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!
Our last walk home togetherOur last walk to Cumberland togetherLast day at Cumberland!
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 CumberlandWe’ve changed a little 😉
Lana turned 11 last month, and I just love watching her grow into this amazing, smart, funny, ridiculously creative big kid. It’s like every time I think I’ve got her figured out or know what’s coming next, she throws me for an incredible loop that makes life with her just get better and better.
ETA: We had her 11-year-old checkup in November, and all is healthy! Her doctor ordered a blood draw to check her cholesterol, and that was normal, too. Apparently between the ages of 9-11 they can determine genetic cholesterol conditions that would otherwise be undetectable at other ages. Poor kid got her vaccination shot, tetanus shot, flu shot, and blood draw for that all in the same afternoon. So I got her some candy at the clinic pharmacy on our way out. Here are her official 11-year stats:
Height: 4′ 11.25″ (79%)
Weight: 84 lbs. 6 oz. (53%)
Blood pressure: 112/62
BMI: 16.9 (40%)
Her artisitc ability is undeniable. She’s entered this local art show 2 years in a row now and still hasn’t gotten chosen to showcase, but she’s also entering against all adults. I know in my heart and soul one of these years she’ll be chosen to be featured, and they will be blown away. She loves acrylic paints, pencil with shading, and is super into gue/slime right now. I will forever be astonished by her creations, because I have never been nor will ever be able to draw anything anywhere close to what she can do.
Last night of 10!Last sleep as a 10 year old…Her art show entry this year
She struggled so much with math in school last year, so I was really nervous for her going into 5th grade this year. But I just had her parent-teacher conference right after her birthday, and she is absolutely soaring. Her teacher even said that she’d done so well in the math unit they just finished that she was going to push her harder in these upcoming units to see just how much she can do. I was blown away! Her scores on every math test and checkpoint in class plus the standardized tests from this fall are leaps and bounds higher than last year and back up where she used to be. All of her other subjects are great, too, and she loves writing. They recently completed a personal narrative in class, which she really enjoyed. Her goals for this year include getting better at social studies and getting good grades, and my pride for her grows exponentially when I learn tidbits like that about her. Because her often stonefaced, “meh” persona rarely belies the genius that lies beneath.
She plays the #2 child role in the family perfectly. She’s more than happy to let Della take lead of the siblings while she does her own thing, but when it’s her turn to be in charge, she steps up to the plate beautifully. She just passed her Red Cross babysitting class, and we had no qualms leaving all 5 of them home together when we recently went to Madison for a football game day.
Nigh-Night is her forever friend; she loves monkeys and sloths; she tried water skiing for the first time this summer and almost got up on her very first try with her natural athletic ability; she fearlessly tries stunts that would make most kids cower, like rock jumping and flipping off diving boards; she likes all things outer space and would love to be an astronaut; she can do the worm better than anyone I’ve ever met; she likes the color purple and cheesecake; her favorite foods are still sushi, meatloaf, and Thai beef with sticky rice; and her life dreams include being a glass blower, lava collector, owning a little shop, traveling the world, and just having a life that is fun and exciting. She keeps her confidence quiet, but she is not shy about letting it out to roar when it needs to. Never give that up, my love! No one will keep you down.
Happy 11th birthday, my sweet baby girl, our little Lana Marie! You have made our world so much better simply by being in it, and for that I will be forever grateful to you. I hope you had wonderful birthday celebrations and have the most magical year ahead. We love you to the stars and back and if I could lasso all of them and give them to you I would, because you deserve nothing less!!
And now for the throwback pics and posts, from Baby Lana to today. This one’s amazing!
Lana turned 10 last month, and it marked the end of single digits for the girls in our house…
She is still one of the most amazing creatures I’ve ever known. Her level of artistic ability has always amazed me, and it just gets stronger by the day. She recently told me she didn’t want to study for science because artists don’t need science, so there’s a glimpse of the aura of attitude she can possess as well. 😉
She is so smart and loves school, she says because her siblings never bother her there, ha! She has a great group of friends this year, which I absolutely love to see because it took a long time for me to ever hear that she has a “best friend.” And of course they all act like crazy little 10 year olds when they get together.
Nigh-Night is still her third arm, her favorite colors are lavender and teal, her favorite foods are meatloaf/sushi/Thai beef and sticky rice, she would watch Moriah Elizabeth for days on end if we let her, and her dream is to go to space. I took her to the planetarium at our public museum a few weeks ago to hear an astronaut speak, and she was enthralled. It was one of the best presentations I’ve ever attended, and both she and I were in awe at what this man had accomplished in his career and how life in space really works.
She hates brushing her hair, getting in trouble (especially from Ryan) is her biggest fear, and she’s already told me that the “speeches” we give them when they all get in trouble do nothing because they never listen to them anyway. Well fantastic. Again, the ‘tude seeps out of this one sometimes. However, she asks for an extra hug almost every night when I tuck the big kids into bed. This one will always claim a very special piece of my heart.
Happy 10th birthday, my sweet baby girl Lana Marie! Daddy and I could not possibly love you more and are so proud of you, no matter how scared of him you may be. You are my one and only Shmee, and my life has been exponentially better just for having you in it. We love you to the stars and back, my space girl wonder!!
And for posterity, the past years’ birthday photos and posts:
She still hates putting away her laundry, leaves her dirty clothes and pajamas all over the floor, and despises brushing her hair, but the creativity that exudes from her constantly is almost a force of nature.
She loves to bake, enjoys playing with the twins and teaching them games, tucks Nigh-Night into a comfy spot each morning before we go to school, gets into some of the most ridiculous arguments I’ve ever heard with Morrison, and often acts as crazy as a loon with Della.
I have, however, seen a level of maturity emerge from her this school year that I’ve never seen before. They were given an assignment notebook by her teacher at the beginning of the year, and since day 1, she has taken complete ownership of that task. She writes down her daily assignments and to-dos in it, checks each one off as she finishes them, and dog-ears each page as the week is completed. The pride and responsibility I saw from her when this little task began was incredible. I didn’t want to jinx it either, so I very nonchalantly told her how proud I was that she was taking her schoolwork and assignments so seriously this year a couple days in. No big deal, you’re just actually becoming a big kid.
She started taking piano lessons with Della this summer and will complain until the end of time about having to practice and do them, but she’s getting good. She also mastered diving during their swim lessons this summer, and she is now always called on to be the diving example in their weekly lessons. Della is still trying to catch up, much to her chagrin. And the year of schooling at home had nothing on this kid. Lana’s standardized test scores from the beginning of this school year in both reading and math were her highest yet at the top of the charts, and her percentile rankings were the highest of all the big 3. I was blown away. Especially because she always says how much she hates math.
This one. My little Lana Marie. My sweet baby girl. My fairy spirit. I will never be able to put into words how much I love you, but I hope you always know. Even when my body is dead and gone, my spirit will come out and bug you forever. Happy 9th birthday, Lana Marie! Our last year of having a daughter in the single digits! We could not be prouder of the wonderful big kid you’re becoming, with just enough goofiness of your little-kid self still fully intact. You are the beautiful definition of one of a kind, and we love you so very, very much. We are so lucky you’re ours!
My sweet baby girl turned 6 last month, and the world is absolutely a better place because she’s in it.
Lana started full-day kindergarten this year, and even her teacher has said a number of times how ready she was for it. She loves school as much as Della always has, is thriving in her class, is a good friend to all her classmates, and has the most amazing teacher ever. Lana’s teacher is also the middle of 5 children, loves all things tiny, and just “gets” Lana better than I could have ever hoped a teacher could. I told her this is definitely a student-teacher match made in cosmic heaven.
Tinies still reign, Nigh-Night is a forever friend, and unicorns are the newest favorite. She loves playing by herself, yet adores her sister and brothers and would follow Della to the ends of the earth.
She is the perfect embodiment of the word “kid.” Her imagination is beyond any I have ever known. Her creativity overflows every second of the day. And her artistic ability amazes everyone.
I really can’t put into words how much I love this girl. I hope and pray that I never know life without her, because she makes every day so much better. Happy 6th birthday, sweet Lana Marie, and many, many, many more! We love you to the stars and back!!
Lana turned 5 last month, and 5 just sounds so much older than 4 to me! Even so, her antics sometimes could still pass for those of a 2 year old. 😉
She had a really fun birthday this year. It was her first ballet lesson of this session, which she loves; her birthday party fell on the same day as her actual birthday; almost all of her grandparents were at the party, another thing she loves; and our family from Colorado came in town for the weekend to surprise us. Plus the weather was amazingly warm, so all the kids ran and played themselves silly outside all day. It was quite the fete!
Grandpa Frank brought a special treat for the birthday girl this year – I ordered a huge, beautiful cake that she picked out herself from my absolute favorite bakery from my hometown. I have always loved their cake, and nowhere I’ve ever found has come anywhere close to matching their deliciousness. I think I was as happy about it as she was! Plus it saved me from having to make a character cake for the second time this year. Win win! We did make tiny cupcakes with Ls on them again, though, per her request.
This little girl surprises and amazes me daily with her insane creativity and wicked smarts. She still loves all things tiny, Hello Kitty, fairies, and of course Nigh-Night, her ever-constant companion. I hope she keeps him forever. She absolutely loves school, which makes me ridiculously happy. Every day I ask her what her favorite part was, and she says, “Everything!” She also loves to ask if it’s tomorrow yet, just so she can get back to school.
This little sparkler honestly makes every day brighter. Even the ones where I swear I shout at her half the day to either listen, pick up her crap, or both. But I can’t imagine life without her. It would definitely be a much duller place. We love you so very, very much, Lana Marie! Happy 5th birthday, and many, many, MANY more!!
This was my view on the walk to school this morning, and it made me so very, very happy.
All day yesterday, Morrison insisted on loading up his little dinosaur backpack and toting it around the house like he was going to school like his big sisters. Then this morning, when the girls got their backpacks ready for school, his was right there in the mix. So Della hung it on the stroller hook with theirs, and off we went.
He had a couple dinosaurs and books in there, so I stuck it in his lap because it was too heavy to carry on the backpack hook. He held tight to it the whole way, and it was the cutest thing. After a little while, Lana started helping him take books out and “read” them. First she helped him spell his name out loud, and then she’d say, “Now you try.” I about melted! Then they went through the little collection of books, and Morrison was in 7th heaven.
I absolutely love watching the bonds between these kids grow stronger every day. They love playing with, teaching, and learning from each other. Prime example, when we got home from dropping the girls off, Morrison set this up on the arm of the couch, exactly like Lana has. They amaze me constantly and make every day that much better.
