Coffee that is. I've never liked coffee. Unless it's the starbucks kind that includes more sugar and whip cream than coffee. But I've had to up my game lately since most mornings my side of the bed looks like this:
Vacation did a number on our sleep cycles in this house. Kinley had so much fun everyday, she decided she didn't really need to nap. Especially if there is any kind of noise leading her to believe that everyone else in the house isn't napping also. Sophie got a cold which makes it hard for her to eat and sleep. It's a vicious cycle. She apparently is going to catch every single bug that comes our way. And it takes her forever to get over a stuffy nose. I am grateful however that it is just a stuffy nose when she gets sick. She is quite the little snuggle bunny and will sleep like an angel if someone is holding her. When she's sick it's easy to oblige her. However that means it's almost a month later and the kiddo still keeps waking up in the middle of the night. Part of it is that she's learned how to sit up and is trying to crawl. The other part is just that she's in the habit of waking up and being scooped up and carried back to our bed. That might be fine if it meant we all got to sleep longer, but we don't. I have no idea how people sleep with their kids in the bed. It is amazing the mornings that she manages to sleep the night through in her room. She wakes up laughing. It is crazy what a difference it makes. Of course if her sister would sleep the night through on those same nights I might wake up laughing as well. But so far it hasn't happened. They are sabotaging my sleep. I'm up to about 6 cups a day. It's becoming a serious habit.
You may notice, I need to use my camera more. We've been having lots of fun but there are no photos as evidence of it. I even managed to get it into the car the last few places we've gone, but didn't even take it out. Sigh. The only photos in this post will be crappy cell phone photos. Sorry!
It is worth mentioning our recent activities despite the lack of photos. I'm about to go off on an infomercial tangent.
For all my friends with little ones or little ones on the way. I will say
this has been the best $11 in shipping I've ever spent. There is a coupon code to get it for free and just pay shipping. This thing is awesome. I use it in Target. Sophie hates Target. How is that even possible? She literally screams almost every time we go there. I've started using the sling to hold her and put Kinley in the front of the cart. That way they can entertain each other while I shop. One of the benefits of having two kiddos. :) It has also proved very useful for Andy's tennis matches and for walks on the beach. Sophie fell asleep in it every single day we were on vacation.
We'll gloss over the fact that that might be part of her sleeping problem. It's very easy to put on, isn't hot to wear, doesn't confine the baby and balances out the weight very well. I even put Kinley in it the first day it came because Sophie was asleep and I wanted to test it out.
We used it at the zoo the other day too. I know I mentioned this program before, but they must have gotten my address from that day and mailed me a flyer about an annual pass. We decided to spring for it, and I'm really glad we did. Nana and Papa were able to come with us. Not a single photo from the day. Dang it! We'll be able to go for free for the next 14 months with up to 3 adults and 4 kiddos. I'm pretty excited about it. Kinley loves animals, and Sophie loves to be outside. Since they let you pack food or coolers in and parking is free, it should make for some cheap entertainment over the next year. Let me know if you want to go with us or if you want the coupon code for the discount on your own pass.
Tennis is in full swing right now. Some more cheap entertainment for us.
Sophie was 7 months old this day:
I really do try to warn daddy's team mates that they don't have to humor Kinley. None of them have listened so far. Once she gets started, she doesn't stop, and they get to see zero of the tennis matches. Woody, Jessie and Bullseye might have been buried under all that pine straw.
Nana and Papa know what they are in for though.
One last big event to cover. We went to the fair. The Henry County Fair. It was a little sketchy, but Kinley surely didn't notice. Oh how I wish I'd brought my camera in. The look on her face while she was riding those rides was very seriously priceless. She can be a little bit of a scared-y cat to try new things but actually enjoys it once she tries it. The rides were the perfect solution to it. The kiddie section rides looked innocent enough, so she hopped right on. Then they started. I must admit that I was afraid to let her on some of them, but since she gets her hesitations from me, I kept it to myself. The rides were pretty fast and scary, but she just talked and laughed the whole time they were going. For the last ride of the night we headed to the adult sized teacups, so we could all ride together.
She put us to work spinning that thing and loved every second of it. Much more so than either of her parents. HA!
We have lots of festivities planned for the next few weeks. A Southern Belle field trip, maybe a trip to Rock Ranch, hopefully a high school football game, some birthdays, one really big birthday, and all that comes with Halloween. I will take my camera, I will take my camera, I will take my camera...
