what can I say about this little girl??? where do I start???
never thought I would have grandkids...as I have previously posted, Samantha had ovarian tumors and to save her life at the time, we consented to taking most of "everything"...they talked to us that night, that they had saved a teeny piece of ovary and later on, (when she got older, she was 18) they would do invitro when a baby was to be in the picture...so fast forward many years to her marriage and they both didn't give kids a thought, "it wasn't supposed to be..." but God had other plans and imagine our complete surprise, when the little stick turned positive...don't think anyone of us truly believed it until we saw the precious little bundle of joy on the ultrasound...
I have always loved dressing little girls, think it stemmed from me coming from a family of 12 kids and I was the second to the oldest and there were always babies around and except for being so poor, I did love caring for the littler ones...early on, I loved sewing for them...that is how we would always know when my mom was pregnant another time, when she would go buy flannel and the older kids and her would make baby clothes...
so, when Sam was actually pregnant, I didn't dare hope for a girl...there were many ultrasounds done, but the baby would always cross the legs and we never got a good view...so, no matter what the sex, I was ecstatic to have a baby period...started buying baby things right away and putting them away...a lot of unisex, but when I did see really cute boy clothes would get them also...that is when I started buying on ebay (the early part of 2000)...
fast forward...never forget the day, it was a Friday and Sam had an appt. and they discovered her blood pressure was high and she was close to due time...they told us to go to the hospital, but we lived a little distance from there, so we got permission to go home get her stuff and return...we went out to eat at the Mongolian BBQ place that we all loved near there, went home got the stuff and returned to the hospital...it was a very long weekend...Zoe was not ready at all to come out...they tried inducing and nothing...so, they would induce all day long, turn it off at night, so Grandpa and I went home to sleep, and then try again the next day...finally on Sunday night, they did a c section...
think I was in shock, when Brant came out and said "foo foo" (meaning girly stuff...) it did not really register...my friend was there, and she repeated it to me...they finally let me back to see Sam and I was the first one to hold this little (well she was not little...9-5) bundle of joy...that moment is etched in my memory forever...
went to the Carter's store and bought everything pink I could get my hands on...got pink flowers and pink balloons and cigars, you name it...
I watched Zoe once Sam went back to work and this is how I have gotten so close to this little girl...I had her more than her parents did and even a lot of nights would go get her, so her parents could sleep before work...everything in my life started revolving around Zoe...I loved it...
except for a brief period of time, when we all moved to Riverside, they either lived very close to us or with us, so Zoe was always around me...when they moved to Riverside, we would come every other day and see them...and then once we got this house, and they took the back house well, she lives here more than at her "real" home...
when they told me that they were putting her in preschool I cried...I did not want them to take her away from me...I went on a tour of the school with Sam and I did like it...talked Sam into only putting her in 2 days a week, that way I still had her 3 days...and she did love the school so much...her first bit of socializing and I saw that she did need that...she flourished at the school and with the teacher of Pooh Bears Mrs. Stalder...we would take Zoe in the morning and she would hang with the teacher holding her hand...one day we went to get her and another mother was there getting her child and she was kneeling on the floor and Zoe went up to her thinking she was talking to her, and she in a sweet southern voice, said, "aren't you just the cutest little thing???" Zoe was wearing the ladybug overalls I had appliqued for her, with her red high tops...
it was just prior to her starting school, looking at some handmade clothes offered on ebay, that I thought I can do that and that is where my passion started...I did start making Zoe's clothes, sometimes, I have to say I did copy from ebay, but it started something in me that got my creative juices going and I do think I came up with some really good ideas of my own...everyone has always commented on how good Zoe always looks (tho it is getting much harder, when she only wants to wear jeans now that she is 9)...
helped out a lot in her 4 year old class of Cute Kittens and I really enjoyed it...funny story...the first day she was in Cute Kittens, I went to pick her up and had not met the teacher yet, and she asked who I was there to get, and I answered Zoe...but, Zoe would not look at me or anything (really weird) and the teacher asked her if she knew me and Zoe told her "no." Miss Erdman said that she could tell by the grin on Zoe's face that she did indeed know me and let her go with me...oh yeah, this is where the title of this post comes from...Grandpa has a nickname for each kid...started with our own kids and has followed with these little ones...for some reason, Zoe's was Toady One Kenobi...in Cute Kittens when asked her name, she would answer, "Toady One kenobi..." she did that for a long time...now she hates it...I catch myself calling her "Toady" still sometimes...
got really close with Mrs. Sherman of Lucky Ladybugs and we had a great year...Zoe will say to this day that Mrs. Sherman is her favorite teacher...Zoe one time told her, "know how when your heart hurts so bad when you don't see someone you love? that is how I feel when I don't see you..." and she was only 4 going on 5 at the time...for Zoe's birthday, the teacher gave us the whole day to celebrate...we had ladybug crafts, bug appetizers, bug cupcakes, bug hats the whole bit...a really fun time...this was our last year at the school and we cried having to leave but kindergarten was waiting for us...
was room mother for kindergarten and got close once again to the teacher, Mrs. Luginbill...had a terrific year...made Zoe so many dresses that she never wore the same thing twice to school and everyone commented on how cute she always looked...I had to take Zoe to the school nurse one time and she said, "oh you are the little girl who always looks so cute..." such a good year, could not have asked for a better class, better teacher, better year...Zoe did so well...when we had taken her to be pretested for kindergarten, she had placed low and later the teacher asked me, what had happened, cause once she got to know Zoe, she placed much much higher...I think it was the process in where they take the child from the parent (usually a 4 or 5 year old) and take them to a room, close the door and proceed to test them...Zoe is basically shy until you get to know her...I heard some of what was going on behind the door, and when she came out, I told her that I knew she knew some of what she said she didn't...she said she was too shy to answer...
between kindergarten and first grade, that summer is when I had my heart attack and they found my heart to only be functioning at 10%...I was going to have to give up on a lot of things...one I thought was to not be at her school so much as previous years...we did not get the teacher that we had requested for first grade but, decided to deal...Sam told the teacher I was willing to help, but on my terms (I had to sit, etc.) and the teacher agreed...the first time I went to help, she stayed in at recess to talk to me and said that Zoe loved me, talked about me a lot, and needed me around (in other words to take care of myself) to be there for Zoe as long as I could...the year went by, and altho it was not our favorite year we got thru it...
in April while Zoe was in first grade, I was going to Texas (by myself first time ever) to see my sister...Zoe had been complaining of headaches and shoulder pain and I kept after Sam to take her to the doctor...Brant had changed jobs so, insurance also changed...one night they saw what I was talking about and Brant the next morning took her to Urgent Care...he was there quite awhile but, I thought maybe they had gone out to eat or whatever...keep in mind I was leaving for Texas the next morning...Brant went to Sam's work (the preschool where Zoe had gone) and they came back together...I was waiting at the front door, for a diagnosis...at the time they told me it was scoliosis...OK that I could deal with...I have it, Tim has it...it is dealable (?)...
so, I went to Texas...when Sam would call me there, she sounded (funny) she now says, she was trying to give me clues to come home, that she needed me for moral support...whatever, I did not pick up on it...
got home and Sam and Zoe were waiting on front porch for me and Sam said, "I need to talk to you about Zoe..." and I said "what Zoe?" (Sam at the time was best friends with a girl who also had a daughter Zoe...) and then she told me exactly what the doctor had said regarding our Zoe and that she had not told me, as she wanted me to have a good trip without worrying about her...I was devastated, hearing about the extent of the scoliosis, requiring a spine specialist, but all the more, hearing about a heart problem...this requiring a cardiologist...
part two later...have house work to do first...
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