Natalie is beautiful, bright, funny, playful, inquisitive, and smart!  She’s a big sister, a performer, and reminds me soooo much of my daughter Jennifer when she was young!  She too is a first-born, and now she and her daughter share so many personality traits!  I can see glimpses of young Jennifer in her all the time!

I can’t believe my first granddaughter is already 5 years old!  She has brought more joy to my life than I had ever imagined!  I had the privilege to be present for her birth, so was able to see her the moment she came into this world!  What a gift my daughter gave to me!   I had heard that the transition to being a grandparent was going to be something “indescribable”  I didn’t really understand that til now.   It takes you back to the joy you experienced having your own children, yet at the same time it’s completely new and different and amazing.  Bringing another generation into your family is huge!  And this new baby is an extension of your own child.  I can say that being a grandparent to this amazing little girl, as well as her brother and sister, has changed my life!  It’s like a new chapter has unfolded, and it’s perhaps the best one yet!

I have always looked for “moments of joy” in my life – they have included major milestones like getting married, having my own children, and becoming a nurse.  Now I think it’s the smallest joys that I treasure the most.   Natalie can tell a “joke” and have us laughing til we cry!  I’ve jumped in puddles with her after a rain;  baked donuts, made pizza from scratch, and played with barbies countless times.  We ate cider donuts at the apple orchard, and took her to see the Christmas lights in Naperville!  All 3 posed for a pic on Papa’s motorcycle last year!  I find a moment of joy every time I am with these babies!

Natalie is all about princesses!  Last year for her 4th birthday, we invited Princess Elsa.

This year we invited Princess Ariel!!

I always wanted to be a  hands-on kind of Grandma – no sitting in a chair for me!  I am known as “Grammy” – that’s also the name my kids called my mother.  My husband Rick is a true “Papa” to these babies as well.  He never had children of his own, and it melts my own heart to see the joy he is experiencing for the first time!  Every Sunday – we can’t wait to head over to the “babies house”.  We walk in to hugs and kisses, babies running everywhere, toys scattered around, lots of screaming, laughing, and sometimes crying!  But we wouldn’t want to be anywhere else!  We look forward to it all week.   It’s the best kind of commotion ever!  Natalie will pull me upstairs to play “dollies”, Hunter wants to play with our cellphones, and Zoe (2 y/o) will do pretty much anything you want!  We play hide and seek with them, “Simon Says”, Rock/Paper/Scissors, whatever they want really!  it’s all about them!  We both agree there is no retiring to Florida for us – we plan to stay nearby until they don’t want to be with us anymore!  I figure around 10 – 12 years old perhaps?  Or if we’re lucky, this amazing ride may never end!

Here are the amazing cupcakes I made to celebrate Natalie turning 5.   I made both chocolate and strawberry cupcakes, with my favorite butter cream cheese frosting.   They had to be “pretty”, sparkly, pink, and “princess-like”.  I think I hit all the marks!