Lana turned 12 last month, and it’s been so fun watching her turn into her real “big kid” self this past year.
Her love of outer space has taken a back seat to pop music and a skincare routine, but her undeniable artistic ability and being one of the most creative souls I have ever encountered remain steadfast and stronger than ever.
I’ll admit, I was a little nervous on how her academics were going to hold up going into middle school this year, but she is absolutely crushing 6th grade. At the end of the first quarter she’s carrying straight A’s, and we got the same email we got for Della about the 6th-grade teachers bringing up Lana’s name as one of the standout students for her work ethic and accomplishments during this first part of the school year. Proud is an enormous understatement there.
Also new this year was her breakout cross country season. Before school started we were talking about Della doing lacrosse and Morrison doing baseball and flag football, and Lana said, “I don’t have a sport.” I immediately told her not to even give that a second thought – tons of people don’t do sports, plus the artist in her blows 99% of people away. But she did a cross country camp this summer, and she and I even threw a couple runs into our almost-daily morning walking routine on the bike path, so I could tell she was kind of looking forward to giving running a shot. Giving it a shot – HA! She ended up being the fastest 6th-grade girl on the team!!! She was also invited to run in an invitational meet 2 weeks after their last Conference meet of the season, which she wasn’t super enthused about since it meant she had to race after her birthday, but she did amazing. They only took 10 girls and 10 boys total from all 3 grades (6th, 7th, and 8th). She even went for a practice jog the night before the meet because they didn’t have any organized practices in those 2 weeks between Conference and the invitational. Unfortunately she was struggling with a cough and chest cold when the meet came around, but she still ran her best 1.86-mile time of the season at 14:38 and was the fastest 6th-grade girl for Bay in the race. Plus the WFB girls placed 3rd overall out of like 27 teams, and all 3 grades ran together! Again, proud doesn’t even begin to describe the emotion I felt watching her not only give something new a try this year but excel in the amazing way that she did.
Her favorite color is back to purple from black, and she even admitted she went a little emo for a bit. 😀 Her favorite foods are still sushi, Thai beef with sticky rice, and Jimmy John’s, which she can’t wait for for her birthday dinner together with me. Goofball! (ETA: we ended up going to Noodles again for her birthday lunch instead of Jimmy John’s – game-time switch in the car as we were leaving) Nigh-Night remains her constant companion, and her flair for the creepy and macabre in her sense of humor always entertains everyone.
My little Shmee!! You impress me by the day, and you’re one of my favorite people in the world. Happy 12th birthday, Lana Marie! We love you so very much, and we can’t wait to celebrate you year after year after year.
The best – photo and yearly post comparisons:
