And Then He Was Two (Toddler Magic Replaces Baby Magic)

Gideon and Grandpa Dave (My Husband)

On Monday, our Grandson by love turned two. How in the world did that happen? It seems like only a month ago that I held him in my arms at seven weeks. Now, here he is, running, galloping, talking...and the baby is no more.

Oh, there are still hints of baby in his face and in his mannerisms. But every day, the boy takes over more and more. What a beautiful, magical child he has turned out to be. Is there anything more curious than a toddler? If so, I haven't seen it. He has a lust for life that can't be quenched and a memory that surprises me more every time I see him.

Mom and Dad threw a small party for him. There were eight of us. Maternal grandparents, parents, us, Aunt Kiki, and Gideon. It was so obvious that he knew the whole event was about him. You could see the glow in his face. Everything he did, he did with a secret smile. Look at that, he seemed to be thinking, every single person here is totally focused on just me. I must be pretty special.

The theme was Thomas the Train, as Gideon is absolutely crazy for trains. He plays with his train table at home at lot. There were posters, streamers with the different Thomas characters on them, a Thomas train in the center of the table, and all of the dishes and napkins were Thomas, too. Gideon kept thinking it was Thomas the Train's birthday!

We still have his birthday gifts wrapped and ready for him, as they will be things to keep over here. At this age, anything you buy is exciting to them. God help us when he's older and everything he wants costs a lot more money! One of his presents from Mom and Dad was a slinky. It was green and right away he cried, "Bracelet! Pretty bracelet!" and held out his arm. Grandpa Dave put it on him and he wore it proudly. There was a lot of fun with that simple toy. Grandpa Dave could make it do wonderful things that brought a loud belly laugh out of Gideon.

The cake was a big hit with him, too, this year. Last year he seemed a little overwhelmed and unsure of what to do with a cake. This year? Um, no problem. As you can see by the photo below.

This summer has been so much fun, taking him to the water park, watching him run and play in the back yard. He loves to mow our lawn with his mower. What do you think the chances are that will last into his teenage years? :)

Whatever the next year brings for new developments, I know Gideon will be driving, giving us front row seats to watch his race toward adulthood. I just hope the speed limit is 5 mph. I don't want his childhood to go too fast.

Thanks for taking time to allow me to share Gideon's special day. I'll be back soon...probably with more "Those Crazy Bohemian" posts...but one never knows what will get into my head between now and my next visit with you!

Caddy Rowland is a novelist and painter. Her social media links follow.

To find out about her novels (including The Gastien Series, a story that begins with a bohemian artist in France) visit http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005FW8BZE
Sign up for New Release Newsletter by Email: http://eepurl.com/rfjaX
Gastien Fanpage: www.facebook.com/Gastien.Beauchamp
Author Blog: www.caddyrowlandblog.blogspot.com
Author Email: caddyauthor@yahoo.com
Twitter: @caddyorpims

A Day To Dream About (One in a Million Happens)

You know that rare, perfect day when everything in the cosmos just clicks and perfection happens? Doesn't happen often, but when it does, what magic. Our 4th of July was one of those perfect, halcyon days that I will remember forever.

We were supposed to go to the lake to be with Dave's relatives, but a variety of things kept us from going. Instead, we ended up here at home, and I'm so very, very thankful that we did. As most of you know by now, we are grandparents by love to the little next door neighbor boy named Gideon (yes, he is a little boy now, no longer a baby) and he sees us as such. Several times a week we are with him, and we are much richer for it.

Anyway, Jen and Shon (his parents), Dave, and I spent the 4th together. It was a hot day, so we ended up in the pool. How Gideon loves to splash! His happy, rich belly laugh filled the backyard and all of us were held under his spell of toddler magic as he kicked and laughed and splashed and played. That boy is a child of the water. Grandma is so glad!

Then we parted ways to eat and get ready for the evening. We were going to see if Gideon would stay up long enough to watch a fireworks show. We got to the Oakdale MN event at about 9pm and The Rockin' Hollywoods were playing 60's music and other hits. It drew a good crowd, but it was a far different crowd than one finds at the larger get-togethers.

This crowd was about family, about having a good, peaceful time, and about respecting others. No one was drunk. No one was looking for a fight. No one was posturing or trying to pick up a one night stand. Most people had children and everyone smiled at each other. It didn't matter your age, race, or gender. It was a truly a beautiful thing. We also noticed that the food was reasonably priced, so that families could actually afford to eat there. Burgers? $3. Hot dog? $2 Beer? $3 There was a wide variety of foods and none would break the budget.

Gideon ran, played, got a star wand that lit up and thrilled him, danced with Grandma. At 10 o'clock we settled on the blanket to watch the fireworks. Gideon looked over at Grandpa and declared that he wanted to sit by him. At not quite 23 months, this kid can TALK. He uses all kinds of words most two-year-olds don't pronounce yet and some sentences. So, over to Grandpa he went, where he sat without moving for about a half hour. He leaned back against Dave's chest and crossed his little arms behind his head and grooved on the first fireworks show of his young life.

He wasn't scared. In fact, he clapped at times, named colors, and after each one would exclaim "Uhm, Uhm. He sounded like an old southern nanny! I told him the Grand Finale was coming up and he started yelling "Finale!" When it happened he was starstruck. Afterward, he yelled out, "Again!"

Here's the deal: Before the fireworks had even started, Jen looked at me and said it was the best 4th of July in her life. Funny thing was, I had just been gazing at the four of them and thinking that it was one of those moments in time that I would look back on as perfect, a snapshot I would treasure always. When I die, I hope that day is something I get to remember before I go.

Five regular people, 3 different generations, all feeling healthy, happy, and nothing happened to irritate any of us or take the shine off the day. It was like a blanket of fairy dust and had been sprinkled on us and the universe had said: "This. This is why you come here."

I couldn't agree more. And If I never have another day this perfect again, I will be forever grateful that I had this one. This one, my friends, was one in a billion. This one I wouldn't trade for all the money or fame in the world. This one was just for us five.

Caddy Rowland is a novelist and painter. Her social media links follow.

To find out about her novels (including The Gastien Series, a story that begins with a bohemian artist in France) visit http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005FW8BZE

Sign up for New Release Newsletter by Email: http://eepurl.com/rfjaX

Gastien Fanpage: www.facebook.com/Gastien.Beauchamp

Author Blog: www.caddyrowlandblog.blogspot.com

Author Email: caddyauthor@yahoo.com

Twitter: @caddyorpims

Gideon Grows (The Pleasure of Watching a Baby Grow)

Some of you may remember when I posted about the baby being born next door.  I had posted that Gideon was born in August and we became grandparents to him, since his blood grandparents are all out of state.  (See Loving Gideon).

This has been quite an experience for two childless by choice free spirits!  Gideon is now six months old.  What fun it has been to see the changes that occur in six short months!  Since we did not have children we really have not been part of that.  Sure, we saw other people's babies, but we didn't see them even monthly all of the time.  To see a baby a couple of times a week is amazing!

Gideon is now eating rice cereal, carrots and peas.  I have fed him all of those and it is a joyful experience.  How someone can get so excited about mashed up peas is puzzling...but I enjoy seeing such pure, uncomplicated pleasure. 

He can also roll over from front to back and keep rolling.  No more leaving the room when he is on floor.  He is extremely interested in trying to hoist himself up.  Soon, he will be crawling and then this Grandma will be in for a lot more exercise every time she babysits.  I look forward to it, yet I hate seeing him leave that precious infant stage.

Gideon is teething.  I let him chew on my finger and it feels like there are several possible teeth coming, even in the back.  His mom says they got several teeth at once, so maybe that is what is going on here.  He can get a bit testy when his teeth are bothering him.  I call it "throwing an Appleton".  I don't know how many of you remember the cartoon Tom Terrific.  Crabby Appleton was the villian.  For some reason I LOVED Crabby Appleton.  I think it was because he was so expressive. Gideon is not nearly as crabby as I would think a teething baby would be.  Maybe that is yet to come.

Gampa Dave is a favorite of Gideon's.  How he smiles and laughs when Gampa plays with him.  When Dave is in the room, Gideon's has eyes only for him.  I am glad.  I know how much Dave loves him, and he does not get to see him as much as I do.

I babysit every Friday and sometimes other days or nights.  We usually get to see him at least two times a week.  I am trying to figure out how to kidnap him, but I am afraid Jen and Shon would know to check our house first.  Sigh. 

Besides, it is nice not to have the obligations, just the pleasures.  What fun it is to finally get to watch a person develop in all of their stages, but not have the constant responsibility or finanical obligations.  We can jump in the car and go places, sleep as late as we want; not worry as much as a parent.  Still, I now think about things that might be a danger to him.  Loving a child definitely changes your perspective on everything. 

Last Friday Gideon was showing me that he had discovered his tongue (photo is not Gideon).  He was proud to show it and would stick it out and then laugh.  I then would say "Your tongue!  Oh, look, Gideon's tongue!"  After a while, I asked "Show me your tongue." He did.  I tried several times and he would show it.  A new trick, compliments of Gamma Caddy and Gideon.

My nicknames for him are Gumdrop and Gid Kid.  I try to call him Gumdrop as much as possible because I know that soon enough he will rebel against that name, demanding that I stop calling him that.  Then it will be only a happy memory of baby times.

Babies. Aren't they something?  We used to roll our eyes whenever people went on and on about them...and now we know.  Still glad we did not have them, but damn.  Babies. Yeah, they are something special. I have a feeling Gideion will be very special to us his whole life.  And, even when he is 30, he will still be my Gumdrop.  I just won't tell him to his face.

What I Got For Christmas (Christmas Alone)

We are celebrating Christmas alone this year.  It is not the first time, nor will it be the last.  We did not decorate or put up a tree.  We have only exchanged gifts with each other three times in almost forty years.  We have always bought what we wanted during the year.  The times we bought gifts, most of them were exchanged for something else or put on a garage sale a few years later.

People want to feel sorry for us when they find out we "aren't doing anything" for Christmas.  They assume we must be depressed or Grinch's because we have not decorated (it has been a couple years since we have).

Not so. We are perfectly happy and we have Christmas spirit inside.  We just don't feel like getting out a bunch of "stuff" and then having to put that "stuff" away to get out the regular "stuff".  We are extremely busy and that is one chore we have eliminated that last couple of years.

Oh, we will decorate again.  Now that we have Gideon in our life we know the importance of making Christmas magical for him.  Once he is old enough he will want to see decorations when he comes over to Grandma and Grandpa Rowland's house and that is just fine.  Right know we just need a break.

As far as being alone, we treasure that time together.  We don't always want to be alone on Christmas. But, when we are, it is a time to just enjoy the person we love the most.  There is no pressure to be anywhere (most everything is closed).  We can stay up as late as we want, sleep as late as we want and don't have a long drive.  We don't have to clean like maniacs for company.  We can eat whatever we damn please.  We can even make love on the kitchen table if we want, because Santa ain't coming down our chimney! Yeah, people in their 50's (and later!) have sex.  Damn good sex.  Get over it. You can only hope you are that lucky when you are older.

Gifts?  I got mine early this year.  Gideon arrived next door on August 20th.  I have already blogged about our love for him.  We are now "grandparents" and I treasure every moment with him.  What better gift is there than new life that I am not responsible for 24 hours a day? We are childless by choice and grandparents by choice.  Those choices have proved perfect for us.

I also received the gift of "no cancer" in regard to the biopsy I had this fall.  When you have had cancer once that is an even bigger gift!

I got two books out this year, my first two.  It is quite a gift to hold a book in your hand that has your name as author.  The Gastien series is alive and well. I love being an indie author!

It looks like Christmas won't be white here and we both consider that a gift.  It makes the Minnesota winter a but shorter.

Lastly, I am going to be "making love to the color" (as Gastien called painting) from now until January 2nd.  No writing. Just a little promotion of my books and lots of paint and canvas.  Yeah baby!  Like Gastien, that is why I am here.  That and the writing.

I found out that my nephews 8 year old daughter wants to be an author.  She writes things and asks her mom to send them to publishers, so I am going to turn this blog over to her tomorrow.  You will be hearing from Kaylee tomorrow with some Christmas thoughts.  It would be nice if she got some comments to encourage her.

So, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year or just plain old have a great life...depending on your belief.  I am off to make love...to the color!