Gavan – Our First Grandson

As a grandma, there is something that I have noticed about myself that is different than when I was a mother to young children. I notice that I marvel at every little thing that these little boys learn. I marvel that they are so smart and that they learn so quickly. I marvel at the fact that God created us in such amazing ways. These little boy’s minds soak everything that they see and hear.

Our first grandson was born 13 weeks early. He weighed 1 lb. 11 oz. He spent the first 3 months of his life in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. He was so small that my son-in-law could fit his wedding band on Gavan’s arm up to his elbow. Each day was a roller coaster ride emotionally for mom and dad. The doctor’s could not guarantee that this little boy would live a normal child’s life. But as each day passed Gavan got stronger and stronger. At one point he had to have a blood transfusion, but they said that is normal for premature babies. All his brain scans came back normal. His lungs got stronger each day. We were praising God for his progress.

Today he is three years old. He is still small in size, but he has a huge personality and is so full of energy. He is the cutest thing ever. He loves Disney movies and his first Disney movie was “Cars.” He would get so excited watching the cars race. Lightning McQueen is his favorite, but he couldn’t say Lightning so he would say LiLi. Between my house and his house we probably have over 75 cars from that movie. He lines these cars up in a row, side by side, all facing forward. He started doing this when he was somewhere around a year and half old.

Now that we live in North Carolina, only two miles away, I get to babysit them a couple days a week. So I am always looking for ways to keep them occupied. I have bought some puzzles of Cars and Toy Story. A couple of months ago I started doing these puzzles with him. I can’t tell you how much he loves to do puzzles. He is also good at it. He will sit at the kitchen table for hours and do one puzzle after another. In the beginning I would tell him where each piece would go, but now he almost knows where each piece goes. These puzzles are not the kind that you fit a shape into the right space. They are interlocking puzzles.

Gavan is very observant and curious. He also repeats EVERYTHING that he hears. When we do these puzzles I am always saying to him “good job” when he figures it out for himself. Now he tells us good job. Good job, Daddy; Good job, mommy; good job mama when we do something right. He also puts the emphasis in good job like I do. It is so cute.

Each day that I spend with my grandson is a new adventure. It is a great blessing and a great joy to be a grandma (Mama).