This whole waking up at night thing is something I really underestimated before having kids. Obviously I knew that babies woke up at night, especially at the beginning. They need to eat every few hours. But I hadn't given it a lot of thought. And looking back, I seem to have just thought that after a few months (like 4) it just happened. They got bigger, and they slept. And that's that. I had images of putting them in their little cribs, tucking a blanket over them, one last kiss, then tiptoeing out the door. Then there's be time to eat, watch TV, talk over a glass of wine with my husband. And no more baby until morning.
Instead, no one slept through the night until 10 months old, and then it was just one of them. Saoirse insisted for more than 18 months on only sleeping in bed with us. And sleep deprivation was so constant, I was willing to sleep with an army of people in bed if it meant a few hours without getting up.
But even now, it's still an issue. Last night Saoirse woke up around 3 am. One minute I was in the middle of a dream, the next minute I'm stumbling down the hall to stop her screaming before she wakes up her sister. (another aspect of sleep that I never considered before having kids) She was screaming, "No leave me!! I go with you!" so I brought her back to bed rather than fight an all-out battle at that hour. For the next 3 hours, she wiggled around in our bed without falling asleep. She rolled, she kicked. She snuggled up to each of us until we got annoyed, then she'd switch parents. When I would tell her to stop moving around and kicking me, or else, she'd cry. Around 6 am, as the sun was coming up, she finally lay still long enough to fall asleep. Around a half hour later, Chris's alarm went off.
Now, I know I could have put her back in her room, screaming be damned. Of course, then there would have been two girls awake and crying. And Saoirse has proven in the past that she can keep up the screaming for longer than most would guess. But either way, it was clear that there was going to be no sleeping. And this is not a rare thing with her.
If someone had told me before having them that there would be, on average, one night a week with 3-4 hours of sleep...when they were TWO?!...I would have been horrified. Thank god I didn't know.
The wee hours.
Do we order out too much?
Playing this morning:
Saoirse: Backpack on! Going to work.
Me: You're going to work? Where do you work?
Saoirse: Chinese.
Me: What?
Saoirse: Chinese. Here, eat this. (handing me pretend food)
Toddler beds
Guess whose beds got converted this weekend? No more cribs, since Daddy caught Saoirse with her leg over the railing. 
Uncle Evan's home from Jamaica!!
Yeah, Saoirse's shirt says Jamaica, too. But she doesn't want you to see it.
Playdates with Reema
This actually happened a couple of weeks ago, but I left my camera at Reem's for a while, so I couldn't post it. We had a fun time listening to some music, sharing lunch, and playing with our friends. For ten years I've been waiting for these days, to see Reem's and my kids playing together. Life is good. 
Getting ready for Sareena's wedding
A couple of weeks ago, while I took a shower after my morning run, the girls were entertaining themselves in our bedroom/bathroom. Apparently while I was in there, they found a brown pen/marker that I use for journaling. Rowan drew all over both girls, and a book I left by the bed. I was impressed that they kept it so neat, to be honest, since they were sitting on my bed while they drew and there are only a couple tiny marks on the pillowcase. Taking their pictures before I scrubbed it off them, I was reminded of these old photos of Reema and me.
Apparently the girls are really excited for Sareena's big day. In about 20 years. Or maybe they're planning on an Indian wedding themselves? Milin and Rohin, I'm looking at you, don't try anything...;)
I have a blog?!
Oh right. That's right. Posting. The girls. Preserving family memories, blah blah blah. I forgot.
We've been having the usual busy summer. We went to the lake for the 4th of July. Rowan had her first s'mores, which she loved as much as you would expect. Saoirse loved the fireworks, I can still hear see her grin, eyebrows raised, saying, "See dat?!" after every burst. Awesome. I've seen a lot of fireworks, but out on the pontoon in the middle of the lake, surrounded by other boats, and having fireworks going off from houses all around you had got to be the best.
We also made a trip up north, spending some time in Traverse City with great friends. The group is growing all the time, this time there were 8 adults and 9 children 5 and under. The girls had their first sailboat ride, which they loved. They spent a lot of time in the sand.
Then we hit Mt. Pleasant for a wedding. The girls had fun, and enjoyed the night in a hotel a lot too. We got an upgrade on our hotel room because the room we reserved wasn't ready yet, and our room had a huge jacuzzi tub right next to the beds. When we walked in, both girls ran to it yelling, "Bathroom!!"
And here are the girls, being cute with ponytails. Aren't they getting big?
