Travel, croup and no more sleep

We took our annual vacation to the Outerbanks last week. The house was big and had a nice pool and most importantly, it was a very short walk out to the beach. Anna was thrilled to have her own room ( although, she refused to sleep there! ), and she loved swiming in the pool, playing in the 'sandbox' and having a large number of grandparents to cater to her every whim - and cater, they did! Boy, are they in trouble as she gets older. It's amazing how young a two year old learns the system. If Nana says no, then ask Pop pop, if he says no, go pout to Grandma, and so on down the line. Someone always gives in, and the outcome was nearly always candy! Lucky girl. We had beautiful weather and spent about 8 hours outside every day. Karl and I even got a reprieve from the kids and took a drive up to the 4-wheel drive area and sat on the beach - by ourselves - gasp! It was glorious, even if it was short lived. We're already day dreaming about our first kid-free trip. Maybe Vegas? Who knows, I do know though, that I could already use another vacation to get over this one. We came home with sinusitis ( Anna ) and pink-eye and Croup (Charlie ). Anna also has stopped sleeping alone - or throught the night for that matter! We're working on getting better and sleeping without our two year old clinging to her daddy's neck. I will keep you updated on our progress but I have to say that croup is one of the worst things I have known as a mama. The sound of a child coughing like a sick dog isn't one I will ever forget. It breaks my heart to see my 4 month old like that. Then, there is that sleep deprivation that goes with it. I have been incoherent all week. Each day, I think maybe today will be better! Here are some pics of our vacation., at least we came back nicely tanned! Note, also that Miss Fabulous Anna Banana strikes a pose for every photograph. ( I didn't teach her that, but she certainly knows how to work the camera! )

Sleep!

Finally, our 26 month old Anna Banana slept through the night, not just once, but two days in a row! I don't know what is finally working, but Karl and I have not had to spend an hour putting her to sleep or spend any time in her bed at all in the past two days. I had to fight the urge to open her door in the middle of the night to see if she was ok! We do have a new sticker chart and I have learned how to put her to bed so that she goes to sleep on her own. ( yeah, yeah, I know I should have learned this about two years ago - classic first time parent! ) I guess both have made all the difference in the world. She is so proud of the stickers and is generally in a much better mood now that she's sleeping better! Mommy and Daddy are too.

Four Months Old!

I can't beleive it, Charlie is four months old. He's really starting to grow out of his infancy and into being a silly baby. He has recently discovered chewing on things, and loves to pull his big sister's hair. Anna is still a fantastic big sister, but now that Charlie is more animated, I can see some rivalry starting. Here are some pics of the babes for their respective four month photo shoots.