I See You

The neighborhood kids have been playing basketball outside ALL summer. They are loud and obnoxious... but that's beside the point. When we put Shyla down for bed for the last several months, she stays up late watching the kids play outside. More recently, when we ask her what's she's doing and why isn't she in bed, she responds with, "I'm talking to my friends". We think it's adorable that she calls the kids her "friends" when she's never even talked to them. When the kids are talking to each other outside, she's talking to them out her window as if they were talking to her.

Below is Shyla smiling at me when I told her to say "cheese". And the next picture is farther away so you can see the perspective that others see when they are outside.

This is what we found a couple hours after initially putting her down for bed. We even sometimes put her to bed earlier than we want so that maybe she will get tired of watching the kids sooner and go to sleep. There have even been times we go to check on her and she's passed out horizontal across her pillow with her feet hanging off the bed... it's hard to not laugh. It what kids do... they make us laugh... it really is the best medicine.

And yes, we know the shade is ripped. This is the second one we've had in her room.

This particular picture was taken the day after the one above but it shows the "other" side of what's going on. I came in her room, turned on the light, and took several pictures WITH flash, and she didn't even know I was there until I said her name. When she saw me she started laughing and I had to bribe her with reading 2 more books and singing another song before she'd go to sleep.

I no longer wonder why sometimes she's cranky in the morning or wants a nap sooner than usual.