On Being a Grandparent

We have ten grandchildren at present count.  Plus two on the way in the spring.

Wish I could put into words just how much I adore each and every one of them.  I just don't have vocabulary enough to express that, so I end up posting photos instead.  But I will photo post here to introduce you to what I love about each of these wonderful children:

Sean and Linzy's Children:

Tabatha was the child who's birth made Brent and I grandparents nearly fifteen years ago.  She's got a heart as big as all outdoors, and is a fantastic big sister to her brothers.  Creative!  You should see her artwork and her many great ideas.   She is maturing into a beautiful young woman and I love her with all my heart.  We've loved her from the minute we met her when she was first born.  And her first home was in our own home, which will always be a special memory for me. 

Nick was our second grandchild.  He came with a big huge dose of tease built in.  Smart.  So so smart!  He has loved transforming transformers for as long as I can remember - even when he should have been too young to figure them out.  Like I said, smart!   Nick is also racing towards his teenage years too fast.  He loves Cubscouts, and loves anything to do with electronic games (so typical).   We got to know him well his first year of life and that time will always hold sweet memories for me and for Brent.  

And little Jake isn't so little anymore either.   His smile is totally contagious.  He is in constant motion and loves school, loves life, loves helping others....

 ...loves teasing his grandpa.   And we love him.  Love his easy going charm. his happy smiles, his twinkling eyes and his gentle busy little person!

And then there's our newest - Sean Tyler Jr.   He's got his own personality, in spite of how much he looks like his big brothers.   He, too, was blessed with his mom's gorgeous dimples, and he is a little sweetheart.  He'll be walking before we see him again.  It breaks my heart that we're missing so much of these little people's lives.  I'm just so grateful for the telephone and for the Internet.  We can keep some contact through those.  I've just got to get better at writing letters!

Bill and Stephanie's Children:
We've loved having these two delightful granddaughters living close enough to be real parts of their lives.  Friday night I got to have Mike's kids over while they went to a Christmas party for his company.  So I invited Bill and Stephanie to bring the girls and their gingerbread house kit over so we  could all decorate together.   These photos came from that evening:

Kamryn is four going on 14.  She usually has a huge smile on her face, but lately has been turning it off every time I point the camera towards her.  She was born with a mop of black black hair, though you'd never know it now.   She is smart beyond her years and bursting with energy and a will of her own that will not stop!  I love her individualism, her unique way of viewing life.  I love her smile.  And love sharing stories with her and making cookies with her and watching her grow up. 
 

Karsyn is a gentle doll who tries her hardest to be just like her big sister.  She's learning so fast and makes the funniest comments -  just cracks me up!  I love how she patiently waits in the background for this grandmother to notice her.  She is not shy.  Just patient.  She knows her turn will come.  I love Karsyn's hugs and her snuggles and love that she's so willing to help.  And she can sing all her ABC song without any help!

Stephanie, Karsyn, and their finished gingerbread house.

I loved being with Bill and Stephanie and the girls when they found out that their next little one is also another girl - due in May.

Mike and Makinzee's Children:
Until last year, these children were also long distant grandkids, living in Boise.  We saw them a little more frequently than Sean's, mostly because they were able to make it to Utah a little more often, but it still is difficult to be unable to see the little people who have been born to our family more than once every few months.  It made our day when they got to move back to Utah.  Now we get to be together for all the fun things.  (I promise it was fun to decorate the gingerbread houses together, in spite of the lack of smiles in the photos.)

 Maddy (Madison) is our third grandchild.  She's always been a little princess from day one.  She loves to dance and to jump on the trampoline and to play outside.  She also loves to do anything creative.  Long after the rest of the kids were done putting candy on the houses, she was patiently adding one more thing or another.  Maddy's birthday is right on the cutoff for starting school so she waited a whole 'nother year before starting kindergarten, which makes her the oldest and tallest child in the class.   And she is so smart.  She always has been.  She's a great big sister.  I had questions when Jack was a baby and she'd thump on him, but they are best buddies now and she is so good to both him and Lexi.

Jack is our all boy grandson.  He sleeps with his baseball mitt (just like his dad used to).  He was more into eating the candies than putting them on the house and after one bite of the corndog was done with that, too.  However, the oranges were a big hit for him and he probably downed three entire oranges by the time he decided he was finally full.  Jack has always loved to play with balls and with trucks.  He is very athletic for his age and well-coordinated and just plain fun! 

 Lexi is a total imp!  Her eyes smile with a mischievous glint (except when she closes them for the camera) and she loves to tease.   She's managed to make it through toilet training and is now working on learning lots and lots and lots of new words so she can talk and talk and talk.  I think she's going to make a great big sister to the new baby girl coming to the family in April.

Tonya and Brian's Baby:
Dimples and hugs are an irresistible combination   (I love dimples - so it's a bonus to me that so many of my grandchildren have them).  Eric was born on New Year's Eve last year so his birthday is coming soon.  He was also supposed to come play at our place Friday, but unfortunately has picked up a croup cough and is relegated to staying at home for a few more days until he's past the contagious part.  So Brent went to Tonya's and stayed with him there on Friday.  She and Brian also had an office party to go to that evening.

Eric loves his Grandpa Loveridge's snuggles and tickles.  I love Eric's giggles.  He is happy even when he's sick.  He started walking at ten months and loves to be with everyone whenever the families get together.  Yes, I love his little curls at the back of his neck.  They'll have to come off soon, but hopefully not too soon.  They are just so cute.  He has his dad's dimples and his dad's eyes and his dad's smiles and his grandma and grandpa Loveridge's hearts.  Stole 'em right away the minute we set eyes on him (well the parts that didn't already belong to all his cousins).   I love that they live in Lehi now, too.  It's great having the grandchildren close. 

So these are the little ones who bless our family.  They are all wonderful.  And being a grandmother is everything it has ever been cracked up to be and then some!  The children bring joy to our lives and I am eternally grateful for my expanding family!