5 Things I Didn’t Know I Needed {Grandma Edition}

I’m new to this Grandma gig. My husband and I welcomed 3 grandsons into our family in 2023. We were so excited and could not wait to earn the title of Jeep and Tiki (our official grandparent names)! Over the course of the past year, there are 5 things I didn’t know I needed {grandma edition}:

1. Fully charged phone: You never know when those precious little parents will want to FaceTime with Jeep and Tiki and if your phone is not charged, then you may very well miss a milestone.
2. Nicknames for those little boys: We have THE cutest grandsons, and I am sure you would agree. We have officially tried and retried many nicknames until the right ones stuck. Who knew you needed these for each one?! I mean, their real names are cute but not a substitution for a Foxy Knoxy, Sweet T, or a Finny Finn Finn.
3. Box of old toys that your children played with: I had saved a few things that belonged to my son and then had another set of boys, so having those toys sure makes it easy to pull out some favorites and also bring out the nostalgia with them.
4. Books, Books, and more books: One of my favorite things to do is to read to my grandsons, and we can do that over FaceTime or Marco Polo. We have even opted to read with several of the boys over electronics reading the same book.
5.  3 of everything: Now when I shop, I look for 3 of everything with slightly different sizes and maybe a different color, but I’ll take three of this or that. I love to shower the boys with little gifts or fun things I don’t think they can live without.

These were the 5 things I didn’t know I needed. What have you realized that you cannot live without as a grandparent? Please share; I have a feeling I’m just getting started!