Four Months

At three months I started thinking that maybe we were past the hardest stage and things were running along more smoothly. But then BAM, four months hit and we were back to fussy evenings, ridiculous mini naps, inconsistent eating, and even waking up more at night. I'm totally confused and worn out. I'm trying to follow some kind of a schedule to get things back on track but then I think the schedule just makes me more frustrated because it's not working.

Anyway, I don't like it when people refer to babies as "good" because it implies that if a baby is challenging then it's bad and all babies are just doing what they are designed to do. So, Fife is a good baby, she's just not the easiest. I know she's not the hardest either and I really don't have much to whine about. Also, she's pretty cute and I love her very much…which helps too.

What Fife is up to…

+ Finally sleeping in the crib in her OWN room, though she's not too happy about it
+ She's very ticklish…it's the easiest way to make her giggle so we're having fun with that
+ Sleeping through the night a decent percentage of the time (hitting a whopping 11 hours once!)
+ Sitting up in the Bumbo seat, which the girls think is hilarious
+ Rolling from tummy to back
+ Using her hands more effectively and reaching for things
+ Wanting lots of one-on-one attention and a frequent change of scenery, just not too much craziness
+ Trying out the Baby Merlin's Magic Sleep Suit (yes, that's a thing and yes, I bought it in my desperation) and it does seem to be helping with her sleep difficulties

HHI 2016

I'm not sure why, but this year at Hilton Head was extra special. There was just something about the cadence of the week and the synergy between all of us as we grow up and form our own little families within the family. And we had some killer new activities this time around, such as the late night dance party that included kids AND adults! (Sorry, no photos) 

Other excitement included our nanny getting stung by a stingray and a fire truck and ambulance showing up at our house after my dad set off the alarm, thinking it was the air conditioner. We always have to create some emergency to keep things interesting.

Our house. We stayed with Luke and Jenny and Clint and Alesa this year and I loved it. The other house may have been referred to as the "fun house" but we had good talks and our little oasis was peaceful and relaxing, especially the deck overlooking the pool and floating on the raft at night (yeah, I was pretty adventurous). 

My mom brought a bocce ball set for a sand bocce tournament

Night crabbing on the beach! Always the best.

We had some more epic dinners in which we had to rearrange furniture and pull multiple tables together because we're just that huge now

Girls shopping trip, minus mom 

Princess cupcake party for the little girls

My mom made the dress up clothes and brought them along…such a cute idea!

Serving their daddies the cupcakes they decorated

This was an impromptu beach visit after dinner. At one point Cetty wanted me to walk to the edge of the water with her and then she just laid flat down on the sand, clothes and all. First I laughed, and then I joined her.

Poppy appeared next and the three of us lounged around like that for a while and it was just the sweetest time with my girls. I don't normally get wet so they seemed pretty thrilled to have me in the ocean with them.

Late morning walk to a coffee shop with a fun bunch of people

I ended up being very glad that we packed our bigger stroller. We got a couple of long naps on the go because of it.

 Low country boil: kid style

The nights on the beach were probably my favorite part of the week. The days were HOT but the nights were just perfect. No crowds, pretty sunsets, the little ones digging in the sand and the bigger ones playing soccer or foursquare or spike ball…the sort of night that makes you take a deep breath and feel all settled and happy.

This girl's hair. It was all kinds of wild and crazy from the water and the wind and that God-given color, and I'm pretty much jealous.

Until next year, Hilton Head!

Last Morning on the Beach

I decided to split my Hilton Head photos into two posts. I know there are only so many photos of my children that can be handled in one sitting, darling though they may be. 

So for starters, here is our last visit to the beach the day before we headed home. Sun, matching swimsuits, and baby toes in the ocean for the first time! Now, the ocean is something I can never get too much of, in photos or in person. I also loved the path to the beach this year. So charming and islandy.

More vacation to come!