The kids are now all out of school for summer break, and I love it! Yes, they bicker and get on each other’s (and my) nerves sometimes, and yes, I’ll shout at them to be quiet while I work at home full time sometimes, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love summer vacation, and we’ve got a good one planned this year. Here we come, #summervacation2023!
Morrison turned 8 a few weeks ago, and he was so excited that his birthday was on a school day so he could take little favors in for his classmates. It was also Spring Sing day at school, their big, year-end outdoor concert – doubly fun!
ETA – Here are his official 8-year-old stats:
He is so ridiculously smart; loves math, reading, and all his intricate Minecraft builds; has loved starting baseball this spring and is improving by the day; is looking forward to taking his first coding class later this summer; loves riding his bike; and still gets the most satisfaction possible by helping. His kind heart remains front and center, and he constantly asks, “Can I have a hug?” My reply? “Always.”
As has become an annual tradition, we celebrated his and his cousin’s birthday down at Grandma and Grandpa’s house over Memorial Day weekend, which is always a fantastic family occasion. Then the weekend after his birthday, Grandpa Frank came up for a visit, another fun time. You can’t beat multiple birthday celebrations!
Another exciting thing is happening for him this summer – he gets to participate in the track and field program through the Rec Department with his sisters! They opened it up to incoming 3rd graders this year, and he couldn’t be happier. He still loves running, sprinting everywhere any chance he gets. I can’t wait to see how much he enjoys it, because he loves running even more than he loves playing baseball. And gritty-ing. He loves gritty-ing, one of the dumbest “dances” ever invented.
Happy 8th birthday, Morrison John! We love you so very much, with your giant heart, caring spirit, neverending questions, and fast feet. Have an absolutely wonderful year, my sweet boy, and here’s to so many more!
For a fun look back, here are his past birthday photos and posts, as well as his sisters’ 8-year old pictures. Always my favorites:
The twins turned 5 last month – 2 hands full of fingers!
ETA: We FINALLY had their 5-year checkups in June, so here are their official 5-year-old stats:
Nat:
Avit:
It’s so funny watching these two grow up. I’ve said from the beginning that every baby and little-kid milestone that we pass is so much less bittersweet since we’re doing everything twice this time around, but it’s exactly what I needed. I hated growing out of phases and leaving the baby years behind with the big 3, because I always thought of myself as a baby and little-kid mom. But watching the twins go through all of those phases now, I think I’ll be a pretty good all-kid mom.
They are hilarious and 2 little balls of unrelenting energy. Nat always wants to be called Mario, his absolute favorite character. If he could actually BE Mario, he would. I think he might even be part Super Mario Brothers, because his gaming skills are ridiculously good for a newly 5 year old. Cuphead does come in a close second, though, and he’s a whiz at that game as well. His favorite color is still and I think always will be red, his favorite foods are mac and cheese and pizza, he hates to lose and loves to run (fast!), and his guys are still his snuggle go-to (snuggies blanket, Boo, and Cuphead).
Avit is the total sidekick to Nat’s Mario and Cuphead. He’s the perfect Luigi and Mugman, he’ll talk your ear off for days on end, and his gaming skills don’t even compare. However, he can kick your butt in Wii bowling. His crafting skills have EXPLODED recently, and he comes home from school every single morning and creates and creates and creates, until every single tape roll, piece of construction paper, and toilet paper tube in our house are gone. His imagination and creative eye have become serious forces to reckon with, and I could not be more impressed. Nat always used to be the artist of the two, loving to color and draw to his heart’s content, but Avit’s creating has taken over. The world’s greatest engineer has nothing on this kid’s Marble Run building. His favorite colors are yellow and blue, his favorite foods are cocktail weinies and tiny broccoli florets (at least that’s what he’s asked for for his birthday dinner the past 2 years in a row now), he can build every single Lego Mario set known to man and even those yet to be invented, and his guys still rule as snuggles supreme, too (snuggies blanket and Mugman).
They are in morning K4 this year, so half-day kindergarten. They have the same teacher as all the big kids had for K4, which is amazing. They are both so fastidious with their projects in class, often taking longer than everyone to finish up because they work so hard on them. They come home singing the songs from music class each week and they adore their P.E. teacher, who they see every morning after we drop Lana and Morrison in their lines because he’s holding one of the other doors open that we walk by to get to the twins’ lines. They love school, have made friends with everyone in their class, and their heads about exploded with excitement when they got to show me and the big kids around their classroom during Open House night last week. They just started speech class last week, too, so they’ll be doing that once a week now.
They run, they jump, they play, they’re learning to spell, they write really well, and they are starting to read the smaller words that they’re learning to spell all by themselves. I honestly don’t remember any of the big kids being able to read and spell as well in K4 as these guys are doing right now. They would count to a billion if they could, they’re constantly asking what’s this plus this plus that plus that minus this and that and on and on. I’ve spelled practically every word I know for Avit as he’s written letter after letter and card after card and note after note and made project after project. They are absolutely wondrous creatures, and watching 2 of them do all of this together is pretty spectacular. As they grow into the little humans they are, the similarities and sheer differences amaze me. Avit is often the sass and the mouth and the decibel volume, but the hilarity as well. Nat is much quieter and his naughty is always under the radar, but oh, it’s there, too. But the heart and soul and love that these two possess blows any of that out of the water every day.
Happy 5th birthday, Nat Jennings and Avit Jerome! I truly can’t put into words everything you two are and everything you mean to this family. Watching you grow through life is an incredible adventure, and I’m so glad we’re the ones who are on it with you. Daddy, the big kids, and I are so very, very proud of you guys, and we love you to infinity and beyond! Keep creating and running, my littlest loves – life will take you far!!
And my faves, the throwbacks… Posts and photos!
And the big kids’ 5-year-old pictures, too!
2022, you gaveth and you tooketh away. You gave me a dream job when I didn’t even ask for it, yet you took my last living grandparent from us.
2023, I feel like you’re telling me you’re here for me to prove myself. If to no one but myself. I want to be the absolute best at this job that I possibly can be, while never sacrificing anything as a mom. The kids have always been my top priority, and that will never change. But I can not only successfully have 2 full-time jobs but excel at it. I’ll prove it.
2022, thank you for all the good and for keeping us all safe and healthy. 2023, may you keep us safe, healthy, and happy, and let the good times continue to roll.
Happy (belated) Holidays and Happy New Year!
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:
ALL 5 kids are in school this year, and that just sounds crazy to even say.
I still can’t believe the twins are in K4, going through those doors every day, just like their siblings. It definitely feels like the time is right, but it gets me daily seeing them run up the sidewalk to their door each morning with their little backpacks bouncing, then bounding out to me again after their morning session is done, just like the big kids always did.
I love that time is moving at the perfect speed for me, too. It doesn’t feel like the days have flown by in a blur since each one of the kids was born. But it doesn’t feel like an eternity has dragged on with each one either. Everything feels like it is moving just right and I’m soaking up every day. I’m not sure why that is or why I feel like time is on my side when everyone else watches it race past, but I’m grateful for the cosmic juju that’s allowing it to be so.
The 2.5 hours the twins are gone in the mornings have allowed me to try to climb the steepest job learning curve I’ve had in 20 years, too, which has been both amazing and daunting at the same time. Some days, I’ve got this and am ready to tackle many, many years of it. Others, every email I get defeats me and I feel like I can’t conquer the seemingly simplest things. But that’s to be expected, so I’m not worried about it. Plus, it’s wine!
These kids are incredible, plain and simple, and I treasure every day with them. Every walk to and from school, every joyous hug when they come running out of school, even the “meh”s that often emanate from the 4th grader. Thank you, time, for these days to cherish.
Della turned 12 earlier this month, and she’s turning into such a grown-up kid! Notice I say “grown-up kid” instead of just “grown up.” Plus she’s creeping closer to me in height daily, which is beyond weird.
She’s going to be in 7th grade this year, and I swear some days it seems like she could be about a junior in high school. Not because of an attitude, thankfully not yet!, but because of the level of responsibility and self-awareness she possesses. She is 100% the leader of the Rau pack of kids, and we could NOT be luckier that she is!
She loves playing outside with her siblings and the block friends, the little walking “field trips” that same group has gone on for the first time this summer, swimming, tubing, riding her bike, watching souped-up crafting shows with Lana and Morrison on YouTube, Harry Potter, Legos, reading, earrings, mystery nights at the museum, making quizzes for us on her tablet, Pete’s Pops, and sparkling water. Her favorite color is blue, and her favorite food is BLTs.
She’s looking forward to 7th grade, but not to anything in particular about it. She’s going to run cross country again this fall, which I know she’s excited about. I hope I can make it to her meets again with my new job, because I love watching her pride grow as she gets better and better.
Happy 12th birthday, our amazing, incredible, beautiful, smart, kind Della Jolee!! My little peanut sweet pea is getting so big! May you get everything you want and work for in life, my love, because you deserve it. We love you SO, so much!
ETA, we had her 12-year well check on Sept. 21, and here are her official 12-year stats:
Height: 5′ 3.5″ (90%)
Weight: 95 lbs. 3.2 oz. (54%)
BMI: 16.60 (25%)
Blood Pressure: 108/70
And a look back through the years with pictures and posts…
