Little Moment Not To Be Forgotten

//staring at summer like //

// two sisters in a box //

// breakfast //

// playing //

// artist at work //

// these boots are made for walkin //

// new toy //

// conked //

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Willa {4 months}

weight: 12 pounds, 12.5 ounces

length: 24 inches

likes: chewing on things, being worn in the wrap, attention from people, rolling over, bath time

dislikes: swimming, being over tired

accomplishments: found her toes, rolls both directions, grabs toys and puts them in her mouth

This past month has definitely seen the most change in Willa. She has left her newborn-ness behind with a vengeance. She is interacting with people more than ever. In fact, at Isla's end of year class play, she "talked" through the whole thing, then as soon as it was over, stopped. I truly think she was just trying to talk back to them! Willa has started picking up toys and putting them in her mouth. And after I thought for sure she wouldn't be rolling over soon, she rolled both ways in the SAME DAY! She also found her feet, which is one of my personal favorites. 

Now that Willa rolls, she is just all over the place. She literally doesn't stay on her back, just instantly turns to her stomach. She does get mad when she gets herself stuck somewhere, like in the corner of her playmat or her feet under our bathroom vanity. She also seems to want to be entertained. She no longer is content just being. She likes being where other people are, especially her brothers and sister, and watching all the action. She likes people talking with her and shaking toys at her. 

Willa is still nursing great, but starting to get distracted easily. If there is something going on, she wants to come off and see what is happening. So, if I really need her to eat well, I have to take her to a quiet room. At her four month check up, the doctor was on board with me waiting until six months for solids, as I had done with my other kids. Willa also spits up SO MUCH. But she is gaining weight just fine, so it isn't that huge of a deal. Just all of our clothes and all our furniture ends up covered in it...and I don't smell so swell by the end of the day.

Size wise, Willa is fully in 3-6 month clothing. She has a couple 0-3 month outfits that still fit, but those obviously fit big. When she wore her "little sister" footed sleeper for the last time that I bought just in case, I felt a bit sad for it to go by so fast, but also so privileged to just have her here. Willa is wearing size 2 diapers. I found a size 1 the other day and put it on her so it didn't go to waste. It was a bit snug, so 2 is definitely her size. 

Willa doesn't really do much besides cat nap during the day. Unless I am wearing her in the wrap, but I don't do that super often as I still need to get stuff done as well. She is still sleeping well at night, though has taken to getting up for the day in the 6:00 hour and well, I am not a huge fan of early mornings. But Ian will usually take her for a bit in the morning, so I can at least sleep in until 7. 

But really, lets just talk about that SMILE! It lights up any room. She is happy to give it to anyone that stops and chats with her at the store and I frequently catch her smiling at her siblings from across the room. I hope that smile never stops and joy continues to be a feature in her life.

Because it HAS to happen, all the other kids at 4 months - Connor, Isla, and Callum. Oddly enough, Callum and Isla were basically the same size and Willa is just about the same size as Connor was. 

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Another Sisterly Comparison

You guys, these are the types of things I just love. They are so trivial and don't really matter, but I still totally dig them. Being able to dress my younger kids in the same outfit their older sibling once wore just seems so fun to me. Both Willa and Isla are on the cusp of 4 months in these photos. Believe it or not, Isla had about two pounds on Willa and was the same length. Kind of funny because I feel like Isla doesn't look chubbier in these photos. Also, Isla had a bit more hair...which given that it wasn't much more, it gives me hope that Willa will have a full head of hair before we know it.

I noted about Isla that she loved to smile and I do have smiling pictures of her, but I honestly think Willa really loves to smile. The girl is always smiling at people. You give her attention and she will smile. Like so much so that I almost try to capture non-smiling photos too, as I want to remember her in all the ways. 

Someone asked me the other day, "Do all your kids have those eyes?" Yes, yes they do. We get comments about their big blue eyes all the time...well, Callum's are more hazel these days, but everyone else hung on to their blue eyes and they seem to be quite the feature. 

A little side note about this dress, our friends from the UK sent it and another one over for Isla when she was born. I had actually secretly hoped they would have a girl at some point so I could send them back to her, as I thought it would be fun for both our babies to wear them. But, I am also glad that I hung on to them for Willa to wear, as I didn't hang on to that much girl stuff.

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Willa's first swim

6.9.2019

Willa "enjoyed" her first swim. I should actually say, Willa found the first thing that she adamantly hates. She literally screamed the whole time. And every time Ian would get her calmed down, Connor would jump in the pool or someone would get close enough that the slightest bit of water splashed up on her and she would start crying all over again. I could say it was the cold water, but it has been so HOT here and the water was even warm enough for me (I hate even cool water), so I don't think that was it.

We did a family swim a couple days later, and though she tolerated it for a bit, it ended with her crying the most I have ever heard her cry. I don't know what it is, as she loves her baths, but girlfriend definitely does not like the pool. We will keep at it though and maybe by the end of the summer she will enjoy it. 

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Finding Joy in the Mundane

I like to joke that I was JOMO (joy of missing out) before JOMO was even a thing or cool. I wasn't always this way. I used to almost have a need to be out of the house every waking moment. But, I have learned a lot about myself over the past few years and one of the main things I learned is that I recharge from being at home and that having too much going on makes me stressed and not a good wife or mom. Now here's the thing, I am a recovering "yes person". I struggle with feeling like I should always help someone out, no matter what. Well, I discovered I was saying yes to people to the detriment of my own family. Because when I spent all day trying to please other people by watching their kids or helping on a committee or whatever it happened to be, I found that not only was I not paying attention to my own children during the day like I should, but I also had no energy left for my family by the time the evening came around. So I learned to slow down...or having two more babies slowed me down! 

By slowing down, I've learned to appreciate more of what is immediately around me. I have the time to let Callum help me vacuum or to get all the art supplies out for Isla to make art. I have the energy and the want to read Callum a bedtime story and to lay with Isla until she falls asleep. Because, when I was busy all the time, I had neither the energy or the will for those things. I was maxed out and needed to recharge at the end of the day by being alone. But by learning to say no to outside things, I have been able to say yes to and enjoy the mundane, the everyday things that happen at home raising my children.

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Callum {3.5 years}

likes: playing with kids, nerf guns, cars, leaving the house, playing with water, anything sweet (ice cream, popsicles, candy, etc)

dislikes: going to bed (or nap), having to hold my hand, his teeth being brushed

accomplishments:

can count to 19..and beyond, but gets a little messed up

knows his colors

pees standing up

Three and a half years and ornery as ever! This kid was a dream baby and went on to be the most ACTIVE TODDLER EVER. Like seriously. Active with a side of ornery. He keeps me humble on the daily. Sure, he means well. But hitting people with sticks isn't always cool. And hitting random people's butts in public and yelling "tag!" can be a bit embarrassing. 

Callum is so, so social. He loves playing with other kids. When his brother or sister actually play with him, he lights up and you can tell it means the world to him. He can just play a bit rough. Wrestling, shooting others with a nerf gun and chasing people are among his favorite ways to play. But anytime he sees a kid, he just always assumes they want to play! 

Callum is about 90% potty trained and honestly, I had kind of given up hope and that is way better than I expected at this point. And it's not because he can't do it...he totally can. It is all about him just not wanting to take the time to go. He made potty training Connor and Isla seem like a breeze...well, Isla literally was and Connor I now know pretty much was. Callum is just wanting to pave his own path! 

Callum is still a very good eater. Though when I asked him his favorite food, he said "McDonald's. That is what I like to eat." and when I asked his favorite ice cream, he said "McDonald's ice cream". I promise you, we don't have McDonald's that often! He doesn't even get to do playdates there like the other kids did. But, at home, Callum is a great eater. He will eat mostly anything...especially if it is coming off mine or Ian's plate. He doesn't like to drink milk, but drinks water like a champ and will steal any soda people leave laying around...even if he doesn't know the person. 

Sleep wise, Callum is so-so. He really could still use a nap, but when he does nap, he takes forever to go to sleep at night. But, when he doesn't nap, well the afternoons can be a bit of a struggle. Because when he is tired, he becomes even more ornery than normal. But also, if he wakes up super early (5:30-6:30am), he really just requires a nap. Callum still wakes up most nights to crawl into bed with us, but that is just normal in our house for our kids. 

^^ "No more pictures!!!"

Also, I totally did these pictures to match ones from Connor at the exact same age. In case you are into that sort of thing, here is the post. 

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Last Day of School

The kids had their last day of school on Friday, so I thought I would do a little rundown of how it went. 

Connor got an award for making it to the million word club. He read and did tests on 1,700,000 words for the year. Since they didn't do things like this when I was a kid, now a days kids read a book, then take a test on it to see if they understood it. If they pass the test, they get points for it and it keeps track of how many words they read. Connor also received the soar award. Each teacher gets to pick two kids for the year for this award, so it's a pretty special thing. Connor's teacher had all sorts of nice things to say about him, which really warmed my heart. 

Isla had perfect attendance for the year. I would like to give myself a pat on the back for that one, since that's the first time that has happened with any of my children. Connor missed one day this year, as he was sick. Isla also received the soar award from her teacher. This was a sweet surprise to have both kids get it this year, as neither has gotten it before. Though Isla didn't make the million words club (it's even almost unheard of for a third grader to), she did read and test the most words in her class. I love reading and have great memories of reading a ton when I was a kid and really, really wanted to pass that love onto my children and so far it seems like I am! 

I feel like I barely survived this past week of school with all that was going on. I missed some things, yet still felt like I was running around endlessly. I hope my kids know how much I love them and want to be a part of their lives.

Now on to SUMMER!!! No setting an alarm. No having to be out of the house early. No homework. Plenty of time to go explore. Plenty of time to hang out with friends. Plenty of time to swim. Let us also note that it really doesn't feel like that long ago that I was looking forward to my own summers and now here I am looking forward to my kids!

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