Chicklet! In all her eleven-year-old gloriousness!
Of course, a couple months ago, I shared a Big Picture Post about Little Man at 9.5, and it was super fun to pull together, so I always had plans to follow through with similar posts for the other kiddos:
The other day, I looked at my girl in her black, tween-style leggings and said: “Remember when you only wore patterned leggings?” And she pulled this horrified face, like: As if, and I just died. It was such a full circle moment.
And you want to know the best part???? She rejected them when I first brought them home.
I know we’re on a bit of a clothes rant, here, but it’s NECESSARY.
Of course, a couple months ago, I shared a Big Picture Post about Little Man at 9.5, and it was super fun to pull together, so I always had plans to follow through with similar posts for the other kiddos:
Alas…LIFE. Amiright??
The April/May season is nearly on-level with the November/December insanity for us, so it’s taken me a while to circle back around.
However.
It’s time.
Last night, I was driving my middle-born love to her 2,743rd swim team practice of the week (or so it sometimes seems, ha), and we were having a conversation about schedules and life juggling and she was just so mature in her thoughts and responses to me that I thought: yup, it’s time to share!
So, heeeeere, we go! A bunch of odds and ends about Chicklet, at present day:
1. Black is the new pattern.
The other day, I looked at my girl in her black, tween-style leggings and said: “Remember when you only wore patterned leggings?” And she pulled this horrified face, like: As if, and I just died. It was such a full circle moment.
For years and YEARS (well, her whole life, really), my girl wanted crazy colors and patterns, and dressed in the entire rainbow.
But around December, I recognized her growth and the growth and style choices of some of her peers, and subtly suggested some black leggings just like Chica’s.
And she’s never looked back.
Turns out, that was all the nudge she needed, ha.
2. Fabric still trumps all, but crop is the new long.
Despite her growth and maturity, my girl still loathes a shopping trip. I might forever have to act as her personal shopper, and lemme tell ya: it’s a thankless job, ha. More losses than wins, a whole heckuva lot of returns. Plus a lot of letdowns (on my part, ha).
That said, when I win, I win BIG—just like I did with these cropped shirts that she literally wears now, EXCLUSIVELY. Like, every day, in color rotation.
In fact, I just gasped out loud when I saw they’d been restocked online and ordered another few so fast (so she has a backup in every color, naturally), that I might have burned up my phone.
And you want to know the best part???? She rejected them when I first brought them home.
But I just sort of left them on her dresser, hinted she might give them a second chance, and…BOOM. Magic.
3. She still sees the world from another angle.
She’s always interpreting something in a fresh way, arranging something in her room like I never would have expected or done myself, and I LOVE that her brain works this way. Is it her dyslexia? Who knows. But it’s freaking awesomsauce.
Case in point: the shirts mentioned above? She wears them backwards, and I think it makes them even cuter.
4. Jean. Shorts. (The End.)
I know we’re on a bit of a clothes rant, here, but it’s NECESSARY.
The other day, Chicklet came home and said it was getting too hot and she needed shorts, which instantly sent me into a panic because she’s the WORST with shorts. Both my girls are.
But I went wayyyyy out on a limb and snagged a pair of these jeans shorts at Tarjay (mind you, she’s never worn jeans of any kind a day in her LIFE). I brought them home (with trepidation), and…Holy. Cow.
IT WAS A VICTORY!!!
And instantly added about ten years to her appearance (which made me want to take them back, ha).
5. Friends Can Still Be Stinkers
More than with Chica’s little group of friends, my Chicklet had had to withstand a bit of tween drama over the years.
I still can’t figure out if she just shares more of the stories with me than Chica ever did, or if Chicklet has just had a bad run of some friends with, ahem, dominant personalities.
We battled some really tough situations last year with one particular friend, and managed to resolve or move past the biggest negativity of it all, and I hadn’t realized how much it had been weighing my girl down until it was a burden that was lifted from her shoulders. Halleluiah!
This year, things have been sooooo much more even keel, and I’m so grateful for that. I’ll be curious how this evolves as she ages. Little tiffs still happen. But she’s able to talk through them and move on, for the most part, which is wonderful.
6. She’s Now Recognized The Mean Girls
For so long, Chicklet operated in a space where she just didn’t pay much attention to the opinions of others, but it’s started to creep in just a bit.
Case in point: she LOVES her new jean shorts but is only wearing them for the weekend, for now. Because there’s a group of cool kid/mean girls who don’t like it when people “copycat” their style, as though they have the monopoly on JEAN SHORTS, and Chicklet wants to avoid that drama with a ten-foot pole.
I can’t blame her.
I was the same at her age. And Chica was, too.
She’ll get there. :)
Until then, she can rock those Saturday styles! And summer styles!
7. She Still Throws a Mean Love Punch
Particularly with Daddy, Chicklet’s most dominant form of affection is a bit of tough love—literally, ha. She still loves to punch him or faux kick him and it’s truly her version of the boy pulling the girl’s pigtails on the playground.
In a way, I hope this physicality never changes. It’s her thing, ha.
8. She’s Warming On Hugs And More
I think part of the reason it’s fascinating that her love language is a bit tough is because she’s not necessarily the one to reach out and hug someone. And, yet…she’s been so much more hug and affectionate-prone, lately.
A growth thing??? Who knows.
But I DIG IT.
In fact, one of my fave-fave things in the world these days is how she’ll lock arm with me in the sweetest way when we’re on Coda walks or headed to the car after her swim practice. It makes me want to walk another mile, just to get more snuggles.
Still don’t ask her to pose for photos, though. Ha.
9. She’s STILL a MASSIVE READER.
Any book, any time, any place. The end.
When I stop and think about alllllll she’s overcome to get to a place of such prolific reading, it makes my heart SOAR.
She’s a rockstar reader, who can block out most background noise when she’s really invested in a story, and I hope that never changes. It literally shrivels my soul when I have to say, “put down the book and eat.” I avoid it at all costs!
Her teacher launched a book club this school year that encourages the kiddos to level up to full-length novels, and Chicklet has aced the challenge.
I can’t wait to “assign” her some amazing summer reading. :)
10. 5th Grade Is Winding Down!
All the 5th grade graduation activities are approaching and my Chicklet is READY. Especially now that we’ve found this perfect, modest-but-cute bathing suit for her massive, grade-level pool party:
A couple weeks ago, I couldn’t figure out why she was asking to look online for a new bathing suit when we’d just bought her swim team-style Speedo suits in a couple new colorways.
A couple weeks ago, I couldn’t figure out why she was asking to look online for a new bathing suit when we’d just bought her swim team-style Speedo suits in a couple new colorways.
Until it hit me that she wanted to find a swimsuit for the pool party, specifically.
Again, another sign of her aging to want something that looked just how she wanted it to, when she’d be swimming with allllll her peers.
I was so stinking excited when I found something that made her feel confident. She was so cute when she wrapped herself in a blanket to go in the playroom for a big reveal for Daddy. PRESH.
11. She’s Still Swimming—A Lot!
11. She’s Still Swimming—A Lot!
As I’ve mentioned a bunch already (ha), Chicklet is still on a swim team roll! In fact, she’s about to level up, which means 4-5 days a week instead of 3, and I kind of want to cry over that, but I’m going to keep the tears to myself and just take it a day at a time, ha.
12. Locker Rooms Are Her New Jam
12. Locker Rooms Are Her New Jam
One of Chicklet’s stressors about middle school is the idea of changing for athletics in a locker room with all her peers.
But I’m thrilled to say we might have kicked that fear to the curb, by accident!
When the number of swim practices started ramping up this semester, we transitioned from the family locker room to the women’s locker room at Lifetime, so Chicklet could come and go with her friends.
Welp. That locker room level-up quickly turned into a shower before leaving, and it’s been a whole hysterical process to get used to.
At first, I stressed me out. Not gonna lie. Mostly because of the change in routine.
But now, it’s all smooth sailing. Chicklet packs her pajamas in her swim bag before we leave for practice, she feels so grown up taking full advantage of the locker room in shower stalls next to her buddies, and it saves us a bunch of time when we make it home and have to power through dinner, homework, and the evening wind-down and the whole shebang. Win/win/win!
13. Earrings Are A No-Go
She still insists she has ZERO interest in getting her ears pierced.
I feel this is a firm holdover from witnessing Chica’s ear piercing back in the day. Chicklet held on to some bystander trauma and there’s still no convincing her the pain might be worth the gain, ha.
14. But Yes To Necklaces
However, she loves a good necklace and tends to find one she’ll wear for weeks or months, every day, before changing it out for a different style.
Her current necklace? A locket, much like one worn by a friend of hers at school.
And what did Chicklet ask to place in the locket???
A picture of her deceased Grandpa Jim and her live Coda pup. What a combo! Go figure.
15. “Oof”
15. “Oof”
One of my favorite verbal things about my Chicklet these days? Her use of the word, “oof.”
For her, it’s a replacement for something that’s cringe or unfortunate. Like, if a sibling tells a story about somebody who did something embarrassing or awkward at school, Chicklet’s response is, “oof.” Like, “burn,” but with a side of sympathy, ha. I die.
16. Band Kid Lives Here!
Chicklet’s gonna be a band kid! I’m thrilled to pieces and bits that she’s blazing a new trail and signing up for band in 6th grade.
She just had her “instrument fair” where the teachers evaluated her to determine a best instrument fit and it looks like it will be clarinet or flute, but we’ll find out for sure in a couple of weeks!
She came home BEAMING in a band shirt the teachers gave her and it made my heart want to burst.
More than anything in life, my girl loves to find her people in any situation, and I have high hopes she’ll meet a gaggle of middle school kiddos through this elective that will feel like her peeps. I can’t WAIT.
More than anything in life, my girl loves to find her people in any situation, and I have high hopes she’ll meet a gaggle of middle school kiddos through this elective that will feel like her peeps. I can’t WAIT.
17. But There’s More Elective Fun Coming!
The fun won’t stop with band, though. My girl has signed up for Dance and Theater Arts as her other electives and I seriously cannot even begin to describe how thrilled I am for this trifecta in 6th grade and how perfectly I think it will suit her. So…stay tuned!
18. Lazy For The Win
It’s a good thing my Chicklet is a voracious swimmer, because she’s capable of sitting in on place (her round playroom chair) ALL DANG DAY without a care in the world.
Lost in a book, an iPad or a TV show, I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t move unless forced to. Or hungry, ha.
19. We’ve Still Got Sibling Rivalry
Chicklet still butts heads with Little Man more often than not, but I WONMT GIVE UP HOPE!
I’m going to have the best I told you so when those two are as thick as thieves as adults. I know it.
20. Tween But Still Stuffy Loving
My girl is growing so much, but she still has a soft spot for the stuffed animals, ha.
I was hoping we’d aged out of it, but nope. Not quite done, yet!
Okay, peeps.
I could type up a million more tidbits about my girl right now as an eleven-year-old, but my fingers and eyeballs are tired, so I’m going to cap it off!
I love, love, LOVE this kid of mine, and I can’t wait to see what she’s like another year from now!
Happy Easter Weekend, peeps!
Over and out.
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