Granding: Kathleen

Our very first featured Grandparent is my friend Leeny in St. Louis. We met way back in the day, before we had kids of our own. She was one of my first friends to have a baby, and now that baby is grown with a baby of her own! As a women's health coach and fitness trainer, Leeny knows the importance of staying fit and healthy to be at your best for yourself and your loved ones. Let's get her take on granding...

1. What is your background? How many grandchildren do you have and how old are they?

   We live in STL and have a 20 month old grandson in Austin and a soon to be grandson (January) in Denver. It's hard livign away from both of them!

2. What's your favorite activity and/or favorite spot in your city to go to when you're together?

   When our grandson comes to town, we love to hit up all the local parks within walking distance. We also love the St. Louis zoo, the Aquarium at Union Station, the Botanical Gardens, and Grant's Farm.

   
   

3. Do you have any family traditions from when your kids were little that you plan to continue with the next generation?

   My Kids used to love decorating gingerbread houses at Christmas and decorating cookies at Easter and Christmas. I'd put all the baked cookies out in the middle of the table along with lots of icing and sprinkles and let them go to town. With the gingerbread houses, I'd bake and assemble them ahead of time, then put one at each child's spot along with all the fun candies used to decorate. It truly was a fun tradition.

   
   

4. What do you do when you're not "grandparenting"? Hobbies, jobs, interests...?

   I am a certified health coach and fitness trainer, so I coach midlife women with nutrition and strength training. I also raise chickens, love cooking and baking, and am crazy about pickleball. My website is: http://www.leenyhoffmannwellnes.com/

   
   

5. Best advice or tips you'd like to share?

   As a newer grandparent, I'm trying my best to honor my daughter and her husband's parenting style and be there to support. I'm trying to keep "advice" to myself unless asked. So much has changed since I was a parent and there are many things "I wish I knew then" that I know now that make me a better grandparent. Things have changed so much with regard to feeding and sleeping habits. I'm trying to learn and take it all in without making it about how we did it when they were little. And when my daughter first came home from the hospital, I wanted for her to get to hold and bond with her new baby as much as possible, so I focused on making food, cleaning and helping her sleep as much as possible. When your baby has a baby, it's something quite incredible!