When the Grandgirls Aren't Here

When the grandgirls ARE here, there's usually popcorn, Diet Coke and movies. There's usually toys everywhere upstairs because we like to play with a lot of stuff at once, especially "tickets", as Cora calls it, where we use the Monopoly money and real estate cards to zip to and fro on the train. I'm told I'm the conductor and they are the passengers. We visit the American Girl store in Chicago, special museums there too. (We even went to Hawaii on the train last time the girls were here.) When they're here, the girls have certain things they love to do, like swing on the tire swing and "the blue swing" and the front porch swing, pick up pecans, read books, put together puzzles, play in the backyard. They love bubbles on the front step too.

But then it's time for the girls to go home.

And when the grandgirls AREN'T here, especially right after they've left, that's when we start reliving the time we had together. We laugh about their differing personalities and some of their demands requests. I ask Vaughn if he heard Goo say what she said. He, of course, heard it, or heard about it, but wants to hear it again. I do my best to use the same voice she used to tell Cora, "HEY, it's MY turn!" We look back through the photos we attempted to take (usually with little success...they aren't ever BOTH ready to pose). We get to use our technology again (when they're here, they love to play with our iPhones and iPad and computers and...). We get the house all back together again, but immediately look forward to the day they come back and enjoy it with us again.

Snippets from the last few visits with the girls:

Cora's vocabulary is extensive for a just-turned-5 girl. She used a recent third grade vocabulary word to tell me she "caught a glimpse of a episode" on television. Wow.

Magnolia is very much a second child and wants to claim what's hers. She and Brannon (Becky's grandson) are both quite vocal about MINE and HEY when playing together.

When I asked Magnolia where Parker lives, she knew. She said "Colo-raw-doe" in the cutest voice.

Cora and I worked quite a lot on reading. She would read a chapter, then notice Magnolia playing something on the iPad and want to put the book down, but within a few minutes, she'd be back, intrigued by her new-found reading skills. Minutes later, Goo wanted to draw on the giant chalkboard in our entryway, and while drawing she was sounding out words like she had just heard Cora do with me. It was so cute, her wanting to be a big girl and read too.

Tangles happened when the girls were here last. Offey says we have to buy some special conditioner or something. He didn't like the tears when he was in charge of combing.

Magnolia usually wears cloth diapers, but at my house, we go disposable. She loves Mickey Mouse diapers and talks during every diaper change about Mickey and Minnie. She also loves Elmo diapers. She's not willing to discuss using the toilet at this point. 

Both girls know my Jeep's name is "Joe". Magnolia can't wait to ride in "Joe COR", pronounced a little like someone might say it who was from New York. She's still in a rear-facing car seat and has been known lately to pinch or poke Cora in Joe Car when we can't see her.

Cora has called us "Tracey" and "Vaughn" off and on for years. Now it's Magnolia's turn to do that. Cracks us up. When she does call me Gram, it comes out like "GREM". I love it any ol' way she wants to say it.

And last, but not-at-all the end of the cuteness my grandgirls displayed while here, instead of kisses, Cora is in a phase (I hope) of licking her loved ones.