motherhood // Willa at 1 Year

On October 24th, 2017 we celebrated 1 year with sweet Willa in our arms and in our life. It's true what they say, it's impossible to imagine life without her in ours now. She entered this world gracefully and peacefully and she's been as jovial and easy going nearly every day of her life so far. In the earliest months, the only challenge we really experienced was the reflux she struggled with. But thanks to our fantastic family doctor and the paediatrician he referred us too, we were able to get that under control around 8 weeks. Beyond those few challenging weeks, she has truly been the happiest, most easy going baby! 

She rolled at 3 months, started crawling at 7, standing and exploring with assistance at 9.5 and walked at 11! She says Mama, Dada, Navy, hi, doggie, kitty, fishy and most specifically likes to say hi with any of the other aforementioned words as her subject :)  She is a sight to behold, toothless and only 16.5 lb. walking around this world independently and with great excitement and wonder. We are routinely asked by curious bystanders how old this tiny, walking child is. She is moving around, talking, gesturing and communicating with brilliant aptitude these days which is just made more comical and intriguing by her truly petite size. 

Willa you are perfectly made and genuinely loved, deeply and wholeheartedly, for exactly who you are. With each day that passes we are even more grateful for the opportunity it is to know you, to guide you and to love you without reservation. Know that you deeply belong, both to yourself and in our family. We can't wait to see what this next year holds for you. We love you with everything we've got, baby girl ❤︎

Learning how to blow feathers across the room. Might be the cutest thing I've ever witnessed haha. 

The day we found out we were expecting little Willa, Valentine's Day 2016. Navy was 13 months. This whole day I was just in complete awe that in less than a year, we would have two babies to love on. So incredibly blessed. 

Family portrait, look at our happy grins!! We were so excited about baby #2, sweet Willa.

1 Mama + 2 babies ❤︎

The Pumpkin Patch - 1 Year Later

Somehow our littlest lady will be 11 months tomorrow (on her daddy's birthday). So today we kicked off the weekend with an afternoon at the pumpkin patch picking the last of the strawberry harvest and choosing some especially lovely pumpkins for our front porch. The whole afternoon had me flashing back to exactly one year ago, when Navy was our only and Willa was still snuggled up in my tummy. 

Looking at the photos from today and comparing them to this time last year, I can hardly believe that we've already enjoyed nearly one year with her in our arms! And yet, her entrance into our lives has been total, consuming magic. The kind of intense magic that needs a year to hold it, really. My heart is utterly besotted as though I never knew a time where I didn't know her and love her. Never could I have imagined such a perfect and complimentary being to join our crew. But here she is. Our gift to watch over with grateful hearts, overflowing. 

And Navy! What change and growth and coming-into-one's-own we've witnessed this past year in her! Our sweet baby-toddler in those pictures from last year has grown into a little girl it seems! Though I'm reluctant to even say that, as my heart knows she's still so little in the grand scheme of things. Still! Emotionally, intellectually and physically, the changes we've witnessed this past year have us wide-eyed and smiling nearly all the time. She makes us belly laugh regularly, swells our hearts with her kindness and generosity and routinely reminds us of the importance of focusing on those things in life which are truly beautiful and life-giving. She is a force of nature in the best possible way. She loves her sister deeply and truly and she has been the most gracious and accommodating toddler as we adjusted to having another baby in the home. Though we worked intentionally to make this transition gentle on her, she chose to cooperate freely and engaged enthusiastically. That has truly been one of the most blessed things to come of this past year in conjunction with Willa's arrival.

I never want to forget the year that Willa joined our lives. And not just for the obvious reason of Willa joining us, but more for the domino effect her presence has had on us all and between us all. Adapting to two children, getting to know Willa, learning even more about Navy, growing as parents navigating uncharted territory...it's just enriched the experience of loving this family of mine even more. The love gets deeper and stronger with each passing day and I'm so profoundly grateful for the opportunity to 'do this'. To be their mama and to do it hand in hand with my love. Life is good. 

motherhood // Willa at 1 Month

Photos by Roz Edge ❤︎

I just reread the post I wrote after Navy's first month. Cuuuuuuue the waterworks. Here I sit, nearly two years later, a more seasoned mama of two with a lot more wisdom than I had back then but mountains yet to learn, I'm certain. I find the powerful love for Willa is the same as I felt towards Navy, even considering the climate of my life is so very different. I'm mama to two now. Two girls, at different stages in life. And yet, I remain just one person; one person with a heart that's doubled in size but still, only two hands. Earnestly, albeit clumsily, I find myself learning new skills moment by moment. Learning how to prioritize, how to give equal volumes of love just in different ways and at different times. It's the most incredible, heart expanding, mind challenging learning curve I've ever been on and I just could be more grateful to be experiencing this.

One daughter, my sweet Navy girl, is talking with her words upon words these days, exuding more zest for life than I can keep up with .... and yes, certainly exerting equal amounts of that infamous toddler spice to round things out (read: 'litigators should take a lesson from her on negotiation' or 'pass me alllllll the coffee' any will do ;). She is wild and loving, tender-hearted and fiercely determined. But more than anything, she craves and thrives on independence. Everything is 'me do it' these days, even when she really can't and her 'doing it' means we're going to be kissing it 'all better' shortly after, as a result. She is the brightest light and I am certainly better for knowing her and parenting her.

My other baby girl is so new. Only 6 weeks old and the most precious gift! Another unique soul who we get the blessed honour of getting to know. Willa has been a peaceful and easy-to-soothe baby so far, just like her sister was. I'm loving co-sleeping with her and am finding it to be an excellent solution to the sleepless nights that usually accompany this newborn season. I co-slept with Navy from when she was about 1 month old to 4.5 months old and loved it too. Will Willa I started when she was about 4 days old and have been loving it ever since. She usually sleeps one 6 hour stint from 9pm -3am before nursing, and then nurses twice between 3 am and 8/9 am. We're in a really good rhythm and I certainly can't complain about sleep given how well she's doing with it so far.

From weeks 1-3 little Willa snoozed most of the time, quite contentedly. But around 3.5 weeks she had a couple fussy days where she cried a lot and was only soothed by nursing or being held and bounced. I remember Navy behaving identically at 3.5 weeks too, which is so amazing that they are behaving so similarly at this point. Anyway, as I suspected, that fussiness lifted about 5 days in and just like Navy, Willa kind of 'woke up' after the fussiness passed. SO much more time awake, tracking us with her eyes, focusing on us and on objects for long periods of time and even some baby smiles!! I could just fall over when she smiles. It is the most amazing feeling, seeing her register your face and respond with joy in the way she is able.

In terms of the rest of the family, Navy can't get enough of Willa. Most of the day she plays contentedly, with a drive-by kiss or 'love you baby seesta' as she's moving between activities. She loves to tell us 'how tiiiiiiny' baby sister is or how much she loves her. But perhaps the most heartwarming thing she does, is tell everyone else around us about her baby sister. Even Santa haha! Her first time sitting on Santa's lap she took the time to tell him all about her baby sister, and point us out in the crowd. No discussions of presents occurred, just Willa chat. Be still my heart. Seeing the one little person we made be so excited about the other person we made? Nooooooothing better.

Ryan is eager to get home after work these days and first plays with little Navy for a bit before bed. She can't wait to see him and their reunion is always a sight to behold. Then, once Navy is in bed he's always diligent and excited to cuddle little Willa. It's nice for me to have a moment to myself and watch him love on his baby girl too.

Lincoln absolutely adores Willa & Navy. Navy and him are playmates these days. Meaning he lays patiently while she plays furiously around him and on him, non stop. As for Willa, he showers her in kisses, especially when she is being changed. He honestly treats her like a baby pup. He wants to bathe her I swear haha. We let him get his kisses in within reason, as we love how tender he is with the girls and never want to discourage such sweet and appropriate behaviour.

So far, life as a family of four plus our furball has been so incredibly sweet. Of course, there have been lots of challenging times over the last month and a bit, as is to be expected. We're learning a lot, tired of course, and normal life just keeps clipping right along. So this isn't to say that everything has been effortless and easy. It's just been *so good*, despite the incredible amount of effort required of us. And the joys of this journey and the love we are feeling just far outweigh any of the challenges. Feeling so grateful for this family of mine. Grateful to spend my days loving on them.