Decorate a room in your house just for your Grand Baby. Of course, this is not mandatory, but it's so much fun to find the perfect toy, or frame, or stool, or rocker for her room. I have another Grand on the way, so I made the colors neutral that would work for my new Grand Son as well. I have a little toy box, and a bookcase for all the hard cover books and my GBaby knows just where her toys are and where they go at the end of her visit.

"There's no place like home except Grandma's." ~Author Unknown 

No Matter how busy you are, Never tell Momma that you cannot pick up the baby from Daycare. Always, always say yes. The look on my Gbaby's face when Nana walks in the door is worth having to go back to work later to finish up, or work over the weekend. There is that moment when she recognizes me that is like a "gasp", and then the smiles! Wow! I am not sure that I have ever experienced as much joy as I do when that happens! Take the time to share all the time you can with that precious little one.

"Grandma always made you feel she had been waiting to see just you all day and now the day was complete." ~Marcy DeMaree 

The next three rules all have to do with the same thing. Pictures! Lots of them! Take a million pictures of your grand baby. Take them when they are sleeping, and when they are awake. Take some when they are cranky, and have a pouty face. Just keep flashing til they no longer care that the flash goes off ALL the time. (Maybe it will keep them from being afraid of Lightning!) All of the pictures that are not very good are a small price to pay for that ONE picture that is worth a million words. Of course, those of you that know me, know that I am a photographer at heart. I love taking pictures of everything, but none as much as I love taking pictures of McKayla. And some of my favorite pictures are ones that I wasn't expecting. Ones that I just picked up my camera and there she was, so I took a picture. I have one from last fall that looks just like a snow baby! Precious!

"Grandchildren are the dots that connect the lines from generation to generation." ~Lois Wyse 

Give a picture of your Grand Baby to everyone is your office. I had to add that rule for the girls in my office. Most of them have a picture a month of My GBaby since she was born! I told them it was a rule, so now that it is in writing, it's a real rule, right? 

Insert in every adult conversation "Have I shown you a picture of my Grand Baby?" (Of course you have, but out of courtesy, ask anyway). Really, you have to have something to do with those million pictures that you've taken. What good is a Nana brag book, if you don't show it off? 

Time to play! I have lots of toys. Toys that make noise! All over my floor. And I like it that way. We play pretend eating toast and drinking out of tea cups. We kiss the baby dolls and hug stuffed animals, and when I can, I get down in the floor with her and play with all her cool stuff. And we read books, all kinds of books. She only sits still for a page or two, but she will know that Nana reads to her!

"A grandmother is a babysitter who watches the kids instead of the television." ~Author Unknown 

When those arms come up to you to be picked up, Always, always hold them! We are Nana's and Papa's after all. We can hold them when Momma is too busy or tired. We can hug and snuggle and just hold them as long as they will want us to, or let us!

"Nobody can do for little children what grandparents do." ~Alex Haley 

"No" is not in our vocabulary. I almost had a hard time saying that. I know that sometimes we HAVE to say no. "Don't touch that because it's hot". "Don't run, or you will fall". "Don't stand up on the couch". But there are so many things that we can say yes to. I have a sign on my wall that says, "I can at Nana's". Make Nana's house special. Make memories. Make your GBaby the center of attention when she is with you and say "Yes", alot! It will be fun for both of you. And remember, we get to spoil them and send them home!

"A grandmother is a little bit parent, a little bit teacher, and a little bit best friend." ~Author Unknown