Grandpa Lou & Grandmommy Jeanne

Grandpa Lou and Grandmommy Jeanne get to visit with the girls only a couple times a year, but we try to make the most of our limited time. This year they came out for Uncle David's wedding and so our time was even more limited with them because we had to share their attention with new family members, but that didn't stop the girls from enjoying their visit.

Grandpa Lou's relationship with the girls is unlike any other grandparent. He has a way that is a bit stand-off-ish, though I don't say that as a bad thing at all. In a time when the girls are so accustomed to people making a fuss over them, it's refreshing for everyone (the girls included) to just be relaxed around Grandpa Lou. He doesn't go to the girls. Instead they come to him. The girls are always on the lookout for ways to act more mature, and Grandpa Lou seems to give them another opportunity to do so. I can tell that they love him for it.

Grandmommy Jeanne also interacts with the girls on a more mature level. She doesn't change her tone of voice when she speaks to them, which gives them a feeling of being respected like any other adult. That may sound strange, but when you're so accustomed to hearing people's voices change when they speak to children, it's quite noticeable when you are around someone who does not do that. This trip Grandmommy Jeanne spent hours upon hours upon hours playing one-on-one with Addie, doing what Addie loves the most - playing with Strawberry Shortcake.

We are going to visit Grandpa Lou and Grandmommy Jeanne for the 4th of July this year, which we're very excited about. The girls have told us that they're so excited to see the fireworks with them. They're also excited to go swimming and to show Grandpa Lou and Grandmommy Jeanne their new-found talents in the water.

We may not see these two often enough, but when we do, it's always an opportunity for the girls to shine and be as big as they possibly can be.