Grandma’s Brag Book-part 4B

My daughter and son in law have 3 sons. When you look at their pictures side by side, it is hard to realize that they are indeed biological brothers and are from the same parents. Noah has the same dark hair and eyes that his daddy has. Luka has brown hair and dark eyes and looks like his mommy did when she was little. And Luka’s twin brother Ethan Caleb—he’s mine. Blonde like his Beyuh. And he has his grandma’s curls too. I have always described his smile as a “Joker smile”. Remember the Joker on Batman?

And Ethan does know, even at the age of not quite 2, how to tug at his Beyuh’s heartstrings. I got a phone call today from my daughter. She said that Ethan had brought her the phone and said, “Beyuh”. When she showed him my picture, he agreed that was who he wanted to call. So I got to hear him say, “Hi Beyuh” “Uh oh”, “mommy”, “daddy”, “Noah”, “Luka”, “Bampop" (Grandpa) etc. He also read all of his letters as his mommy wrote them down plus all of his numbers from 1-10. And- - he recognizes and names several shapes. Not bad for an almost 2 year old.

Never in a thousand years would I have dreamed that I would have twin grandsons. They do not “run in the family”. Well, I guess they kind of do. My great great grandmother had two sets of twins. But it is kind of neat. Of course I don’t have to take care of them 24/7!!

Anyway, back to Ethan. I was there to see him born. I was there in the hospital to hold him and feed him once in awhile. I was there for the first couple of months of his life to help his mommy. I was there practically every weekend all summer that first year. But unfortunately, I haven’t seen a whole lot of him since he was about 9 months old when they moved to San Diego. I live for my daughter’s blog when she posts pictures ( of which I am posting a couple here). When she does I just sit and stare and smile.





But Ethan, thank you for thinking of your Beyuh and calling her today.

Grandma’s Brag Book—Part 3

I was used to blonde, blue eyed grandkids until our Noah was born November 23, 2002 ---which makes today his 5th birthday. Happy Birthday Noah! When he was born he came out with a full head of black hair and eyes to match. He was the first of my grandkids that I actually saw delivered. What an amazing thing to be able to help your baby deliver her first baby. Actually Noah’s daddy did the delivering. He was a resident at Akron General Hospital and this was his very first delivery. Of course he had a bit of help from the Obstetrician but he did catch Noah as he came out. What was kind of neat was that both grandmas were in attendance, one on each side of Mommy. Grandpa was able to record the event for posterity on video and film.

As described by his mommy, Noah is a linguistic genius. He had a huge vocabulary by age 2. He was counting objects at 18 months and recognized all of his letters. He was reading some words by age 3. His favorite pastime was working on the computer. He knew how to get into his games and how to get from one to the other before he was 3. Grandma could hardly do that!!

When he began to call people by name, he started calling me Beyuh. We asked him if he meant Bear and he said “NO, Beyuh!!” So Beyuh I have stayed and am proud to probably be the only one known by that particular name. Mr. Snowbird is called Grandpa and the other set of grandparents are known as Mima and Papa. He named all 4 of us by himself.


In June of 2005, the family moved from Barberton to what Noah named the River House. It was a hundred year old home with a huge backyard that went down to the Cuyahoga River. The ducks and geese loved hanging out in the backyard as did the squirrels, deer, opossums and other wildlife. I really, really miss that house.

That December, twins Ethan and Luka joined the family a few weeks early. Because of this, Beyuh spent a lot of time at the Riverhouse helping Mommy out and taking care of Noah until Mommy and the twins came home from the hospital.


In September of 2007, Mommy, Daddy, Noah, and his brothers moved to California. Beyuh and Grandpa really missed them but Mima and Papa were happy because they got to make up for lost time with our grandsons.

We have gotten to visit Noah, Mommy, Daddy, and brothers a couple of times since they moved. Noah still astounds us linguistically. He started Kindergarten this fall in San Diego. He has made friends with a new buddy, Cooper. This was his first friend since he had to leave his best friend, Alex, in Ohio. Alex really misses seeing Noah all the time---and so do I!!


HAPPY 5TH BIRTHDAY NOAH!

Grandma’s Brag Book—Part 2

On Cinco De Mayo Day 10 years ago, Erin Elizabeth was born. You may remember that Sam had named her Kudos before she was born but luckily Erin became the name she was known as (unless you ask her Dad what her name is—he lovingly calls her Boo or Boofer). For about the first 4 years of her life, she was a “girlie girl”, pretty in pink, into Princesses etc. Then athletics took over her life. First it was soccer, then softball, then basketball. And Grandma couldn’t be prouder!!! Erin just made Team One Travel Soccer for her age group for the city of Twinsburg this summer. They are tearing up the league and just last weekend won three of four games in a tournament where Erin not only played goalie part of the time but also scored 2 goals in one game.

On her 9th birthday when I asked Erin what she wanted for her birthday, she said that she wanted to spend the day with Grandma and to pick out her own birthday present. Thus began a tradition. I gave her a billfold with her birthday money in it and she and I hit the mall. We had a blast and it was a great lesson for her in managing her money. This tradition has carried over to Sam as well. This past summer instead of going on a one day shopping trip, Erin joined her grandpa and me on a 2 week trip to San Diego to see her Aunt Karen, Uncle Michael, and her cousins, Noah, Ethan and Luka. It was a great reunion as she hadn’t seen them since they had moved to California the previous September. We kept busy going to the 4th of July fireworks, the beach, Torrey Pines, Balboa Park, the SD zoo, Coronado, Lego Land, and Julian where she toured a gold mine and panned for gold. She missed out on going to Mexico because she got sick. Luckily Uncle Michael is a doctor and he knew what to do to get her better fast.



One time she asked me if I had freckles like hers when I was little. I told her I sure did. There is a saying, Erin, "A face without freckles is like a night without stars." Erin is so much like I was at her age. She reminds me from time to time, with a big grin on her beautiful face, that she is my ONLY granddaughter. And if I am only blessed with one granddaughter in my life, then I couldn’t have gotten a better one.

Grandma’s Brag Book-Part 1

14 years ago this month, my first grandchild was born. He was named Samuel Evan but as he grew he demanded that we call him Sammy. That lasted for a couple of years but now he is simply Sam. When Sam was 3 and a half, his sister was born. Before she was even born, he had named her Kudos. Obviously that name didn’t stick—thank goodness.

When Sam was about 2 his Grandma turned him on to ice hockey. Even though he couldn’t skate, he played many a game in the living room while we looked on and cheered. We even had to sing the National Anthem before each “game”. When we took him to real live hockey games, he loved the action but loved the Zamboni more. As he got older, his interest in hockey waned but he did become interested in soccer, baseball and football. He has now dropped soccer and football to concentrate on baseball during the summer season. But if you asked him what he lives for, he will tell you winter and snow boarding. Interestingly enough though, one of his favorite places is Sanibel Island, Florida. Not a lot of snow boarding down here!! He has been coming down here at least once a year since he was 18 months old. We live in a combination trailer park and campground. The owner has a huge collection of exotic birds, lemurs, and iguanas. It always seems that the minute Sam arrives, he and his sister jump on their bikes and head down to see the birds.

The past two years for his birthday, we have given him money then he and grandma go shopping together. Last year he spent the weekend with us in Findlay. We went to a BGSU hockey game on Friday night, shopped on Saturday AM, went to a tailgate and BG football game Saturday PM, then more shopping on Sunday before I drove him home across the state. He told me it was one of the best times he had ever had. Nothing could make a grandma feel better. This year he and his dad came for Homecoming at BGSU, then Sam and I went shopping together. Another great time together.

I can’t believe that he is 14 already and in 8^th grade. Where do the years go? Wasn’t it just yesterday that my son placed his first born in my arms when he was just minutes old? Sam, I miss the little guy who loved to ride around on his little truck at my house but I am so proud of the young man you have become. I just wish you would smile for your pictures like you used to. :-)