Grandpa

This is a very hard post to write and the reason I have not updated Otto's blog. Otto lost his Grandps on January 4, 2011. We are devastated and I am so sad for Otto. He loved his Gramps so much and I feel the loss for Otto so deeply. We had such a wonderful happy family and household. Every morning Otto and I would come over and his Grandpa would either be up reading the paper or Otto would shout and bang the cabinets until he woke him up. Grandps would drink his coffee and Otto would sit on his lap and try to spill it. Or Otto would play with his feet or pat his back or pull his belt loops. Otto's Grandpa always had the biggest smile for him and always made time for him and would reserve all his energy (which was very hard) to swing Otto on his leg or give him raspberries. When we would give Otto baths we would put him on the kitchen table to dress him and his Grandps would come over and kiss him untill he giggled like crazy. No one could get Otto to laugh like his Grandpa. They shared such a special relationship. Otto loved him like crazy and Grandpa loved Otto like crazy. He was the best...what other Grandpa would pick up and move across country just to be next to his Grandson? Otto's Grandps would immitate all of Otto's sounds and they would laugh at their shared language and it was his Grandpa who taught him sign language. Gramps taught him the sign for fan and it became his universal salute to refer to everything he loved...mostly fans though! I cherish all the photos that we took of Otto and his Grandpa. There aren't too many but the ones we have are so representative of their relationship. Like the one on this post. When we brought Otto home from the hospital his Grandpa would not put him down. He held him for so many hours the first few months of his life. Otto would just sleep in his Grandpa's arms while Grandpa watched TV or napped himself. I think that really solidified their bond. Now we have a few pictures of Grandps on the refirgerator and everyday I ask Otto to point out his Grandpa so he won't forget. And he hasn't. I'm so happy that my Dad got to know Otto and I know their paths will cross again. I'm just sad that his Grandpa never got to take him fishing-something I knew he wanted to do. I'm sad I never got to hear their conversations-something that I really wanted. But I will always tell Otto stories about his Grandpa and how much his Grandpa loved him and how much Otto loved his Grandpa. He really was his second Dad.