Post #6: Getting Ready for Grandson Cooper

So it was a done deal. Two year-old Cooper, and mom Stacy too, were coming from their home in Fiji to stay at Nana’s, and Papa’s house in November (see Blog #5). I had already acquired pee-proof mattress protectors and child-proof electric socket inserts. I had lined up family visitors, more family guests for Thanksgiving and a holiday dinner helper. I was giving much consideration to anticipated dog/toddler interaction and removing fragile items from potentially dangerous toddler reach. So what else to do and consider?

What about warm clothes for Cooper whose wardrobe was mainly suited for life in a tropical climate. I emailed Stacy, “The temps here in November will likely be similar to your NY/CT visit in March. Snow is always a possibility but not guaranteed.”

Apparently Cooper would still be able to fit into some of the clothes that we had acquired for their July visit to Colorado, where chilly weather could even occur in summer. So Cooper already had some long-sleeve shirts, blue jeans and other long pants, sweatshirts and Velcro closing sneakers. Stacy would also bring Cooper’s “wellies” (rubber rain boots). Never one to pass up another shopportunity, I was certainly happy to search for toddler clothes bargains at Target and Kids Gap, where I located more tops, pants, socks, gloves, shoes, cozy pajamas in boy-friendly designs, and adorable fuzzy bear paw slippers.

I even happened on some other clothes for Cooper at a rare visit to Costco, precipitated by a random fall on the tennis court in late October. Backing up to retrieve a deep lob in a Sunday doubles game, I lost my balance, falling gracelessly on my left side. Having apparently extended my arm to break my fall, I seemed to have injured my left wrist. Despite post-game icing and oral anti-inflammatory meds, by Monday morning my wrist was sore, achy and colorful. I was already worrying how I would be able to manage an active toddler with one damaged wrist. Jesse ordered an X-ray at his outpatient center, which fortuitously is directly across the street from a Costco store.

Good news all around: no broken bones, and a successful Costco shopportunity. I found a perfect three-piece winter set with aviation motif. I already knew how much Cooper loved airplanes. While from infancy Cooper tended to negotiate his world with prized possessions in each hand, lately his fists tended to be filled with small model airplanes. He loved going to the airport, watching the planes and riding on planes. He was a very worldly toddler, having already flown quite a lot in his first two years, traveling with his parents multiple times to Australia and the United States. And Cooper was greatly anticipating his next plane ride.

Cooper loves reading about airplanes

Stacy had emailed me:

“Cooper has been talking non-stop about getting on the plane and going up, up, up and down, down, down and mentioning Nana and Papa a lot, so one can assume that he is getting excited about the trip.”

This toddler boy clothing set included a long sleeved shirt with airplane design, corduroy pants, and an especially adorable mini bomber jacket. Clothes, check!

Since Costco also carries a random selection of value-priced toys, I checked out that section too, finding a Sesame Street set composed of an interactive touch pad and several books. Stacy had mentioned that Cooper had been watching a lot of Sesame Street at home. So I also searched on our Comcast cable television service and found plenty of Sesame Street episodes through their extensive Kids network, as well as a slew of other never previously noticed children’s programming.

Furthermore, Cooper’s impending visit clinched my decision to order a Netflix subscription, as we had found a bonanza of kids movies and shows when I babysat Cooper last spring at homes of family Netflix subscribers. Even though Stacy had directed me, upon leaving Cooper with me at my sister’s Florida home, to minimize Cooper’s screen time, both Carol and I quickly realized that plunking 19-month old Cooper in front of a favorite film was the easiest way to calm a cranky toddler. And if either of us was not quick to find a flick, Cooper demonstratively pointed the remote control at the blank television to emphasize his preference. And at each family host we located a disabled remote control for Cooper use, lest his quick sticky fingers would soon disrupt all preferred settings. While I initially signed up for the free trial Netflix month, I recognized that I would likely become a regular subscriber to catch up with all the adult programming that I had been missing to date. Thank you, Cooper!

Of course, I certainly did not intend to entertain Cooper entirely by video programming. I emailed Stacy, “The finished basement looks like a great play area for Cooper.” She replied, “Yes, downstairs basement will definitely make a great play area. I suggest that you get him outside as much as possible to burn off his energy (as he is overflowing with it), and then when it's cold or dark or raining, etc, let him run around the basement.”

And speaking of the basement, I checked my storage closet for old toys, especially those of our son Ben, and found a lot of old Matchbox cars and a selection of other larger car models. Cooper had enjoyed playing with several old Matchbox cars that I had brought to Colorado last summer. I found a Jenga game, which is essentially a box of blocks to be used in any building capacity. We still had a lot of old stuffed animals and children’s books in our house. Expecting that Stacy would bring along some of Cooper’s currently favorite playthings, I bought very few new toys. Hearing that Cooper had become very excited about fire trucks, which he called “wee-ohs” for the sound they make, Papa Jesse proudly bought a toy fire truck. I certainly expected that visiting family and friends would arrive bearing gifts for Cooper, and they sure did.

But shopportunities seemed to always present themselves. Right next to Target is a large jam-packed store called Home Goods that I usually avoid entering because they sell a lot of unnecessary yet surprisingly tantalizing stuff. But our friends Nancy and Mike Landau had just dropped off for Cooper’s enjoyment a big, colorful, multi-task activity box, which Nancy had purchased at Home Goods when their granddaughter was visiting last summer. So maybe I should meander through Home Goods after completing my Target run. And what did I find to buy? These lidded Portmeirion tea mugs would be lovely thank-you gifts for the family women who would be coming to see Cooper, and of course, one for me too. And for Cooper I bought a fun shark-design sleeping/play bag, as I knew he was very interested in sharks lately too. I also noticed an adorable and comfy-looking stuffed monkey chair, which caught my eye because Cooper was totally attached to his soft monkey/mini blanket which he calls “Ee-ee” because that’s what monkeys say. But I rationally decided against purchasing the chair as it would certainly be cumbersome for them to bring home. And I already had located at my home an old wooden folding child’s chair which had actually been mine in my youth and had been used by my kids. I had already cleaned it up for Cooper to potentially use for TV viewing in the family room.

So I got out of Home Goods without too much financial and clutter damage. But as I was driving home, I began to rethink the monkey chair. It sure was cute, and Cooper so adored his inseparable soother monkey, and the furry fabric chair would be a lot more comfy than the old wooden slatted chair. The monkey chair was not that expensive, I rationalized, and they did not have to bring it home with them. So after driving halfway home, I turned around, returned to Home Goods and bought the “ee-ee” chair for Cooper. That’s because I am a Nana.

One thing I did not have to worry about in particular was food for Cooper. His chef dad, along with mom, had been feeding him a wide variety of culinary choices as soon as solid food was pediatrically permitted. Whatever we were eating, Cooper could eat as well. Stacy was more my concern as she had been a fish-eating vegetarian for years. But she surprisingly informed me that she occasionally ate chicken too these days, which considerably freed up my menu options. I planned some personal specialties for their arrival, my seasonal butternut squash soup that had often found its way to my Thanksgiving menu and my highly rated, delectable cheesecake. As a child, Stacy liked the cheesecake so much that she would often request it for her birthday cake. But I rarely had made it for Stacy lately due to her infrequent appearance at our home.

Once Stacy and Cooper arrived all the way from Fiji I would only have two days to get up to speed on Cooper care for my jet-lagged, 27 month-old grandson before Stacy left for her week-long meeting. When Stacy informed me that she made plans to meet her friend’s family at the aquarium in Boston on one of those days, I was already worrying that would significantly bite into my Cooper care learning curve. But I realized that Stacy would have very little time otherwise to connect with Boston area friends and introduce them to Cooper. I checked my rarely used aquarium membership and upgraded it from couple to family membership.

That reminded me to also update my Mass Audubon membership, which would provide access to Drumlin Farm, a nearby working educational farm which had been a favorite outing since my kids were little.

Anything else to do? Stacy had asked me to make hair appointments for her and for Cooper on their first day with us. Well, that was going to take up even more of our limited time together before Stacy would depart for her meeting. But I knew that my longtime hair stylist Diane would be thrilled to see Stacy and meet Cooper, whose photos I had been sharing with her since his birth.

When I told my experienced grandmother friends about my upcoming Nana duty, they commonly advised, “It will be exhausting. Think about getting some help.” Fortunately, I had recently used a local high school student for some petsitting, and pre-informed Emma, who had both petsat and babysat for my neighbors, that she might hear from me as our Cooper needs became clear. Babysitter, check!

Excitement built as the calendar turned to November. I was feeling prepared as I could be and happily awaiting Stacy and Cooper’s arrival but also ... experiencing a small realistic dose of Nana apprehension.