And introducing...

My Grandaughter!

Coming to us all in June 2011.

The Reunion

Sam's Sister, Saying Goodbye and other things.

Sam asked me if I could say the word "underpants" and I said of course I can say the word underpants. "No, Grandma! I said... can you say Wonder Pets!" (kid's TV program). Two nights ago, Sam and I were cuddling on the couch and he asked, "Can you scratch me?" and I replied "Sure!" so I lifted his tee shirt to scratch his little back. He said, "No, Grandma! I said... you scratched me! So, can you kiss it better please?" When Sam came home from swimming lessons this morning he said his underwear was wet because we had dropped them (by accident!) on the pool deck. He said "No underwear, Grandma...I just want to go free-balling!" This evening right out of the blue, Sam looked at me from his bike (he was riding it in the house - ha!) and he said...."I can't wait to get to have my sister! And daddy is going to get to have a daughter. Mommy is going to get to have a baby. I can teach her not to put toys in her mouth and I can show her how to play." After this week I have no doubt that Sam will be teaching my grandaughter all sorts of things. Every night when I tucked Sam into bed this week he has said something like..."Thank you Grandma for this nice day....sweet dreams, Grandma." I kid you not. You don't believe me? Hmmm.....let's just say I'd like to talk to you in person. This morning he was singing a song with some chick on the TV and it was about "F-A-M-I-L-Y." There was a part about having a place in your heart for someone even if they lived far away...I got all teary and Sam got a weird look on his face. Nice touch, Grandma...now you are scaring little children. The goodbye thing tonight is going to be brutal. I am dreading it. I can't believe Mike has built a lovely separate wing of the house for the four cats and he won't make one for his mother-in-law! Could it be because I am not American?

THE BIRTHDAY CAKE THE FINAL CHAPTER

THE BIRTHDAY CAKE PART ONE

I had made a promise to Sam that we would make a birthday cake for his daddy while Jen and Mike were away in San Francisco. Three year olds never forget. It was a delightful experience I won't soon forget. The recipe for success in baking with a preschooler is to let your heart be filled with all the amusing commentary (ie: Can a dog lick the spoon? ), allow time to calm your heart completely during the near and often catastrophes and to give complete control of the decorating to the Master Baker or you will have a heart attack.

Questions

This week Sam has been asking me alot of questions. Some are easy, others rather difficult to answer. We have some questions for you to answer.

1. What do you get when you drop a wet rubber spider into a box of kitty litter?

2. How do you answer a young boy who asks you if you have a "bagina" or "something else", Grandma?

3. Why is it such a struggle for a grandma with a hip replacement to hang upside down on the couch in order to watch TV the way her grandson does?

4. Who is the real boss in a family?

5. Does a spider have a trachea?

Sam and I would love to hear your answers.

American vs. Canadian

There are 206 bones in the human body. Sam and I learned today that a dog has 321 (give or take a few in some breeds) and a cat has 244. Interesting stuff. However, according to my grandson, if you are 3 years old and an American, you probably have 208.

Sam and I were discussing the veins in our bodies over lunch today - the human body has been a regular topic during our time together. He rolled his tongue to show me the bulging veins underneath. Someone (Mike) must have put him onto this...and he wanted to see mine....damned if I couldn't roll my tongue to show him!!!! Again, Sam commented that this could be an American thing. Later after some thought, I concluded that 55 year old grandmothers are unable to roll their tongues if they have a pink bite plate stuck on the roof of their mouth. Makes sense.

Did you know that in America, eating M & M's at breakfast is totally acceptable.

On the way home from preschool Sam asked me if I could "get to be American" one day and I asked him why he would like this to happen. He replied so solemnly and so incredibly sweet...."Because I love you." Who can hear Kate Smith right now?

ps: Happy Birthday to my very favorite American son-in-law! I love you!

For Heaven's Sake! That's what Grandma says...

I gave Sam a small treat today. A car from a Disney series he adores. Unfortunately I screwed up. He told me I gave him the "mean" car....he would have prefered the "happy" car, but..."It's okay, Grandma, I can like this one maybe on some days."

This is what they did all day. Waited for Mike and Jen at the window.

Izzy didn't give a rat's ass.

Lunch.

The Three Amigos.

Making secret plans for Daddy's birthday cake.

Every so often, I would look at Sam and he would have a pensive look on his little face like in the picture above. One time he said to me...

"Grandma, why do you have a big belly?"

We went for a walk this morning and as we went by a church, Sam asked what the building was for. I told him he could go there to learn about "Jesus and God." He got so excited and exclaimed..."And YOU have a dog called BOB!"

We went to Trader Joe's this afternoon and we discussed our menu for tonight's dinner. Sam wanted to go to Sushi Mi to have "cucumber rolls, avocado rolls, carrot rolls and tofu rolls....or if that didn't appeal to me, how about Chipotle Mexican Grill where we could have burritos, beans, peppers and guacamole! Of course they is also Mayuri Indian where he said he would tuck into some pakoras, licorice seeds and a cold and spicy yogurt sauce!"

Dinner.

Digesting dinner just before bed.