Shhh....

In my spare time (HA!) I go to Face Book quite a bit. At first I liked to see what all my friends are doing these days. I've found many from as far back as middle school (yes, that's far back for me). I liked those silly quizzes "How Well Do You Know Your Friends?" (pretty well) or "What's Your Stripper Name?" (never took that one and never will). But recently, I've found that it's become a place for people to air their dirty laundry and stab one another in the back. Fun? Not so much anymore. Although, I must admit, I have posted in anger once or twice.
Believe it or not, Face Book, along with some personal relationships of late, have taught me to, wait for it, shut my mouth. OK, everyone can breathe now. It's not that I always speak WHATEVER is on my mind WHENEVER I wanted. I've learned as an adult there is a time and place for everything. Recently, though, I've learned how to be more tactful. As well, I've had to remind myself to choose my words very carefully. ( I ask you, where is the fun in that???!!!)
My favorite quote is "Knowledge is power". Apparently, I've become more knowledgeable. At my age. Go figure.

Too Much Fun!!

What a fantastic weekend!! It's taken me this long to recuperate. Gavin's party was a huge success. So many family and friends together again. And then I had the honor of babysitting, along with my mom and Mike's (my ex) mom, Peggy. Mind you, Gavin ate entire cake all on is own and I think he had a bit of a sugar high. He was completely off his normal schedule as well, but we still had fun. We played with some of his new toys, had dinner (although much of his meal ended up on the floor), read books and, of course, bath time. He loves his rubber duckie and giggles when you splash water on him. Then it was off to bed, where he quietly drifted off to sleep almost immediately. He had a very long day. And so did I. I was "plum tuckered out" as they say in the South.
On Sunday we had breakfast together and some more play time. Then Casey came to pick him up. I was sad to see him go, but he waved "bye, bye" to me and I had to smile. I can't wait to see him again!
And now the real fun begins....countdown to move day: 16 days and counting.

A Nice Weekend

Oy, can I tell you what a nice weekend I had? I got to spend time not only with Stephen, Brett, Casey and Gavin, but I had the opportunity to visit with friends as well. But, truth be told, babysitting Gavin was the highlight of the weekend.
Stephen and Casey decided to go on a date. So, I got to feed Gavin dinner, play time, bath time and night-night time.
He's getting so big...crawling all over and he can walk as long as he can hold on to a piece of furniture. And he eats: for dinner that night he had rice cereal mixed with sweet potatoes and bananas for dessert. If you don't get the spoon to his mouth quick enough, he will surely let you know. LOL. And he doesn't like it when you try to wipe the food off his mouth with a spoon. Nope, he's not having any part of that. He drinks his apple juice out of a sippy cup and when he's done with his sip, he will gladly throw the cup on the floor for you. I loved it!
Play time is awesome. He has lots of toys but is partial to 2: the basketball hoop that makes noises when pulled upon and his sesame street table. He pulls himself up on that table, pushes the buttons and Elmo sings, Ernie sings and Big Bird makes noises. He loves it!
But bath time is the ultimate! As soon as you begin to undress him, his little arms start flailing, he kicks his legs up and down and a GIANT smile comes across his face. Once in the bathtub it's all about the rubber ducky. You can throw anything else you want into the tub, but it's all about the duck (sounds like a good friend I know). Splash, splash, duck in mouth, splash, splash. When it's time to get out of the tub, he gets wrapped up in his towel. But you have to keep his right hand OUT of the towel. Why, you may ask? Because once he is dried off, Stephen has taught him to "turn the light out". He turns the light off in the bathroom. I made the mistake of wrapping his right hand in his towel. Yeah, that didn't go over very well. He finally got his right hand free and I said, "Gavin, please turn the light out." and so he did. And then I turned the light on again, and he turned it off again. We did this quite a few times. He gets the largest grin across his lips and his eyes light up when he does this. Getting into pajamas is a bit of a struggle. It seems Gavin is not very fond of getting dressed. He wiggles, squirms, tries to crawl away and even cries a bit, of course without tears. But we got through it.
It was now night-night time. While his bottle was warming up, he and I sang the "3 Bears Song" (a song I learned in Girl Scouts. Yes, I was a girl scout). We went into his room, I sat in the rocking chair and slowly while sucking on his bottle, he fell asleep. Well, not really. Casey has it worked out so that he doesn't depend on finishing his bottle before he goes to sleep. I wish I had been able to do that with my kids. After feeding him a bit of his bottle, I gently put him in his crib, covered him with his blankies, turned on his music box and quietly left the room, but not before turning my head back one last time to stare at my beautiful grandbaby.
It was one of the best Saturday nights I've ever had.

Lasting Memories

I don't even know where to begin. I had such a great day with Stephen, Casey, Gavin and my Mom. It's not a day I will be forgetting too soon, that's for sure.
Gavin loved all his gifts. Especially the wagon. To see just how much fun he had, check out the pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/PrincessElaine82
I found that if you hold his hands up in the air and say "Cruise ship" he laughs and giggles non-stop. I taught him the Gator chomp and he seemed to have liked that too.
Stephen and Casey are amazing parents. They are so good with him and you can tell how much he loves them. His eyes light up and he smiles a giant grin whenever they walk in a room. He has started eating baby food. While he likes the cereal, he's not so crazy about the fruit. In time, I'm sure. He sits up on his own and loves it when you read to him. He's also wild about peek-a-boo and patty cake.
It was hard leaving them. With the way things are, I'm not sure when I will get to see them again. But one thing is for sure...it will be a very long time before the memory of seeing them will fade from my mind and my spirit.
Happy Holidays to all!

Please Stand By....

I'm going to see Gavin tomorrow to celebrate his first Hanukkah. This trip is made possible by an angel watching over me. Please check back soon to hear the story and see some pictures!

A Much Needed Weekend

I just got back from visiting Stephen, Casey and Gavin (view pics here
http://picasaweb.google.com/princesselaine82). After 3 months of waiting, I got to snuggle my grand baby, help bathe him, feed him, play with him and make him laugh out loud. It was the most wonderful feeling in the world. He's at the point where he can almost sit up on his own. And I will bet in the next few weeks he will start eating baby food and start getting up on his hands and knees and doing that "rocking thing" that babies do just before they get ready to crawl. He's putting his entire little fist in his mouth, so I wouldn't be surprised if the fun of teething starts soon as well. At one point, he had a bottle and BOTH tiny fists in his mouth. It was too funny for words.
And Stephen and Casey are such great parents. As soon as Stephen walks in the door from work in the evening and Gavin hears his voice, a little giggle passes through his tiny lips. He knows that if Daddy is home, it means the circus has come to town! And, oh my, how he is attached to Casey. His eyes light up and a GIANT smile comes over his face whenever he sees her walk into a room.
We all went to my nephew Austin's soccer game Saturday morning, (His team won, 3-0) and then to Beef 'O' Brady's for lunch. Gavin was SO well behaved all the time. He was truly amazing.
I wish for the life of me I could be closer and see him more often. And maybe once I start working again, I will be able to afford to go to Lakeland more than I do now. But for the time being, I am happy and content. Just like Gavin.

I Miss Him

I can't sleep again. At least this time I have a good reason. Stephen called tonight. Casey and Gavin will not be making the trip up here this weekend. I am so torn up inside it hurts. I haven't seen them in 2 months. I've seen pictures. He's getting so big. And he smiles...alot...a big toothless grin. I hear him over the phone when I talk to Stephen. He's trying to say SOMETHING, you can just tell.
I thought being a Bubbe was supposed to be easier than being a parent. I wonder if I'll ever get to find out.
My heart is broken. I'm such a baby.

Lots of Drama...And Ending With Joy

So, after being gone for almost 3 weeks, you would think I have much to say. Actually, I do, but if I try to talk about everything this blog will go on for days. So I will tell you since I've been gone, much has happened in my life. There has been: secrets and lies, disloyalty, depression, hurt feelings, anger, advice, dancing, drinking, disappointment, a hot date, great food, lousy food, anguish, frustration, loss of control (ugghhh), strength, lack of sleep and ulcers. And finally, there is joy. None of the other things matter as much at this very moment, because there is joy and love.
You hear about it all the time from others who have experienced it, but you never really know the joy of a grandchild until you have one of your own. You watch, as the first time, your very own child, lovingly kisses his/her child for the first time. It's such an overwhelming emotion...I'm not sure there is a word for it. But my heart is feeling this emotion for the first time. And it is good.
Then, YOU hold your first grandchild for the first time...and for me, all the hopes and dreams I have or had for my own son, are geared to this new baby. As I held Gavin that first time and told him how much I loved him already, I explained to him how lucky he is to have such a wonderful Mom and Dad. I told him about Gator football and how I just KNEW his first word would be Gator. I explained to him what a cruise ship is and how much fun we were going to have some day on one of those great ships. And through it all, I cried more than he probably ever will in his life. Then, came the really hard part....I had to give him back to his Dad.
Now, if you look under the heading under my blog you will see this word: Control. It's not that I have to BE in control all the time, I need to FEEL as if I'm in control all the time. It's a major pitfall of my personality, along with loyalty from friends (that's for another blog). So when I had to give Gavin back to Stephen, I had this feeling I was losing control. Not to worry, I knew this was coming. This was part of the reason I took off for a few weeks; I need to learn how to let go and still not feel as though I am missing something.
And so with the joy of Gavin comes a new life lesson for me: letting others take the driver's seat while I stand back and watch. And maybe, just maybe, I can be of some help....but only when I'm asked. This should be mighty interesting. Stay tuned.

Gavin Riley Scott
Born June 26th, 2008. 9:10 p.m. 7lbs, 7 oz. 20 1/2 in. Proud parents of Casey Anderson and Stephen Scott.
Bubbe Elaine is getting used to her role. Will be blogging about the event and other thoughts on life in the next few days.
I'm baaacckkkk......and I've got lots to say.