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Caroline Manzo Says Her Future Grandchild is a "Very Lucky Baby"
The #Manzod matriarch reveals how she really feels about becoming a grandma.
One of the Manzo'd children is about to have a child of their own. Lauren Manzo Scalia and her husband Vito Scalia are expecting their first child together, she confirmed to The Daily Dish Thursday.
But does the matriarch of the Manzo famiglia, Caroline Manzo, think her youngest child and son-in-law are ready for parenthood? "You're never ready to be a parent. You never put down on paper and say, 'You know what? Now's good. Let's do it now,' because you will never be ready because you are never prepared for how your life is gonna change," she told The Daily Dish. "After having said that, do I think they're capable of raising a child in the best way that you would hope? Absolutely. They both have wonderful qualities about them. They're very nurturing. Vito's gonna be a phenomenal father. Lauren, of course, is gonna be a great mom. Are they gonna stumble and fall sometimes is a guarantee because I think every new parent does. But I think that it's gonna be really fun to watch. It's gonna be really, really fun to watch."
Though Lauren and Vito seemed concerned about when they were going to get pregnant after being happily married in the supertease for this season of Manzo'd with Children, Caroline said she never put any pressure on them to start a family. "Oh, gosh, for me, it was always when God's will, that's when she was gonna have a baby," she said. "I never said to her, 'I want a grandchild.' I never, never said that to her because when it happens, it happens."
However, Caroline's husband, Al Manzo, has been a little more eager to become a grandfather. "When you see 'grandpa' in a dictionary, [Al's] picture will be there because this is something he's talked about our entire married life," Caroline said. "You know, 'When are we having grandchildren? Are we having grandchildren?' He's very, very proud. He doesn't want to allow himself to get excited until he knows that she's OK and the baby's OK."
But Caroline said Al has already started calling her "Grandma," which sounds just fine to her. "Listen, it's life. It's a beautiful thing. I'm getting older. Guess what? It's happening. It's hitting the fan," Caroline, who turned 55 in August, told The Daily Dish. "So it's part of our story. It's part of what we're supposed to be doing. I'm glad to be able to be alive and see my kids grow and start families and meet my grandchildren. So if grandma is the worst I've got to deal with, call me 'Grandma,' it's fine."
Caroline already has an idea of the kind of grandmother she wants to be. "I just don't want to be the grandma that sits in the chair and is not able to enjoy her grandchildren," she said. "I want to be a badass grandma. So I'm working on it."
There's a lot of love waiting for the baby when he or she is born in early 2017. "[Albie and Chris Manzo] are over the moon. They can't wait," Caroline said. "This baby is a very lucky baby because the Scalias are even such wonderful people. It's a very, very lucky baby."
Take a walk down memory lane with the Manzo kids, below.