Stuck in the middle...

with her makes the middle just right.

Today Delaney is 12!  D is a middle child, as am I. Now, in a blended family, everyone seems to be a middle child. Delaney isn't the oldest of either family, or the youngest. Nor is she the oldest or youngest girl on either side. She's squarely, wonderfully a middle child. And she makes it look good. Being in the middle means you're never too far ahead or too far behind. You're also never alone.

Delaney is at the age where everything about her seems to be changing. She's grown so much in the past year, she's almost as tall as I am. She's, of course, beautiful and funny and bright. When she was little, she was our big headed baby. She was plump and soft and quick to laugh. When she was two, she'd wake in the middle of the night and make rooster noises... "doodle doooo!". The first word she said with us, besides the normal "dada" "mama" was "Stacie", her aunt's name. The girl could empty an entire cabinet in seconds. She was under and over and on all the time.

She's an animal lover and has always been somewhat fearless. She will try any food, but prefers spaghetti to most things. She will absolutely do anything for you. She's the kid that, if you ask her to find something, will look until it's found. If you need her to do something, you can ask her and there's no argument or whining. She will just do it. She thinks ahead about what she can do to help and how she can make things easier for us. At age 12, "thoughtful" isn't a word you usually associate with girls, but our girl just is.

Delaney is part tom-boy, part cheerleader. She splashes through mud puddles and loves to compete.  She has started to worry about whether this goes with that. She's starting to be less pony-tail and more "Shannon will you do my hair?"  However, she's still basically a jeans and t-shirt girl.

She will be the one making up games for the little kids or telling stories or leading an adventure through the backyard. She's patient beyond her years with her little brothers and sister.  She somehow seems to know everything that is going on at all times. I tease that she's either going to be a lawyer or a gossip columnist. She forgets nothing, but holds nothing against you. She's forgiving and a peacemaker. She's kind and can make friends quickly. She's slightly jealous and somewhat nosey. She's cuddly and loving. She's a hugger and an eye-roller. When she sets her mouth a certain way, you know something is up. The good thing is, she doesn't keep secrets well and you'll know quickly what that something is.

Delaney doesn't disappoint. You always can count on her to act a certain way and do certain things. That's refreshing and terrifying all at once. When she's headed for trouble, you can't stop her. The flip side of that is, when she's doing the right things, you can't stop that either. She's is daring and brave and funny and silly and trying and striving. She's is exactly what a 12 year old girl should be. A lot of sugar and just enough spice.

One more year until we slap the word 'teen' on her. I believe that as she approaches those years, Delaney's big soft heart, her easy-going attitude and her kindness will make those years not quite heaven or hell... perhaps she'll be somewhere in the middle.

I love you, I love you, I love you, I do...
but don't get excited, I love monkeys, too.

Now for something...

... fresh!

Landon David Huber

Son of Shannon & Randy (Goob)

Brother to Maddy, Delaney, Gavin & Sydnee

Grandson of Jeanne & Jim Ordner and

Rena (& Duane) Clark and the late David Huber

Born:  March 17, 2010 at 2:22 a.m.

7 lbs, 3 ozs; 21" long

Gavin, Landon & Sydnee

Delaney & Landon                                                                          

Maddy & Landon

Landon David

I'm sure you can understand why I'll save the hell for next time.

Five year old...

nieces are tiny bits of glee.

My lovely, bright, precious niece, Sydnee Lynn is five today.  As she told me, "It's a WHOLE HAND years old!"  I think of Syd as the 'Junior Mint' of my nieces/nephew.  Sweet with a little minty bite.  I have absolutely crazy love for this girl.

She's always been very independent.  When she was a baby, she wanted to be put down to sleep.  No holding her tiny swaddled cuteness after rocking her.  She would stretch and squirm until you put her down.  Now, she is always lovey (unless she's busy lining up her stuffed animals) and hugs and smooches at random moments.  She declares her love for you whenever and wherever the mood strikes her.

She's demanding and stubborn and kind and brilliant.  She will hear a word, love that word, and use it or forms of it religiously until she fancies another word.  Last year at a family Xmas party the word was 'seriously'.  There was a monster upstairs, seriously.  She was serious, she saw it with her own two eyes.  No one should go upstairs, seriously.  Maybe Joel could seriously scare it away.  Lately it is 'actual' or 'actually'.  I went on a bear hunt at her preschool, but I needn't worry, since she assured me there were "No actual bears."

She will ask you to do something or give her something and then say, "Pleeease, I'll be your very best friend."  How do you fight THAT?  Most of the time what she wants is chocolate.  She has taken the first step and admitted her addiction, "I'm a chocoholic, seriously."  When she was being potty trained, her rewards were part of a Hershey's bar or M & Ms.  Or as she called them, "Mershey's" and "NimNims".  The girl would live on cereal and chocolate, if you'd let her.  (And sometimes at Aunt Lisa's, she gets to.)

One of my favorite Sydnee quirks is her 'piles'.  We went on vacation to Alabama, and Syd brought three or four small backpacks of stuffed animals, small rubber zoo animals and various other itty bitty things she loves.  Most of the things were not allowed to come out of the backpacks.  The few things she did take out were piled on a side table, and NO ONE was to touch them.  Her big sister, Maddy, would take an item out of the pile and Sydnee would immediately notice it.  "Maddy, do NOT mess with my PILES!!!"  Sydnee believes her things belong inside other things.  When they are out, they are often lined up.  It's not unusual to walk into her house and see a line of small horses on the dining room floor.  If you do happen to see them, don't touch them, she will KNOW and be very, very sad.

Sydnee is sunshine and joy.  She is fizzy and feisty.  She is beautifully frustrating and precociously compassionate.  She is big sparkly eyes and a pouty lip.  She is an overwhelming rush of affection.  She is a wild child, hands on her hips, worm-loving, 'but I just NEED to tell you something' ball of ridiculous.  She is never a dull moment.  As her 'Crampa' says, she's a dandy.

In a few weeks, Sydnee will no longer be the baby of her family.  She's getting a new little brother.  I'm just hoping she doesn't put him in one of her piles.  I'm serious.  She just might actually do that.  And we might have to leave him there, otherwise, we'd catch all kinds of hell from a spunky five year old.

Sydnee & Aunt Lisa