The Wonder of Being a Grandparent

My husband and I were blessed to spend some time with our grandson Bradley this past Saturday.  He is just growing and changing so quickly.  Tomorrow he will be 14 months old!  One of the things that struck me was how Jeff and I really focus on Bradley when he is with us and how we try to take every moment in deeply and appreciate it.  My soon to be daughter-in-law/love Rachel noticed this and commented on how I seem to love being a grandma…she is spot on right! 

Bradley “helped” me while I was shopping for a Mother of the Groom dress and some other things.  He had definite opinions on what Grammie should and should not wear.  One of the things I tried on he did not like at all and told me “No” and shook his head.  I asked him again if he liked it and he shook his head and backed away from it.  LOL!  On the other hand, I knew I hit the jackpot when I tried another dress on and his eyes lit up, he got a huge smile on his face and he kept pointing to the dress and smiling.  When I asked him if he liked it he nodded his head yes!  He helped me pick out several dresses and some pajamas and of course, he also got a toy (because Grammie and G-pa spoil him just a bit).

After all that shopping, we needed to get some lunch so we went to our favorite Chinese Buffet place.  Bradley is very popular there with the owner and with one of the waiters. J  He and the waiter play games with each other and Bradley flirts outrageously with the pretty lady who is the owner of the place.  I got Bradley some noodles, pizza, oranges, cantaloupe and pineapple.  He was not interested in the pizza (which surprised me) but loved the noodles and went nuts over the oranges.  Heather told me she had never given him oranges before so now we have another fruit we know he likes to add to the menu.  He shared a malasada (fried donut) for dessert with me and finally had a full tummy. 

Heather and Chris planned on meeting us back at our house to pick up Bradley.  Upon our arrival home, Bradley spied Caesar in the back yard and started to squeal with delight and clap his hands.  He loves that dog and Caesar, who adores Bradley, got very excited and started jumping around.  Those two are so funny together!  We made sure that they had some play time before Bradley headed home.

Being a Grammie is like falling in love all over again every time I see my grandson.  Every little thing about him amazes me.  He can be the most endearing and loving little guy one moment and then go into stubborn tantrum throwing mode the next.  He can make me laugh until my stomach hurts with his expressions and antics.  He can make my heart just break for him when he gets hurt or is not feeling well.  Most of all though, he has opened up a whole new world to me where I get to experience the wonder and love of being grandparent…what a blessing it and he is!