6:40 dog

I'm sure I'm not alone when I say "I've been up since 4".

After one really messy diaper and a few attempts at settling, I gave up this morning.  A nasty cycle starts when all Axel can do is whine.  He whines while sleeping, he whines even while I lay with him, and this morning at 5, I gave up the charade and decided to play.  There's never a bad time to play with your kids right?

I started to play his favorite game...lick each others noses.  However repulsive this may sound to the kid-less folk out there, it is a rather amusing game.  First, I try to lick Axel's nose...usually I succeed.  Then (this is the part he doesn't quite get), he tries to lick my nose...although he doesn't move his head, so I move my nose to his tongue.

This morning as always, he started belly laughing so hard, tears were coming out of his eyes...my eyes too (although I think I was crying...hard to tell when you are so exhausted).  30 minutes went by and he had nearly laughed himself to sleep.  I was shocked that it worked the same way as crying...they both end in slumber.

At 6:40 when my day was about to begin, I heard the familiar sound of my neighbors dog barking.  Every morning without fail, the neighborhood rooster/terrier wakes us all up.  Today, just as Axel was beginning to close his eyes, just as I was beginning to sew in my mind, the familiar neighborhood sound met my hopeful thoughts and all was right with the world.

Buenos Dias!