Willa, age 5

 At Willa's five year well-check the doctor asked how Willa was handling being a big sister, and if she ever got frustrated with Sadie. I was speechless for a minute because I couldn't figure out how to best describe just how great she is with Sadie! I am always amazed at how patient she is with her. The two of them spend hours each day playing together and Willa loves every minute of it.

Not to throw Larkin under the bus or anything, but it's just different to watch Larkin play with Sadie and then watch Willa. It comes so naturally to Willa and the two of them seem to have their own little language together. Larkin will play with Sadie for a short while and then will be ready to work on her own activities, while Willa will sit and be totally involved with Sadie for close to an hour.  Sadie is very attached to Willa and calls her "Ya-ya".

 Willa starts kindergarten in August, and she can't wait! Almost everyday she gets up early and gets dressed so that she can come along with Joel to drop off Larkin. In the morning the kids get dropped off in the cafeteria and sit in rows for a morning assembly. Lately Willa has been bringing along her backpack and sits down in Larkin's row "just like a real kindergartener" (much to Larkin's dismay).

Their school had a kindergarten registration day and I took Willa to get her all signed up. When it was time to leave she said, "Wait! I've got to go say goodbye to all my new friends!" and then she ran around hugging about 10 kids (most she had just met for the first time) and a few adults, all of whom knew her name! She is quite the social butterfly, just like her dad!

Willa also played soccer this year. A friend of Willa's plays soccer and one of her teammates broke her arm, so there was an opening on the team (called "Pink Lightening"). Willa had never really played soccer before so didn't know what to expect. The night before her first game she said, "So are there going to be millions of people watching and cheering for Pink Lightening, just like at a Packer game?"

The games were so much fun to watch. Each week you could tell that Willa was understanding the game a bit more, and with each passing week her skills got better and better. Her coaches called her the "natural defender" because she would always sprint like mad when the other team got the ball and would put herself into just the right spot. She got good at stealing the ball away from others too--and  almost every time she scored a goal she would turn and find us with her eyes on the sidelines and give us a sheepish smile, amazed and happy that she scored!