"So very tired"

Poor Big Sister.

Before we left for the beach, she had not been feeling herself. And Little Sister's night waking due to teething had started to take a toll on us all.

Then we woke up (as she puts it) "really really early so it's still the middle of the night and the sun isn't awake yet" for the drive to the coast.

And since we've been here, bedtimes have been later, naps have been (for the most part) absent, and mornings have been earlier (it's just too exciting to sleep in!). Combine that with the salty air and the (LOTS of) extra activity, and we've got one exhausted kid.

Yesterday, she reached her limit. After lunch she started to lose her ability to complete simple tasks like putting on her flip flops or standing still for sunscreen. By the time we got down to the beach, she was very whiny and couldn't decide what she wanted to do. Stand in the water? No. Build a castle? Not really. Look for shells and sharks' teeth? Not right now.


She was breaking our biggest beach rule, one that we borrowed from a sign in the house we are renting:

Finally, she told me what was wrong. "I'm just so very tired." And then, my three-year-old, who hasn't willingly napped in over a year, laid down on the beach and instantly fell asleep. Then she came back to our place and went to bed, sleeping straight through from 6:30 until 7 this morning.

Today she is sweet and rested, her eyes a little less sleepy and a little more alert. She is standing on a chair in the kitchen, helping her nana make dessert for tonight (banana pudding). The hours of beach relaxation therapy seem to have done wonders.

Yeah. Poor Big Sister...