Happy Birthday Lana!

19 years ago today my second daughter was born 5 weeks prematurely. I wasn't mentally or physically prepared for her, but she came anyway! She ended up staying in the NICU ( Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) for the first 8 days of her life. We brought her home just ahead of the storms Hurricane Hugo would bring to the Philadelphia area.


I was going to show you the ID picture the nurses in the NICU took of me at 5:30 am just hours after she was born. They woke me from a deep sleep, put me in a wheelchair and mercilessly took a picture of me. Michael insisted that I show you this picture instead. It was taken after I had been released from the hospital but while she was still there. I went to my sister in law, the hairstylist, to have my hair done before I would let them take a second ID picture.

She got off to a rough start, but has been my easiest child ever since.





1st Birthday


3rd Birthday






She was a lonely Petunia in her first and only ballet recital.



Glamor girls (with Jannelle) at the beach, early '90s

Kindergarten

1st day of Middle school

Competitive Cheerleading in MI. They placed 4th in the state in their division, but won first place in the conference and every other competition that year.

This is just a little sampling of her life. Happy Birthday Sweetie!