12 things I want to show you about my 8 month old grand daughter Victoria Renee

Ok...I didn't write the 7 things I have learned about my grand daughter Victoria Renee. BUT she has made some improvements during the 7 month and I would love to show you the pictures instead. Today is Victoria's 8th month of life. I want to show you now that she is starting to leave the infant world and go straight to becoming a little kid. Its hard to believe that my grand daughter isn't a baby in a bassinet anymore. She is really growing up and I have become closer and closer to the little booger. We have gone from this:

To this:

Now we are to this:

Somewhere in between 22-25 lbs, she is starting to lunge forward to position herself to crawl. One of these days she will do it and hopefully it will be in my presence. Her mother holds her up in a standing position as she holds on to the coffee table in the living room. She is definitely on her way. From eating this way:

Eventually eating in a high chair:

And finally she is an ol' pro!

As you know, I am her babysitter while her mother works. There have been times when things are kind of hard keeping her on a schedule but all in all, she is a very easy baby to deal with. I set a schedule for her sleeping and she has grown into it wonderfully. We have gone from this:

To this:

And at times.....I find her playing in her crib when she is supposed to be in dreamland

She does a lot of things on her own, though.

And she even tries to push herself by doing different things, such as holding the bottle in one hand then switching to the other hand......

She really thinks she is cool. Thats ok because I think she's an awesome kid. Not a baby but a kid.

How much is too much baby TV time?

If I read another article about how television damages our children's way of thinking, I am literally going to scream. I mean, there is nothing wrong with watching an educational video with your grand child. Or am I wrong? True, sitting your grand child in front of the TV so you can get the house done or chat with your friends online isn't what this is about. Sure they want a bit of a break so they can do some personal things. Ok..ok this is what this article is about. I've read up on a few subjects and I think I have found an alternative way to appease both the parent and the child. I realize every generation after generation says the same thing: the younger generation is in a world of trouble. Yes. This is true as well. But as we help our children raise their children (in my case, they both live with me), I have to think like both a 'grand parent' and a 'parent' when Victoria is in my care. While my daughter is trying to spend quality time with her daughter before she goes to work or attends a class in college, I have to keep her mind occupied during my time with her. I understand she is now 5 months old. Wow! Another month she will be half a year old! (But I digress.) I wish I had learn to do this when my daughter was her age. As many grandparents often do, I could kick myself in the seat of my pants when I think of all the things I feel like I 'robbed' my child when she was young. Thank (enter your deity here) I have been given the opportunity to rectify it through Victoria. I am not saying I was a neglectful mother. I was young and youthfulness isn't always a good thing. My sister who teaches children before they start kindergarten (to prepare them for that big milestone) told me before Victoria was born that their brains are evolving on a daily basis. That is kind of a 'no-brainer'. In so many words, I believe the great Eleanor Roosevelt said, “You learn something new everyday”. But how can she learn something new if I don't help initiate her learning process? Stick her in front of a television? That definitely won't do. If I did that, I would be robbing another generation in my family of critical thinking and I don't think that is fair. Not fair to my

daughter, my grand daughter and to the world. Schedules and routines are two different things I have found. A sleep schedule or an eating schedule is what Victoria follows (although it is very hard to follow when she is teething.) Routines are wonderful. They aren't 'time-pressing' and easy to follow. I have a routine set up for her as soon as her mother leaves for work that doesn't involve the television. I don't want to fall into that trap which I rely on the television screen to occupy her time. I want her to imagine, explore and ponder. Yes. I realize that she is still 5 months...True eventually she will become engaged in her saturday morning cartoons or watch YouTube videos (under strict guidance) but I want to prolong this as long as I can. There is nothing wrong with playing with puzzles or reading a book. Giving them the initiative to use hand-and-eye coordination opens up a lot of new avenues. Self-disciple is paramount in anyone's life and showing them early will help with their future. They also can become re-programmed to eventually become good listeners, learners, strengthen their fine motor skills, problem-solving abilities, become more creative and help them find a way to have self-worth with a better sense of self. As a grandparent, giving presents is what we live for, is it not? Giving the gift of 'focusing', 'creative thought' and cultivating it through the years is a present that is sure to develop self-assurance. http://www.janetlansbury.com/2010/07/a-creative-alternative-to-baby-tv-time/

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.

After a hard day, this smile cheers me up!

It seems as I get older its harder and harder to accept things. I don't always mean to be such a snot, but I am. I want Victoria and I to have a very healthy relationship without any distractions from anyone, including my daughter. I know that sounds harsh but that is how I feel. Today was the day that was decided who has custodial rights to Victoria. I woke up early in the morning to rush to Victoria's crib while her mother was still sleeping in her bed. Her little diaper was full from her deep slumber through the hours of eight o'clock pm til six o'clock am. She has had this type of sleep schedule for a few months now and I am not changing it by sleeping in. My daughter wakes in my absence to take care of her so I am comforted to know that she will wake up at an appropriate hour every day. But today was an extra important day for me to spend with my Photon.

As I am sitting on the couch in a quiet room, I feed her and she is looking directly into my eyes as if to tell me, “Everything will be alright today, Grandma Titi.” My eyes well up with tears trying to believe that they aren't going to take my grand daughter away. I have invested so much time and energy into knowing her, having her know who I am. Holding on to her tight, I start crying but knowing that little girl will never know how scared I am and how heartbreaking it is to see her go. But then I have to realize on how the other grandmother feels. Nana. She is and wants to be an important part of her first and only grand daughter's life too. It's hard to 'share'. I never had to share my daughter with her father so this was really hard for me. Nana deserves to have special times with her grand daughter too. Why is that so hard for me to realize? I stayed home babysitting Victoria and my two nephews while my bestie came over with her two children. We spent the day watching the boys play while we took turns holding Victoria, passing her back and forth as if it were our last time. My bestie is the best bestie I have ever had. She came over with her boys in a pirate ensemble to entice my nephews with a scavenger hunt. They came with eye-patches, pirate hats, scarves and a treasure map for the kids to discover a bounty full of gold coins hidden in the house.

At the end of the day, I learn that the verdict is actually in everyone's favor. My daughter gets full custody while Victoria's father sees her part of the week. That is pretty fair. But why do I still feel stressed? I've been stressed throughout her little life of three months. But I have been extra stressed starting in the month of June. Now you know why I haven't been adding many blog posts. I have to admit I have lost a lot of followers but my true followers have stayed tuned for my updates. And for that, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. It's been a hard month but I promise I will provide more interesting reading material for my followers.

Grandparenting Style: What will be my role??

As I reading different articles that I find on the internet, I notice that I have a lot to live up to in March. It makes me thankful that I have the internet to learn about new things instead of not knowing what I should expect. I have often read that finding roles in grandparenting is more of an unscientific study but it is fun to read about it. In many classifications, basing a name for a certain role in grandparenting can take some research but it is a whole lotta fun just observing. But you will be who you will be, right?

I took a quiz about what kind of grandparent I would be, given I was in that situation of “what to do if your grandkid has a recital”, or “if you had a grandparent shirt, what would it say?” There were a few situations that I will not be in for many, many years to come...but I answered the best that I could possibly answer to the question. So what is my grandparenting style?

What's Your Grandparenting Style?

You're a Cool Grandparent!

You are not the stereotypical grandparent. For one thing, you're totally at ease with technology. You're likely to be young in years, but you are definitely young at heart. You love movies, music, video games and other diversions that you can share with your grandchildren once they get old enough. You're not really into baking, knitting or gardening, and you're not a great fan of family history. You're more interested in living in the here and now, and your grandchildren will appreciate that.

As I sit here in my living room, pondering on how gorgeous my little granddaughter will be, writing to you, my faithful readers, I fantasize about being able to introduce the internet to my little grandkid, introducing the right way. I want to be that cool grandparent that allows them to stay up on the weekends, gives them an extra helping of veggies in their plate (because we all know veggies are cool!) and the one who starts a 'tent' in the living room with the cushions and blankets.

Wow....this is going to be fun!

But I feel I have to let you all know of different kinds of grandparent styles if you don't already know them. Let me introduce you to a few of em....

The Pollyanna Grandmother

I want to tell you now. I totally suck at cooking. But I can maintain a garden. Being in this style would not be for me. I can see it now....I am not going to be the grandmother that will babysit on a dime...or will I? But I do want to be known as the grandmother that loses patience quickly. But I want to be the grandmother that sends gifts through the mail....just because.

The Grumpy Grandmother 

I think I am a pretty good expert at this. Since I am in my middle 40s, a 'woman-on-the-edge', I can understand a lot about what a grumpy grandparent can be. Never letting anyone know that underneath it all they are a real softie, they give themselves away by buying ice cream for everyone or playing board games with the kids. I just know that a little part of me will be this kind of grandparent. I wouldn't want to be the person that ever threatens my grandchild in any way.

Taking charge kind of grandmother

This is in no-way me. I don't like to have the responsibility all on my shoulders and if something goes wrong, its all my fault. No-sir-ee. But if my grandchild needs me for anything, responsibility or not...I will be there. This sounds sort of wishy-washy of my personal life because, really, I don't give out advice, I'm not teacher material and I have a hard time taking my OWN advice. But it is true, I want to be the one who buys necessities for her as much as I can..and she can always come to me if she needs someone to listen. So I guess I will be a 'little' bit of a 'taking charge' kind of grandmother.

A Crunchy kind of grandmother

These types of grandmothers are those who preserved some type of skills of what our forefathers had but with a twist. She can feed the entire neighborhood healthy foods with little to nothing in her cupboards (who does this remind you of) and make a fun lesson out of taking care of the planet. Not only does she read to them but she makes sure they have hit every museum in the nearest metropolis, teaching them skills to live off the land or bringing them to various ethnical celebrations and different cultural ceremonies.

http://grandparents.about.com/od/grandparentingtoday/a/GrandparentRoles.htm

Love me or hate me, I have a feeling that I am going to be a little of all these grandparent styles. Which one are you? Or which one do you think you will be? As I have said before, I love comments. So please let me know.....