Adventures in Grandparenting

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This week is fair week. Aubree is a 4-H adviser, and she and Jeremy spend all week living in their camper at the county fairgrounds. After three years, I know to expect to have the kids a lot during this week, but honestly, I forgot how hard it is to have two at once. Grandparenting as a part-time gig is much different from grandparenting full-time.

Babies stress Dennis out. He loves them, and they adore him in return. All I hear when his truck pulls into the drive is “Papa! Papa! Papa!” (Chaos also stresses him out–I’ve tried really hard to keep the house neat this week because of that.) Dennis isn’t used to the infant and toddler stages. I pretty much forced him to hold the kids as babies, and he has yet to change a diaper.

However, the other night, Dennis called on his way home and asked me to keep Ady up past her bedtime so he could see her. She’s Papa’s girl, and he missed her.  When they are together, all I hear are little girl giggles and a sweet toddler’s voice saying “Let’s go cuddle.” Ady definitely has Papa wrapped around her finger.

Josh is five months old, and Ady turned two in June. When you’re not used to having an infant in the house, you forget how much time they take. He doesn’t hold his own bottle yet, so feeding takes time. And then there’s baby food. Baby spoons only hold so much. Actually, about half a spoonful is ideal. Any more and he’ll spit it out.

It’s amazing how you just pick up a baby, and your hips automatically start swaying. Those sweet baby snuggles more than make up for my aching back.  There’s a reason Josh’s nickname is Chunky Monkey.

Ady is into everything. She talks non-stop, sings, and plays. She has a little attitude at times. I think it’s hilarious, but her parents probably don’t. Left on her own devices, she’d have every toy we own pulled out in under two minutes.  I love watching her pretend. Tonight, she had a basket filled with “microphones” (remotes), and she was “going to work.”

Ady’s also learning boundaries. She doesn’t like that I only let her have milk in the kitchen–those leak-proof cups still seem to leak–but she usually listens. Occasionally, it’s after a tiny tantrum.  And blankie….blankie goes EVERYWHERE. We’ve had a few disagreements over that.

I’ve learned to pick my battles. When Ady didn’t want to get dressed yesterday, I didn’t make her. We stayed home all day, and it was 85 degrees out. She was fine in a diaper. It’s less clothes to wash anyway. Ady doesn’t always get her own way, but if it isn’t important, I don’t fight with her.

Today, I ventured out  on my own with the two of them. It was a daunting prospect, especially since I didn’t even take a diaper bag (a diaper for each kid and Josh’s bottle was all I took). We stopped at a garage sale, and I came home with a few things we really didn’t need. When you shop with a two-year-old, you’re bound to buy a toy or two. Don’t tell Dennis. He thinks we have too many toys as it is. I only spend $9.50, so it wasn’t too bad.

We also went to the grocery store. I used to take two or three kids to the store all the time. When the kids were little, I’d have the baby carrier up front and the other two in the cart. That was before there were signs on the carts saying not to do that. Where did I put the groceries? Good question! I pulled a second cart and put all my items in it. It actually worked pretty well.

Anyhow, Josh, Ady, and I went to Sparkle today. I parked next to the cart return and got a cart first thing. I put Ady in the seat. Josh sat in his car seat in the basket of the shopping cart. I neglected to get a second cart. Bad decision, but we survived.

Poor Josh had food piled all around him. Ady had a few things that I knew she couldn’t open, but Josh got most of it. Some items were underneath, as well. I should have taken pictures–I’m sure it looked crazy. The worst part was after the items were bagged. Babies and plastic bags don’t mix. I tried to put as much as possible under the basket, but Josh still ended up with a few bags at his feet.  Don’t worry. I tucked the ends in so he couldn’t get them.

I was so excited that we were able to do this. It seemed like a huge accomplishment even though it’s something I used to do all the time.  After we got home, I put away the groceries, fed everyone, and put both kids down for naps at the same time. Grandparenting success!

On Sunday, I know we’ll be giving Ady and Josh back to their parents. We’ll spend all day with them at the county fair seeing the animals and viewing the exhibits. Dennis may even ride some of the kiddie rides with his girl.  This week may be hard, but it’s fun. I enjoy spending time with the babies and watching them grow.  I can’t imagine raising more kids at my age. We’d do it if we had to, but we really don’t want to. I’m content with just being Grammy.

My hat goes off to all those grandparents who are raising their grandchildren full-time. As a teacher, I’m continually surprised at how many grandparents and great-grandparents have custody of their grandchildren.  Guess what? Those kids appreciate all that you do. They may not always show it, but I see it in my students’ writing. You are their true heroes. Kudos to you for taking on this challenge and providing a stable home for these kids. You rock!

Click here to read about our Easter egg hunt with the grandbabies.

To read about our visit to the Little Buckeye Children’s Museum, click here.

To read about the fun we had at the Richland Carrousel, click here.

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