And, just like that she is 12

Our little Cran is now 12 years old!

I haven't kept up with these blogs in over 7 years, and have instead just tried to capture the memories in my mind or through pictures. I still make the girls their birthday videos every year that they can hopefully treasure forever.

Our little Cran is not so little anymore! Maddie is now in 6th grade and is at the top of her class for everything. She has never lost the love of books that she has had since she was 1 year old, and reads through everything. She and Faith even read "Gone with the Wind" this past year, and both loved it. We have met with her GATE teacher and she is reading above 12th grade levels. She reads faster than I ever could, and impresses me every day!

Her speed has stayed with her all of these years, too. She and Faith did a neat track and field program over the summer, and as Faith loves to say "she smoked" some of her competition. Our Cran can run, and always has! She may not necessarily like to do other sports (although I keep telling her she should do soccer!), but she definitely loves to run.

Maddie is also now our Star Wars guru. I can honestly say that almost anything she has ever gotten into is because of a book. I brought home "5 minute Star Wars Stories" last year from the library just to see if they would be interested in learning about Star Wars, and for Maddie it all started from that book.

We may be getting close to the teenage years with Maddie, and I can definitely feel it some days, but she is still our little Cran. She has such a big heart and is fiercely protective of her sisters. She is such a loyal friend, and I just know she is going to do so much in life.

Robert the 'robber'

Crannie said something so clever the other day that I thought was too funny.

She is still crazy obsessed with Edward and Giselle of the movie 'Enchanted.' They are her imaginary friends that visit with us every day. Edward always seems to be in need of 9-1-1 care and it is quite funny. She still doesn't like Patrick Dempsey's character 'Robert' and the other day she told us "Robert is a 'robber' because he robs Giselle from Edward." I thought that was too funny!

Diary of a Cran

Who would have ever guessed that a diary of Tia Rosa's that Nene found in our old closet the other day would be of such entertainment value to both Maddie and Faith?! It's funny when I sit down and think of my own daughters now writing in Steph's old diary from when she was in about 4th grade (therefore, this was about 16 years ago)!

Girlies always love when Nene goes rooting through old closets or the garage back home and gives them all the "goodies." They got all sorts of Mexican necklaces that were ours from way back when, some cool purses that they love, and this old Snoopy diary that I remember very vividly that Steph kept back in the day. It is HILARIOUS to read all about her loves from when she was not even 10 years old. Maddie and Faith got such a kick out of this, especially Maddie. They both wanted to write in it, and Maddie wrote page after page about Edward (oh yes, she just adores him.. her prince from 'Enchanted). The little stinker even wrote his name (perfectly spelled too) without me even knowing that she could spell the name 'Edward.' Of course, the rest of the stuff that she wrote was just random letters that didn't spell much of anything, but to her it told a story. She's so funny. She then went on to hide her diary behind one of Abrie's toys downstairs and whispered to me that it was a secret and "don't tell Daddy, I don't want him to know because he might get hurt feelings that I love Edward." Hahaha.


I love my Cran.

'Cran goes to school'

In the spirit of the Berenstain Bears, we called today "Cran goes to School."

We went this afternoon to meet with the kindergarten principal at the primary center that Maddie would attend if we decide to go the public school route for next year. IF. It's all a big 'if' right now, but we're leaning towards giving it a try and seeing how it goes. Maddie is not wanting to go to school even in the slightest. She says she has her best friends here at home and learns everything she needs to here, and she doesn't want to be away from us.

Her school houses only kindergarten and 1st grade. The student to teacher ratio is quite low compared to other schools-- they told us it was higher this year, but it's typically 16:1. I liked that. Maddie's two questions that she asked and was (very) concerned about were 1) Where are the bathrooms and 2) Where do I eat my lunch? Haha. My little Cran! The principal was exceedingly nice and very understanding of this being our first ever experience with having any of our three girls away from us for an extended period of time, and she thought it was great that we wanted to see the school and get acquainted with it already. Registration will be in March, and then Maddie will go through an academic 'evaluation' in the summer.

This was a big step for us to see what it would all be like for next year. Maddie was extremely impressed with all the arts and crafts that they get to do, and she liked seeing all the kids' names on the cubbies. She said it was just like she has read in books about school. Dan and I did like the school and the faculty a lot. They seemed to know all of the 140 students that go to this school, and all seemed genuinely caring and interested in the kids' best interests and education.

So, we will see!

The battle begins

Well, if I were being completely honest, the battle has actually been going on for quite some time now.

The battle over whether or not to send our Cran to kindergarten next year at school.

Maybe every parent goes through this, and in fact it is a natural process of not wanting to let go? I'm thinking maybe it is indeed just that. Maddie isn't even in kindergarten yet, and I'm already feeling the emotions of 'letting go' syndrome. I can only imagine how hard it will be when other bigger things in life arise with these three precious girls of ours!

Preschool has never been an option for us. These girls can learn everything-and more- right here from the comfort of home, and with us. Maddie is an incredibly bright little girl. She's extremely quick to pick up on things and wants to know the answer to EVERYTHING-- from the simplest of explanations, to the most complex. She has a memory that astounds, and a drive to want to try new things and excel at what she tries. She is extremely, extremely social and loves meeting new kids and playing with her best friends here at home, her sisters. She is extremely loyal and loves her cousins and friends who matter most to her. I'm thinking she would do really well in a school environment.

And yet, she tells us she does NOT want to go to school. She is very adament about this. I'm thinking of calling the school over Christmas break so that maybe the 4 of us can go with her to see what the school looks like and she can kind of get a 'real' idea of what it might be like to be at school. And, before I know it, kindergarten registration will be here in February.

My internal battle is whether or not to do the school route or homeschool for as long as possible? It can be hard to juggle the needs of my three here, but yet it is a very satisfying feeling to know that our girls are learning and doing right here before our own eyes. I'm not completely sure that I am ready to hand the reins over to somebody else- a complete stranger to us and to our dear Crannie- and put my trust in somebody else that she will be well taken care of while she is away from us.

I guess I'm already starting to stare the 'letting go' process right in the eyes, and despite this perceived step being "only" kindergarten, it's still something I am not sure I am ready to tackle quite yet.

Random Crannie-ness

Maddie's been writing her name from right to left lately, and I couldn't figure out why she was doing this.

I finally realized that it's because she's been trying to write with her right hand instead of her left, and when I asked her why she was doing that she said, "because I want to be right-handed like Faith." Hahaha.

Memory that amazes

Maddie's memory is awesome. It amazes me all the time.

She picked a Halloween book the other day at the library and it talks about 13 rooms and goes to the tune of Christmas' "12 Days of Christmas." We've read it to them about 3 times, and the girl's got it memorized. She was singing it to Faith over and over and over today in the bathtub, and took it with her to bed to sing it to Faith again. It's so funny because it reminds me of how I used to try and persuade Tia Rosa to learn the complete list of AKC dog breeds, and Maddie tries so hard to get Faith to memorize these lines also.

She honestly remembers so many little details that it's crazy sometimes. I tell her all the time, "you are so detail oriented" and she'll ask me "what are details?" So now when she sees Faith coloring or drawing well, Maddie will tell her "wow Faith, you are so good at the details!"