My Third Granddaughter

I did not even know that this beautiful little girl existed until she was almost 2 years old. I missed all those little firsts and that makes me so sad. But I have her now and for that I am a happy Grandma.

One day my 2nd son answered the knock at his door. A former girlfriend stood there with a little girl in her arms. She said, "Say hello to your daddy."

She had been in another relationship and that person finally convinced her that the baby's father needed to help with raising her. He happily took to being a daddy.

He kept her with him as often as he could get her. He bought diapers and clothes and all the other things a baby needs.

She was very pretty. She had blonde hair like her daddy. But she had curls that he never had. She looked a lot like my oldest sister-in-law. My daughter-in-law said that I say that about all the babies. I might. My sister-in-law was a very attractive woman.

Then just as suddenly as she came into our lives she was gone. My son was in jail and we had no idea how to reach her mother to let her know we wanted to continue a relationship with our little girl.

When my son came home he stayed with his sister and her family for a while as a condition of his parole. The first thing he wanted was to have his children. So they came to stay with him.

My granddaughter has her father's temperament. And she is mischievous. As are all my grandchildren she is extremely smart. Like her father sometimes she is too smart for her own good.

She did not like to listen or mind. She could get around most people so she pretty much would get her own way. To put it bluntly she was a loveable handful.

When her father had to back to jail at least we knew how to reach her mother. We were able to have her stay with us often and we had her at family and holiday celebrations.

I was getting ready to make waffles for breakfast. My granddaughter is a fussy eater just like all my kids. She decided she did not like waffles. As I asked her what kinds of things she would eat she gave me a very short list. Then she said, " Waffles... not so much." She ate waffles.

And nosy! I had her and her little brother for the weekend. We were on our way to the park. They were properly buckled up in the back seat. Suddenly I noticed in the mirror that she was busily going through my things. I asked her if she was finding what she was looking for. She hurriedly placed her hands in her lap and faked an innocent look on her face. I think she just wanted to see what interested me.

Soon she began to sing. At the time there was a commercial on TV where they sang "F R E E That spells free Credit Report dot com that's me." She sang the first line and I chimed in with the second. She was absolutely delighted. For months after that every time she would see me she sang the first line and I answered with the second.

She is also very stubborn. I am afraid she gets that from me. She was used to getting her own way because she would not give up. Then she spent some time with her aunt.

My daughter is stubborn too. She loves having the kids from the family come to spend time with her family. So she had my granddaughter for several days. 

My granddaughter decided to pull her stubborn bit. My daughter just laughed at her and said, "You will never be more stubborn than me. You can't win this one." It took a little time but my granddaughter settled down. She and her aunt have become very close.

Once when I had my granddaughter and grandson for the day we stopped for lunch on the way to where we were going. Two fussy eaters. I told them they could order whatever they wished. There did not seem to be anythinbg on the menu that they liked so I finally ordered for them.

When the food came my grandson obediently began to eat. My granddaughter however was having none of it. She dawdled and pouted. I told her that she needed to eat so we could be on our way. Nope. No deal.

So I leaned over the table and looked her straight in the eye and said, "You know how your aunt is more stubborn than you and you have to do as she says? Well I am her mother. I am more stubborn than she is and she does what I say." Then I smiled a moderately evil smile. She got a shocked look on her face then ate all the food on her plate.

My granddaughter is growing into a lovely young woman. She is starting middle school this year. She looks more and more like her mother but at the same time she looks a great deal like my daughter. Not a bad combination at all.

She is still extremely intelligent (like all my grandchildren) and very pretty (they all are). She is still stubborn but she is learning when to dig in and when to give in. I like that.