I mentioned in my annual financial post that our life was about to change and I am pleased to announce that my oldest daughter Kyrston and her husband Jeremy are having a baby. We are both incredibly excited to get the news and since they live in Charleston, SC our mostly west coast travel plans are definitely going to change.
We definitely just want a healthy baby, but the early blood test said it might be a boy and as the mother of three daughters I do think it would be fun to buy some boy stuff! They were kind enough to video the first ultrasound for us and we got to see both the video and picture of our newest family member. The look on my daughters face when she heard the heartbeat was priceless.
Since I don’t knit I have started cross stitching a blanket and since her theme is forest babies we are going to have a lot of fun with that.
This is definitely going to change things for us, but we aren’t really sure how. So I would like to do something different and open this post up to our readers who have grandchildren in different states and ask your thoughts. Any advice, tips, or thoughts would be most welcome and please feel free to add your comments whether you are a full timer or not. The one thing I do know is that we will figure it out as we go along. Oh and this is exciting. My friend Kelly is expecting her first grandchild in March so she can pave the way 🙂
Here the sunset the night we found out. Beautiful streaks of pink in a blue sky 🙂
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As the mom to 5 grandkids and 5 great grandkids, I can only say that, as others will tell you, it goes REALLY FAST! You think your own kids grew up quickly? Your grandkids will become teenagers right before your eyes. If you are traveling, maybe you can facetime or hangout with them often. That wasn’t around when mine were all little. But if you want to be close to them, it takes being close to them. No matter how hard you try to stay close, it is hard when there are miles between you. I don’t know what the solution is, unless your full time adventures can happen on the east coast.
We are talking about that but our work is out here so may take some adjustment
Congratulations To the new grandparents, Tracy and Lee. I’m so excited for you, having grand babies is truly an amazing experience.
The first few years are the best for forming that close bond with them…with lots of love and kisses. As you know we have 4…while we are full timing FaceTiming is a must a couple of times a week…we have always gone home a couple of times a year and never ever miss a 2 week stay at Christmas. We also send a post card home to them everywhere we go…my daughter saves them all for them and
Puts on the refrigerator…it won’t be important now but later they will have something to look at…
Such an exciting time for you all..
I love the postcard idea!
I may be paving the way – but keep in mind I have no real idea either! Only thing we know for sure is things are changing! I agree with Sue that when they are teeny – in person is best but I’m not sure how we will blend that with full-timing – yet. Holidays will be tough – we will have to get creative and form new traditions, which may have to include something like “Christmas in July” since the actual day will be hard since they live in PA. Bill & I have talked about having an open and honest conversation with them while we are there, about expectations, etc. LOVE the blanket btw! So funny how our girls picked the same theme! I’m curious to see if the ultrasound matches the blood test – Michelle’s didn’t – so I would buy boy things just yet! Anyway – congrats again – to you, Lee and parents-to-be!
Thanks sweetie and so glad we are doing this together !!!
There is NOTHING better than being a grandparent! My friends had told me it was unlike anything they had ever felt before but I didn’t believe them. When we became grandparents four years ago, it was life changing. As parents we love our children but holding that grand baby was unlike that, in some ways it almost felt bigger and more emotional. We now have a 4, 2 year olds and 4 month old twins. We knew we would never be full timers but definitely part timers for 2-6 months a year. We still love being on the road and exploring our great Country but it is also wonderful to be closer to our children and grandchildren. When we retired we thought we would move out west and we did but not as far west as we thought. Now we are within 15 minutes of grandchildren. So we have the best of both worlds, close to them but we still hit the road and travel. Heading to Alaska this May. We will miss the family so we see them as often as we can when home.
Enjoy!!!! You will LOVE being a grandparent! Congratulations!
Thanks so much and have a wonderful time in Alaska. It’s amazing
Awesome! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!
Congratulations. Being a grandparent for the first time is the most amazing thing. Our now one year old granddaughter lives 1500 kilometres away. We have made the trip to visit twice, and they came to spend a week at Christmas, which was very special. Not being close is very hard, however we were amazed to find at Christmas that she knew our voices from our regular phone and face time chats. The digital age does make it much easier to maintain contact.
That’s nice to hear she recognized your voices! Definitely see lot of FaceTime in our future
We have been full time for about a year and a half. We have four granddaughters ages 6 to 13 and they live in our home state. Before we hit the road as FT’ers, we saw our grandkids several times a week as they all lived within 10 minutes of our home. We went to see their ballet classes and recitals, basketball/soccer games and enjoyed a very close relationship. Leaving our family was one of the hardest things we did when we went FT.
When we went full time, we decided we would spend four months (June thru September) in a campground near our old home. We may take some short trips during the summer, but for the most part, our goal is to be with our daughters and their families. During the rest of the year when we are traveling, we FaceTime with them, and keep in touch through Facebook, phone calls and texts (older grand kids have phones). We, too, send postcards from places we have been. Our older grandkids keep track of where we travel using an Atlas and highlighter.
So far we have spent two Christmas seasons in Florida in state campgrounds and did not return home. We mailed gifts and Face Timed to watch them open the gifts. It’s not perfect, but it works for us. Next Christmas we will be in a private campground, so we may fly home for the holidays.
Congratulations on this awesome news!
Barb
Thanks. I love the idea to watch them open their gifts. Thanks for your advice and experience
Congratulations Lee and Tracy!! Being grandparents beats parenting any ol time😉 Our youngest were 5 when we went full time and it was a very difficult decision. Like others have said, those years fly by so fast and time spent with them is so precious. The bond you build in the early years is something you will never regret! Love it When we now get a FaceTime call from one of them because they miss us or because our granddaughter wants my recipe for the cookies we always made together! After being gone in the winter months from them, we can’t wait to spend the summer months back home near them. And yes your plans will change because you want to be a part of their lives. We changed our plans for fall already, as we were going to go to the balloon Fiesta in New Mexico but our oldest grandson will be a senior and it’s his last soccer season! There will always be another balloon festival but not another senior year! I know you two are going to love being grandparents!!!
I love that…some things aren’t going anywhere but their moments are unique. Wonderful hearing from you and glad you are doing well!!!
While I will never be a grandparent, I will give you my advice from when my nephews (and now a niece too) moved from Texas to Mississippi when Justin was four, Jordan was two, and Jeremy and Julia weren’t even with us yet. Probably until they were in their teens, I made a point to see them every 3-4 months. We didn’t spend every Christmas and Easter with them, but we did spend a lot. To this day, (Justin is 32, Jeremy is 28, and Julia will be 21 this week) they talk about times that we’ve shared. So, like the rest, building the bond early, and keeping in touch (I still mail postcards) is the key. Hugs and love to you both…prepare for great memories and fun!
Love that Pam and thanks for sharing !!
Congratulations…how exciting! I remember how excited we were to become grandparents. Love the cross stitch blanket, it’s perfect!
I also 2nd Kelly’s idea of having a heart to heart talk when the time is right.
We are grandparents of two, currently one 2nd grader and one in kindergarten. There is nothing like being a grandparent, especially when they are newborns and toddlers.
I hope you take this next comment with the love that it is meant and why we 2nd a heart to heart up front. As our grandkids got older the more time we spent with them we witnessed their behavior; we realized their parents way of parenting is very different from our own. Our millenium children do not believe in discipline, they feel the children will outgrown their tantrums and poor behavior, ie jumping on the couch when facetiming with grandma & grandpa; not eating what is on their plate etc. Note: both parents are professionals, one is a pediatrician and one is a college professor. We have to be quiet and let them raise their children their way and it is not easy at times. Our world has changed since we were raised and when we raised our own children
We are fulltimers and we talk on the phone weekly with the grand kids and we spend time with them each year and we love them to death despite our differences in how to raise children.
That will be interesting to see for sure. Honestly I put in my time Nd am in no hurry to parent anyone…except for Jack maybe 😉
Someone above already said it, but when they are little especially, there is no substitute for spending time with them. We have two grandsons who are now 5 and 10. We have tried to do Skype and talking on the phone, but it’s hard to really have quality conversations with little guys. One thing we have done every year that we love and both look forward to, is to have the boys come and stay with us. The older grandson has been coming for several years, and last year both boys came for 5 weeks, which was so much fun. We have already scheduled this summer’s visit, and the boys are already excited. It gives us lots of time to spend together and do special things that they don’t do with their parents.
I am very excited about having them come and stay with us as well. Thanks for sharing your experience.
I can’t imagine that you and Lee didn’t talk about the impact of future grandchildren on your plans when you were making the decision to full time. We have five grandchildren, none of whom live less than a ten hour drive from us. I really, really dislike not being closer. If you can find a way to adjust your plans to be near this new grandchild, you will never regret it. You are young enough to take a break and go back to your original plans later, if you choose to. Best wishes for a healthy grandchild who will bring you much joy!
You know it’s funny but we always hit a wall when we tried to talk about it. Part of that is Lee is not crazy about the hypothetical. We knew we had a window while our parents were healthy and we had no grandkids and we have certainly made the most of it. I have learned enough about us though to know until we experience it we just don’t know where it will lead us and that’s ok.
So happy for you as there is nothing better than grandchildren. we have 6, 3 in Petaluma California and 3 in Charleston, SC. We do a lot of traveling back and forth across this great country to spend time with them all. You will love it and as they get alittle older they will love to travel with you. Enjoy every second.
That is a great route. Our grand baby will be in ChArleston too!!
Super excited for you guys!!
Congrats to the WHOLE Family!!! Grandchildren reminds us to SMILE:o))) With electronics, staying in touch will be much easier for you. Ours are all teenagers now. Just know that they grow up really fast. We were fortunate to be on the east coast during their early years. Once they become teens, they still love you and you them, but they are moving in other directions. So be sure to build the relationship as early as possible!!!
Thanks Nancy. We will definitely be spending more time on the east coast !!
Hi congrats to both of you! One thing you already have for your grandkids is your blog! This & pictures are something most people don’t have that the grandkids can refer back to forever to really get to know you. I agree FaceTime is a great way thou. It’s going to b interesting how you can switch things up in your travels inthe future. Best of luck & be safe. Chloe
Congratulations!!!! I am so excited for you. Nothing like being a grandmother. I love it!!!! We have 7 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild. We are getting ready to go full time at the end of this year. Our kids live all over, Charleston, SC, Houston, TX and Columbia, SC and we have an in law apartment in our youngest grandsons home. The one thing I am looking forward to about full timing is being able to spend more time with them, we can stay a month at a time instead of just a quick visit. But the grandson we live with now I am going to miss him like crazy when we hit the road. Not sure how I am going to handle that when the time comes. We are so close now. You will work it all out. And as I told my kids they can come see us as well as we can come see them. Congratulations again to you and Lee. 2019 will be a great year.
We don’t have grandchildren and don’t expect any in the very near future. But, just like when you raised your own, be the person you want to be, live the life you want to live and never compromise to the point of resentment. That’s all I got. 🙂 Congratulations on becoming grandparents!
Thanks Linda!
Congrats on becoming grandparents, it truly is a wonderful change in life!
Our situation was very different in that we were already grandparents when we became full timers, with the kids/grandtwins living in OKC and us living in Seattle we only saw them twice a year when we would visit for Christmas and then fly them to WA in the summer for a week.
Now we generally only see them once a year, we’ve been trying to coordinate a time when they could come visit us in AZ for the grandtwins spring break but so far our daughter and SIL can’t seem to plan ahead enough to have enough vacation time saved to make that happen. My stepdaughter sure didn’t learn her planning skills from me, that’s for sure!
The grandtwins have just become teenagers and we talk on the phone, exchange text message, Facetime at holidays and now they are on Facebook so suddenly we’re getting Instant Messages and they are seeing a bit more of our Facebook postings.
We’ve only traveled to OKC once in the RV, we refuse to be there in the winter due to freezing temps and do not want to be there during tornado season so that really limits time when we would even consider taking the RV there and our work keeps us more on the West Coast. So, it’s not great, but the grandtwins know we travel, they love getting post cards, tee-shirts and other assorted things we find when we’re traveling.
Every visit to them involves us bringing a new game that we find somewhere along the way that’s age appropriate and we all learn a new game together. When they were little it was simple games such as card games with wild animals that had to be matched (kind of like “Go Fish”), we’ve since graduated to the National Parks Monopoly game or another game called “take a hike”!! Makes for some great memories to learn a new game together at each visit.
Enjoy this new adventure!
Oh I love that idea. New games is great !
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