The red Mini Cooper with the shell pulled up to 50
Black Horse Run for the much-anticipated yearly visit to Asheville. We saw it go by on Lake Drive and were
on the front porch ready to welcome everyone. Jessica unbuckled and lifted Austin
out. Giving him a tiny prompt, he
smiled shyly saying “Hi, Grandma,” as if he knew right where he was. He took my
hand and we went right into the house. And so our 4th of July visit began.
Being
450 miles apart and seeing Austin once every 3 months, I always wonder if he’ll
remember us. I shouldn’t give that a second thought as each visit, either in
Asheville or Washington D.C., Austin greets us as if he just saw us yesterday
and I breathe a sigh of joy. Having a grandson is pure bliss.
As
a Grandma I do a quick check of what has changed since I last saw Austin. This
visit he was taller and still slim but with the same sweet demeanor and an
entire vocabulary of new words. Austin now talks in complete sentences about
everything and adds new words as fast as you teach them to him. His clear blue eyes draw you in and his
perfect blonde curls attract much attention. Engaging him in peek-a-boo, or
kicking a ball or splashing in the water, he is such a happy little boy rewarding
you with a wide grin or giggles.
With
an ear for spoken language Austin comes out with expressions like “there we
go…” or “sorry”…or “alright” – all spoken with perfect intonation he has heard
from adults. I would say to him, “let’s go outside and play…so lets find
your shoes.” Austin would reply
“Oh, here they are! They’re right
here! And we’d put them on.
Austin
takes a nap and several afternoons I was home resting while he napped and his
parents had some time out and about in Asheville. One afternoon as I was sitting in the big chair in the loft
with my eyes closed I heard this little voice “Hi Grandma…” He was up earlier than expected and
ready to go again. I tried not to
groan and of course enticing him back for more sleep was to no avail. Instead we went downstairs
and he looked around remarking in a matter of fact way, “Hey, where did everyone go?” When I explained no one was home he
wasn’t fazed in the least. We
settled down in the living room to put together the 26-piece floor puzzle of
butterflies, caterpillars, moths, ladybugs and other insects, all of which he
can name and find.
Then I suggested having a popsicle outdoors.
“I want a red one,” he would tell
me. “But we only have orange
ones,” I replied. Taking it
outdoors he would lick it quickly as it shocked his little tongue and share
bites with me. I ended up with
more of the popsicle than he did.
“I wonder if it will rain,” I mused out loud. Austin’s response was “I don’t think
so”. “Where’s the ball?” I would
ask. With his little hands turned
up and shrugging his shoulders he would indicate with clear body language that
he didn’t know. And then we’d go
find it. Austin loves nothing more
than to kick a soccer ball, throw a Frisbee, or swing his plastic baseball bat.
Hayden pitches to him and even if his bat does not connect with the ball, he
knows how to “run the bases” all over the yard just as he’s seen it done by the
pros. His parents take him to
Washington Nationals baseball games. Austin has his own tennis racket. He swings his tennis racket for a
forehand or a backhand just as Hayden has taught him never seemingly
discouraged if he can’t hit the ball.
He’s got the right moves.
Basketball is another favorite and
he has his own small hoop in his own backyard. But when he’s near any basketball court he’s ready to go ,
“be in the zone” and shoot baskets.
Hayden has taught him to shoot, run back, holding up his arms and
yelling “I’m on Fire!”
One afternoon our friend Ayla came
over for a visit as we sat outdoors.
She asked Austin if he liked tennis and he promptly answered, “I like
Andy, Roger, and Novak”, perfectly naming the top 3 tennis players in the
world. Of course, we all know
Hayden is a huge tennis fan and he takes such delight in teaching Austin much
about the tennis “greats”. Ayla looked
at him in amazement.
The new scooter we had for Austin
was a big success. Hayden put it
together and then we took it out on our quiet, dead end street and Austin
hopped on and scooted up and down.
The street is very slightly on an incline and going one way you can
coast. And so I taught Austin to
coast and am not sure if he loved doing it as much as he liked testing out that
new word…coast! All week when he’d
get on the scooter announcing “I’m going to coast!” In the rush to leave home his parents forgot his helmet so
Jess and I made a trip to Toys R Us where we found the perfect bright blue Dory
helmet.
When Austin takes a fall he’ll stop
and if it’s not too bad he’ll say “I have a boo boo on my elbow…but I’m OK” and
then go on to what he’s playing.
If it’s serious there can be a few tears demanding “Mommy attention” and
then life goes on.
Austin’s week long visit to
Biltmore Lake this summer was a reminder that not only is he growing up fast,
but he’s an unusually verbal two year old that notices everything around him
and imitates what he hears and sees.
Having the attention of four adults – his parents and us – for an entire
week resulted in many new words and more sentences. Most of all his visit confirmed for me that he truly knows
us as Grandma and Pop Pop…a name he is also calls his other grandfather.
