Sleeping Babies

That witching hour or so between dinner and bedtime can be so frustrating at our house. Especially if Sofia did not take a nap that day. She will be beyond tired but will never ever admit it. It can be a battle to get her to bed because she is a pro at delaying bedtime. Once the request to put on pajamas has been made, she realizes there are a million other things she has to do. Oh, I didn't brush my teeth yet. But I need your help. I need you to pick out my pajamas. Can you turn on the radio? I need a glass of water. No, not in that cup, in the Hello Kitty cup. No, not THAT Hello Kitty cup... Meanwhile, Jacob will be wailing in his crib because when it comes to bedtime, he is his sister reincarnated. And yet Thomas will have been asleep for that past 25 minutes having quietly laid down on his own with his right thumb in his mouth and his left hand on his ear. I never want to compare my children to each other, but really, why can't you all be more like Thomas when it comes to falling asleep?!?

And then, after everyone has been silent for a little while, I walk in to find the epitome of peacefulness. 

I mean really... Is there anything more beautiful than sleeping babies? I always feel compelled to take a photo. I think it's so I have a reminder of what peacefulness is. My phone is filled with photos of the boys sleeping. (Although Sofia is also very peaceful when she is sleeping, she's moved passed the breathtaking-when-sleeping phase and into the crazy-hair-poking-out-from-the-covers-and-your-bed-is-covered-in-books-and-stuffed-animals-so-how-could-that-possibly-be-comfortable phase).

They look so relaxed, so... quiet.

Heart = exploded.

Slept like a baby - this is what that is. 

So much sibling love. Fills me with joy.

There's just something about Thomas and Jacob sleeping together that has always warmed my heart. I've taken photos of them together from the first day they were both home from the NICU. I stopped for a while because I felt silly taking all these photos of sleeping babies and they all looked like essentially the same photo. But now I see their purpose. I think whenever I'm having a bad day, I'm just going to come back to this post and look through the photos. Because it doesn't matter how frustrating my day has been, one look at these sleeping babies and my heart melts and my worries and frustrations disappear. This is going to be my advice to new moms from now on. Take lots of photos of your babies sleeping. Sure they might be nearly identical photos, but when you need a pick me up or a little reminder that things could be worse/can get better/aren't that bad, I guarantee those photos will work wonders. I'm thinking these photos will also come in handy when the boys start fighting because I can say to myself, "Look, they get along fabulously when they're sleeping."