I’m borrowing the title of this page from the site Ryan created for Della when she was born, The Della Daily Dose. My goal for this page is to write 1 thing daily about or for Della, and the briefer the better. I read about a similar idea on the day of her first birthday and thought it would be an interesting way to chronicle a year of her life. Seeing how I was not blogging when she was born and am terrible about keeping up with my pen-to-paper journal, I thought I’d give it a try on here. And so I give you a dedicated space for The D Daily Dose.
(FYI, because I write so much about these kids, their pages are all broken into yearly chunks so as not to crash my site. I’ll keep the current year on the main page for ease of use. Enjoy!)
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January 1, 2021
Happy New Year, peanut! We were all so happy and relieved when the clock struck midnight last night, and we all agreed that things instantly felt lighter. 2020 was a doozy, but you did an incredible job being flexible and rolling with how we had to do things with zero complaints or trouble. I’m excited to see how 2021 goes for us all. As long as we all stay healthy and together, though, I know we’ll be just fine. I love you so much!
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January 16, 2021
You went sledding with one of your friends in your virtual class today, and you had so much fun. The park where Daddy usually takes you to the playground has a good area for sledding on the other side of it, so that’s where you guys went. I walked you over to the park with your snow tube, then you girls texted from her phone when you were ready to be picked up. Your first “grown up” play date – woah!
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March 9, 2021
Today was so exciting – your newest issue of Cricket came, and they had published your letter! You’ve written in to their mailbag a couple times now, and you watch for your letters each time. Today we finally saw one. So fun, peanut! You were so happy and proud. 🥰
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April 3, 2021
Big day for you today, peanut – you got your ears pierced! It had been a 10th birthday present, but you hadn’t really been persistent about it so it just kept getting pushed off. I finally called a couple months ago to make an appointment for you, and today was the first Saturday they had an opening. Daddy took you, and you were both excited and nervous. We all told you it would hurt a little bit but then go away quickly, so you took your round, white squishy to hold during it. But fortunately you said it didn’t hurt it all! The place you went does piercings only, and instead of the gun that I was used to they used a clamp and surgical needles. Awesome! You picked out the most beautiful little blue flower earrings, and they look amazing. Great job, my love!!
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April 8, 2021
Happy back-to-school day, peanut!! You, Lana, and Morrison are back at Cumberland in the classroom for the first time all year, and you guys could not have been more excited. You probably the most! Especially since you get to stay with Mrs. Topps, YAY!!!! She is an absolutely amazing teacher, and we were both thrilled that she switched back to in person, too, and that you got to remain in her class. We took her some Diet Dr. Pepper today as a welcome-back gift, since it’s her favorite. 🙂 She literally came galloping down your dropoff line this morning when the bell rang, giving everyone gigantic air hugs. It could not have made for a more perfect welcome. We definitely made the right choice in going back for this last quarter. Have so much fun, my love. You are one of the most amazing people I know – kind, incredibly smart, hard working, and conscientious. Mrs. Topps adores you, and so do we. I hope this is the best end to 5th grade that you could ever have. I’m so happy you get to spend this last quarter at Cumberland before going off to middle school next year. I love you so much, peanut – go get ’em!
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May 5, 2021
We had your middle school tour tonight, peanut, and I absolutely cannot believe it. I’m going to be so sad when all of us aren’t going to and from school together anymore, even though I know you’re going to have a great time. It’s actually much easier to get to the middle school from our house – no turns! It’s going to be so weird not having you with the rest of us each trip, and we’re going to miss you terribly. You won’t be in school with anyone again until you’re a senior in high school and Lana’s a freshman. It just blows my mind. You guys are all my babies, and I hate that you have to grow up!
One thing does make me feel better, though. I checked the school calendar for next year, and the elementary school has Roaring Start days the first 3 days of school when I think you’ll be in school full days. So hopefully we’ll be able to walk you to school those very first couple days without having to worry about anyone being late anywhere. That’s honestly my biggest worry right now. I know you’ll be completely fine getting to school on your own since it’s so easy from our house; and it’d be tight getting Lana and Morrison dropped off first since I like to see them in the doors then rushing up to the middle school, so after that first short week my mama heart will feel much better letting you walk yourself. After I smother you in hugs and kisses when we leave, of course!
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May 31, 2021
You found a 4 leaf clover today, peanut! And a real deal one, too, not like when I was a kid and pretended I’d found one by tearing one of the leaves in half. 😉 You were playing in the front yard with Daddy, started digging through a little patch of clover, and there it was! Unfortunately, we forgot to press it tonight and it got all dried out, but thankfully I had the sense to put it in water before I put it in wax paper so I didn’t crush all the leaves. That worked pretty well. I let it sit for a while, smoothed all the leaves back out, put it in a piece of folded wax paper, and put it in the cover of one of your big Harry Potter books. What great luck! I still have never found one.
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June 11, 2021
I can’t believe it, peanut – today was your last day of school at Cumberland! I’m still flabbergasted that we won’t all be walking to and from school together anymore ever again. And what’s even weirder, you won’t be in school with a sibling again until you’re a senior in high school and Lana is a freshman. What?!? It’s always been all of us going everywhere together, and now you’ll be breaking off and going on your own. It makes me so, so sad, but you are going to absolutely love middle school, I just know it. Your days at Cumberland have been fantastic, but I think your future will be even better. You have a great group of friends right now who will be going to middle school with you, and I’m sure you’ll meet new friends there from the other elementary school, too. So congratulations, my love, and good-bye to Cumberland. Middle school, here you come!
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July 27, 2021
Big day for you, peanut – your first taste of babsitting! I had to take Morrison and Nat to the doctor for their eczema patches on their legs, and I didn’t have anyone to watch the rest of you guys because it was in the middle of the day. So I left you in charge of Lana and Avit while we were gone, and you did awesome. Daddy set up a chat room for the 3 of us so you could text me and him from your tablet in case anything happened, and fortunately it was smooth sailing the whole time. Thank you!
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August 1, 2021
Happy 11th birthday, my sweet, sweet Della Jolee!!! You’re out of fingers to hold up for your age! You are an absolutely incredible person, and I love you so much. I’m writing your whole birthday post right after this, but I always need to put a little something on your own page. It’s a beautiful, sunny day today, so I hope your day is as happy as the weather.
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August 31, 2021
We had your 11-year well check today, so here are your official stats:
- Height: 60.75″ (90%) – you’re over 5 feet!!
- Weight: 85.3 lbs. (55%)
- BMI: 16.2 kg/m2 (28%)
- Blood pressure: 120/80
All looked healthy!
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September 1, 2021
Happy first day of middle school, peanut! You were so excited to start today. Which makes me feel great, because the rest of us are going to miss you so much! Lana and Morrison have their Roaring Start days this week, then they don’t start until next Wednesday since you all have Monday and Tuesday off for Labor Day this year. I think you’re going to have a great time. The school seems awesome, the principal is fantastic, and I can’t imagine your teachers are anything but. We went over twice in the past 2 weeks to find your locker, load up your supplies, walk your schedule, and put your locker shelf and accessories in once they arrived. You’re doing band again with Mr. Carson, and you’re going to give cross country a try! I love you so much, sweet pea. I hope you have an amazing 3 years at WFBMS!
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September 8, 2021
You started cross country today! I’m so proud of you for trying something new, because you’ve never run with an organized group before. You have practice for an hour each day after school, then you just walk home. Your first meet is next week, and I can’t wait to come watch! A bonus – Mr. Hand is officiating your conference meet, because it’s at the middle school where he teaches. A couple of your friends are also on the team, so I hope you have a lot of fun!
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September 11, 2021
You got contacts today! I took you over to “contacts class” at Visionworks so they could teach you how to put them in and take them out, and you did awesome. You got both in on the first try, and taking them out was just as easy for you. Nice job! You are so excited. You keep coming up to me saying, “Can you tell I have my contatcs in?” 😀
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September 16, 2021
Your first cross country meet, peanut! It was a 3k race loop, which is the longest run you’ve ever done. You walked across the finish line, said you could barely keep going because you wanted to fall down, but you were still smiling. I am so incredibly proud of you for trying this, because you’d never run before you started practicing last week. Great job, kiddo!!
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October 27, 2021
BIG NEWS! You big 3 finally moved upstairs today!!! Daddy finished enough flooring so that you can sleep up there, so I spent all day today moving everybody around. You guys moved up, the twins moved into your old room, and all the remaining toys in the living room moved into their bedroom. I cannot tell you how happy it makes me to have a non-toy living room, the twins in their own bedroom that also doubles as a playroom, and you guys upstairs in your huge new room! You all love it, too, which is even better.
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December 9, 2021
You big 3 just got your second dose of the COVID vaccine this afternoon, so you will soon be fully protected! Unfortunately, you also just had COVID, but I think your first dose did actually help because it really wasn’t too bad for you guys. Hooray science!
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December 25, 2021
Merry Christmas, peanut! You guys had such a fun day, and it was so wonderful for me watching your pure joy and excitement as everyone opened their bags to see what Santa left. I know I will certainly never outgrow the magic of Christmas!
