talent

I know all parents are impressed by the amazing accomplishment of their offspring, but I think we have some real talent blossoming in Willa. Aside from her expert xylophone hammering (one both sides of the xylophone) she has begun to make these lovely musical noises. Most often now she seems to do it out of boredom. We'll be in the car and she'll start making music with her lips or when there is nothing to look at in the stroller. Morgan and I have looked like fools on several occasions trying to get her to perform this trick to others, but like what I see developing as a trend with Willa- she will only do it when she wants to.

I feel like I can't keep up with her little milestones... she is waving, clapping, and changing everyday. Tooth #3 popped through yesterday.

So Big

This is one of Willa's new tricks. She loves to show us just how big she is getting. She really does seem big these days. She has lost a lot of the round chubbiness in her face. She still has plenty of chubby in her belly, but she is looking a lot longer and leaner. It probably has a lot to do with the fact that if she is awake, she is moving. There isn't much still time unless she is strapped in her car seat or held on a lap or carrier. It is go, go, go from now on.

A thinker

Willa has shown some problem solving abilities...problem being- they've trapped me in this pen and I want to be free, free to splash in the dog bowl, free to eat anything I find on the floor, free to play. We were eating dinner when Willa decided she could turn her bowl into a step and maybe just figure a way out of the old pack-n-play. Luckily for us she didn't make it out, but seems like a pretty clever plan. She is trying to get a handle on the whole balance thing. She often lets go of whatever she has pulled up on or is so busy with things in her hands, but she can only stay up for a couple of seconds before she comes crashing down. She loves to be outside and I have a feeling the little picnic table handed down from Sami and Joe will get a lot of use this summer. We're going to have to keep that little bald head covered or she'll fry.

New Discoveries

Every day Willa is exploring and adventuring around the house. She likes to crawl to a voice calling from another room or crawl away and then wait to make sure someone is watching. She found Blanca's food bowl a while ago and has enjoyed scooting it across the floor. Over the weekend she discovered Suki's food bowl and the dogs' water. I know- isn't it sad for poor Blanca who has been with us 3 years and is still eating on the floor while Suki gets the elevated food and water bowls. Blanca actually used to have a little stool under her bowl, but we moved it to the bathroom to use while we bathe Willa. So anyway Willa pulls up and finds a small pool. Morgan and I were watching and laughing and I said, "we probably should stop her" but we just kept watching and laughing as she splashed water everywhere and got herself soaking wet.
On another note- the one thing I don't really think we have to worry about is Willa eating dog food since there is never any sitting around longer than 2 or 3 minutes after feeding time. Willa did crawl up to Blanca while she was eating dinner and I was amazed at how well Blanca controlled herself. Willa pulled on her bowl and spilled the food. Blanca kept eating and didn't show any food aggressive behavior. This is the same dog that ate so fast that she made herself sick when she first came to us, the dog that lives for breakfast and dinner. As dumb as Blanca is she knows what Willa is and where she fits in the hierarchy of the household.

what a week!

February 15-22 was a doosey of a week for our little family. There was a viscous cycle of congestion and coughing and no sleep. Throw crawling, teething, and pulling up and 3 grandparents into the mix- and wow.

So Willa had been inching, flopping, and scooting around for weeks. We thought she was on the verge of crawling at Christmas. So it shouldn't have come as too much of a shock when she just took off. It was bedtime on Monday and we had just finished nursing. I was trying to change her diaper and get her into pjs, but she was way to wiggly for the changing table. I had her on the floor and just got her diaper when I reached for her pjs. The next thing I knew she was on her way to the kitchen. Morgan grabbed the camera and Grandma B. coaxed her on. She went all the way across the kitchen and has hardly stopped since. The next night she woke me up about 3 am on her knees in the crib and then again at 5 standing up. Grandma B got to see Willa pulling herself up on every surface higher than she is- not all designed to support a baby. She seems fearless and has taken the falls with a minimum of drama. We're trying to laugh them off, but when head hit hardwood even mommy and daddy wince. So of Willa's milestones Grandma B. has been around for 3 pretty big ones... 1st roll over, 1st crawl, and 1st pull up. Lucky for me she was also around to take over when Willa's cold hit me.

When Grandma B left Nana and Grandpa came down for a quick visit. They were amazed by her accomplishments and got to feel the sharp little edge of her first tooth poking through. So now that company is gone we are tying to settle back down, but I think second tooth is just below the surface causing a little havoc.

We went to the library yesterday for the bouncing babies program, and I was very interested to see what Willa would be like now that she is independently mobile. Would she explore or stick close to me around the bigger kids. There are a few younger babies, but the majority are walkers. She was all over the place. Everyone sits in a big circle and Willa seemed to like to crawl about 10 feet into the circle and then sit up facing out so that she could get a good look at everyone. During the playtime at the end she was chasing balls, climbing obstacles, and best of all trying to pull up on toddlers- not many can support the weight of a 20 lb. baby.

Swinging

Spring is on the way. This was one of those teaser February days that had everybody out at the park. Willa thought the swing was pretty great, Daddy is a great pusher- I imagine we'll be doing plenty of this in the coming months.

clean plate

There were two common phrases heard round the Wilson dinner table during my formative years: "a soldier bite" and "the clean plate award." I'm not sure about the origin of either phrase- my creative parents or something from their own childhoods? A soldier bite was small (from the parents' perspective) portion of some despised food usually of the vegetable persuasion that had to be eaten for "your own good." Kind of like be a trooper and just eat it. The clean plate award is self explanatory and was of course created long before we had a dishwasher.

Another one I picked up along the way was "eat it or wear it" and I know that one didn't come from my mom. For some reason it makes me think of my brother's neighborhood friends Chad and Brent Arrowsmith and their mom. The moved away in elementary school, and I can't even remember what she looked like, but I think she said that when all 4 of us kids were in her kitchen. Maybe Dave has some memory of that??

So I find myself unconsciously passing things like this along to Willa. We haven't had to try any soldier bites yet because we've yet to try anything that she won't eat. Today we're having parsnips- so all of us are going to have a soldier bite at first. There are pictures to document the fact that wearing her food is something Willa already enjoys, and she's a natural in the clean plate department.