4:36 a.m.

With four children five and under, there is no such thing as sleeping through the night at our house. It's always something--a cold, teething, a bad dream--and then it's up to mom and dad's bedroom for some reassurance. Then back down to their bedrooms to be tucked back in, patted on the back, and laid by for a few minutes. (Unless of course they simply make a bed on our floor and decide not to bother waking us up. Or if you're Emma you can just climb up on Dad's side of the bed and he never even notices!) And that's just the three big kids. The baby is a whole other story. He always starts the night out in his bed, but after waking up a few times, the fatigue catches up with us and we break. Yep, back into our bed too. Sometimes it's like a circus in there. And it's only a queen size bed for heaven's sake! Sometimes it's extra sweet though to have those little bodies curled up next to yours, feeling so safe and secure by your side. I just keep reminding myself that I have the rest of my life to sleep through the night, but I don't have the rest of my life to cuddle with these babies. That the day is going to come all too fast when the last thing in the world they want, or will admit to wanting, is to cuddle up in mommy's arms. And so, yes I'll admit it, I'm a bedtime pushover. Having all these little ones in my bed reminds me of the olden days where multiple people shared a bed. They kept each other warm and hardly even noticed the leg draped over theirs, or the arm stretched out across their face. Well, I can't say Nick and I don't notice, but our children seem pretty immune to it. Whenever they end up in our bed, they lay all over each other and sleep right through it. Which actually is what prompted this post. I woke up early this morning--4:36 a.m.--and there were my two littlest loves, cute as ever.



Emmie must have pulled the usual crawl in on Dad's side and then roll over him stunt, and I brought Mason in an hour earlier. At some point he must have deserted nursing and decided to cuddle up with his big sister. She didn't even notice, either that, or she just didn't mind. After capturing the moment on camera, I laid awake for a while just looking at them. Oh how I wish they would stay little forever. But then these circles under my eyes won't ever go away. Oh well.