First Family To Include First Grandmother

Now she really will be First Grandmother.

President-Elect Barack Obama's mother-in-law,  Marian Robinson, grandmother to his and Michelle Obama’s two little girls, Malia, 10,  and Sasha, 7, will move from Chicago to Washington — and possibly into the White House with the family, according to reports.

Robinson, 71, helped care for Malia and Sasha for much of the 21 months the Obamas spent on the road campaigning for the presidency.

The Associated Press and the New York Times report that Robinson will join the family when they move into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue on January 20. It’s unclear whether she will take an apartment nearby, or move into the White House.

Reports said Robinson did not want to "intrude" in the Obamas' life at the famous residence, although at 55,000 square feet, it’s hard to see how she would be an intrusion in the White House. In fact, Michelle Obama told Newsweek that "I'm hoping that my mother will come with me. I’m begging her." When the Newsweek reporter relayed to the future First Lady that her mother said there wasn’t enough space or that she didn’t want to intrude, Michelle Obama laughed and said, "Yeah, whatever."

But prior to the election, Robinson told the Associated Press that she would follow her daughter’s wishes.

"I will do whatever Michelle needs simply because I know how important it is for her to see that the children ... still have discipline and still have things that children do at their disposal," Robinson said.

And the girls have grown accustomed to having their grandmother around.

"They are extremely close to their grandmother," Sandra Matthews, a friend of Michelle Obama's, told the New York Times. "That's why Michelle has been able, with the ease and peace of mind, to be gone."