And the Winner is…Grandma!

looking for dirt, sand, or wood chips

One giant and beautiful park near my daughter's home offers kids 3 sets of playground equipment and it has ball fields for baseball and softball practice and games. Since I had to go out for diapers yesterday and Dollar General was only a couple of blocks from the park, I decided to take 2-year-old Avery to the park while her brother and sister were in school instead of just playing with her in her back yard. In the back yard, though she doesn't know how much fun she'll have in it yet, sits a giant pool awaiting a deck, a trampoline she enjoys jumping on, and a pile of dirt she calls a mountain, where she loves to play.

found a cubby hole under the play equipment
where she could play with the wood chips – in the shade

We generally play in the back yard or go for walks in the neighborhood, but yesterday we went to the giant park – where she played in the sand – and the dirt – and the wood chips. All kinds of play equipment, like slides and swing sets and ride-on toys were spread throughout the park, and Avery chose the sand, the dirt, and the wood chips.

OOH! Lots of wood chips!

When it was time to go home for lunch, however, though she happily trotted off to the car, she refused to get into her car seat. She can be very stubborn and I knew that if I demanded her to get into her car seat, she would throw a fit, so I calmly sat in the driver's seat while she jumped into the front seat with me. When she reached for the water bottle, I grabbed it first and told her, "Remember what I said – you can have it after you get into your seat." 

and a sand box

She started to cry, asked for a tissue, and then looked at me – wondering if I was serious, I think, about having to wait for the water. 2-year-olds test their limits and I could see that mind of hers trying to figure out what her next step would be. I wasn't giving in and she knew it. The breeze blowing through the window felt wonderful and I had the foresight to park under a tree so we were in the shade. Unfortunately, though our winter was long, we had only 2 weeks of Spring and now it's Summer already. So I rested my head back on the seat and I could tell Avery knew I would have stayed there all day if necessary.

playing the other day on her back yard "mountain"

I said not another word about her climbing into her car seat, but out of the corner of my eye, after several minutes, I watched her climb into the back seat. The rear view mirror told me she was in her seat, ready to be buckled in. I climbed out, grabbed the water bottle, put it on top of the car, buckled Avery into her seat, and then handed her the bottle of water.

Grandma wins again ;)

Tender Moments With an Eighteen Month Old

In the past couple of days before the storms hit, the weather had been warm enough to take Avery to the park. But it had also been very windy.

After we played on the trampoline and tried to blow bubbles in the crazy wind, I had to tell Avery it was too windy to blow bubbles, so I walked over to her back step and sat down. Avery joined me.

I pointed out the clouds that were moving quickly and the branches on the trees that bent in the wind. All the while I was helping her wipe her hair away from her eyes. At one point when the wind was blowing so wildly we could barely see each other, Avery reached up and tenderly brushed the hair away from my face.

One little gesture, but it just about melted my heart.

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How Long Have I Known You?

Nolan sat next to me at the table, his head cocked to one side as he looked at me. "How long have you known me?" he wanted to know. 

Before I could answer, he added, "I think I was three or four when I met you."

How could I hold back a laugh? I grabbed his little face and pulled it close, kissing his cheek. And then I hugged him. 

"I've known you your whole life, Nolan."

 The first time I saw Nolan, his dad was walking out of the delivery room carrying him toward me and Nolan's paternal grandmother and grandfather. I've been in love with this little guy since before he was born, and though he is only 5-years-old, I feel as if I have known him forever.

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Family Vacation In Myrtle Beach

I had to post this photo my daughter took of her three children (my grandchildren) on the last day of their vacation in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. I just love the way it looks (thank you, Brittney):

I'm still in Virginia, heading back home to Illinois in a couple of days. I won't miss Virginia (although one day I hope to visit Virginia Beach), but I will most definitely miss my son.

My vision of all of my children and grandchildren living around one huge lake in our own homes is a dream that may never come true, but I have a rich fantasy life, and in that world, we all live on a beautiful pristine lake, get together often, and enjoy all the amenities lake living has to offer.

Some day?

Why I Love Watching My Grandchildren

The other night Kaden (7), Zac (4), and I were watching America's Funniest Videos. The groom was under the bridal dress attempting to pull out the garter, but his braces got stuck on his bride's garter.

"WHAT are they doing?" Kaden wanted to know. I explained the ritual of taking off the garter from the bride during a wedding reception.

Kaden's mouth dropped open and his head extended forward several inches. "Will I have to have THAT to Alex?" Alex is the little girl he wants to marry when he grows up.

Later that night we all sat in bed together (their dad was sick with the flu) and they told me that Daddy always told them a story at bedtime, so I started talking about walking through a forest and coming to a lake…but I was not telling the story the way their dad told it. It was supposed to be scary. 

Oh, OK. So I put on my scary voice and continued with, "Well, these kids come upon a house, a very scary house, and they are afraid to walk up to the door, so they run away, and they get to the lake but they see something in the lake, and it's coming closer and closer and closer, getting bigger and bigger and bigger…" 

Zac interrupted the story at this point: "Wow! This is really weird. I'm having a nightmare and I'm not even sleeping yet."

And that's when I started laughing so hard I couldn't tell the rest of the story. When I finally composed myself, I added, "And then they looked back at the lake and noticed it was their daddy who came to save them."

And THAT is one of the reasons why I love my grandchildren so much! They make me laugh! 

Who Says Kids Don't Get Exercise When They Play Video Games?

I'm going to miss these little guys. I've spent the last three weeks with them and it has been such a joyful experience.

From the second Kaden and Zac awaken in the morning, they are constantly busy. I don't think they even know what the term, bored, means.  They play video games and then act out various video characters in real life, taking on different personas as they don capes, swing swords, and shoot guns, becoming fearless avengers and caped crusaders. 

When they are not play-acting or running through the house, we tell stories, engage in activity time, and have funny conversations, like the time we were playing I Spy and I had the kids going for a while trying to find something blue. I had chosen Kaden's eyes. So we discussed eyes. Zac said his were black. I said they were dark brown. He insisted they were black. I said only his pupils were black.

And here's where I started laughing so hard I was crying, because Zac couldn't pronounce pupils. He kept calling them pukers. "I have pukers? What are pukers?" For some reason he was having a hard time pronouncing that word. And for some reason I couldn't stop laughing.

During exercise time, the boys would throw themselves on a huge stuffed animal, and I would have to say, "Come on, Guys, I'm the old grandma here, remember?" And they would sigh and begin again.

Throughout the day they were always doing something and yet, when their mother called to ask them what they were doing, they always said, "Nothing. Just staying inside." 

They would have her on speaker phone, and I would just laugh, wishing I could explain to her through videotape what doing nothing all day looked like. Just watching them is sometimes exhausting. Who says kids don't get enough exercise playing video games?

Going home is bittersweet. When I'm with one family member, I'm always missing the others no matter where I am. I'll miss you, but I'm hoping you'll get a chance to visit me in Illinois!

Portrait of a Baby Sister

Audrey drew a picture of her baby sister, Avery. She told me she wanted the picture so she would always remember what Avery looked like that day.

Great job, Audrey!

Future Dad – Kids are Expensive

My son came in from Virginia the other day and while he, his two sons,  my oldest daughter, and I were eating dinner, Kaden asked about marriage and having kids. He said he wanted kids.

Curious, I asked Kaden, "How many kids do you want?"

"One or two," he nodded as if he was quite sure those were the numbers.

"Yeah," his dad agreed, thinking that any more than two would be costly, "kids are expensive."

Immediately Kaden responded, "Well, yeah, if you BUY them."

Oh, how I love our conversations!

Another "Aww" Moment

Kaden & Zac Taking a Bubble Bath

Last night, when I asked Zac (4), one of my grandsons, to give me a hug goodnight, he raced up to me and jammed his head into my chin. My immediate response was "OW!"

His immediate response was to grab my face and ask, "Are you OK? Are you bleeding?"

My heart melted when I looked at him. Though he HAD to have been hurt, his first thought was for me. I held his little face in my hands and he started to cry. "Am I bleeding?" He asked. I told him no and hugged him.

"Will I get a bruise?" 

"Probably, Zac. Thank you for being so thoughtful." And he continued to cry while I held him some more.

Earlier in the day, Kaden (almost 7), Zac's older brother, brought home his backpack and I looked through his home work. When I read his paper about what he would do if he had $100, I almost cried.

People wonder why I watch my grandchildren so much. They think my kids are taking advantage of me by asking me to watch them so often. I'm grateful that I get to spend so much time with them. Can you see why?

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Jeremy – Another Writer In My Family

Grandson Jeremy pushing Great Granddaughter Ayla in swing

Finally! Somebody else in my family (which includes my parents, my two sisters, my four children, my ten grandchildren, and my two great grandchildren) wants to write.

My nine-year-old grandson, Jeremy (who admittedly is about as strange as the rest of my family – maybe he got it from me), is in the process of writing a story! Finally, one of my offspring's offspring has caught the writing bug.

I can't wait to read it – it's about a Chinese serial killer named José.

I Crap Myself

Oh, the things kids say. They're so cute and funny and they crack us up.

When they are toddlers, as they are learning how to pronounce words, without benefit of actually reading the word and being able to figure out the sounds each letter makes, they rely on their own memories.

And so it happened that, surrounded by strangers, Zac blurted out, "I crap myself."

I'm sure lots of prim and proper parents were appalled by the outburst. I mean, wouldn't, "I pooped myself" sound so much better? Or how about, "Mother, father, I believe I just defecated." But, "I crap myself?" Are you kidding me?

Let's examine this outburst. Most likely, if you have children, you will understand that what kids say and what they are trying to say are two different things, and you will understand why Zac (pictured with his older brother Kaden) was actually saying, "I crack myself up."

(photo above is of two of my grandchildren: Zac on the left and Kaden on the right)

P.S. Aren't they adorable? They're funny too. They crap me up. I mean, crack me up.

What Happens When Cousins Protects Cousins From Little Brothers

I would like your empathy for a moment as I explain the following video to you before you watch it.

I was in charge of four of my grandchildren one night. We were in a 2-bedroom apartment that belonged to one of my daughters. Lindsey has no children, no toys, no games, no computers, and basically, nothing to keep them occupied, and she wasn't home to help out, so I had to rely on my creativity to keep them occupied.

After we played the Hokey Pokey and after we played Simon Says, I brought out my camera and asked them to PLAY so that I could videotape them.  Here is what happened (as you listen to the sound, remember, we are in an apartment where other non-family members live):

Explanation: Nolan got upset about the fighting and retreated to the couch. Zac scratched Audrey (can't see it in the video). Kaden wanted to protect Audrey (his cousin) from Zac (his brother) and demanded that Zac say, "sorry". Zac refused. Kaden got (shall we say) upset. In the end, Zac told ME to tell Audrey, "sorry."

I should have brought along a copy of the Preschooler's Busy Book. It might have taken me all night, but with 365 creative games and activities to occupy children between the ages of 3 and 6, I might have had a more peaceful outcome.

But then, maybe it wouldn't have been blog material.

The Symbol of a Grandma's Love

You probably expected to see a heart, right? Shouldn't the symbol of grandmotherly love be saturated with tones of red and gold to portray its deep and enduring nature?

Obviously the symbol you see here is not blood red, is not in the shape of a heart, and is not anything you've ever seen before. It is, however, an accurate depiction of the sacrifices a grandmother makes for her grandchildren. And it probably requires an explanation.

So why does this symbol appear to be made only of sepia? Because for me sepia represents age. Grandchildren tend to think of even their fabulously young looking grandparents as old, so sepia works well to represent the idea of age. Also I believe a grandmother's love endures through the ages, so sepia it is.

Before I explain the symbolism behind the symbol, I want you to know that the symbol of grandmotherly love could easily work for grandfathers, dads, and moms, but since I created it, I am calling it, The Symbol of a Grandma's Love.

I came up with this particular symbol as a result of what happened to me the other night. Two of my grandchildren, my son's sons (Kaden and Zac), spent the night with me and slept with me in my bed.

After tossing and turning (all of us), Kaden, 5, and Zac, 2 and a half, soon ended up on top of me and perpendicular to me – I'm sure in an attempt to guarantee that I wasn't going to slide out from beneath them and leave them alone in my bedroom.

After having given this matter some serious consideration, I have reasoned that I can understand their perpendicularity in relation to their mom, because other than going back inside her to be as close as possible to her, thereby replicating the time before they were born, they chose lying directly on top of her, spread out across her body. They are particularly close to my son (their dad), too, so I'm sure the kids are spread out across the two of them at various times throughout the night.

Sleeping across both parents insures my grandchildren that if their parents leave the bed, they can grab Mommy and Daddy and let know that THEY know they are about to be abandoned in the family bed.

But why Grandma? As a sufferer from insomnia, it took me several hours to finally fall asleep. All through the night, I removed feet and legs from my body, put them in a position that was comfortable for me, and attempted to fall sleep. By 3 a.m. (that was the last time I remember looking at the clock) I was finally sleeping comfortably until the feet and legs found their way back to my body at approximately 3:15.

Every time I moved the feet and legs throughout the night, in fact, they returned to their previous position – spread out across my body.

At 3:15 I slipped out of bed, grabbed my pillows and a blanket and collapsed on the couch. Within a couple of minutes I was finally sleeping soundly.

At 3:30 Kaden found me and climbed onto the couch to sleep with me. Telling me he was scared to lie on the edge of the couch, he climbed over me to sleep behind me so that he was positioned between me and the couch back. Afraid I was going to crush him, I waited for him to fall asleep so that I could return to the bed where I found Zac spread eagle across the whole bed.

I could only imagine that while Zac slept, he reached out with his feet to find me and fell asleep before his feet found their desired resting place.

So there you have it – the symbol of a grandma's love is one of her sacrificing sleep so her grandchildren will feel safe and warm. The symbol is one of a loving grandmother succumbing to the charms of her grandchildren.

Don't think I'm too much of a saint, though, because I'm already thinking that if I make a body pillow shaped exactly like myself, I might be able, the next time they spend the night,  to switch myself with the pillow they never saw and convince them that the pillow they're sleeping with is actually me. The trick will be figuring out how to create a pillow with a body temperature that matches mine and dressing the pillow in the same material as what I'm wearing when I go to bed.

I'm going to have to leave this blog now as I search for material that feels similar to skin in case they reach over to touch my face. I may not have to worry about that though, because I've heard that my skin may end up feeling like leather. Maybe I should just hold out until then.

When Little Boys Want To Marry Their Mommies

 Growing up with only sisters, my experience with boys was limited to what I witnessed in school or at family functions with my cousins.

And then I had a boy. Poor thing. He grew up with a mom who knew nothing about boys at all and, as time went by, he had to share me and his home with three other girls.

What I learned about being a mom to a boy was that boys are very protective of and affectionate with their moms. And moms love their little boys.

Don't get me wrong. Moms love their little girls too, but their relationship with their sons is different. Simply because they are different, boys are fun to watch.

When my oldest daughter had her own son 17 years ago, she was still married. Travis was the youngest of three with two older sisters.  Keeley called to tell me about a conversation she had with Travis.

In his most loving voice, Travis told his mom that he was going to marry her when he grew up.

"You can't marry me, Travis. I'm your mother. You can't marry your mother."

Travis was not happy with that response.

"But I want to," he insisted, as if want alone would change her mind.

"Well," Keeley said, as she attempted to ease his obvious pain, "You can't marry me, Travis, but you can marry somebody who reminds you of me, somebody who is like me, who looks like me, who acts like me, who talks like me, and who walks like me. How does that sound?"

My grandson considered his options, probably running through his mind as he thought of all his potential female companions. Finally his eyes lit up. "I know!"

My daughter looked into his eyes.

"I can marry Grandma!"

Oh, we are such bad parents – Keeley laughed. I laughed when she told me.

Later that day, I visited my daughter and my three grandchildren, Amanda, Sarah, and Travis. I sat down on the couch and Travis made it a point to sit next to me. As Keeley watched from the kitchen, Travis discreetly raised up his arm and wrapped it around my neck.

And he melted my heart.

Since that day, I've been blessed with many more grandchildren, and I cherish each one. So Amanda, Sarah, Travis, Wesley, Jeremy, Taylor, Kaden, Zac, Audrey, Nolan, Ayla, and Billy - your G-ma loves you.

Pictured above are Wesley (on the left when he was about the age Travis was in this story) and Travis (on the right).

My Grandma, The Bug

I've been in Virginia for the past ten days, enjoying my time with my son, Greg, and his three children, Taylor, Kaden, and Zac, while his wife, Michelle, was in Illinois, working at building their new business, FroYo Creations in Bourbonnais, IL.

My grandchildren are the cheapest forms of entertainment I know (as you might have surmised from some of my other blogs), and once again I find myself having to relate yet another occurrence of "How do they come up with these things?"

Having been away from Audrey and Nolan, I was looking forward to seeing them again. Audrey and Nolan are pictured here in dress-up on the day they performed their own version of American Idol while their mom, Brittney, and I attempted to watch the show in front of them. You can read about that day HERE.

But getting back to the Grandma plays a bug story (which is a very short story, by the way), here's what happened shortly after I came home yesterday:

I was unpacking my suitcases when Nolan came into my bedroom swatting around a hockey stick. Just as I turned around to see it, he said, "Hey, Grandma, pretend you're a bug!"

Saving Nolan's Privates

Oh, so many times, I find myself cracking up over pretty much everything my grandchildren do. So when Nolan walked into the dining room where I was sitting, looking like he does in the photo on your right, I practically fell on him to get to my camera.

As "they" say, a picture is worth a thousand words, so I really don't have much to say about this photo other than that I'm glad he's being potty trained right now. He had taken off his underwear to go potty, and then, instead of grabbing his Superman underwear and putting them back on, he grabbed this toy stethoscope instead. You're probably wondering why he placed it around his waist. I have no answer for that question.

I will add this: I never thought I'd have to use a "pasty" to cover part of my grandchildren in any of my blogs, but, as you can see from the photo, I had to do it this time. And I'll leave it at that.

The Inside Voice & Old Maid

My grandkids crack me up and I love it when I witness events I can blog about or when I hear from family members something my grandkids (or even my kids) have said or done. I wish more of them would let me know when somebody does something cute or funny (HINT HINT).

Because I'm around Audrey so often, Audrey is the subject of many of my blogs. Kaden, either when I'm with him or when I hear about something he has said or done, makes my blogs as well. Just plug either one of their names into the search area of this blog and you can read more about either one of them.

 This first story is about Kaden, who was probably just trying to help his mom:

We often wonder if our kids listen to us, or for that matter if they even hear us. So we tend to repeat phrases and sometimes find ourselves asking, "Are you listening?" or "Did you hear what I just said?"

My son, Greg (Kaden's daddy), always left me wondering if he was listening to me. He had this amazing ability to be involved in several things at the same time and he could focus on all of them at once. He watched television, did his homework, and listened to conversations going on around him without missing any details. When tested on each component, he could explain what just happened on TV, which homework problem he was working on, and what we were discussing at the dining room table.

Unlike Greg, though, most kids have what I consider to be selective listening. They pretend to ignore their parents, which infuriates us even more, and we send them to their rooms or to the punishment corner or to the bad chair because they didn't pay attention to us.

But let me tell you, they HEAR us and they LISTEN to us. How do I know? Because when you least expect it, they will REPEAT us.

The other day when my daughter-in-law, Michelle (Greg's wife), was yelling at her youngest son, Zac (who is 2-years-old), Kaden (who will be five in February), called out,  "Hey, Mom, let's use our INSIDE voices."

You don't have to wonder where he heard that one.

And now a little story about Audrey:

Old Maid is definitely a game for more than two players. Everybody knows that, but when you're a kid, you just want to play and it doesn't matter how many people are playing the game with you.

So the other day, my five year-old granddaughter, Audrey, and her mommy, Brittney (my daughter), were playing Old Maid. They were the only two playing the game.

At one point Audrey pulled me aside and said, "Grandma, don't tell Mommy, but I have the witch."

If you'd like to read more kid stories about lots of other children, click on Kiddy Kwips.

The photo at the top is of Kaden playing the Wii with his dad. The photo on the bottom is of Audrey.

Hey, Soup!

At times like these I wish I had written down EVERYTHING my children and grandchildren said throughout their lives, though I'm sure my kids will find some of the funny sayings and memories when they sift through the contents of my numerous trunks after I'm gone. But today, the blog is – once again – about Kaden.

My son and daughter-in-law are still in town and were at my home when my daughter's mother-in-law stopped by to see her (and a couple of my other) grandchildren, Audrey and Nolan. Kaden didn't remember meeting her and asked her what her name was.

"Sue," she responded.

"Soup?" Kaden asked.

"No, Sue."

"Soup?"

"S-U-E," she said slowly so my 4-year-old grandson could hear her better.

To which Kaden responded, "I'll just call you Soup."

Shortly after, we heard, "Hey, Soup, wanna see me look cool?"

"Sure," Sue said, smiling.

Kaden donned a brimmed hat. After she acknowledged his coolness, Kaden then turned the cap around.

"Know what I look like now, Soup?"

"No, Kaden, what do you look like now?

"A stud muffin."

The Negotiator and The Attack of The Tomato

A Weekend in WizaWorld

Audrey and Kaden were looking out a window at a couple of guys parked across the street from my house. "That's Tommy," Audrey told Kaden.

"Who's Tommy?" Kaden asked.

"Tommy is my daddy's boyfriend."

Audrey and Kaden are both 4 years old and while their vocabulary is quite extensive, they still mispronounce words sometimes. Here's an example:

Audrey wanted to know if Kaden knew that tomatoes ruined houses. "You mean the big ones?" Kaden asked.

And Audrey responded, "Sometimes they call them twisters."

After this conversation I decided that Kaden should put on his clothes. His three cousins (some of my other grandchildren) were already dressed. Kaden wanted to stay in his pajamas.

"You can't go outside with your pajamas on," I reasoned with him. And he responded, "How do you know? Have you ever tried it?"

As the morning progressed I found it more and more difficult to restrain myself from laughing and told him that he had to put his pajamas on if he wanted to eat breakfast, to which he responded, "No I don't. I can eat breakfast with my pajamas on."

Two hours later, at snack time, I told Kaden, who was still wearing his pj's, that he HAD to put them on if he wanted a snack. And that's when I noticed Kaden's amazing negotiation skills.

"No, I don't. That's what you said at breakfast, and I still got breakfast."

Hmm.

"Well," I told him, attempting to outsmart the 4-year-old, "now it's snack time and if you want it, you'll have to get dressed."

"You forgot about it the last time," he reminded me.

But I was not to be outdone by my young grandson, so I reminded him that I was the boss in his parents' absence and that I could choose to NOT give him a snack. I saw the wheels spinning in his brain.

"OK," he said, "Here's what we'll do. Whoever says it the fastest wins. So if you say I have to get my clothes on, but I say I get a snack first, I win."

So, of course, I blurted out, "Kaden has to put his clothes on!"

And he said, "It didn't start yet."

Eventually he put on his clothes, but the whole day continued that way, them talking, me laughing, me trying to hide my laughing.

Being a grandparent is so challenging.

Three Days of Bliss - Well Almost

Let me get the "Well Almost" part out of the way first. The day after Easter, Michelle (my daughter-in-law) and I were sick. Other than that and the sick people on the plane ride back from San Diego to Chicago, who didn't have the courtesy to cover their mouths when they sneezed and coughed, my trip was relaxing and fun.

Michelle and my son welcomed me as they always do, treated me well, and provided all sorts of entertainment – mostly in the form of Taylor, Kaden, and Zac.  Taylor, not yet 9, is a future drama queen – oh wait – that's now. She is extremely bright, reads all the time, and likes to entertain people, a natural actor. She is quite amusing and now that she thinks she is entering the pre-teen arena, she acts as old as she believes she is, 21. But she is truly a sweetheart and on the day I was sick, she offered to make me some tea and knew exactly how to do it.

Kaden, 4, is outrageously funny. I told Michelle and Greg that they really should invest in a 24 hour-a-day video camera that follows him around. The first night I was there, he asked, "Please Grandma, will you please sleep with me? Please? I have plenty of room in my bed. Please? I'll move over for you."

So I went upstairs to look at my sleep station, the place I would share with Kaden, a twin sized bed.

OK.

True to my promise, when night came, he turned on his TV and put on one of his DVD's. I waited for him to fall asleep. I  had told him I would probably go to my own room later, so when he fell asleep, I quietly turned off the TV, went to the guest room, fell asleep, and awoke to sobs that dragged me out of my bed:

(sob sob) "Somebody turned off my TV...(repeat numerous times)." In my defense, nobody warned me to leave it on.

I raced through the darkness into his bedroom, because I didn't want him to wake everybody else, and took a flying leap over his body that was curled into a little ball in the doorway of his room. So yes, I had a nice trip.

I can't leave without mentioning a few more people. One, for example, is Zac, my youngest grandson, 17 months old. He thinks that whenever my son is in the room, he must immediately attach himself to his daddy. He has one of the sweetest faces and one of the calmest demeanors of any baby I've ever known, but he throws himself into a tantrum much like the child in this video (it won an award on America's Funniest Home Videos, so you may have seen it) called, "Why waste a temper tantrum if nobody is around to see it????"

And then we have our other little drama queen, Ayla. Ayla is my only great-granddaughter. Ayla is 20 months old, and acts very much like her mother. Both have ATTITUDE with a capital A. Ayla would not allow me to hold her UNTIL I gave her a good-bye hug. Granted, I hardly ever get to see her, but Travis, 16, my oldest grandson, hardly ever gets to see her either. Ayla practically sneered at me every time Travis held her as if to say, "Ha ha, Great Grandma, see how much I love Travis, who I see just as often as I see you."

OK, that last part was my jealousy rearing its ugly head. I wanted Ayla to bond with me. Her mom, Sarah, always did, so I guess I'll just have to be patient.

All in all, I got to see half of my grandchildren and half of my great grandchildren all in the span of a weekend! Pure joy!