a final pooping story

My grandson is completely potty trained. The last part of this project was using a grown up toilet instead of a child's potty. One day he had to go so badly that his only choice was the toilet. Without any help from any one he pooped, cleaned himself and got his clothes back on. He is very proud of himself  for doing this and calls us to look at his poop and then flushes away saying,"good bye poop. I asked him the other day if he was afraid to use the big toilet because he was afraid he would fall in and he said,"yes".
I should have had a special ceremony the other day when I put both of his child potties in the attic but he wasn't home so they just joined all the other pieces of his early years .

a bike for his birthday

Our grandson just celebrated his 4th birthday. We got him a 2 wheeled bike (with training wheels) as our present. The other day we took him to Piedmont Park for his first chance to ride it. He had to get used to pushing the wheels foward and not backwards so neither of us stopped suddenly. He wasn't sure how to stear the bike so I guided him holding onto the handle bars. He kept looking at the ground and not where he was going and at times started to tip over. I was thankful that he liked dogs as he took a break from riding and had to pet every dog he saw once Pa made sure the dog liked children.
  About 3 days later he wanted to ride his bike again. So we put it on the cement walk that surrounds the pool. Without any help he was able to ride his bike around and around. He kept the speed low and used the breaks appropriatly. I was just amazed he became so comfortable on the bike so fast.

grandma's closet

For reasons I don't understand my grandson loves to be in my closet with me and with the lights out. It is not my favorite place to be but I stay in there for a while. I have a globe that shows all the constellations. He loves to get this down and turn on the light . He then shines them on me, or the door or on himself. I usually tell tim what the constellation is but he doesn't care. Once done with the globe, he leaves the closet and get his grandfather to try and find me.

trip to Chattanooga

Our grandson's other grandmother needed to be away some extra days when she usually cares for him during the day. My husband and I decided to drive to Chattanooga, TN. He loves trains so we decided to stay in one of the train cars. at the Chattanooga Choco-Choco Hotel. Once we parked we walked down the lane of train cars and he could hardly believe we were  going to stay in one. Once in the car he  explored all parts of it and was really taken by the bathroom. Once he and my husband got out of the car before I did. It was a liitle dark and he came running back to get me so I "would be safe. I thanked him and gave him a big kiss . He proceeded to run down the aisle toward the engine. He always wanted to know what the name of the rods that are connected the wheels on the steam engine. My husband looked it up on the web and found out they are called connecting roods. Everytime he sees a steam engine he says "look at those connecting rods like he has discovered them all over again.
   We went to the Chattanooga aquarium in the morning and then drove out to the TVNR and took a ride on a stean drawn train. He was so well behaved it was amazing. The other day he asked if we could go back again.

Time out

My husband and I tend to be a little more lenient  with our grandson then his mother. We don't put him in time out very much. The major offenses are picking on 1 of our 2 Westies or hitting us. When he won't stop either activity he is told he now has to to into the corner for time out. On the way to the corner he gets teary eyed and says, " I am sorry, I am sorry." When he gets in the corner he cries and my shout at us or sit on the floor and move his legs back and forth. If we try and talk with him he shouts,"don't talk to me." The part of this entire process I find most interesting is that he is personally offended we put him in time out and it made him cry.It is not that we are mad at him or he hurt one of the dogs (for whom he shows warm affection for 95% of the time ), or that he is missing out on some other activity. He is 3 years old and stay in time out for 1 to 3 minutes. When the time is up I offer to comfort him . He say no and won't leave the corner. The time outs seem to help. I  now just say that the corner is still there and I don't want to make him cry. He will stop what he is doing.

the dead cricket

I came out of the back door and Brandon walked up to me with his hands on his hips and then thrust them out to the side saying," O well the cricket died in the pool and I burried him in ther garden but I didn't say a prayer."

having mouth washed out wih soap.

I can't ever envision that my grandson will have his mouth washed out with soap but he loves to have me tell him what happened to me. "tell me the story of soap in your mouth."And once again with the telling I connect with my childhood. It was my mother's expectation that when she called me I would come home right away. This particular summer evening ,I was 8 or 9 years old and was playing playing kick the can with my friends on the next block over from my house. I heard my mother call me but didn't want to stop playing. I figured when I got home I would just tell her I didn't hear her because I was so far away. Well, she kept calling and I finally decided to go home. When I got home she said'" where have you been." I gave her my excuse but she didn't buy it and told me to go up to the bathroom. Up there she proceed to push a bar of soap into my teeth. It tasted awful and it took hours to get the the taste out of my mouth. I never did that again.. When I tell Brandon the story he thinks it is so funny and wants me to repeat it again.

fall with a bumped head

Brandon slipped off the bathtub and bumped his head coming to me for comfort. While sitting on my lap I asked if he would like to ice on his head and he said yes. I put an ice cub on his head thinking he was not seriously hurt. Quickly he looked up at me and said, "I have a better idea." He went into the bathroom, got a wash cloth, wrapped an ice cub in it and put it on his head and sat on my lap again. I smiled and said,"yes that is a better idea."

humpty dumpty

Brandon is now 4 years old

I am not sure why I started saying the Humpty Dumpty nursery rhyme but my grandson loves to repeat it. He  is now putting a new twist on humpty's recovery. Brandon's plan is to pick him up and put him back together again doing a better job than all the king's horses and all the kings men.

books and stories

   Our grandson spends a lot of time with us. His parents are now divorced and his mother is a police officer who has to be at work at 6:30am. He either spends the nite with us or she brings him here at 6am. When he spends the nite, before he goes to sleep I read him 2 books that he (most of the time) selects and then I have to tell him a story. Topics of the stories have to be cars- corvetts and mustangs, motorcycles- suzukies, or snakes. When he arrives  at 6am, he requests a book but I tell him it is too early. I suggest a story and that is OK with him. The nice thing for me is that he falls asleep before he hears the story so I can tell it again. The main character of each story is either a little boy or a young man. He does not have a name but my grandson know he is that character.

it finally happened

My grandson will be 4 in October. As of a month ago he was not toilet trained for stool much to the worry of me, his mother, grandpa and his other grandma. He had a few successes but it didn't last. He has too many gagets for my liking and each was taken away until he could have a BM in the toilet. He also had 2 remote controlled cars that he could not use until then. Part of me was pleased that he couldn't use all those devices. Part of me was worried about how long it would take him to use the toilet. He didn't even seem to care that he couldn't play, his DS, Wii or xbox- all provided by his parents. On several occassions he would ask to use something but when we said no he went to play with something else.
   He always seemed to know when he would have a BM as he would stand in the corner of the den and poop telling us to stay away from him. We would urge him to use the potty but he said no. Once he was urine trained he came out of pullups but would poop in his pants. He would clean himself and put clean pants on. During this time we all backed off and when he told us he had to go poop we said OK and all went about our business. Then 1 day when we were away he pooped in the potty and hasn't looked back.
He rermains so very proud of himself as well he should. Each poop is announced and praised.

on being a gentleman

My grandson likes to eat eggs and sausage for breakfast or at other times of the day. One recent evening he wanted them. I began to get all the ingredients and he pulled the chair up to the stove. I asked what he was doing and he told me he was going to help me as it was the gentlemanly thing to do. He is 3 1/2 years old.

Beginning Kung Fu

My grandson has never met a stick that couldn't be used as a sword. He also likes to do round house kicks and make kung fu  motions with his arms. His mom has gotten him involved in kung fu lessions. The person who teaches the lessions has agreed to let him do this even though he is only 3 1/2 years old because of his level of coordination and strength. This should be really good for him especially to become more focused.

skipping and jumping

On Thursdays my grandson spends the entire day with my husband and me. He and I take our 2 Westies for a morning walk.While still on our street he walks Lucy and especially likes for the 2 of them to walk on a neighbor's retaining wall.. We remember events that happened on previous walks- his being pulled down a neighbor's driveway when he came out with his dog and Lucy wanted to get to the dog. Once we get aound the corner I get to walk both dogs and he goes to say hello to Denise in the bakery. He my get a cookies if he had some nutritious food. Then he is off down the street. I love to what him skip (his version) and jump and run through the parking lots going behind the antique shops where all that is left is the cement foundation of a burned down building. He jumps up and runs back and forth as I put the 2 dogs up and get myself up. At the lower edge of the lot is a small path overgrown with blackberry bushes. This slows him down a little so I can catch up to him ( I worry about some creepy person lurking in the shadows). I try not to make him fearful but let him know I need keep him in my site. He runs to the small office of the motel and calls for Shirley.(we met her on one of our earlier walks). Shirley comes out and gives him a big hug and talks with him. Then we are off to the smelly  pond behind the building and reverse our trip and go home. Another story

connecting to my history by stories for my grandson

Both of my parents are dead and both of my brothers suffer from dementia. When I think about some aspect of my childhood I realize I have no one from whom to check the accuracy of my memory or elaborate on what I don't remember. Periodically I tell my grandson stories I do remember. As I tell him a snipet I remember even more of the details. It started out with remembering that my mother washed my out out with soap. He periodically asks me about the soap in my mouth and I remembered 2 times it happened- once I put my thumb to my nose and wiggle my finger at my mother. I didn't  know why that was bad (I still don't) and she pushed up a bar of soap into my front teeth. It tasted terrible. The other time I was playing with my friends on a summer evening. When my mother called me to come home, I pretended I couldn't hear her and that's what I told her when I came home. She had none of that and washed my mouth out again. More then the particulars of the stories I am delighted that telling my grandson stories connects me to my past.

not seeing father very often

   My grandson's parents are in the process of getting a divorce. His father takes him maybe once a month, picking him up  Saturday morning or afternoon and bringing him back Sunday morning.
  I was pushing him on the swing the other day and he talked about his father coming to visit and he said, "Brandon Sr comes to see me a lot" I couldn't believe he would think that so I asked him ," you see you dad a lot ,"and he said yes. I don't know if because of his age that 1 24 hr period once a month seems like a lot to him or this is just his wishful thinking. He adors his dad and it breaks my heart that he is so absent in his son's life. I do keep my mouth shut and never say anything negative about his dad.

my grandson and electronics

   We have too many electronics in this house. All but the TVs belong to my grandson's parents- xbox 360, wii and nintendo DS. He would often play a game on each one everyday. I would try and limit this by diverting his attention to other activities- playing cars inside or going outside to swing or play baseball or soccer or work in the garden, Often times it didn't work. I would use playing the DS as inducements for better behavior.
   He is 3 1/2 yrs old and is almost completely potty trained for urination but having a BM in the toilet is not happening. Everytime he is getting ready to have a BM he tells us but refuses to get on the toilet. We even have a potty that sits on the floor. He always tells me he will do it "next thursday" but it never happens. 1 month ago I told him that he would have until the next Thursday to have a BM in the potty or he would lose use of all the electronic. It didn't work and he is not using any of them .  When he goes to have a BM he says," I don't want to use any electronics." He never argues or causes any upset about this. When he finally does use the potty I will be sorry for him to use all those things again. For now we read a lot and play games etc.

thanking mom

I have had a really hard time lately because my grandson's parents have moved out and he is with us most of the time. I felt really sad for him that he now has 2 parents who visit him as opposed live with him. I got so worked up over this I that said something to my daughter. She had  her reasons why this was happening some of which were legitimate some that I felt were not. He did finally see his mom's new apartment and spent one night with her. She dropped him off on Tuesday afternoon and came back in the early evening. As she was leaving, he said," thanks mom for letting me come to your apartment" He repeated it a 2nd time with her response that it was his apartment. His words probably did more than my mimi breakdown. Time will tell

taking care of grandma/books and stories

  My grandson's parents are getting divorced and his life is in flux. He  is spending a lot more time with me and my husband. The other night I needed to go to the grocery to pick up 3 items. I was going to go by myself. When I told him this he broke into tears and hugged my legs. So I took him with me. As we were leaving the store he told me  he came with me because I needed him and he would take care of me. I told him I appreciated him doing that for me.
   It used to be a fight getting him bed but lately he tells me it time to play his DS, read at least 2 books and then I have to tell him 2 stories. His request for stories and my meager attempt to tell them may spur me on to learn to be a story teller.
   One other thing I was amazed at the other day. We read "The Fish who could wish." There is a page where the fish flies into space. There is a satelite and a space station. We got talking about radar in space and he made the connection with radar that police use- I don't know how.

flowers and books

We were walking in the front yard and all of a sudden my grandson called, "grandma, grandma come here." As I walk to him he tells me to "look at this beautiful white flower." What is beautiful to him is a wilted white pansey but I agree that it is beautiful. The next day we are in the backyard and I decide to cut some daffodils and he was my helper. I held the stems and he cut them and then held them until we were finished. There was a skinny hyacinth that I decided to add to out bouquet. I let him smell it and he told me how beautiful it smelled. Once collected we ran up the stairs and into the house where he immediatly ran to his grandfathter and mother and said"look at this beautiful bouquet." He was rewarded with much praise from both of us.. Later that same day his other grandmother came to pick him up. As they walked by the small triangular garden on the way to her car he urged her to smell the hyacinths and broke off 1 small blossom from 2 plants so he could smell them in the care.
   When is mom is working late into the evening I usually put him to sleep. We read a couple of books and I have to tell stories that have to do with trains or corvetts or mustangs. The other day I started reading an old Bambi book we had. We made it thru the 1st 16 pages. His usual book is a short picture book. Last nite he picked Bambi again and we read 78 pages. I was amazed get had that much attention.

coming home after being away for 4 days

My husband and I were away for the weekend. His Mom works late in the evening as a police officer. He stayed with his other grandmother Friday and Sunday nights and Saturday night with his Dad. I was really missing him so I picked him up early this afternoon. I was also trying to avoid the terrible storms that were expected. As soon as we got home , he went to look for Pa and our 2 dogs who were outside. Big hug from Pa and pats for the dogs. Then  we went on our chasing around the pool until I got tired. I owed his mother a badmitton set for her birthday and finally got it today. She must have mentioned it because he wanted to play it. We only tried hitting the little birdy to each other. He found it hard to hit the birdy, got frustrated and cursed.I told him cursing is not allowed. I made him come inside and told him needed to go to his room or my room. He stood in the kitchen with a red face and scrinched  eyes. he yelled "NO I WON'T" We went back and forth with my saying he would and him saying wouldn't. I finally began to take him to his room. He started to cry. I asked if he was having a hard time because we had all been away and he was mad at us. He, looking, at the floor, said yes. We talked about appropriate words to use "darn it" and all was better. The rest of the day he was his usual rambunctious self . Had his bath and washed his hair without a fight. He told me he decided to do it the "easy way."

being outside

My grandson loves to be outside. While there I learn a lot of things he is thinking about. I told him his mom was on the way home to take him to the park. He said he didn't want to go. He didn't like his mom and didn't love her. He told me he was mad at her because she worked so much. He became annoyed with me when I suggested he really did love her. I asked  if he got mad at his dad because he doesn't see him very often (his parents are separated). He, without a moments hesitation said no "because he always comes back." All I could say was that he was right
   Later that same day he was taking sand from his sand box and forcefully throwing in the yellow wagon. I asked what he was doing and told he was throwing "flue powder" and said "Da gon alley" (?spelling). We watched the first 3 Harry Potter movies together and was replaying a secen from the movie.

who is this boy I love so dearly

My grandson is a beautiful afro-latino boy. He is 39" tall with light brown brown skin, sparkling brown eyes, straight black hair that develops luxuriant curls when it grows in. He has his fathers's dimple in his right cheek, and small ears and his mother crocked pinkies. I talk a lot with him about his mother when she was a baby. She has the gift of gab as does he. I often have conversations with him about why certain creaters hibernate, and what happened to the dinosurs. He considers the  " Common Birds of Atlanta" his book and uses it as we watch the various birds that come to our bird feeders in our fron yard. He is a very busy boy who loves to run, chase and kick the soccer ball. I will often chase him around the yard but get tired before he does and then convince him to get on the swing so I can have a rest.

the beginning

I have 4 grandsons who are all special to me. But my 3 year old grandson lives with my husband and me. He is a great joy and I am always amazed by what he says and does. I hope to capture his life with us.
   His mom also lives us and works late hours. My husband and I, at this point in time,  probably spend more time with him than his mom does. That will change once they have their own place in which to live but until that happens I will take in every special moment.
   This morning I needed to go out to the shed behind our house and he decided he wanted to come with me. Once we unlocked the shed and went  inside , he decided to lock the door from the inside and wanted us to stay there forever. Once I reminded him if we stayed forever, we would not have any food or water and it would be very cold for us since there was no heat in the shed it was OK open the door. Before bounding outside he discovered a bubble wand , grabbed it and wanted to blow bubbles. Neither of us were very good at making bubbles and gave up. Then all of a sudden he told me to be quiet, pointing at the bird feeder that had a sparrow on it. We both sat down on the concrete and watched as the bird ate. Once the bird flew away we went inside.