sleepless nights and sleepy days

The sleepless nights are courtesy of 6 month old Kira, and the sleepy days belong to her mom. I would like to punch the next person who asks us if Kira is "sleeping through the night." We are being punished for bragging so much about our wonderful angel baby who slept through the night before she was a month old. It seems she is turning into the newborn she never was.
In the early weeks, Kira would wake up for a feeding or two each night, but would fall asleep easily with a full belly. As a family, we were late to bed and late to rise, but Kira seemed to be just like us in that regard. We always got at least one 4-5 hour stretch of sleep at a time during the night, and that, friends, is sleeping through the night. We were impressed with our angel baby and took every opportunity to brag. The transition to the crib was even a smooth one. Kira was able, with pacifier and yellow blankie nearby, to put herself to sleep with no problem at all.
The trouble began a few weeks ago. Suddenly, Kira decided she wanted to play at night. Her crib became more of a "baby jail" and she wanted OUT! Nighttime became a game of rocking, reading, and rubbing the back...all to the sounds of tears and wails. Wait a minute...aren't kids supposed to START sleeping through the night as they get older. Why is she STOPPING sleeping through the night? At first we thought it was teething...but no pearly whites have been added to the early two. Then, we thought it might be that she missed sleeping with us...but she is happy to climb and play on top of us in our bed if we move her there. Finally, I decided...it must be a growth spurt...but one that lasts for WEEKS on end?
So, here we are. One playful baby and one tired momma. Even daddy has taken his turn forming a palat on the ground in the living room so I could get some sleep. Daytime turns to nighttime and she only seems to gather more energy than before.
And once she falls asleep, she doesn't stay that way for long. It's up every 2-3 hours to nurse. I feel like the mother of a newborn all over again. Only this time I don't have the luxury of a stay-at-home-dad or maternity leave to help. I was once a hip mom...everyone always saying how good I looked, and how do I find the time? Now I live in my jammies, throw my rarely washed hair into a ponytail, grab one cup of coffee in the morning and try to wake up all day. No one has said I look good in a long time.
And just where is Kira now? Shhhhhhhh.....she's asleep in her crib for the longest nap she's had in DAYS...maybe even WEEKS! I only hope it is the start of a new trend.