Exploring her world

Saturday, November 24, 2007
An incident I remembered about The Little Princess that happened on Thanksgiving Day. After The Little Princesses’ Great Aunt and Great Uncle left, I was attempting to help her Mommy do a few little odds and ends so they could get out the door without too much more delay. I volunteered to fill the the kitty cats’ bowls of water and food. They might need extra nourishment and water while their master and mistress were away.

I heard The Little Princesses’ mommy call. I went to see what was so urgent. There sitting on the floor in front of the kitties’ food bowl was my sweet little Princess. One by one, piece by piece she was transferring the little bits of dry cat food from one bowl to the other. She wasn't interested in eating any of it; she just wanted to put it into the other bowl, piece by tiny piece.

I made a mad dash to find my camera. I made it back just in time to disrupt her fun. I think I missed the good pictures, but I followed her around to try to get some follow up ones. Just as I was snapping away The Little Princess picks up the bowl with the most food in it
and…there it goes…she tips it up, cat food scattering all over the floor! Camera was placed securely out of reach and Grandmomma proceeds to clean up the mess. After all, I was on duty at the time the mess was made.

The Little Princess walked all over it…with her little bare feet.
It didn’t seem to bother her at all until I mentioned it to her and sympathized with her. Then she felt it crunching and realized it was attached to her feet, and then she became a bit upset. Stop and clean the cat food from her sweet little feet and then it was back to following her around to see what she gets into next.

That’s one thing I love about her mommy. As long as it isn’t harmful , she lets her explore. So it takes a few more minutes of her day (more like hours when the time is all calculated), but The Little Princess is given the opportunity to discover the world around her. In my opinion, that’s very important for a child development. That’s the way she feels her world, sees her world, learns the world around her enjoys and progresses through her little life. Picking up cat food is a small task in comparison to the lessons The Little Princess is learning. Thank you Mommy, for realizing this and for being such a wonderful Mommy.

Pass the Pumpkin Pie, please...

Friday, November 23, 2007
The day after Thanksgiving Day. A few hours spent yesterday on Thanksgiving with The Little Princess, her Mommy, Daddy, my sister, her husband and my husband. It was a good day. A good meal, and fun fellowship. A time to watch The Little Princess try out new table food, such as cranberry sauce…umm didn’t like it too much. Must have been too tart for her little developing taste buds. She liked the turkey, but,that’s not really a new food for her. Grandmomma’s dressing wasn’t too tasty to her either. There was no special seasoning, so I can’t imagine what caused the dislike of my dressing. Oh well, maybe another year. She loved the sweet potato casserole; she’s accustomed to eating plain sweet potatoes, so that was no big surprise, either. Green bean casserole was accepted as just that…acceptable. Macaroni and cheese, nothing new to her either. Don’t know if she had a chance to eat any of the yummy Pineapple Casserole, but everybody else liked it. The bowl was almost clean when it was removed from the table. Mommy may have deemed that too sweet considering all we had. Well, the rest of us enjoyed all of the food from the looks of our plates. And we still had plenty to divide among us so that we all got at least another meal from it. Very good indeed.

We let the lunch settle a bit while Mommy and Daddy worked on packing their clothes for the trip to The Litte Princesses’ Great Granny’s house not far from an adjoining state. They were hoping to get on the road before The Little Princess had to take her afternoon nap because she had only slept 37 minutes to be exact in the morning. Mommy counts minutes, exactly, when it comes to naptime or lack thereof.

Then it was time for the Pumpkin Pie. A dessert that my kids wouldn’t have considering it Thanksgiving had we not had it each year. That and my homemade cornbread dressing. Sorry sweet Little Princess, you didn’t like my dressing. We’ll work on that.

As for the Pumpkin Pie, Granddaddy offered The Little Princess just a tiny smidgeon of his pie before he started eating his own. She wanted more…then more…then more… until Granddaddy had very little left on his plate. The Little Princess must have remembered the Pumpkin Patch we went to earlier. Now she knows how they good they taste.

How can you love spicy Pumpkin Pie and despise good ole cranberry sauce and that scrumptious cornbread dressing so much? I’m beginning to wonder who this child belongs to. Was she swapped at the hospital? I suppose half a battle won is better than a full loss, or maybe that’s a third of the battle won….Just keep passing that pumpkin pie!

Thanksgiving 2007

Today is Thanksgiving. Seems like time passes so fast lately. It was only yesterday we were celebrating Thanksgiving and now it’s here again.

I have so many things to be thankful for everyday, but since today was a day set aside for us to specifically stop to reflect on giving thanks, here are a few of mine. Certainly not covering everything, but just a few.

1. For my sweet hubby, who lets me think I’m getting my way most of the time. He’s the best husband one could hope for, and the best Daddy two kids could ever dream of having. He's always led by example in everything he's done. The kids learned many of their values by watching him go to work every day, faithfully providing for his family, and in his honesty and his caring for people. He’s been my support and teacher while I struggled to learn Photoshop Elements so I could make digital scrapbook pages remembering fun times with our four grandchildren. I’m always amazed at his ability to conquer the technical world. He can do anything he wants to do. Computers and technology were never a part of his livelihood; it was simply a hobby he taught himself years ago when the kids were little, and he’s continued throughout the years. Many times I would have thrown the computer out the window, but he’s always managed to fix my problems and get me back on track.

2. For my son who has also become the best Daddy to my three little grandsons. Even though his job has been taxing at times, he spends as much good quality time with his boys as possible. He’s a good husband, a good provider, and a good support system for my daughter-in-law and grandsons. He’s what the world needs more of…a good man to raise future good men. I'm convinced that is the reason God blessed him with three boys. He will do the best job any man can. I’m proud of him in everything he does.

3. For my daughter-in-law…She’s a loving mother to my grandsons. She keeps them in line in a firm, but caring way. Little boys need that. No, little boys have to have that. She and my son are both good moral compasses for their little ones. She’s been most supportive in my son’s transfer out of state to a more challenging job. Without her help and support, it would never have been possible. I give her lots of credit. She forfeited a lot so he could go forward with his dreams. She assumed a lot more responsibility for his goals to be accomplished. I’m glad you’re my daughter-in-law.

4. For my three precious grandsons. I miss them horribly, but life changes sometimes, and it was always my goal in life to see my children and grandchildren happy in marriage, life and career. About the move, the decision was not mine, nor should it have been. Their happiness is all that matters. I miss those sweet boys and all the funny things they said and did when we had time together. I’m thankful for at least those memories and look forward to many more in the future, even if they are so far away. I’m thankful also to see they have made the change with few complications. They’ve adjusted nicely to having their little worlds turned upside down, at least for the moment it happened. To The Analyzer, I'm thankful for your intelligence, your attention to the slightest detail, your common sense and your love for your brothers (most of the time); to Little Free Spirit, I'm thankful for your kind-hearted side, your love for your big brother and tolerance of your little brother, for your bright little sayings; and to Beautiful Blue Eyes, for your impish ways of teasing your big brothers, holding your own with them, your sweet spirit and just for being you and for being a member of our family of denim. I have so much to be thankful for.

5. For my daughter who is without a doubt one of the most patient mothers I know.I am amazed at how much patience and stamina she has with my granddaughter. I'm thankful for her love for her daughter. I’m thankful she’s able to stay home with The Little Princess, and that she and her husband recognized the importance of giving up monetary pleasures at least for the moment in return for the benefits Little Princess will receive. Also, because it gives her Daddy and me a chance to spend good quality fun time with both her and our granddaughter. Never question your choices or your abilities, my daughter. You deserve more credit than you give yourself.

6. For our son-in-law who has helped make it possible financially for our daughter to stay home with our granddaughter. For all his support of her efforts in raising The Little Princess. For being the wonderful husband he is to my daughter, and the caring Daddy he is to our granddaughter. For his gentle side that will teach our granddaughter how she should expect to be treated by men in her future. For his loving side which will teach her how to love. I can’t say for the discipline side because he will never be able to be the disciplinarian, no matter how much he thinks he will. He's already putty in her tiny little hands. She melts his heart right now, and it won’t change the older she gets. And, I’m glad you chose our daughter. You may just be a 'keeper'!

7. For The Little Princess. I’m thankful for being able to watch her as she grows and changes from one phase of her life to another. Seeing her as she becomes more and more of a challenge to her mommy in the little things. For wobbly little legs that get her into so much trouble. For sweet babbles from her precious mouth. For little displays of attitude she gives her Mom and Dad, just to show she's her own little being. For someday being my partner in crime as together we take on her mommy and teach her a few of life’s little lessons. For that beautiful, dimpled smile that is displayed on that sweet face most of the time. And for adding a bit of lace to my life already wonderfully blessed with beautiful, but tough denim.

8. For siblings and the chance to spend time remembering the old days, and what a pain in the neck they used to be. They’ve gotten a little better over the years!

9. For something we haven’t heard in a long time…the pounding of rain on the rooftop. Thank you Lord for a nice hard soaking rain.

10. For the chance to spend this Thanksgiving Day with at least a part of our family, though the other part remains out of state. They are remembered and loved. And we had loads of good times before they left.

11.These are just a few of my 'thankful fors' which of course, I didn’t include the food, and other things we take for granted. Too many other things, and I’m too long winded, so suffice it to say, I just did a few of the extra special ones off the top of my head.

Have a glorious and Happy Thanksgiving Day. I plan to. Playing with the Little Princess and maybe even finding time to visit a few minutes with her parents and my sister and brother-in-law for a few hours! And then maybe home again to do nothing more than enjoy the nice brisk, crisp fall day we've been waiting for so long.

“What does it mean, Grandmomma….

when someone says you’re hyper-active?” Out of the blue, this was the question posed to me by my then just turned five-year old grandson, Little Free Spirit. I stumbled through the words in my vocabulary trying to find just the perfect word a little boy his age could comprehend. I offered this word. I threw out that word. I suggested still another, and yet nothing erased that confused and total lack of understanding look from that sweet little face.

I was ready to run for the dictionary….or to the car, and leave those little smarty pants to babysit themselves… Then from over in the corner of the room, all curled up in a chair, focused on pushing buttons on one of those little hand-held-game-machine-thingies-that-I-don’t- know-the-name-of-nor how-they-work-nor-do-I-care-to-know, came the voice of Big Brother, The Analyzer. “Little Free Spirit” he says in his wise little way, “It just means you’re WILD!”

“Ohhh! , said Little Free Spirit,nodding with complete understanding and relieved that the heavens had opened and wisdom had at last poured forth. Finally he could settle down again and go about his play. It was a simple question, after all. All it had required was a simple answer!

Now why couldn’t I have come up with those simple words?!!

I‘m not sure who was more relieved to hear the answer to his question: Little Free Spirit or me.

Well, at least he didn’t ask me any more big questions that day. I probably couldn’t have answered them anyway.

I suspect he was saving them up for The Analyzer.

She’s a mess!

I knew better than sit next to The Little Princess in the restaurant. I should have made Granddaddy take that seat, but it was one of my weaker moments, and I sidled down right next to her. The first part of the meal was OK until she finally grew tired of sitting in that high chair surrounded by Mommy’s choice of vegetables…those yucky green collards; sweet potatoes that had already been chopped up so fine she could hardly find them to pick them up with her little fingers; corn; okra; butterbeans; a tad of this; and a bit of that consisting of other foods Mommy had decided the Little Princess should try.

She had finished her meal. She transmits those unspoken words by “that look” she’s so famous for, “I'm bored...Wanna play a game, Grandmomma? Let’s check out your reflexes. These are the rules, Grandmomma. You hold out your hand, and I’ll drop my vegetables into it, or not! If you catch them before they hit the floor, you get a point. If I drop them onto the floor before you can catch them, one point for me. Doesn’t that sound like fun, Grandmomma?”

What choice did I have? She’s got the most beautiful little grin, and when she flashes that single little dimple on the left-hand side of her face, I’ll do anything she wants. Those little blue eyes just twinkle when she smiles.

And besides she was becoming quite vocal. People were staring, almost begging us to leave.

So the game began. Hand stretched out ready to receive the offerings of green beans, okra, butterbeans, ham. Dump that hand full of food before I catch you, Grandmomma. Fill again, dump. Fill again, dump. "Hey, you're pretty good at this, Grandmomma, have you been practicing?"

Over and over until Grandmomma got tired. Not good. The screaming and the squirming started again.

She’s a mess that little sweetheart of mine, and so was I after sitting next to her. I think I’ll pick my seat more carefully next time.

Maybe I'll sit at another table.

She’s always on the go…she wears me out…

She removes the diapers from the end of her dressing table one by one and scatters them over her floor. She will pull out the drawer under her crib, then all the neatly folded blankets, sheets and everything else that was packed away so carefully by her finicky mommy instantly becomes a heap of wrinkled mass before she can be stopped. She moves on to the CD player to remove a disc before your hands can grab hers.

Every book within her reach on the family bookshelf finds its way off the shelf or in complete disarray. She’s still practicing removing her Daddy’s prized record collection. They’re too tightly packed for her tiny hands to pull them out right now, but with a little more practice, they’ll come down, too. Their time is limited.

No kitty cat escapes the busy little hands of The Little Princess as she stops to pet and love her.

Not even the tiniest speck of trash on the floor gets past The Little Princess. It immediately becomes part of her snack for the day. And speaking of snacks, the top of a favorite cardboard story book becomes an ooey-gooey mess as she tries to absorb its contents. Her toy basket must be emptied with the speed of lightening. Then she moves on.

On to the bathroom and a full roll of toilet paper that will become an empty roll of wet soggy cardboard as soon as it touches her precious hands. And she loves cleaning the toilets. With her bare little hands.

Neatly folded towels and laundry finds itself pulled down onto the floor, before Mommy can put it away. Any magazines and newspapers are crumpled on the spot, just in case Mommy needs them to wash the windows.


She keeps check on the contents of mommy’s purse, removing any necessary and unnecessary items. Then there’s Mommy’s cell phone that needs to be checked for messages she may have missed. After all Grandmomma may have called while she was busy doing everything else. While we’re at it, let’s just call Grandmomma…in case the phone wasn't working or we missed her call. She loves hearing from The Little Princess.

On to another interesting bag. Her diaper bag. She unpacks and repacks it, just in case there’s a tasty snack of Cheerios or Puffs lurking inside.

No kitchen cabinet or drawer is safe from The Little Princess. She must empty them all. At least all that Mommy hasn't designated as absolutely off limits. If she finds a special spoon or plastic container she's really fond of, she will add it to her personal collection. That’s another task completed in her busy day. Make sure mommy has some more dishes to wash and pack up again.

Oh yes, Teddy must be fed, cuddled, patted and at last comforted with The Little Princesses’ pacifier. Then laid to rest on the spot where The Little Princess found him, until later he needed more loving time.

Teddy doesn’t like to sleep much, but neither does The Little Princess. She finds naptime a frivolous waste of time. You can’t learn when you’re sleeping, and she has much to learn, many things in her world to conquer, many mountains to climb, or at least a few chairs, sofas and Kitty cat furniture. She was put here to live, and live she will. To the absolute fullest.

You completely leave me exhausted, Little Princess. Just watching you wears me out. And following you completely exhausts me. I'm glad Mommy is young eough to handle you.

But I can’t think of a better way to spend my day, my life. I love you Little Princess. Keep exploring, keep moving, keep learning. Just lighten up a little the days we’re together, ok? Remember those are Mommy moments to share with her.

Happy birthday Little Princess…

Oh, I know. We celebrated your first birthday today was a month ago. So, today we celebrate your thirteenth month in the world. We’ll probably celebrate your monthly birthday until you reach your two-year mark. Then it’ll become more difficult to count up the months. We may have to stop at 18 months, so you'd better enjoy it while you can. I’ve never been too good in math, and that might get in the way of my counting your month-days.

Today you will be returning from a week end that I hope has been fun for you. You, Mommy and Daddy met some friends in Tennessee Friday so your Daddy could go back to his Alma Mater, The University of Tennessee, and watch them play football again. Tennessee won in the last few seconds of the game. Yea! I sure hope he doesn’t get any crazy ideas about moving there again. I miss you when you’re gone for just a few days. It would be so miserable not to be able to see you at least as often as I do now.

You were to meet their friends'little son for the first time this week end. He was born a week or two before you, and I’m sure he’s probably about as rotten as you are, if that’s at all possible. I wonder how you reacted to him, and he to you.
I hope you had lots of fun. Hurry home, Little Princess. Grandmomma loves you. Ok, Granddaddy does, too!