Since Election Day, much of the attention has been on the government transition, but there is family transition unfolding, too, as the president-elect Barack Obama, his wife Michelle and daughters Malia and Sasha prepare for life at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

To help the girls' transition, Michelle reportedly "begged" her 71-year-old mother, Marian Robinson, to come with them.

"The girls are going to need her, as part of their sense of stability," Newsweek reported. "And what is true for my mom is that she does anything for us and her grandkids. All they have to do is look at her with sad eyes and she's done for."

If Robinson moves into the White House it would the first time in history that three generations of a new presidential family have moved together to Washington, D.C.

Robinson said she will play a big part in keeping her granddaughters grounded.

"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.

Family friends have told the New York Times that the Obamas relied on Robinson to care for Malia and Sasha while their parents were out campaigning.