Pat's Grandparenting Blog: Grandchild No. 7

Megan and Dad, Flood of 2011

2nd birthday party

1st birthday party

She is ALWAYS smiling

Megan's my brownie and cake "tester"

Baby Megan and Luke at Grammy's

Megan and "Sissy"


Always smiling!!

Just a swingin' with "Gammy"

Megan and her beautiful family

Grandchild No. 7 - Megan Russell Theriot

Our seventh grandchild, Megan Russell Theriot, was born June 26, 2009, 9 months and 1 day after Russell died. I have told friends and family that Megan is saving my life. After Russell died, I cried every day I know for at least the first year. The pain of losing him was so bad I couldn't stand it sometimes; and I couldn't imagine feeling that way for the rest of my life. I knew I had to do something about it to make it better, but the only thing I really wanted was to have him back. Realizing that getting him back was impossible was so painful, I didn't think I would ever get over it. Megan is helping to fill that void.

Daddy holding Megan; Kieran, Ryan,and Lizzie

Kieran and cousin Luke on way to hospital

Waiting for "the baby"

Megan's parents, my son Craig and his wife Alicia, decided not to find out the gender this time. It was the first time we had a grandchild on the way that we did not already know the gender. When Craig came out of the delivery room with that beautiful baby, we had to say, "Well?"

Look, "Sissy," it's a girl!!

When he said, "It's a girl," there were screams all up and down the hall. I had kept her siblings at my house the night before and had all three of them plus Luke waiting at the hospital. Alicia had always wanted 2 boys and 2 girls; how often do you get what you want in that department, huh! Of course, one of the first things we asked after we calmed down was, "What about her toes?" (remembering the "heart-shaped toes of Luke and Elizabeth). Craig said they were fine!

From the beginning, Megan has always been a happy baby. She was smiling while still in the hospital before she went home, and she seems always to be smiling.

Day 1 with Grammy

After Russell died, I finished out that fall semester and the following spring semester. However, I had decided early in the spring semester that I would retire in June. My daughter Sheri (mother to Anna, Luke, and Landon) was graduating in May of 2009 with her master's degree in speech language pathology and wanted to start her career. There was no way she could do that and pay for extra nursing care for Anna. Anna had already been living with us, so I just figured I could continue doing what I was doing and keep Anna so Sheri could build her career. As it happened, I also decided when the time came that I would also keep Megan Monday through Friday when Alicia went back to work. I just couldn't bear the thought of a stranger keeping and perhaps neglecting her. I wanted her to get all the love and attention she could want, and I knew I could provide that for both Anna AND Megan..

"Elmo" and Megan

Alicia went back to work in September of 2009. I think it was right after Labor Day. That was when I started taking care of Megan. I took pictures the first DAY I kept her. I was VERY nervous; it had been a while since I had taken care of a newborn, especially for an extended time. Fortunately, Anna's day nurse, Lois, still comes Tuesdays and Thursdays and has helped me with Megan from the beginning. Lois has fallen in love with Megan, and Megan is crazy about her. Now that she is talking, Megan calls Lois "Ro, Ro." She still has a little trouble with her "Ls."
Megan's family went to South Louisiana a couple of week-ends ago for a baptism, and this is a picture of Megan with Russell's mother Kathleen (Megan's 87-year-old great grandmother--she has never looked her age!). We have always referred to Kathleen as "Momo," but Megan couldn't quite say "Momo," so what came out was "Elmo." What is really funny is that is what Luke called Momo his first few years also. Kathleen LOVES it. She would rather they keep calling her "Elmo"!

Megan now calls me "Gammy." For the longest, she would call me "Mammy." She was having a hard time with her "Gs." But now it is "Gammy," and I hope she NEVER learns to pronounce her "Rs."

As these pictures show, Megan has always been a HAPPY baby. From the time I first started keeping her, she only cries when something is wrong--when she is hungry or tired, etc. Today, anytime she gets ready to take a nap, she tells me, "'Gammy,' I want to take a nap." And she does! This picture was taken today (July 17, 2011). She wanted to take a nap. I had to feed Anna so I gave Megan a pillow and a blanket. She crawled up into my chair, and in 5 minutes she was gone. She LOVES her naps. Isn't that great!! She has always been so easy to take care of. And she is so sweet with Anna. She will let me know if Anna is having a seizure or stretching or doing anything that may require my attention. She will say, "'Gammy, Anna!"

It's "awite" Anna

She will rub Anna's little arm and say, "It awite, Anna." I think, also, that Anna enjoys having Megan around; there is always something going on!

Did I say she was smart??

Since the first day I started keeping Megan, I have had to be so focused to make sure I took good care of her and Anna both that I really haven't had time to dwell on my situation and how sad I had been feeling. Although Russell never saw Megan, I feel that there is so much of him in her that it just endears her to me that much more. She is so smart, and so beautiful, and so lovable. Oh, did I say she was smart? You should see her use my iPhone and my computer. She can't make calls, but she knows how to get to the pictures on my phone AND how to load "You-Tube"!

I have so many videos of Megan I just could not decide which one(s) to include. However, the one above I could not resist. I apologize for the quality; I was too far away from her, and I was using the video option on my still digital camera. What it shows, however, is something she has done since she started crawling and still does today. There is a commercial about J.G. Wentworth (I don't know if it is regional or if it is a national company), a company that will lend people money against structured annuities or settlements. The song is operatic, but every time it comes on, she stops whatever she is doing wherever she is and just stares and claps until it is over. She is still crawling in this video; now that she is older and talking, she sings along with it. It's hard to get her attention when she is watching it, too!

I know all the other grandchildren were just as smart, beautiful, and lovable. I just did not have the time with them that I have had and am having with Megan. It will be two years this September that Russell died, but he was ill for five years before that. I was so busy taking care of him and Anna that I missed out on a lot with the other grandkids. The only thing missing in all of these pictures is Russell. But I know he is watching, and anytime we are looking at pictures that Russell is in, Megan always points and says "Poppa"! It really warms my heart.

Below are some more pictures and one of my favorite videos. When she was about 18 months old, she started really "talking," although only one or two words could be made out. SHE knew what she was saying, but nobody else did. But she loved talking and telling stories. She also loved to "talk" on the phone. That's what the video shows; it's obvious she has observed all of us while we are on the phone. I can certainly see myself walking around the room while on the phone. What is really funny is that she "appears" to be responding to someone on the other end of the line. I have one video of her telling a story, but apparently it is too large to upload. It's about 7 minutes long, and she is talking non-stop. I just had to stop taping because my arm was getting tired!