Granddaughter inherits gran's love of shopping

The old saying that little girls are made of "sugar and spice and everything nice" is so true. My granddaughter, who just turned 6, is staying with me for a while. The guestroom is now her room. I have different comforter sets so when my grandkids come over to spend a night ,I can make the room into a boy's or girl's room in just minutes. It's not that easy now that it's a girl's room. She has all of her dolls, books, stuffed animals, vanity set and games neatly organized. Recently, we went shopping for a nice Sunday dress. She knew exactly what she liked and disliked. I showed her a few dresses I thought were cute when she giggled and said, "MeMa," in a way that I knew she thought I couldn't be serious. She has expensive taste, just like her grandmother. While poking around the shoe aisle, another of her grandmother's favorite pastimes, Tianna found a pair of gold shoes that looked like ballerina slippers. I saw another pair of shoes the same style, but a different color. She, of course, only wanted the ones that made her feel like a princess. Wish granted. We did find three very pretty dresses for her: One was very dressy with sparkling rhinestones; another was a casual corduroy dress, while the third dress could go either way. My granddaughter was happy that we couldn't decide which one was the prettiest because I bought her all three. Since her wardrobe wouldn't be complete without matching tights, we got three pairs of those, too.

Can you believe children's clothes

are the same price as adults'? I also had my first experience of putting my granddaughter on the school bus. She was dressed so cute, everything matching. I wonder where she learned that? She was so excited to get on the bus. I felt like I wanted to cry. The other moms told me they all had felt the same. One mom said she even followed the bus to the school.

Although Tianna is only in kindergarten, she's already sounding out words and reads me a book every night, sometimes two. She loves to read everything from street signs to the brand labels on her clothes.

She is determined to be a newscaster when she grows up and pretends to be a meteorologist, saying, "Today's weather is very cold, but dry. It's a good day to go to the mall." It seems she's already getting paid because we are off shopping again. But, I also try to balance things by teaching my granddaughter the importance of giving rather than receiving. For example, my neighbor, Deanna, offered to walk my granddaughter down the hill each morning along with her children and a few other neighborhood kids to wait for the bus. Now, we are going to look for a gift for her to show our appreciation.

Marva Hamilton is the librarian at the Connecticut Post. She can be reached at mhamilton@ctpost.com.