So we’ve really perfected a word. “HI!” And we are so proud of it. Every once in a while (ok – every once in an hour during the night), Quinn or I wake up to tell the other one hi. It’s not uncommon for me to wake to this, “hi. hi. hi. Hi. Hi. HI! HIII! HIIII!!!” And he does it until I wake up to say hi back. Once I do, game over – back to sleep. Occasionally, he is waving to the gnomes that are on our shelves, but for the most part, he waits until I wake up, say hi back (and there must be a wave!) and then it’s nite nite time for him again. Then i’m the one left to soothe myself back to sleep. Well… on a night in July, I was sound asleep and kept hearing “hi’s” – I thought they were in my dream until I woke up to find Quinn, barely awake, waiting for a hi back. I gave it to him and this is how he fell back to sleep. I mean… REALLY?! How is it possible? And he slept like this for longer than you’d think comfortable. Poor guy – I should have woke sooner to satisfy his need for a return hello. Next time.

HI!
Cooper

I know I live in San Francisco and all… and anything goes, but when mom pulls my hair back in a clip to keep it from falling in my face, it makes me wonder if she’s pretending – even for a minute – that I’m a girl. Or she just doesn’t want to cut my lovely locks!

Help me!
Quinn

I promise to be good on the plane if I can have just one more cracker…

We’re sad that this is our last night with our Carmichael relatives, but mom and dad promise we’ll come back next year. For those reading, please send good thoughts for the plane ride tomorrow – we have to get up after just 6 hours of sleep and fly across the country. It’s sure to be entertaining for all involved.

Peace out, South Carolina (SoCo, as we call it).
Quinn and Coop

Just wish we could see them more than once a year…

I also don’t love it… Last year, I had the same look on my face from the second I stepped on the beach until the second I left… this year was pretty much the same except I broke for a second to throw a smile mama’s way…

One of mom’s old grade school pals lives about 30 minutes from where we are vacationing in South Carolina, and she and her rad family came by to see us. What a treat that was. And it was a treat for mom to see her after more than 10 years!

My favorite thing about this picture is what a dork Quinn looks like. I mean, I’m certainly not the most photogenic person on the planet, but at least I don’t dress up like he does!

Cool as ice,
Coop

P.S. Nice to meet you Colin, Claire and Jackson!

My skin is really mad at me today. I thought it was just me hating the beach, but I was actually having some kind of reaction to the sunscreen… Thankfully, our fabulous pediatrician (love you, Dr. McMahan) came to the rescue and diagnosed it as photo-contact dermatitis – basically, it’s a “transient phenomenon where UV light exacerbates an allergy/sensitivity (in my case, the chemicals in the sunscreen)… so this is what happened. The great news is that that I got a new sunscreen that’s zinc-based, and we are good to go.

Bump-free
Cooper

How, oh how, did people travel with kids like us before portable dvd players? Not only did this tv with wheels come in handy on the plane, but we are using it every night before bed to give us some sort of normalcy while in fiznatty South Carolina. Mom and dad credit this dvd player for us being on such a great schedule while on vacation with the Carmichael/Sherman crew.

Big shout out to Shelby for giving up her tube to us this week!