shapes the glass.

The globe is flattened

Temperature is key to glass blowing. 

The internal temperature and the external temperatures

of the piece need to be carefully monitored and adjusted.

Sometimes the piece would be turned in the furnace,

other times they would use torches to heat only one area.

Even Alexis is captivated by the process.

Or, maybe, she thinks the guys are kinda cute!

Asheville has become an artist community. Many of the warehouses have been turned into artist studios, forming the "Arts District". It was fun to stop at a few of the studios to see the art and meet the artists. 

Baby of Mine

I never would have thought that being a grandparent is as wonderful as all of my friends claim it to be.

Nope. 

Never would have thought that at all. But then... I found myself in the elevator at the hospital, heading up to the Maternity floor, where I would soon hold my first grand baby. Oh, my! Emotional overload!

Dreaming with Alexis @ 1 day of age

My sweet Alexis, daughter of my son, was born on June 9 at 7:13 PM. She chose to arrive a bit late, being due on May 29. She also resisted coming into this world, deciding to let mom labor for a looonnngggg time! Sweet Alexis complicated matters by turning the wrong way, and with reluctance, turned around so she could slip through the birth canal. One wonders if Alexis will always be the sort to be a bit late to events, and stubborn about going where others want her to go!

We are so happy she is here. She is healthy. She's practicing all those things that babies must figure out. She sucks her fist. She kicks her feet. She works on building her lung capacity. We are all smitten!

Mother & Daughter

Proud Papa - looking a bit scruffy after three days without a razor.

The other Grandmother... "How hard can it be?!"

Grand-pop

A Daddy-Daughter moment

Sleep my child and peace attend thee...