Welcome to our "Grandparent Blog"
Joe and I just spent a great week with our grandsons in North Carolina. Amanda's mother was on a much needed and deserved R&R in Italy with her husband, Scott, who is currently serving in Iraq. We were able to arrange our schedules to go down for the week so that Amanda and Nate didn't have to take off work in her absence. A little hard for Joe to arrange since he had just been away with his brothers on a golf trip which ended abruptly due to the American Civic Association tragedy.
We had so much fun with Luke and Will. As you will see Luke is a riot. We can't stop thinking about these little guys and all the new things they are doing. Luke followed Papa around like a puppy. We think he just loved hearing himself say Papa, so we heard it all the time. On the other hand, he wasn't able to say Grammy, so I'm known as Bambi!
We were so happy to have the opportunity to meet all of their new therapists. We had a great chat with Will's feeding/speech therapist who has been working with Cerebral Palsy children for the past 5 years. She is so impressed with how well Will is doing and said that he is the only client she has had that hasn't been on a feeding tube. That's a great tribute to the hard work Nate and Amanda have put into his feeding times. She also said that cognitively he is progressing very well. He's developing a great little sense of humor and is understanding more and more each day. That was so encouraging to hear and see for ourselves.
Joe and I were amazed at Will is able to sit in his chair and watch as you pile up his blocks. He will push the green "more" button when he wants you to add another block and then he will wind up and knock them all over when you have piled enough. He is so proud of himself when he has done this. He will then proceed to clear the tray of fallen blocks. I've posted some pictures so you can see his excitement. Be sure to catch his brother in the background, just wishing he could get his hands on that pile of blocks. The following three pictures show Will pushing the "more" button, then winding up for the knock over, and then pleased with his accomplishments!
And here's the big guy, doing it his way . . .
Papa Joe was so excited to introduce Luke to his favorite treat ... ice cream. It took a little coaxing but once we got him to take one taste, he grabbed the spoon and dish and dug right in!
Similar to what Grandma Gigi had to do with Nate when he was a toddler.
We love when we visit the kids since we also have a chance to see the Leahy's each time. This time we had dinner at Bella Monica, this fantastic Italian restaurant co-owned by a couple from Endicott. Tom and Kathy Brearly and Midge and Twig Terwilliger joined us.
Joe played a round of golf on Wednesday with Dick Leahy and some of his buddies. They had a great round until the wind storm caused them to quit one hole early.
Each morning Papa would make a run to the store to pick up the morning newspaper. One morning we walked into the kitchen and guess who we found reading the comics . . .
Then Papa and Luke had fun finding trucks that looked like Daddy's.
Typical day of breakfast and hanging out in jammies
Will and Papa would hang out each day just talking to each other and enjoying the moment!
Once the weather got a little warmer we were able to take the boys and Otis out for a daily walk. We all enjoyed walking through the beautiful neighborhood each afternoon.
(Check out the Penn State hats and polo shirts)
Luke just loved watching Elmo with Papa, and wasn't afraid to tell us to fast forward when he went off the screen. You can't beat show on demand when it comes to chidren shows.
The boys absolutely love to have books read to them. Always the same ones of course and Luke was very careful to not let one word be left out. Will just enjoyed listening to both Papa and to Luke.
The Duke University Bio Medical Engineering students brought over the class project final prototype of the new seat they have created for Will to replace the set he has grown out of. It's going to take a little getting used to the new one, since it's further off the floor and has a totally different feel, but it looks like he's going to really enjoy all the hard work these students put into this project. They were all so excited to see Will kicking and laughing as he tested it out.
We went to "Little Gym" with Luke. He wasn't into the structured skills part of it as much as he was checking all the locks on the cabinets and doors, seeing how the water fountain worked.
When Nate could get his mind off of the latches and locks, he really did like doing the gymnastics things. We were so glad that we had a chance to see him there. When he would walk by me, he would say "cheese" since I was always holding the camera. I guess that's better than "Bambi" in front of all the other parents.
After Little Gym, Joe and I met my cousin Carol and her husband. Eric at Carolina Ale House. along with every living hockey fan in North Carolina.
When Nathan and Amanda got home from work each night, and Joe and I were officially off the Nanny clock, we would have a drink on the deck. Luke was the perfect host in fetching a Mich Ultra for Pap and Grammy without even being asked.
The pollen flying around in NC this time of year is absolutely crazy, so Papa decided it was time to wash my car. A nice past time with Luke. Here he is watching Papa get the bucket filled up and ready.
The video below is absolutely adorable. I hope that it comes through for you so that you can get an idea of just how cute Luke is and how he just loved his Papa. The
"hey babe" is Luke imitating Joe when he saw me come out. That turned out to be cuter than when Luke accidentally spilled Joe's beer down the front of him and Joe said
"damn" without even knowing it. Once we heard Luke walking around saying
"damn" with the exact same inflection many times over and over, it ocurred to us that Joe must have said that. So he walked in the house where Nate and Amanda were still meeting with the Duke students and said
"damn". Needless to say Nate questioned Joe as to where Luke could have heard that word. Oops! Our only regret is that we didn't get it on video to share that as well, cause it was a riot.
Needless to say it was hard to say goodbye to these little guys
and can't wait to see them again.
On our trip back home, we stopped in Vienna, VA and spent the night with my sister,
Charlene and her husband Peter. They graciously invited their children and grandchildren over for a cookout so we could visit with all of them as well. Pete made BBQ ribs to die for and the weather was perfect for all of us to dine outside and for the children to play their outdoor games. What a beautiful ending to a great week.
Typical day of breakfast and hanging out in jammies
