Gramma Daycare

Ot and I have had a fun first two weeks at Gramma Daycare.  We are on a schedule that seems to work well for both of us.  We spend three 1/2 days together and two full days together, always starting our day at 8:30.  It's amazing how fast the day goes.  It is much easier being the Gram than the Momma.  All the fun without all the responsibility:)  We spend our days rolling on the floor playing, reading books, taking long walks in the afternoon and watching Lily.

If Grandpa is home, Otto also goes for a morning walk.  Grandpa has discovered that a baby is a great way to get attention from the neighborhood ladies.  Grandpa's a pretty fun guy to have around…the more Otti fan club members the better!

The gates will be going up soon, since rolling has become creeping and I remember what comes next. Ot is awesome at creeping a 360 to try to get Lily, but she is a fast mover…good thing for her.  Otti can also sit alone for a time.  So Big!!


The days of holding Otti for hours and snuggling are over, but I did have a good run.  Now we are on the move and vacillate between giggling, squealing, grunting, sad stories and happy stories.  I think Ot may become quite a talker…again Grandpa will be so happy to have another talker in the family;)

In Otto's 5 months of life he has attended 3 weddings, a Twins game, 4 birthday parties,  2 cabin days, 5 wedding showers, 2 baby showers, 2 trips to Duluth and countless dinners out with Gram and Momma when they are baching (single married ladies) it.

Nothing like a whirlwind to start your life out!  I have to say in all these events he has been a trooper keeping up with the adults in every way.  I figure by now he's probably getting desensitized.  No wonder he sleeps so well!   Funny, Gram sleeps well now too;)

Ready

Me thinks someone is ready for food…

13 Hours

We took our first family trip to introduce Ot to Grandpa’s, Twin’s Baseball obsession.

I have to say the adults were simply amazed at this 5-month old!

A 2- hour nap in the car and no tears all the way down to the cities (granted Gram and Momma may have sang , ‘Wheels on the Bus’ one too many times and read the only two books in the car over, and over…and over).  

We all had a nice lunch at the Yard House, a bit of shopping and then on to the Twin's game. 

Otti could not have been better at this game!  He posed for possibly 1 to 200 photos for his adoring family, snuggled, giggled, and watched in amazement all of the people in the stadium. 

Probably the funniest face of the evening was the result of the crowd standing and cheering for a Twin's home run.  Ot’s head was going left to right, left to right at a rapid pace wondering what the *$#@% was going on.

I can't say whether the Twin's won or lost (please keep this a secret) but I sure did have a fun time with this little nugget!  We walked back to the hotel and lay Otto on the bed expecting a sleepy baby…but nope.  Big smiles for momma and gram.  13 hours later and still happy…gotta love it!

Silence is Golden

Things you don't want to hear when taking care of your grandchild

Otto's Grandpa: "Oh, don't put that in your mouth!  Shoot I think you got a little piece."

Otto's Gram:  watching quietly, trying not to micromanage…

Otto's Grandpa: "Oh well, it probably won't hurt you any."

Otto's Gram: remains quiet (with difficulty…)

Otto's Grandpa:  "He's just so fast"

Ottos Gram: staring…(thinking to herself)…How fast can he be? He's 4 1/2 months old... Sigh

…And so it begins

                                               

                                                 (It was a leaf by the way…nothing toxic;)

Ottto

Dear Sara and Em,

I am at the age where I realize how blessed I am!  I guess that means "old" but truthfully I wouldn't trade this age for anything because I have been given the best gift  ever,  A GRANDCHILD:):):):):)  It has truly been a blessing to spend time with Otto for the past 4 months.  He is quite awesome and pretty much walks on water.  We are great pals and are going to have even more time together soon, cuz momma has to go back to work in a few weeks and lucky Gram gets to have otto/gram adventures while momma works.

The adventures I share in this blog are for you, my dear cousins because you have been kind enough to blog and keep me up with the going-ons in your lives.  

*personal side note; please realize that I have been retired for over a year and now have limited vocabulary/grammar. 

There will be continuous spelling errors, run on sentences and who knows what else.  Remember,  often I spend hours just saying Babababa, Mamamama, Ahahahahah and making up words to Raffi songs.  (When I play 'words with friends' with otto's momma I do a little dance when I come up with a 4-5 letter word…yes I celebrate 4-5 letter words.)  Dear lord, where did my brain go?  I know at this moment you are both shocked.  I have amazed you for years with my incredible memory and wealth of knowledge during xmas family game time;)

Otto and Grams Adventure

This week I spent a couple days with Ot while momma got ready for work out at the college.   I have to say, in these past few days I have taught Otto quite a few tricks…or maybe it's just typical development, but I choose to believe I had something to do with it.

Otto tricks at 4 1/2 months

So…new Otto tricks, rolling and rolling and rolling.   It doesn't matter if it's tummy to back or back to tummy, he's got it covered and rather proud.  Also, new trick, flirting.  He'll give you a big smile, bury his head in his momma's neck and then look back at you with another quick smile.

He has learned to transfer toys from one hand to another midline…toys are mostly teethers, because his bottom teeth are coming in at a rapid pace.  We are covered in baby drool by the time our day is done.  I use to wear something and possibly hang back up in the closet unscathed because my life was so boring, but not anymore.  I have baby drool and spit up on just about everything by the time our adventures are done for the day.

Naps, ahh yes they have arrived.  Otto has been known as the no-napper.  This may or may not be because momma and gram have been holding this little nugget for the past 4 months during the day rather then parting with him and putting him in a crib…the horror!  Ot now sleeps in the crib for 2-2/12 hours in the morning and another 45 min-hour in the afternoon.  This is HUGE!   Especially since he will be arriving at 8:30 every morning at my house and odds are I will still be in my jams focusing on the Today show until he arrives.  This precious nap time will be my shower/hair/makeup/clothes time  God willing.  If not, I will still be in my jams at 3 when momma arrives:/

Other observations in the past week by gram,

• Ot is on the move, no more sitting on the lap and snuggling for him.  He needs to stand or roll on the ground to be happy, unless you are willing to walk around with him and show him the sites.  As long as he's moving he's happy.

• Everything is free game to Ot now.  If it's in reach it goes in the mouth and then dropped so it can be retrieved by whichever adult is willing to bend over and start the game over again.  This I believe will be part of my new physical fitness plan.

• Highlight of Ot's life…Puppies!  They are the best.  They are soft and always moving. Nyko gets the best giggles out of this baby.  Lily isn't too thrilled with Otto's newfound skill of grabbing fur and not letting go.  She's at a distance from here on out.

• Chatter…Otti has big stories to tell.  They remind me of cousin Fiona's stories when she was a baby.  He is also quite a squealer and a pro at a slobbery raspberry.

• Smiles:)  They are the best and he gives them out to any and everyone!

So Sar and Em this is for you.  I'm sure I will have some funny stories, because I am old and sarcastic and…well…you know our family…and I'm part of it…and so is Otti 

j