Willa {18 months}

Likes: her mom, "reading" (looking at) books, unrolling the toilet paper roll, grabbing at anything she knows she shouldn't have, her toy phone, water - be it in the bath, sink, hose, pool or water table

Dislikes: teething, people taking toys away from her

Toddlers are equal parts adorable and exhausting. Willa is learning and changing constantly these days. She is also into EVERYTHING. And the lack of impulse control keeps her pulling down every towel and hanging piece of clothing she sees. She loves climbing up on the table, which leaving nothing on it is key. She loves finding keys and pressing the remote buttons. She also loves any small toy left where she can swipe it - from shopkins to the lite brite pegs to game pieces. And she is quick to spot anything left out too. 

Willa now says several words on the daily. This includes - hide, this, ball, thank you, trash, dog, teeth, keys and shoes. She also says several people's names, including - dad, mom, Jess (she stands at the bottom of the stairs and yells my name!), Isla, Connor, Papa and Riley. I may be skipping some words, as she is picking up new ones daily. She likes to make sure we know she knows the word. For instance, she points at the keys and yells "keys" several times a day. And she picks up something that needs to be thrown away, says "trash" takes it to the trash can, throws it away and then says "thank you". I have started working with Willa on her body parts and she knows where her head, eyes, ears, teeth and fingers are. 

Willa currently has 12 teeth with more on the way. The 13th one is close to breaking through. She went to the dentist for the first time this summer. The dentist said her teeth look great. I don't know Willa's actual height and weight, but she is wearing 12-18 month clothing and size 4 diapers. Some 18-24 month works with room to grow, but some is still just too big to wear. 

The biggest change for Willa lately (or more for me!), is Willa now sleeps in her own bed. We took the side off her crib a couple weeks ago and it has been a game changer. It is so nice to have my room back and my evenings back. She doesn't even wake when I talk Isla in there to bed. Now to get her sleeping through the night! Depending on when Willa wakes for the day, she takes one to two naps a day. It is generally one and I prefer it to be one, as then it is one long one, rather than two shorter ones. Depending on what is going on in the house, she sleeps either in the carrier on my back or in her bed. I say depending, as it really depends on if I have the time to sit and nurse her to sleep or not. With the kids back in distance learning, sometimes having that time when Willa is tired can be a bit dicy. 

Willa has taken to carrying things around and I am here for it. Usually it is her baby doll or stuffed unicorn. It's so stinking cute. And with her doll, she has tried brushing the hair after I brush Isla's hair. And she squeezes both of them like she is hugging them. It is pretty much the cutest thing ever. Like it really is. 

Though it's hard to believe it has been 18 months since Willa arrived, her birth seems like such a long time ago. And that first year is already starting to feel foggy in my memory. Time and a child's growth is such a crazy thing. 

Just for fun, Connor, Isla and Callum at the same age. Callum and Willa had the same amount of teeth at this age, Connor and Willa had many more. 

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Willa {15 months}

accomplishments: has 8 teeth, climbs up on everything, can go up and down the stairs

I feel like Willa has changed so much in the past three months. She really has quickly left the baby stage behind and gone into the toddler stage. But her smile still remains. Often times, when I pull out the camera to take a picture of her doing something, she just stops, looks at me and smiles! 

Willa can often be found emptying the tupperware cupboard. It's one of her favorite pastimes. That and dragging laundry around the house, haha! She also loves playing with toys and is getting really good at independent play. And anytime she sees anything left unattended by her siblings, she makes a beeline for it. She can spot one of their toys from so far away. It's pretty amazing. And, if they leave something on their beds, she will pull on their blanket until the toy is within reach. 

Willa loves to mimmic things we are doing. If someone coughs, she will fake cough. If someone sticks out their tongue, she will do it back. And her latest is she now hits. I am fully certain she has learned that from her siblings, but she will walk up and just hit you out of the blue. 

Willa is still nursing. This doesn't mean she doesn't eat like a champ, because she does. I am pretty certain she has never turned down any food, unless she wasn't in the mood. She eats all the normal foods we eat. Some of her favorites include blueberries, bananas, avocado, chicken (and really any meat) and ice cream. She has mastered the art of drinking out of a straw as well. Going back to nursing, it really only happens when she is tired, so before a nap or before bed, then during the night. Though, ideally I would like to night wean her soon. 

Speaking of night, Willa is doing better at sleeping. Just a couple months ago, it was common for her to wake three or so times just between the time she went to bed and I went to bed. Now she is staying asleep for several hours before waking and it is SO NICE to have my evenings back. Willa usually naps twice a day, but on the days she only naps once, she will take a loooong nap and is then exhausted by bedtime. Usually one nap is started and possibly fully taken in the carrier on my back. With all the kids home, things are never very quiet and that makes for an easy way to get her to sleep. 

Willa is in size 4 diapers. She is now fully in size 12-18 month clothing. Getting shoes that fit her have been a bit of an issue during a pandemic when you can't just go to the store and try them I. I started with some size 6 that were too big. I ordered size 5 and they were bigger than the 6. A different size 5, the exact same size at the 6. Four pairs in, I decided to call it and let her monster step her way around in shoes that are a bit too big. She doesn't wear shoes that often anyway. She just needs them when we are outside and it's hot. 

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Willa {12 months}

weight: 19 lbs, 13 oz

length: 28.5 inches

accomplishments: has four teeth, waves and says "hi", babbles, cruises, climbs down from the couch and bed

The older I get and the more I write these updates, the more I struggle. I want to remember so much and sometimes it's hard to put that in words. How does one sum up their child's personality? Willa is a sweet one. She is generous with her smiles, but is starting to prefer her mama over anyone else. She has found her voice and uses it a lot. This includes her learning to scream whenever she wants something...and it's up to us to guess what that something is! Willa loves playing with whatever her siblings are playing with, which generally they don't want her grabbing. She has an eye for any food left at her level unattended. The cozy coupe is among her top played with toys. Followed closely by any cords or plugs...eek! Well, and the remote control. And she's a smart one and knows when you give her a remote that doesn't go to anything, haha!

Willa loves to eat and really just eats whatever we are eating. I can't really think of favorites right now, but her face definitely lights up when I put chocolate in her mouth. Like she smiles excitedly and it's sort of the cutest thing ever. When she is done eating, or just not interested, she throws the food on the ground, which is obviously awesome. Willa is still nursing. She doesn't nurse as much during the day, mostly when she is tired. But at night, she tends to nurse most of the night. Once Ian is done with busy season, I would like for him to go to her at night, so we can stop the all night nursing, as we are tired! 

Willa has proved to be quite the dramatic teether and because of this, ends up spending a lot of time in her carrier. When she is teething and wants to be held all the time and I need to get stuff done, I strap her on my back and keep going. Of course, she actually usually takes a nap a day like this. Usually it's in the evening, when I am cooking dinner. 

Size wise, I moved Willa to size 4 diapers this past month. I made sure to use all our size 3 first and noticed the size 3 pampers are bigger than the brand we normally use. So, all that to say, if using pampers, she would probably still be in a 3. She still is wearing many 6-12 months clothing, but 12-18 months mostly works as well. Some of it is huge, but not all of it. I think all her pjs are currently size 6-12 months. 

Willa loves showers. She crawls around under the water with glee the whole time and it's one of the cutest things. Even if she is having a bad day of teething, the shower still makes her smile and giggle. And I just love that she will sit and let the water run down her face, as I know eventually she will freak out over any water getting on her face. 

The past year with Willa has been grand. I am so glad we got to live it with her. It will be one I would like to remember over and over again. 

And here's a little look back video of Willa's first year of life:




Since I'm going to look back myself, here is Connor at one, Isla at one and Callum at one. I'm pretty sure even Callum had more hair than Willa at one. All those teeth and the hair that Isla had made her look so much older! Willa was my smallest and lightest one year old. Petite little one.

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Willa {11 months}

accomplishments: says "hi" and waves, cruising, third tooth came in

This past month was a big one for you. You celebrated your first Christmas where, even though you didn't know what was going on, you really enjoyed playing with all the wrapping paper and bows. You also did a great job eating all the Christmas dinner fixings. Your third tooth finally came in...we all lost a lot of sleep over that one. And you started cruising just a few days ago. You are definitely on the move.

Your sleep went pretty dicy this past month. I think it was all because of that third tooth. There were a few nights where you literally didn't sleep. It was bad. But we made it through. Of course, tooth number four isn't far behind! You seem to be down to two naps a day. Sometimes even only one, then bedtime comes a little early for you. When you really fight that second nap, I will put you in the carrier on my back and you will generally go to sleep. Of course, this means I can't sit down, as you are on my back. But, it does allow me to get a lot done. Even if you don't fall asleep, you are content in the carrier. You really just enjoy being held. 

Size wise, you are starting to grow out of some 6-12 month stuff in length. I actually think you have thinned out, probably because of this extra length. A month or so ago, I thought I was going to need to size you up in diapers, but now size 3 fit great again, so you are still in them. Again, I think it's because of you lengthening out. 

You have not met a food you did not enjoy. And you have really upped your food consumption lately. Like but a LOT. You are getting three meals a day, plus some snacks. And you are still nursing on top of that. I still nurse you on demand, but I would say you probably nurse 4-5 times a day, plus at night. When you are done eating, you just start throwing your food off your highchair and this seems to bring you a lot of joy. Also, if we are somewhere with a dog, you are happy to feed the dog some of your food of your highchair too. 

You really seem to enjoy the freedom that crawling has brought and like to wander the house. You particularly enjoy any cabinet you can open and empty out, as well as any toy the kids don't want you to go for. You seem to have radar for nerf bullets and shopkins left out. Also, anytime anyone leaves food out, you will grab it and make a mess eating it. I'm looking at you bowl of cereal that ended up on her head! 

I can't believe your birthday is around the corner. But watching you grow really is fun. 

I just laughed looking back at the other kids at 11 months. Apparently both Connor and Isla had 7 teeth already! Callum had four. I'm noting a trend here. Willa has less teeth and less hair than the others at the same age...haha!

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Willa {9 months}

length: 27.25"

weight: 18 pounds, 7 ounces

accomplishments: says "mama" and "baba", stands on everything

9 months in, 9 months out...oh wait, I did the math. We have about two more weeks until she will have been out as long as she was in. Yes, I counted! haha! Nine months with you has certainly flown by Willa! 

You started pulling yourself to standing on your 8 month birthday. Then you spent this past month mastering it and pulling up on everything. The kids have learned a lot less is safe now, as once you stand, you can grab so much more stuff! And everything, I mean everything, goes in your mouth. That doesn't bother me so much, but your siblings apparently don't like slobber covered things. Going back to standing, you even managed to stand in your high chair, so are now promptly buckled in each time. 

Speaking of eating, you are doing great. You eat anything and everything presented to you. Sometimes with more gusto than others, but I never know if it's the food or your mood. I feed you baby food sometimes, but whenever we sit down at meals, we always throw you some of our food and you love it. 

Size wise, you are in 6-12 month clothing and size 3 diapers. I feel like the diapers fit well, but you have been having blowouts lately and I think that means it is time to size up. You got your first pair of shoes last week at the store where they actually measure your feet. We discovered your right foot is bigger than your left...just like your daddy. You are measuring around the 50 percentile for both height and weight, but your head, well, its a big one...that seems to have been a trend with your siblings as well. Weight wise, you came in number three at nine months out of your siblings, with Connor consistently being the lightest baby. 

You gave us a scare earlier this month with an allergic reaction. Given you hadn't had any new food, lotion, clothes, etc, the doctor thought it was probably something in the air. The medication she gave you cleared it up quickly and came in handy when it happened again a few days later. But it hasn't happened again, so who knows. 

I would say we shouldn't even talk sleep, but I will anyway. If I get you down in your bed for naps, you take really good ones. The problem is, you often fall asleep on a school run and that 20 minutes in the car seat ends up being a nap. Nighttime is a whole other thing. It's going not so well. I thought teething, then I thought maybe it's just our new normal. Then last night, you gave me a several hour stretch, throwing me for a loop. I think you are just trying to keep us on our toes! 

Willa, you are still such a smiley little joyfilled baby. You bring such joy to our home and everyone around us. We love having you as part of our family. 

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Willa {6 months}

weight: 16 pounds, 11 ounces

length: 25.75 inches

likes: being held, her mama, playing with toys, food

dislikes: her mama walking out of the room, being hungry

accomplishments: eating solids, moving ALL OVER, grabs at everything

Willa keeps growing and changing. On the one hand, I love it. On the other, I feel a bit sad. But that's ok, her smile always cheers me up. She is such a social little girl and waits for people to look at her so she can interact with them. 

This past month was a big one. Willa started solids, took a bottle for the first time and started sitting in a high chair. She just about has sitting up down, but still falls over after a few seconds when something distracts her. I just clap really loud and say "yay!" and she smiles instead of crying from face planting it into the floor. She started putting her hands out to people she wants to go to or when she wants to be picked up. And I think is attempting to wave, but isn't really doing it at the same time. 

Willa really enjoys playing with toys. She seems to especially like playing with Callum's cars. Even if she is in a bad mood, she will perk up in order to play with his cars. She also loves to chew on anything she can get her hands on. If outside, that includes leaves. But I also found a discarded cough drop wrapper in her mouth one day and told the kids they need to be careful about stuff on the ground...as I am sure they were the ones that discarded it on the ground. Willa also likes being out at about. Being in her stroller, watching everything going on makes her happy. 

I thought I birthed a unicorn in the sleep department, alas I did not. Though Willa used to sleep amazingly, she no longer does. If she at least stays asleep from bedtime until midnight or later, I am happy, as it allows me to get things done - like the dinner dishes, making the kids school lunches, etc. But more and more she isn't lasting that long. And she seems to be taking longer to get to sleep at night. But, all my kids have been like this, so I sort of expected it and know that one day it will change. 

Willa eats like a champ. She so har has not refused any of the foods we have given her. I have given her big chunks of things like avocado, banana, bell pepper, watermelon, cheese, rice, etc. But I have also fed her traditional baby food as well. And she loves baby mum-mums. She has gotten way better with her hand eye coordination and hand control since she started eating. I am sure it is completely motivated by food! 

Size wise, Willa is in 3-6 month clothing and size 2 diapers, though getting ready to size up to 3. Her little sandals from the beginning of the summer, a size 0, are just about outgrown. She weighed in a pound heaver than Connor at 6 months, and a bit less than what Isla and Callum were. I have put her in a couple 6-12 months outfits and they seem to work on her, just are long. In fact, one of the pants her little thunder thighs completely filled up and I could barely get them on...haha! 

I really can't believe that half a year has gone by in what feels like the blink of an eye. Then again, it really does feel like a while ago that I was holding that tiny little squish of a human in my arms. Oh time, you double edged sword. 

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Willa {5 months}

likes: being worn, nursing, playing with toys - especially ones that make a crunchy noise, her siblings, people giving her attention

dislikes: being hungry, needing to burp

accomplishments: goes up on her hands and toes, crawls/pushes around backwards

Willa just keeps growing and changing. With all the movement she is doing these days, she really enjoys being on the ground. She can manage to inch herself backwards and roll to get around. Her latest thing is going up on her hands and toes at the same time, almost like she is going to do a push up, haha! She does not like it when she works her way under furniture and gets stuck. She is still such a smily baby and smiles at strangers in public all the time. It's fun to watch her keep smiling at someone until they will acknowledge her.

Sizewise, Willa is in 3-6 month clothing, with some larger sizes working too. Though I have bought a couple things in the next size up and just let her wear them oversized so she can wear them longer. Her size 0 saltwater sandals we got at the beginning of summer still work on her. She is solidly in a size 2 diaper. 

Willa hasn't been doing so hot in the sleeping department lately. She seems to be waking more frequently at night just to nurse. She is no longer sleeping swaddled. This just sort of happened. She was crying at bedtime sometimes and I thought maybe it was because she was hot, so I stopped swaddling her. It didn't really affect her going to sleep at night. And I think her not sleeping as well is more just her enjoyment of nursing!

Just in last week before turning five months, Willa had the opportunity to stay in a hotel for the first time, see the Hollywood sign and go to the beach. In fact, she turned five months old while we were staying in Solana Beach near San Diego.

Now that Willa is on the move a bit, she seems to enjoy being on the ground exploring. Especially if there are toys nearby that she can put in her mouth. Or paper. She really likes sucking on paper. She also really enjoys being in her activity center thing. But not much else, as she doesn't like being trapped...she wants to be free to roam.

And just like that, five months with the smiliest, easiest going baby around. It sure is going fast.

For funsies, each of the other kids at five months - Connor, Isla and Callum. Connor and Isla had a lot more hair than Willa at this point and Callum had a bit more. Her hair will grow eventually though, right?

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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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Willa {three months}

weight: 12.5 lbs (my measurement)

likes: her bouncy seat, being worn, attention from her siblings, nursing, 

her pacifier, people smiling at her

dislikes: gas, spitting up, Callum roaring at her loudly

This girl is still FULL of smiles. Smiles all the time. She smiles when I kiss her. She smiles when I sing to her. She smiles when I smile at her. And I just eat it all up. 

Willa does great with tummy time and can hold her head up really well. And once she is done, she will just lay there for a bit before crying out to be turned over. She has yet to really even try to roll over. If you have her laying, but slightly propped up, she will try to sit herself up, but really can't do much more than lift her head up. Willa spends a lot of her time with her hands and feet flailing about. She is starting to get control of them though and seems to be grabbing things with her hands more and more. 

Willa has developed a sensitivity to loud or startling noises. It started with Callum roaring at her. I had literally never heard her cry so hard and loud. It was funny and sad all at the same time. She has since had the same reaction to a loud noise that happened close to her. 

Sleep wise, Willa is still doing well. She goes down really easily, as long as I am there to nurse her. It doesn't matter if she is hungry or not, she wants to be swaddled and nursed when it is time for bed. I usually get at least a 6 hour stretch out of her before she wakes up. If it's before then, I offer her the pacifier if she wakes and that generally does the trick. During the day Willa doesn't really have a schedule with naps. And honestly, she seems to more catnap then take long naps...which fits my theory that has gone along with all my kids, babies are either a good napper or a good night sleeper, not both. However, if I wear her in the wrap, she will sleep hours. It's crazy. But I think she just likes being cozy. 

Willa is fully in size 0-3 months clothing and even some 3-6 month is starting to work. I think it all depends on brands. She is wearing size 1 diapers, but I will be switching to size 2 when those are out...mostly because I had bought size 2 when I did a stock and save deal on diapers at Target. 

Willa is still nursing like a champ. Sometimes she will start crying when I am nursing her. It just means she has a big burp that needs to get out. And it is usually a really loud burp. But, once it's out, she is ready to eat again. I let her eat as often as she likes during the day, hoping it cuts down on the nighttime feeds. And so far it (or one of the numerous other factors) is working, so I am keeping at it.

It feels like the last three months went fast. But really, I think it's just I would have enjoyed basking in her newness a bit longer. But honestly, I also love this next phase of her interacting with me so much more. Time is a double edged sword, I tell you. 

And, just in case you like to compare like me, here is Connor's 3 month update,  Isla's and Callum's too. All my babies looked pretty similar at this age, but I still think Willa and Callum look the most similar. 

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