June 2016-Summertime

Checking out Friday night movies at Library

Sleeping at Granny's

Exer-saucer

Swimming Lessons at the YMCA

With Cousins Maggie Rae & Eli

Respiratory Therapy

Sisters in Florida at Nitza's

Flying with your beautiful Mother

Falling in love with books!

Growing up!

Sweet Sisters

Cleaning house!!

Checking on Papa's Tomatoes

The first day of June I stayed with Willow while Lyla & Angela went to the zoo. I enjoy time alone with Willow. I like to observe her on the camera. It’s still amazing to me how parents can see & hear their children, and even push a button & talk to them remotely! When Angela was a baby there were not even audio monitors. What was actually going on while babies were in bed was a mystery! Today I watched Willow study her hands intently before going to sleep. Hands are amazing things…and her hands are going to do many amazing things. She is now eating all sorts of food-fresh & from pouches. I think she will eat as well as Lyla does. Angela & Brock are so good at establishing healthy eating & sleeping habits for both girls. I admire that. On Wednesday I got to spend time at the park with Lyla before I went home. On Friday, June 3 Angela wasn’t feeling well & I stayed with Willow while Lyla & her Dad went to the McWayne center. Lyla went home with me & we watched the movie Annie before we went to sleep in the sofa bed in the den. Saturday she watched the movies we got at the Mt. Laurel Library & also cleaned my house! She really did an amazing job cleaning the floor & washing windows. And seemed to enjoy it. I was very impressed! We ate outside at Taziki’s before taking her home that evening. On Tuesday, June 7 Hillary Clinton won the Democratic nomination for President. Although she won’t officially be nominated until the convention this summer, she won enough pledged delegates to win. I was surprised at the emotions I felt as I heard her speak about being the first woman to be nominated. Women only got the right to voite in 1920-the year my Mother was born. Hopefully Hillary will win in November & we will have the first woman president. Many things have changed for women in my lifetime. For example, only shortly before Angela was born medical expenses associated with prenatal care & labor & delivery were first covered by medical insurance. That was something important that President Jimmy Carter made happen. When I was growing up girls had to wear dresses to school. And no schools had sports teams for girls. On Wednesday the 8th I kept Willow while Angela worked & Brock went to the gym etc. & Lyla went to summer school. I always enjoy giving Willow a bottle & watching her fall asleep while I am holding her. Lyla had swimming lessons at the Y this week. On Thursday I stayed with Willow while Angela went out & Lyla went to swim lessons with her Dad. Friday I got Lyla after school & we went to Treetop to play (she didn’t like it very much) & got DVDs at the library & went to Brookwood Mall where she picked out a Barbie doll for herself & a sweet toy for Willow. Because Lyla was coughing a lot & didn’t seem to feel well she spent all day Saturday in bed watching movies. I get an ache in my chest when Lyla doesn't feel well. It is the same ache I used to feel when your Mother got sick. I guess it’s part of being a mother (and a grandmother); you hurt when your child hurts. Late Saturday night there was a horrible shooting in Orlando where about 50 people were injured & another 50 died. A lot of mothers & grandmothers were having terrible heartaches. I didn’t go to Angela's house again until Wednesday June 15 when Angela went to work. Lyla rode to school in the carrier behind Brock's bicycle. She & Willow are going to have many exciting outside adventures with their Dad! Wednesday evening I took Lyla to swim lessons while Brock took Willow to the doctor because she had a fever. She was very sweet but refused to jump into the water. She just gently shook her head "no" but was very determined not to jump in. And she didn’t. I admired her polite determination! Thursday I stayed with Willow while Lyla & parents went to the dentist. Rain caused swimming to be canceled. Lyla started coughing & wheezing which resulted in a doctor’s visit Friday morning. After school Friday we went to see the movie Finding Dorrie (a sequel to Finding Nemo). It was “just okay”. There was a rainstorm afterwards. We went to Toys R Us where Lyla picked out a bridal dress as a  gift. She coughed during the night but slept okay. Saturday afternoon Kristina & Maggie Rae & Eli arrived and we went to Let’s Play then ate with Papa for Father’s Day at the Full Moon Barbeque. Then Lyla had a rough night of coughing despite medication so Sunday morning I took her to the doctor who started Prednisone which helped a lot. She bravely swallowed the nasty tasting medicine! I stayed & helped Brock with Willow until her afternoon nap. On Monday I took Lyla to play with Maddie at her house while her parents packed for the family trip to visit Nitza & Koplan in Florida. Lyla had a great time at Maddie's. I spent the night at their house & early Tuesday morning I dropped all four at the airport. Another month with Lyla & Willow ended. I went to visit my mother & then to the beach with a friend & didn’t get to see the girls again until July 3. Since I’m writing this on July 5, I have finally caught up with my blog. It seems the 8 months I’ve caught up on have flown by. There is an adage about time which seems related to raising children…”The days crawl by, but the years they fly”. Since I think Willow is the last grandbaby I will have, it is somewhat sad to think soon I won’t have a little baby to hold & rock. But I know there are many good & precious times ahead. I seem to use this blog to journal the objective parts of the times I spend with Willow & Lyla. But as I recall the specific events I can always recall the deep feelings I felt when Willow smiles when she sees me & when Lyla runs to hug me calling out “Granny!” Although Lyla is 4 years older than Willow and my sister is 5 years older than I am, it is a very similar span of time. I was born April & my older sister in March similar to Lyla being born in September & Willow in October. Having a sister is a good thing. Being able to watch Willow & Lyla grow up is an exceptionally good thing. 2016 is half over…Your mom just sent a picture of Willow almost crawling…where does the time go? I'm not sure but fortunately I keep a lot of it in my heart.

May 2016...end of school year & loss of a cousin

Cheryl from Maryland-friend of Angela & Mary Michael

Cousin Myles Garver

Cousin Mallory Garver Carson

Sisters!

Lyla the Assistant Cook

Ballet Recital

Beautiful Ballerina

Eating food!

Early morning ride with Annie the Dog

Saturday morning with Papa

Swinging at Mt. Laurel Park

Getting DVDs at Mt. Laurel Library

Ms. Shelley's class at Mt. Laurel

Last Day of School-Favorite teacher Ms. Mary

Cleaning classroom after party

Fun time at Classmate's Backyard after School

Sabba Koplan was proud to see this!

Bath in the kitchen sink!

Beautiful Face Painting

 

Since this is the last month of school for both Lyla & her father, there is an awareness our routine is about to change. It has been a wonderful school year. As a September baby Lyla will not be able to start public school 1^st grade until August 2018, one month before she would turn 7 years old because the cut-off birthday date is October 1. But because Lyla’s teacher Ms. Shelley evaluated Lyla as ready to start 5-year old kindergarten this August, she can also start 1^st grade at Hilltop Montessori August 2017 then start 2^nd grade anywhere in 2018. So regardless of where Lyla goes in 2018, plans are to be at HMS for two more years. It has been a wonderful place for Lyla to grow & learn since the first time she went in the summer of 2013 for Music Camp! May 4 was a special day at Mt. Laurel Park-Lyla was able to go across all of the “monkey bars” by herself! It was inspiring to watch her persistence & her joy at her success. On the same day Lyla ran with a group of children as they chased after helped to fly a kite in the field. It is a joy to spend mornings with Willow and afternoons with Lyla at the park. Both girls are growing up so quickly! Willow is now eating food with a spoon! I went to Mobile the weekend of Mother’s Day because cousin Myles graduated with a BA in Music from the University of South Alabama, 11 years after he graduated from high school! He sang the national anthem at the ceremony. It was a special visit with my sister’s family & my mother. On Monday I went to Angela’s early & watched Lyla ride her bike without training wheels. What a great accomplishment for a four-year-old! After a trip to Jimbo’s for cheese grits with Willow I got a text from Mike Garver that they were en route to Birmingham because Micah (the child of my niece Mary Michael, Angela’s 1^st cousin) was critically ill and not expected to survive. Micah was born late at night on Thanksgiving Day, November 22, 2012 and was not expected to survive the day. I took a taxi to the hospital because my car was blogged by sleeping family. But he did live...until Tuesday morning May 10 2016. I’ve looked back at my blog at that time & I can’t find a mention of Micah’s birth. My blog has evolved over time and so I am mentioning his death. Mary Michael also had a baby girl die at age 12 days in May 2011, the same year Lyla was born. It has been said the death of a child is the worst thing that can happen to a person. I believe that is true. It is very sad Mary Michael has had to experience it twice. Angela & I went to the hospital on Monday night before Micah died. And Angela returned on Tuesday morning to be with the family as life support was stopped. On Tuesday Willow had another trip to Granny’s house while the maids cleaned to get ready for Nitza & Koplan arrival on Wednesday morning. Angela, Willow & I went to Micah’s funeral on Thursday and to Mary Michael’s house afterwards where Willow’s presence added a wonderful reminder that life goes on and everyone enjoyed having a baby to hold, especially Cheryl (Angela’s & MM’s friend) from Maryland and cousins Myles & Mallory. I had a few days at home until I met the extended family on Sunday May 15 at Lyla’s wonderful ballet recital! Lyla was very shy but very beautiful on the stage! It was a special celebration. The week of May 16 Willow turned 7 months & Lyla turned 4 years & 8 months. When I arrived early Monday morning the Koplan’s were already gone. I had a great day with Willow & a beautiful day at the park after picking up Lyla at school. On May 18 I fed Willow “pouch food” for the first time and watched Willow roll from back to tummy as well as tummy to back for the first time. We had spent a concentrated time practicing so it was good to see her progress! Friday, May 20 was a wonderful day with sweet morning time with Willow while Angela did errands then fun after school park-time & an early evening at Let’s Play then overnight at Granny’s. On Saturday Lyla demonstrated her “crossing monkey bars” skill at Overton Park and enjoyed Saturday evening supper at Taziki’s before going home to Daddy & Willow. Angela will be changing her work schedule by the end of summer and no longer working every weekend. I don’t know if that will change our routine of Friday nights at Granny’s but I have enjoyed our time together sleeping on the sofa bed in the den & essentially doing whatever Lyla wants to do on Saturday. The week of May 23 I had the last of a “routine” day with a wonderful day with Willow until time to pick up Lyla then a wonderful afternoon at the park until 5 pm with Lyla. Tuesday I just went to their house from 1 pm until the girls went to bed at 7:30. On Thursday I picked up Lyla after her last full day at school & stayed at the park until 5 pm. Brock was at MBHS graduation & I spent the night at Angela’s & stayed until 10:30 am Friday when I went to meet Lyla at the end of the year beach party at her school. We had an amazing time at the party where Lyla had her face painted & helped to clean the classroom after the party which earned an extra hug from Ms. Mary, her favorite teacher! While at the park after the party we were invited to go to the Bunga boys’ house for an awesome spontaneous “end of school party” with a waterslide & pizza and lots of fun with school friends. It was so fun to watch Lyla have so much fun with her friends! She slept well at our house that night after such a busy day! Saturday we watched DVDs all morning & had lunch at Johnny Rockets, shopped at Toys R Us & ended the day with supper at Panera Bread before home by 8 pm. The last day of May I went to your house early and spent the day with Willow while your Dad rode his bike to MBHS (18 miles each way!) and Angela & Lyla had a “spa day”. May 2016 ended. It was a busy month full of special times with two wonderful granddaughters! I am looking forward to a summer with some time to catch up on things (including this blog & picture album!) as well as more special times with Lyla & Willow.

April 2016-Spring.."Will you still love me when I'm 64?"

Beautiful Rotter Family

Cousin's birthday party & Granna

Azaela blooming at Granny's house

Movie at Summit Theatre

One of first times across "monkey bars" Overton Rd Park

Sunny Day in April

Flowers from parents left before they went to Nashville overnight

Classmates at Hilltop!

Spring Festival at Mt. Laurel

Spring Festival

First time to ride "adult" ride! With Georgia

Beautiful Willow

Baby Sister

Bumble Bee toy picked out by Lyla!

Beautiful Willow

Probably first time in Swing at Mt. Laurel park

Beautiful Lyla

Celebrating Granny's 64th Birthday

Sisters!

“When I get older losing my hair, Many years from now. Will you still need me, will you still feed me, When I'm sixty-four?”

To say the least, the Beatles were big when I was young. In 1967 when this song was released I was 15 years old. Only 2 of the Beatles (Ringo & Paul) lived to 64. This year, I made it! And my hair is thinning, but fortunately I don’t need anybody to feed me…yet! “The days crawl & the years fly”…I may have already used this phrase in a posting. But it’s true. However now the days fly by also! Although the best thing about growing older is being a grandparent, there are other good things too…including a sense that “I’ve made it”, which many people do not. And, so far, I’m okay financially & my brain remains functional. Although tests in 2015, including an MRI, revealed I don’t have any evidence of impending Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), there is no guarantee it will not eventually take me away. My father died at 75 from pneumonia & he had probably had AD for years. At his funeral his business partners said they noticed changes in his ability to do work prior to his retirement at age 68 in 1984. Your great-grandfather James Hastie was a smart man, an Auburn grad, a WWII veteran & President of his company Air Conditioning Engineers in Mobile. April 2016 was a good month…On Saturday, April 2 I took you to your cousin Sydney’s birthday party (the child of your Dad’s step-sister). It was at a wonderful park in Gardendale on a beautiful day. We stayed at the park after the party until 5:00 pm and you had a great time! You are never shy asking other children to play with you and that was the case on this day. You spent the night with me on Saturday instead of the usual Friday night! On Sunday we went to see the movie Zootopia 2 which you really enjoyed. Then we went to the Overton Road park where you went all the way across the “monkey bars” for the first time. Although they weren’t as challenging as the ones at Mt. Laurel park, it was an omen that crossing the ones in “your park” would happen soon! After a great Sunday we ate at Lee Branch Taziki before taking you home. Monday, April 4 I stayed with Willow while Angela worked a half day. Willow & I met you & your Dad at the park and I went home before supper. Wednesday I spent the morning with Willow until your parents left for a few days in Nashville together while your Dad was there for a work-related event. I enjoyed my time alone with you. Your parents left some flowers for you in your room. You missed your parents but you were very good & slept well (although Annie the dog did not!). On Friday I worked in the garden at HMS with Miss Cindy who will be your kindergarten teacher next year. Saturday was a wonderful day at the Spring Festival in Mt. Laurel. It was a beautiful day and you bravely rode rides with Georgia and spent a lot of time bouncing & sliding & petting animals & eating things you don’t normally eat! You were happy to see your parents return Saturday evening…and they were very happy to see you! As I write this I realize I often summarize my time with Willow rather than being specific. However my time with Willow is very specific…holding her as much as possible, watching her play with toys & bounce in her “bouncy things”, feeding her, walking with her inside & stroller riding outside, watching her fall asleep, and seeing her beautiful smile when I get her up from a nap & watching her do more & more things like sitting up. I mix up pronouns when writing about “you” and Willow. For 4 years there was just Lyla (“you”) and I haven’t transitioned well in writing about the two of you!  On Monday I returned to your house & spent the night. Since it was raining Monday, we went to Chic Fil A to play but Tuesday was beautiful & we went to the park until only 4:00 pm since it was a ballet day. Thursday, April 14 was another day I got to read with you & your classmates. After school we saw a snake in the stone wall on the way to the park where you had fun playing until 5:00 pm. The shy snake only poked out his head from the rocks! I picked you up at school Friday and we did our “double parks” before you spent the night at my house. Saturday you went home early because Papa Wayne & I went to Anna Katherine Stuedeman’s wedding in Demopolis. Monday April 18 I went with Angela for Willow’s six-month check up & shots & stayed with her until “park time” with Lyla then returned to Angela’s for a typical Tuesday which was notable because we saw the smoke of a big fire as we headed home for you to get ready for ballet. In my time at home I watched two meaningful things on TV; the PBS story of Jackie Robison who was the first Black professional major league baseball player and the HBO movie “Confirmation” about Anita Hill’s role in the hearings related to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Of course Willow’s middle name Anita is in honor of her great grandmother, Sabba Rafi’s mother, but Anita Hill was also a strong woman. Jackie Robinson was before I was born (he integrated baseball in 1947) but his story & a quote “A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives” resonated with me. I am hopeful my life will have a positive impact on Lyla & Willow as well as a few others. I clearly remember the 1991 Anita Hill hearings as well as the challenges of all women in those days. Although things aren’t perfect now, there certainly have been a lot of good changes related to the opportunities for all women and people of color now. Willow & Lyla will have many options as they grow up. Friday Brock took Lyla on her first “wilderness, backpack” camping trip. I kept Willow while Angela rested. It was a sweet day. I spent the night and stayed until the babysitter Lacey arrived after Angela went to work. Then I went to Mobile for Myle’s last performance at USA in the operetta HMS Pinafore & a birthday dinner for me & Mother (who turned 96). April 25 I went to the park with Willow & I think the picture I took captured her first time in a swing at the Mt. Laurel park! Monday afternoon we went to the HMS (Lyla’s school, not His Majesty’s Ship) Musical performance of “Negro spirituals” which included Lyla & her classmates. On Wednesday I spent the day with Willow while Angela did errands & napped then we all went to eat at a Mexican restaurant to celebrate my 64^th birthday. It was a beautiful evening & a delicious dinner. You gave me jewelry as well as paving stones with Lyla's handprint & Willow's footprint. Friday was a beautiful day with Willow then “double parks” with Lyla after school, although we had to leave Overton early due to rain. Saturday we went to the movie Jungle Book after eating at Johnny Rockets and buying Annie a new collar at a “dog festival” at the Summit. You sat in my lap for the whole movie and although you wouldn’t wear the “3 D” classes, you seemed to enjoy the “live characters, not cartoon” version of the story. As the “month Granny turned 64” came to an end, I took you home & stayed to “listen out” for Willow while your Dad put you to bed. I hope to “listen out” for both Willow & Lyla as long as my ears can hear!