A visit with daughter + 3

Husband and I traveled to see daughter + 3 today and we had a lovely time. Husband took the girls to the library for the summer reading program and this grandma had a great time playing with the baby. Daughter and I decided to keep a weekly record of baby boy's growth so here are the first two installments.

06/03/07

06/11/07

As you can tell, baby boy certainly loves his mommy's milkies as he seems to be gaining nicely. He is such a sweet, even-tempered baby and is such a pleasure to hold and rock. I spent a bit of time rocking him in the rocking chair until he fell asleep. This is the same rocking chair that I rocked my babies in (daughter now has possession of it). I told the girls about some of their mother's antics when she was their ages. They thought those stories were better than chocolate cake.

Being a grandmother is so much fun. I can appreciate my grandchildren and love spending time with them. They are good children and fun to be around as they are so enthusiastic (read that to mean they laugh at our corny jokes and funny faces, put up with a multitude of hugs and kisses, and tell me how much they love me). I know that one of these days they will say, "Oh, grandma, I'm too old for (that)" or "Grandma, I can do it myself" or "Grandma, I'm too busy to come visit you." For now, I will cherish these precious moments and hope that I can leave our grandchildren with loving memories of their grandma. And their grandpa can teach them a thing or two. I will also try to teach them some songs that my mother taught me, how to cook and bake, and maybe even how to sew. Maybe we will even be around long enough to see them through college and as they start their adult lives. If we are lucky, we will even get to see a great-grandchild or two.

For all you grandmothers out there, I give you this:

Happy birthday, Alipurr

Alipurr, your dad and I send you our very best wishes on your 36th birthday. You are a wonderful daughter and we love you very much. You received the very best birthday present in the world this year, a new baby boy. Here is a little look down memory lane to when you were growing up.

Newborn, birth day, June 5, 1971

One year old, 1972

Three years old, 1974

Six years old, riding Pokey Dennis, 1977

24 years old, graduating university magna cum laude, 1995

25 years old, wedding day, March 9, 1996

36 years old, birth day, June 2, 2007

Alipurr, you've made us proud over the years and have provided us with a lot of love and joy. We know this has to be the best birthday of your life. We love you very much.

Congratulations, Alipurr, it's a baby boy!

I know you are all dying to see this little fellow, so here's some pictures. Baby boy was born on Saturday, June 2, at 2:21 p.m. (after about a 3-1/2 hour labor). He weighed 7 lbs. 8 oz. and was 19-1/2 inches long. Mother and son are doing fine. The rest of us are trying to adjust.

Mother plus 3, approximately 3 hours after delivery

Baby boy, about 25 hours old, and his great-grandmother Nana

Mother, father, and baby boy arrived home this afternoon and the grandparents came home (to rest and relax). He's a real cutie and we are very proud of him already. He's very alert and is trying to look around at everything. Don't know if he can really focus yet, but he's trying. The girls and mom have been talking to him for 9 months so I'm sure he recognizes their voices.

The girls are so excited and are kissing and loving him already. It's difficult for them to understand that he needs to sleep a lot because all they want to do is hold him, kiss him, examine him, pet him, and play with him. I don't think they realize that it will be quite a while before he will be ready to play with his big sisters.

The father, of course, has busted all the buttons off his shirt he's so proud of his "big" boy.

Well, now that the grandparents (us) are home, I think I will go out and mow the lawn. It's up to my knees already. (More pictures to follow.)