Princess Keiki

Our nickname for our granddaughter, Kendall Emilie Ingram, is "Keiki" (Kay-Kee). We came up with it because it's the Hawaiian word for "child" or "beloved child," and it is composed of her initials. Gary has nicknames for everyone he loves, and I sort of jumped on that bandwagon after he started calling me "Ducks" when we were dating. I called him "Ducks" too. His nickname for our niece, Lindsey, is "Cupcake." Her boyfriend, Nels, is "Thor" and her roommate, Shannon, is "Cleo." Our young second cousin, Shannon, who is like another niece is "Peach," and niece Hannah is "Hannah Banana." Finally, there is our grandson Keegan, aka "Moose."

Last Saturday was Keiki's first birthday and instead of a traditional Hawaiian "baby luau," her parents had a "princess party." And what a fair princess she is, as you can see from these great photos. As I sat in the living room and watched her scoot around on the wood floor with her pal, Simon, who is the same age, I thought once again about how different my life is from my mom's. My mother loved her grandchildren, but really didn't participate too much in their childhood. There were the usual holiday family gatherings, but Mom didn't babysit for Lindsey, Hannah or Ellie, except maybe once or twice.

I didn't have the blessing of children of my own, so I relish baby-sitting and hanging out with my "kids" and grandkids. The time I spend with them never fails to lift my spirits and make me count my blessings. Even when they are crabby, they teach me something good about life and what it's like from a child's perspective. I can't wait for my friends here in Southern CA to have grandchildren so we can compare notes and maybe do Grandma playdates!