Willa Turns 3!

Willa's third birthday was on Monday. We decided to celebrate with my family two days early on Saturday so that she could have cousins and have an actual little party. We're going to do a little cake this weekend in Las Vegas with Ryan and Rebecca and Brandon. Also, I uploaded a few videos here but they're not working. I need to work on that, but I don't have the mental energy right now.

We talked about her party for the week leading up to it, and Willa was very excited. She would break out into singing, "Happy Birthday to me" and then we would list everything that we were going to do at the party:

- Get birthday balloons - an obsession these days, have you ever seen the Little Einsteins where Annie gets birthday balloons? I have, about 100 times.
- Get a cake
- Sing Happy Birthday
- Blow out candles
- Have cousins over
- Open presents

We talked about it over and over again and she was incredibly excited, it was very cute. I partly wanted to do a birthday cake in Centerville because I have fond memories of going to Dick's Marketplace and looking through of big book of possible cake designs to pick my very special cake. Dick's was awesome then and it's even improved it's game now. Has anyone ever been to Dick's bakery? Yum.

Here is a picture of the cake. When we picked it up and opened the lid to show her, she gave this sharp intake of breath, "Ahhh!", put her hands to her mouth, and leaned closer to try and sneak a lick. It was absolute, uninhibited delight.

For the party we sang and did the actions to Ring Around the Rosy, London Bridge, Head Shoulders Knees, and Toes, and If You're Happy and You Know it. I felt a little silly, because most of us were adults or teenage cousins doing it, but she had this cute smile and loved it. I really didn't want to do an over the top party that she wouldn't understand, so I'm glad that even though I felt silly, it was a party on her level just for her.

Willa had a great time, we opened presents and as we unwrapped each one she would say, "Tada!" It was very enjoyable until my mom wrapped a plastic fishing pole that she picked up from the dollar store. She brought an identical one down to Texas a few months ago where it immediately broke and I threw it away on the sly. Now we have a brand new one and it totally captivated Willa's attention away from all other presents. Counting down until I can throw it away again. Thanks mom.

The funny/sad part of the party was blowing out the candles on the cake. Willa's little personality came shining through. She is a very cautious and shy child. She observes for a long time before she feels comfortable and she gets embarrassed easily. I totally understand because she's exactly how I was. I hated attention on me in formal settings - the Primary Program was the dreaded day of the year. One year I was so happy to have a seat behind the organ or somewhere where I could try to melt into the wall and have no one see me.

So, we all gathered 'round the table and sang Happy Birthday, but when it was time to blow the candles out, she was too shy! Then, she wanted us to sing again so that she could do it. Then, when it came time to blow, she was too shy again! I totally feel her pain. She had been looking forward to it so much and then was too embarrassed to actually do it. Here is a short video, it mainly shows her little personality and how she reacts. I know not to push her and that things like this are scary for her. The funny part about this was that after we blew out the candles for the second time, she leaned in and bit off the corner of the cake with her mouth. Yum!

Here are a few more pictures from the party and our Utah trip. Many, but not all, of the Knoles cousins and one adorable Slate Daniels on the bottom left.

Willa and Brody.

Willa loves to sing if you can catch her in the right mood. We got some adorable videos of her standing on a little step stool in the living room and singing perfectly on pitch and with the correct words as my mom accompanied her on the piano. She loved to sing ABCs, Twinkle, London Bridge, and I Am a Child of God.

This video is when she decided to accompany herself to I am a Child of God. She gets distracted and starts being silly, then she gets mad at us for singing along. It's definitely not the most complete recording of her singing, but it shows her personality. "No singing with me!"

Willa is still being very smart. She knows all her letters, numbers, colors, shapes, and it starting to sound out the letters. "D makes the Da sound" - but that is really only after we've been talking about it, or... watching Leapfrog on Netflix when they talk about the alphabet. Willa can trace her own name almost perfectly. I need to find a picture to upload. She was at preschool and they wrote the children's names with a highlighter, then helped the children trace over it with a pen. By the time they got to Willa, after helping the other children, she had already done it. And she did a GREAT job! It must help that most of the letters in her name are made of up straight lines :). Still, I am extremely proud of her, especially since we had never worked on it before. Now I know that we can work on it and I want to start tracing more letters. You have to catch her in the right mood, though.

Willa and I are butting heads a lot these days. I wonder if it's because she's so shy and quiet at playgroups or nursery that when she gets home she finally feels comfortable and has to blow off a little steam. I don't know, all I know is that she pushes my buttons. I didn't know that I had buttons, I'm not sure where they are, but they are getting pushed. Someone, help me get rid of these nefarious buttons! She loves to hug and snuggle me and hold my hand whenever it's not convenient and refuses to do so when it is. I'm hoping that things taper off a little more by 3 1/2, but I don't know. She still tolerates June, with occasional bursts of glorious sunshine when she acknowledges her existence in a positive manner or attempts to play with her or give her a toy. Most of her interaction with June is yelling at her, "No crying!" "No hitting/kicking mommy!" "Mommy, give June to Daddy!" I think the oldest child is always just going to demand more than the younger children. I'm not sure what to do about it. There's probably nothing to do about it but resign yourself, hope the younger children aren't scarred, and then eat a large bowl of ice cream once they are finally in bed.

We took the side off of Willa's crib and made it into a toddler bed a few weeks ago. She has never tried to climb out, but she is slowly weaning herself off her naps. Occasionally, she will play in her bed the entire nap time instead of sleeping. I felt bad that she was trapped in her crib and thought that if she wanted to play, I would give her the option of having access to her toys. If she phases out naps, fine, but she still has to go in her room so I can have a break. We've watched too much "Bedtime for Frances" though, and now when she goes to bed she says, "No getting out of bed!" Whenever I get her up, I find her in bed just talking to herself. So I don't think the message has gotten across to her that we are okay with her getting out... and I probably won't bring it up to her. She is thrilled to have it open, though.

That's our three-year-old. I sure love Willa, but these days are trying times. I feel like I only read happy accounts of angel toddlers who love to play and do what their mommies ask, and who love their new siblings. I wanted to keep it real. These terrific twos have been a bit terrible at times.