Auntie Sarah/Sophia Day #2: The Sleepover

A week ago this morning I dragged myself out of bed after a night of fitful sleep. Clint had already let the dog out so I tiptoed into the kitchen to get my coffee. Sipping it groggily, I contemplated stealing downstairs to sit at the computer – but I dared not. I opted instead to slink back into my room to grab my book, and made my way stealthily to the upstairs couch to read for a while.



Why all the clandestine creeping? Was I hungover? Sort of...Sophia was still sleeping in the guest bedroom downstairs and I wanted to keep it that way. It had been her first sleepover at our house and while overall it was successful (i.e., everyone lived and everyone – especially Clint – got some sleep), it was somewhat of a very long night.






The night preceding bedtime went well: she played with Play Doh at the counter while I made tacos, then we watched Toy Story 3 (my first time seeing it...I had to hide my tear-streaked, snotty cry-face from her because I BAWLED at the end!) and got ready for bed. That's when it got interesting.


First of all, Sophia's at the "what's that strange noise" stage, evidently. Plus being in a strange bed at a strange house...not to mention the omnipresent trains that rumble by not even a quarter mile away; she came upstairs to ask me about all sorts of noises many times before I turned out my light. Each time I sent her back down with a logical explanation.




But at 11pm, I couldn't turn her away – the lightning was flashing like paparazzi cameras and the thunder was crack-boom-banging away. I myself don't like thunderstorms, so I completely understand this kid's fear of them...with Clint snoring away obliviously next to me I invited Sophia up onto my side of the bed, where she promptly curled up next to me into the smallest possible ball a skinny 6-year-old can make.



I tried to get some sleep but of course with a little body twitching, twisting and curling around under my arm it was more a case of staying comfortable. After dozing in and out for a few hours, I woke to see the storm had finally abated...it was time for Sophia to crawl back into her own bed. I led her downstairs and tucked her in – the addition of a teddy bear and a small lamp on inside the room aided in calming her – and finally fell back into my own bed, exhausted, for a few more hours of shut-eye.


Let me say here now: I wasn't mad or annoyed with her, poor thing...I was just a WEE bit tired from my own night of restless, broken sleep and needed some coffee and a little quiet time that morning :) After a little while she did come up and wanted to cuddle a bit...soon it was time for breakfast, playing with her camera and then we had to get started with our real plans: a day at the beach with the Van Tassels!



We donned our suits, I packed up a picnic lunch (PBJ sammiches, raspberries, rice krispy bars and juice), got sunblock and towels, grabbed my camera and we were off to the Lake Elmo Park Reserve. I'd never been to a man-made "lake" before so it was quite interesting to see a sandy bottom, the odd water bug and then drains and filters.




We had a great time! The day was hot, a tad humid and the sun was shining; all 3 girls played in the water, built lagoons and had numerous foot races. Christine and I had our fair share of entertainment –  watching the cute girls and also doing quite a bit of chit-chatting. At the end of the afternoon we bundled up and left, a tad sun-burned but tired and happy.

Michael was waiting for us when we drove up to the town home; Sophia's big eyes filled with tears at the prospect of having to leave. It was at once sad and cute: she SO didn't want the day to end; it was a good feeling I'd been successful at yet another Auntie Sarah/Sophia day!