For a long time my daughters were busy with education, work, and getting their lives in order. Then, suddenly there were grandchildren! My older daughter has a son who is 4, and both of my daughters have girls who are 1 1/2 years old, born 3 weeks apart. How cool is that! It is so interesting to watch them at this age as they watch everything, soak up everything in their environment and get more skills every day.

Autumn is getting accomplished with the silverware, though hands are also used frequently.

Yeah, sidewalk chalk!

We had a fun afternoon at a nearby park

I’ll hold the bubble container, thank you

Yeah, bubbles!

OK, give me back the bubble container now

They have had a lot of trouble with a woodpecker who insists on pecking holes in their house and making a nest in there. This balloon however seems to be doing the trick and there have been no woodpeckers this year. We saw them on a few other houses so this must be a common problem in the area.

The cats have a rough life

One of the cats has been amazing with the baby. She puts up with being petted, and sometimes none too gently, or being laid on, or stepped on, and never protests. The other two cats leave when they see Autumn coming but Pumpkin seems to love the attention. Autumn is getting better at petting gently but she’s still an energetic toddler who doesn’t always remember.

Yumm, Indian food! She loves a lot of adult food that you wouldn’t think a kid would like. She especially likes sauces, including sour cream. New things though, not so much. I got some really good navel oranges that didn’t look exactly like the smaller ones she gobbles up and she wouldn’t touch them.

When the weather turned so much warmer, a pool sounded like a good idea and Autumn seemed to like it a lot.

No hats though, please. YOU wear it.

How does daddy wear this shoe?

Elizabeth’s house is a bit calmer since there is only one child, but there is still plenty to do. When Autumn is awake and active it’s a full time job to keep an eye on her, but she is a lot of fun to play with too. She talks a lot sometimes, entire stories but unfortunately nobody can understand a word. Her mother used to do the same thing, and then stamp her foot in frustration when I had no idea what she was telling me. All of the kids were taught some sign language though, which they still use. It’s great because they can communicate even before they are able to form words, and now they are adding words to the signs.

More grandma tests! I had the knob entirely off the stove a number of times trying to figure this out and/or get it open.

This one is easier. Stick your fingers through the holes to grasp the doorknob.

I have the little girl!

She loves books, and this foot book is a favorite

I visited last in November and at that time Autumn wanted to keep her distance. It’s hard for kids to know me when they have only seen a face in an iPhone or tablet, and it’s been many months since we have been together in person. This time though she warmed up quickly, and it wasn’t long before she was asking me to pick her up or read books with her.

My daughters are adults and we can keep in touch well between visits, but the grandchildren are another matter. They are growing and changing so fast, and I don’t want to go so long between visits that I am a stranger to them. We have decided that if we all work together on travel expenses, I can go every three months instead of every six, which seems like a good idea to me and I am very appreciative of the opportunity.

In case you wonder what happened to Joel, he went to Maine to see his mother and then Kansas to see his children and extended family. We met up together on the second flight from Atlanta to Panama City where my travel agent who thinks of every detail had booked us with seats together. (Andrea Cook viajevacations@gmail.com) Next time though, he’ll get to see the whole family. We are already planning a double second birthday bash with everyone together Thanksgiving blowout holiday! whew 😀