5 things I have learned about my grand daughter Victoria Renee ~

Celebrating my grand daughter's up-coming 5th month of living (I can't believe 5 months!!) I have learned a lot of things about her that are very individual. Being so young and having such a strong personality so soon, she has given me the wonderful chance to learn about what her likes and dislikes are. 1. No matter how she sleeps (always on her back), Victoria finds a way to have her feet sticking out of the blanket with both arms high above her head. 2. Her favorite toy is a “Glow Worm” that my bestie gave her. Followed by a cloth maraca and a cloth rattle in the form of Winnie the Pooh. She also loves her "Prince George" or "George" while she is sleeping. 3. Victoria has a bad habit of pulling her hair when she is sleepy. Now she is starting to suck her thumb. We are desperately trying to refrain this. 4. I am an avid watcher of 'The Big Bang Theory”. 9 times out of 10, she is watching it with me. At any moment, i.e. changing her diaper, feeding her or just having tummy time on the floor, she hears the theme song and stops whatever she is doing just to watch the opening credits. 5. Her mother has successfully found all her ticklish spots. Originally I would guess that she would be ticklish on her chunky thighs but no. Mostly on her sides and her tummy followed by the bottom of her feet.

Coexisting with a baby and a kitty cat

Want to harness physical, social, emotional and cognitive development from your child? It can all be found by encouraging interaction with the family pet. It doesn't matter if it is a dog, cat, horse or goldfish, the main ingredient is a sense of companionship that is offered by animals. Having a pet is sometimes what everyone had as a child as they get interaction with warm fuzzy entertainment given by the animal. My 'pet of choice' was always a feline. As long as I can remember, I have always had a cat by my side. In bad times and good, my feline friends were always there for me when I felt like I was alone. We have a feline, as you know. His name is Shaddow. I have always loved all my cats in my past. But this cat has a very special place in my heart. I originally adopted/rescued him from the local Humane society in Palm Beach county along with my mother and daughter down in South Florida. Shaddow was originally rescued for my daughter but chose me as his favorite. We got him at six months although by the looks of body which dealt with malnutrition, he looked four months old. By the time he was nine months old, he had already learned how to fetch. We had taught him with cloth kitty toy balls as we threw them up the stairs, he would catch them and bring them downstairs to us. Now he is just a Tomcat, and old man. He has had his day. During the 6 of the 9 months, we made sure that we left blankets out for Shaddow to smell. Now, Victoria's scent wasn't on the items at this time but the smell of baby items were around so he would get used to knowing that our scents were different than the scent that was on the items. I wasn't expecting him to rub his face on these items but to understand that something or someone is arriving soon and to understand that our family is expanding, not excluding him. I really want him to learn this. While my daughter would work on the computer working on her college classes, she would invite Shaddow to sleep next to her. Her touch and scent obviously comforted him because he would sit by her constantly. Seeing them both sit on the couch made me think back to when she was a little girl and he was a kitten. My daughter played violin and cello. She went to a performing arts school during that time. Every time..and I mean every time she practiced her craft, Shaddow would come running from any place in the house just to sit in her empty case to sit and listen to her play. There are times when he would meow with the music as she ran the strings with the bow. We have wonderful memories with this feline. Finally the day to return home with our new bundle of joy, Shaddow was hanging around the house (probably sleeping in his

makeshift bed I prepared for him in my bedroom closet). After the family and friends have left us alone with our little entity, Shaddow came out of his secluded lair and came up to sniff Victoria's foot. Then he walked away uninterested. And that is what we wanted to happen. Still, even now the bedroom room is closed during sleep, including naps. Because even though we love him with all our hearts, he is still a feline. On a positive note, Shaddow is going to give her so many responsibilities. True, I did rescue Shaddow for my daughter to learn responsibilities but that was a moot point. Shaddow decided that I am going to be his alpha female or maybe he just views me as another cat. Whatever the case, he is going to do his part to help her grow. Emotionally, physically and mentally he will be there. All she has to do is grow.

4 month old checkup with Mommy and Daddy

Today Victoria had her 4 month check-up! Everything went well and Victoria is developing just fine. We were pretty surprised that our little porker weighed in at 17 pounds! But the real surprise is that she is 25 inches which puts her among the 95

percentile of her peers. Hopefully she will be a tall woman and with the latest statistics, it's a safe bet she will. My daughter addressed her concerns about her head always pointing to the left. She told her that she mainly uses her left side of her body..discovering her left foot, extending her left hand and waving it in a psychedelic way. The doctor reassured her that all babies choose different sides of their bodies individually and she has chosen her left. Daddy, mommy and I all let out a comforting sigh. At least now we know that she is developing at a good rate and yes..I hope that she turns out to be a lefty. We also found out that she has a birthmark behind her right ear on her head. This form of birthmarks are among 40,000 babies born each year. This birthmark is called Strawberry Hemangioma which appears shortly after birth. This type of birthmark soon disappears as the child reaches their seventh year of living. When my daughter observed it before, she was quite startled, thinking there was something growing on her child's head. “Well, Miss Priss. You, yourself have a birthmark as well. Its called Nevus Sebaceous.” She really does. As the day ended and my daughter was at work, Victoria was taking a nap in her crib. I've been wanting to set up her pack and play for so long. My bestie gave it to my daughter for Victoria. Fortunately I had time even though it kind of upset me. She is getting bigger. Growing up. She isn't that little newborn we brought home from the hospital. I let out a deep sigh and started to take apart the pack and play..or in my day (I'm really not that old) I have always called it a playpen. Isn't that what it is?

http://www.everydayhealth.com/kids-health-pictures/10-types-of-birthmarks.aspx#/slide-1

Victoria and her 3 month, 4 week milestones

Lately, we have been experiencing milestones with Victoria. She can now sit in her bouncer and reach for the dangling toys on the patted overhead bar. Well...a little bit. She actually grazes them with her left hand. As a grandmother, I think that is the best thing since sliced bread. Lol But what is even better is when she holds up her hands for me to pick her up. Its not a whole-hearted hands-out stretching-the-arms-out but its close. I see it. While it warms my heart so much, I wish she would hold her hands up to her mother who is always working. So. I mentioned that Victoria is going through a few milestones during her 3rd month of life. We want to believe she is teething. She shows all the signs except refusing food. (She is a member of this family; she never refuses food). Its hard to imagine all of the saliva that comes out of her mouth on a daily basis and then some. There is never a moment when she has a drop of saliva dangling from her bottom lip which, to me, signifies a baby. If we aren't careful and forget to put on a bib, you would find a big wet spot of drool on her shirt. Once we discovered a chaffed red ring around her neck from all the drool. A good friend of ours suggested baby powder but we found out that baby powder brings more bacteria to the 'fatty folds' and 'extra chins' that Victoria has gained over the 3 months of life. Mommy learned that using Desitin or some other form of diaper rash cream will do the job. She is also very fussy and bites on everything she can put in her mouth. Mommy decided to get a gallon storage bag and insert all of Victoria's teething rings 'just in case' and promptly put them in the freezer. We will never know if this is the reason of her little 'actions' but just in case, we keep this on the table. Victoria still does not like 'Tummy Time'. I've heard that most babies have a problem with this. When we place her on her stomach, she fusses. I shouldn't let this concern me. I've heard that some babies favor either side of their bodies and mostly use that side to view their surroundings. Victoria seems to favor her left side. Like I said before in the paragraph above, she uses her left hand to touch the dangling toys above her in her bouncer. I can tell when she is exhausted while playing or

watching “Baby Einstein” videos because she looks to the left. I Victoria Renee 6-30-14am assuming the left side of her neck muscles are tighter than her right. We have been helping her move her head to look straight, eventually looking right. This is a concern I hope her mother talks to the doctor about. She has her four month appointment in a few days to get her next series of her immunizations. So this means we are going to have to wait to see her roll over...maybe....because she could surprise us. She already does 'mini-scoots' and likes to see her surroundings in ways she couldn't before. As I mentioned before, her mother goes to work. I feel my daughter (and most working mother's) feel cheated because Victoria does pay attention to me more than her own mother. This is why I have to step back and let her mother care for her during the times when she is off of work allowing my daughter to bond with her mother. http://www.babycenter.com/0_your-3-month-olds-development-week-4_1477212.bc

Happy 21st birthday, my Ladybug. I love you!

Experiencing both sides of the generational fence

If there was one thing I have always wanted to do if Mamae was still alive would be to introduce her to the internet. I bet she would have loved the ability to chat with people from different countries or find that her inbox was filled with daily recipes for her to try...or critique. I have always heard from my mother that Mamae was an excellent cook. Not just excellent but rivaling with the likes of Anthony Bourdain, Emeril Lagasse, Wolfgang Puck or Jamie Oliver. She was that good. Believe me when I tell you I have heard plenty of stories. I was lucky enough to be born in a time when we didn't have to worry about checking-in to our parents every 15 minutes to be sure that we are safe. We came home from playing hide-and-go-seek or ghost-in-the-graveyard well after the streetlights turned on. We were able to drink out of a garden hose and not have our parents worry if there is some kind of metallic poison running through the water hose. I can remember living in Ft. Carson, CO as a six year old sitting in the front seat of the car without a seatbelt. But I am also very lucky to be a part of the technological age. There is no way I could live without my laptop or cell phone. I have departed ways with the days of cable television (or even rabbit ears for that matter). Like everyone else in the 21st century, my home phone is not attached to the wall...except when its charging. Even my own mother, who is a proud member of the 'baby boomers', would not be able to survive without her Netflix running through her Wii on her smartTV. Still...she needs her cable in her life. That is probably the only thing from her past that she still holds dear to her heart. I, however am trying to break free from the cable company. Have you ever met a person in their 60s that texts with their loved ones on a regular

basis? She Facetimes us when we are giving the baby a bath or other times when Victoria does something new and wonderful. Technology is a wonderful thing so far. And I am so glad I got to experience both sides of the fence.

The Hip Grandmother presents...Victoria finds out a bouncer is more than just a place to sit!!

All in the name of Baseball!!!

Next week will be my daughter's 21st birthday. I don't know how I feel about that. She isn't my 'little ladybug' anymore but has her own 'little ladybug' now. She will be a full fledged adult and the change isn't easy for me to accept. Now all I have are memories of her in her uniforms of the many clubs and teams she had joined. Being a single mom since she was four, I was the lucky one for being there at all those meetings and baseball games. My daughter was one of only two girls on an all-boy baseball team. After weeks of research, I wasn't able to find an all-female team. After calling the local paper, we were to meet at a municipal park that was down the road from where my daughter and I lived. I can't remember if we were the first ones at the park or the last ones there but I do remember it was sort of nerve-racking trying to find the place. We had a great time at practices. I usually sit alone. But I did learn that over half the team's mothers were single moms...like me. Struggling Sara at last practice to keep their children in a healthy home....like I was. Not only did a baseball team with wonderful little individuals join together but we, as single mothers, found strength and hope in each other that formed lasting relationships. Little did I know that one of the baseball players and his mom became one of our Facebook friends, Google friends and our best friends in good times and in bad. My favorite memory about that time in my daughter's life is meeting very good friends on the bleachers, watching our loves play ball (and hard), then meeting up at the local Taco Bell restaurant after practice. Those are days I will miss.

Who is that baby in the cell phone?