Fourteen!

Della just turned 14 and I’m sorry, but that just sounds crazy – 14?! However, the day she was born does feel like eons ago…

ETA – we had her 14-year checkup at the end of August, and here are her official stats:

  • Height: 5′ 7.6″ (95%)
  • Weight: 117 lbs. 12.8 oz. (65%)
  • BMI: 18.12 (32%)
  • Blood Pressure: 120/60

Not only is she now a full-blown teenager, she’s off to high school! We’re going to be in 3 different schools now for the next 5 years, so that’ll be fun. 😀

She remains the unshakable leader of the Rau kids, and we are beyond lucky that she is. The poise and responsibility she shows when she’s in charge is amazing, and the way she makes sure her siblings are 100% ok and everything is taken care of is incredible.

She’s also a wonderful friend, and I’m so happy that she has had such a great group of girlfriends for a number of years now. It gives me comfort that they’re all going into their high school years together – strengh in numbers, right? I’m going to keep telling myself that, anyway, as all of these big-kid years and stressors come our way.

She’s still loving lacrosse and plans to play on the high school team next spring. She’s taken lessons from an upperclasswoman on the team all summer and will be doing some skills clinics with her coach from this spring in the next couple weeks before school starts, so hopefully we can keep her stick in her hands over the fall and winter, too, to get ready for the big leagues on the high school team.

It was cute – she and I were getting her school supplies ready today and ordering the ones she needs, and she already has her color scheme of corresponding notebooks, folders, and binders for each class picked out and ready to go.

Happy 14th birthday, Della Jolee! We love you so much, and the pride we feel watching you grow into this outstanding young woman is immeasurable. Thank you for who you are and everything you do – like I always say, never change for anyone. Here’s to a fantastic year ahead and many, many more birthdays to celebrate!

The second one bites the dust

Lana is off to middle school this upcoming school year, and we’re going to be in 3 different schools now since Della is moving onto high school! I’m sad the girls won’t overlap in school again until Lana’s freshman year and Della’s senior year in high school, but at least they’ll have that year together again.

It’s not nearly as bittersweet for me as when Della headed off to middle school for a couple of reasons – Lana is so ready to move out of Cumberland and elementary school, and I know how great our middle school is. They have an absolutely amazing staff, they are so inclusive, and Lana will get to just keep growing and blossoming into herself even more than she did this past year in 5th grade.

Just like when Della moved onto middle school, though, our walking crew is again shrinking. I need to check on how far after the middle school bell the high school starts, but I’m hopeful the girls can at least walk to the middle school together then Della can branch off to the high school, which thankfully is directly across the street from the middle school. We are seriously so lucky to live in a walkable community. Growing up in a larger city that was the complete opposite, I never knew what we were missing!

We will absolutely miss you in our Cumberland crew, my little Shmee, but I’m so excited for you to have even more opportunities to spread your wings and fly. You were born for greatness, I can just tell, and now it has the chance to get louder and louder and impress us all. And I can’t wait to watch!!

First and last days at Cumberland
We’ve changed a little 😉