Update on Cosette and Oliver

When I was a kid I thought of grandparents as the "little old lady" and "little old man" although, to be honest, I had one older grandma who was probably more traditional and one younger grandmother who is still living at the ripe, young age of 94. Now we live in an age where Granny is more likely to be called Mimi or Missy and ... things are just different.

My "babies" (as I still refer to them) are 3 and almost 3. Cosette just turned 3 on April 29 and Oliver will be 3 in July. I see Cosy a couple of times a week and I see Oliver once or twice a month. I talk to Oliver on Facetime once or twice a week so... we're in close contact, even if I don't see him as often as Cosette.

Because Cosette's parents have sort of a fluid, make it up as we go along, joint-ish custody arrangement, and because Cosette's dad lives here with me and doesn't yet drive, I have more responsibility for Cosette than I do for Oliver. I do a lot more actual parenting of Cosette where with Oliver I have more of a traditional Grandma relationship. Things with Cosette's mom are currently pretty good. We have had struggles in the past and when things are going well, I am relieved and appreciative and NEVER take it for granted. It's been a lot of emotional, frustrating work to get to this point. Cosy is shy and introverted and can be a bit more clingy than Oliver... who is a free spirit and (at least for me) rolls with the punches. Cosy though, is my girl. She loves watching me do my hair and makeup. She loves dresses and tights and hair bows (finally). She hangs out in the bathroom with me while I take my shower, watching videos on YouTube and chatting with me. We love to go to Dunkin Donuts and get "pink" donuts for her and coffee.

Cosy is still very attached to her pacifier, although we are trying to substitute chewing gum instead. She is no longer addicted to Frozen. Minnie Mouse is her ride or die chick now. She loves animals and flowers and her daddy. She is happiest when she's outside working with her dad in the yard. She is also a mommy's girl. If we've been gone for awhile she will ask to go to mommy's house (and whenever it's practical, I will take her home... I want her to feel that I support her relationship with both of her parents, they are both important). She is a girly girl who likes having her fingernails painted (by her dad, of course) and loves to watch me put on makeup and fix my hair. She loves anything pink or sparkly.

Potty training with Cosy has been... complicated. She goes through spells where she goes potty for me like a champ and other times she screams bloody murder if I try to sit her on the potty. I would say she is mostly in big girl undies when she's with me during the day but is one hundred percent in pullups at night and about 90% in pullups when we leave the house. She hates diapers and pullups and wants to wear "Minnie Mouse undies" all the time when she's with me but... she can be sketchy about cooperating going potty.

Despite the additional work involved with getting her to go potty... I absolutely love the time we spend together while she's on the potty. I have a little stool I sit on in front of her and we talk while we are waiting for something to happen. I have been taking her to the potty with me since she was a year and a half so... I'm used to her company in the bathroom. My latest trick with her is to suggest that she try to "toot" while she's on the potty. It seems to get her to relax more and engage the right muscles to get the teetee out too. And as my honey always says, "farts are just funny".

Oliver is ALL BOY! He is funny and likes to make people laugh. He loves sports (just like his dad) and Mickey Mouse and superheroes. He loves the Toy Story characters, Buzz Lightyear and Woody. He will say, "to uh-finity and beyond!" like Buzz does. He likes to run and climb and has never met a stranger. He sometimes gives his mom a hard time and he cries when it's time to leave my house (which breaks my heart). He has infinite patience for Cosy who can tend to have a harder time sharing toys (because she's used to being alone with me) and who doesn't like hugs (the whole introvert thing). He has the most gorgeous, long curly hair that his parents haven't been able to bear cutting. One day, eventually. Right now it's sort of his trademark although I do with him the same thing I do with Cosy which is, immediately pull it back out of his face so that he can play without hair in his eyes. He is started to go potty... they use a combination of English and Spanish with him so instead of "undies" like Cosy wears, he wears "chonies". He will also tell you body parts in Spanish and English and sometimes instead of "I love you" he says, "Te amo" which... melts MY HEART!

I knew that I would love being a grandmother but I was completely unprepared for how intensely I would love these tiny humans. I can not imagine a world where I don't see them as often or where I might not get to talk to them as much. They are my people... my reward for putting up with their dads... and they bring so much joy into my life. It breaks my heart that they will probably not remember my mom because she loved them so very much and every milestone with them is bittersweet because she's not here to share it. I just try to love them like she would and I just hope I'm even half the grandma that she was.

Tell me about your grandkids (if you have them)... your favorite things to do together and your experiences with potty training! Love and hugs, y'all!

Things I've Enjoyed Lately

This is my low-rent version of Oprah's favorite things... a blog post where I tell you about things I've enjoyed lately but unlike with Oprah, I'm not giving anything away for free.

I wanted to lose myself in a movie this morning. I'm battling a fibromyalgia flare which feels like having the flu, complete with body aches, especially with body aches. For the past five or six or ten days I've woke up feeling miserable and totally exhausted. I am having trouble staying awake in the morning, even though I'm usually wide awake before six every day. I'm still working on my Italian course first thing but I've had trouble concentrating and this morning I totally gave up. I couldn't go back to sleep because the house was awake at that point so it would be an exercise in frustration. I thought it might be a good time to settle into a movie.

St. Vincent (the movie) -Starring Bill Murray and Melissa McCarthy - was the one I picked. This one was on Netflix. It was sweet, funny but not slapstick (I hate over the top humor). The story was not too sappy and it met my movie requirement of potential to happen in real life... sort of. I like Bill Murray in serious roles. I like Melissa McCarthy in serious roles, too, I guess. Bill Murray plays a Vietnam Vet with a lot of issues who becomes a babysitter for a little boy who moves in next door whose parents are going through a divorce. It's not a really deep story but it was entertaining and gave me a little time to get past the first thing in the morning funk.

Gold Peak Peach Tea - cheaper than Starbucks peach tea and tastes even better! I've always avoided prepacked tea because it never tasted right. Turns out Gold Peak is made by Coca Cola and they use real sugar instead of high fructose whatever. I think sugar makes the difference. Also... this has to be kept in the refrigerator. There are some versions of the Gold Peak tea that doesn't have to be refrigerated until it's opened. Maybe whatever makes it perishable also makes it good. Whatever the case... it's my favorite beverage of the moment. At least until Pumpkin Spice Latte's hit Starbucks which is BOUND to happen any day!

Drop Dead Diva - Binge watching this series about a shallow diva who dies and is reincarnated as a chubby lawyer. Diva's bereaved boyfriend works at the same law firm. There are all kinds of situations that are complicated for Jane (the Diva). It's slightly ironic that my last binge watch event was about a virgin named Jane and now I'm watching a former diva named Jane. Apparently I have a thing for stories about girls named Jane. One benefit of being a C-span / PBS junkie is that there are allllll these television series that I never bothered watching over the past... um... all of my life... so I can always find something brand new (to me) to watch all the way through when I need a break from... the things that I normally do.

Sargento Balanced Breaks - This is a perfect snack for my mom who is diabetic... For myself, when I need a little something on my stomach to be able to take medication but I'm in too much pain to eat much... For Cosette, minus the nuts, it's a perfect little meal. The cheese is already cut into perfect toddler sized bites. For all of us... it's a little punch of protein (which none of us get enough of). I'm going to say that you could probably make your own little pack of these things for cheaper. Three of these little packs is about $3.50 at Ingles, $2.50 at Walmart. But... if your blood sugar is going the wrong way (mom) or you're in too much pain to fix something for yourself (me) or if you're too young to use a knife (Cosette) ha! I mean, if you don't want to waste precious daddy/daughter time or Nana/grandbaby time fixing a snack... this is a winner.

Talenti Gelato. My first love, as far as frozen treats go, is and will always be Luigi's Mango flavored Italian Ice. I have two every night, at 100 calories each. However... there are times that I want something a little more indulgent. This is not cheap but that's ok... the price keeps me from over-indulging. My favorite flavor so far is the sea salt caramel but I'm eager to try the other flavors they sell. The repurposing / upcycling side of me wants to figure out a use for the empty jars. They're a sturdy plastic with a screw top. Mini canisters, I think. I thought about painting them with chalkboard paint to cover the labels... it just feels like it has great craft project potential. You know, to have another reason to indulge besides... "I'm worth it."

I think I've shown most of my Carter's haul from last weekend except maybe this adorable little shirt that I got for Oliver. Cody and I are debating the colors. It's hard to tell in this photo because the lighting isn't the best. I say that it's the lovely blue from their wedding with some coral tones... he says it's Florida Gators colors. Cody is a huge Florida State fan. WE ALL are Florida State fans, as that was the "Grandma Clause". I agreed to switch my allegiance from the University of Florida to Florida State if I was made a grandmother. Since I won the Nana Lottery last year and got two sweet grandbabies, I'm working hard at being a Florida State fan. They didn't make it easy last season. I'm excited that football season is cranking back up, though. Florida State plays on Monday - not tomorrow, Labor Day Monday. But this shirt... I promise is not Gators colors. Either way, I think our sweet Oliver is going to look quite handsome in this little shirt. I'm putting myself on baby clothes buying restriction until time to buy holiday outfits. I've already got my eye on two little adorable matching outfits for Thanksgiving...

So those are the things that I've enjoyed this past week. I'd love to hear your favorite products, shows, movies, places to shop.... feel free to leave comments here or on my Facebook page. Thanks for stopping by! Love and hugs, y'all!

Facetime With Oliver

These photos were taken during my "Facetime with Oliver" last night. Try to ignore my crazy faces in the corner. To grab a toddler's attention on a phone you have to be pretty animated. I'm fairly animated anyways. Also... by the end of the day my hair is pretty much just a fuzzy bun. I'm not trying to impress.

I Facetime with Cody and Oliver - mostly Oliver - a couple of times a week. They live about 100 miles South of us and I'm just not as portable as I'd like to be so I end up seeing Oliver about once a month. Facetiming with him when he was a tiny baby was like... ummmm... I think we did better with pictures. Facetiming now that he's old enough to realize that it's Nana on the phone and now that he realizes it's an interactive process is loads of fun! Usually Cody will call me after they've had dinner while Marquee is having a bath and recuperating from taking care of our crazy monkey boy all day.

Oliver is ALL boy. B-O-WHY???? Boy. He climbs all over the place. He's a daredevil. He is hilarious and adorable and full of life. He also doesn't sleep much. He doesn't have a slow speed. He is busy all the time.

Oliver is now 13 months old. He loves cars, balls, climbing on things, Scooby Doo, outside and water. If you make faces at him he will make the same face back to you. He can stick out his tongue, wiggle his eyebrows, blow raspberries, make about a dozen different motor sounds... he's just fun to play with, even over the phone.

He sort of understands the phone situation but not fully. The other day I was eating an Italian Ice and I said, "do you want a bite?" and held the spoon up to the phone and he opened his mouth. I have the same activity table that he has. Yesterday while he was playing with it I pressed buttons on mine and he was really confused. He's really good at waving goodbye and blowing kisses when it's time to hang up the phone. He's honestly just the most adorable little boy ever... and I'm an expert on little boys!

Because I'm used to little boys... I don't freak out when they climb on things. Cody famously pushed my mom's ladder back rocking chair up against her refrigerator and climbed up... all the way to the top... and was pulling himself up on top... at 8 months old. Whenever someone at the ballfield would say, "whose kid is that way up in that tree?" I knew it was Austin. Ryan was never as much of a daredevil because he was born "grown". He found trouble in other ways. (We'll save that for another blog post... I could write volumes on Ryan. He turns 30 in November... maybe then... )

< --- in this picture Oliver is running across his couch. RUNNING. He will reach for his dad's hand when he crosses the ottoman from the couch to the loveseat. He still hasn't quite figured out how to climb up on the chair - his favorite spot because it's beside the window and he LOVES to look outside.

He's pretty good at getting down off of the furniture. He thinks that pillows are magical protection from injury and will sometimes jump with a pillow. It reminds me of when we were growing up and the two Jeffs would do Evil Knievel tricks off of our concrete slab porch. It was about three feet off the ground. They would build ramps and ride up one end and jump off the other. It's a wonder we didn't have more backyard injuries.

There was the one time Jim slid down the hill behind our house because someone yelled that "the old man" who lived in the house behind our property was coming after him. He snagged his knee on something and ended up with a lot of stitches.

Our neighborhood was your typical 1970's neighborhood... ranch houses, fenced yards, dads worked and moms stayed home, for the most part. We had a Jeff on one side of us, in the house where Cody and Marquee now live. There was John on the other side and just past his house was another Jeff. Jeff, Jeff, John and Jimmy. I played with Shannon and Karen (John and one of the Jeff's sisters) and Kim, who lived a few houses down and across the street. There were a ton of other kids in the neighborhood. I'm friends on Facebook with a lot of them. But mainly, especially during elementary school it was Jeff, Jeff, John, Shannon, Karen and Kim. The house we lived in had belonged to John and Karen's grandmother. Now my grandson lives in the house beside the house where I grew up. And Dawn who is my parents "favorite daughter" (really just a much loved neighbor) lives across the street from Cody. Her daughter lives in the house next door... where I grew up! Also... my sister-in-law Angie, being the smart woman that she is, bought the house across the street from my parents when her and Jim started getting serious. Once she was in the neighborhood it was a cinch roping her into the family! (she has since sold the house).

Oliver living in our old neighborhood... I guess he can't help but carry on the Evil Knievel traditions.

The other day I posted a picture of him standing on one of his ride on toys... here's him standing on his activity table. You can only barely see the table but...

Why is he clapping? Because Nana said, "yay, Oliver!" He's got amazing core strength. And you know that activity table hurt his feet... at one point he got frustrated with it but he's just a tough little boy.

I've bet Cody that this one ends up with stitches or a broken bone before his second birthday. Not wishing it on him, of course, just knowing... from being a boy mommy...

 

Notice the one picture where Little Kitty is in the upper right instead of me? He got bent out of shape because I had moved from my usual nest to another chair in my living room. He climbed all across the living room to be able to get behind me so I put the camera on him for a minute. Oliver checked him out for a hot second but he's not as impressed with cats as he is dogs. And pretty much everything else.

My parents came through my living room while I was on the phone. You can tell when I'm talking to Ollie because I answer the phone screaming, "OLIVER!!!!" Which makes him giggle. I really love that kid! He seriously makes my day. I've always said that Austin is my youngest and Cody is my baby. Cody has always just been the sweet one. Oliver is like his dad... tough... but just so sweet.

Cody's birthday is on Tuesday. They're coming up next weekend and *hopefully* I can get the two babies in one place for the first time since April. Marquee's family was celebrating with Cody today. He wanted us to drive down but it's just too much car time for me. I promised him a SECOND BIRTHDAY!!!! if he came up, complete with cake, balloons, clowns... whatever he wants. So I'm really looking forward to seeing him and celebrating his 26th birthday next weekend. And I can't wait to play with my buddy Oliver!

Hope you enjoyed "Facetime With Oliver"... I know I talk about my grandchildren in every single blog post but they really are the loves of my life, my reason for getting out of bed in the morning and truly, my reward for sticking it out this long! Love and hugs, y'all!