Ryan has been beyond incredible. He was able to take four months off work for paternity leave when the babies were born and I honestly don’t know what I would have done without him. When we first got home from the hospital and I was still sore from my C-section, he must have changed a hundred diapers with barely any help from me. He made sure that the fridge was stocked and my pump parts were clean, and minus the fact that he gets about three more hours of sleep a night than I do, I’d still give him a five-star dad review.

I hear his footsteps coming back down the hall and I already know what I’m about to see. I turn onto my side and smile as he enters our bedroom with both Tim and Mia in his arms.

“This,” I say as I sit up, “goes against everything we read about in the baby sleep books.”

“I know, but they told me they want you to tell them a story.”

“Really now?” I hold out my arms to take Mia as Ryan sits down on the bed with Tim already back to sleep and nuzzling into his shoulder. With my daughter safely in my arms, I pull her bunched-up pink onesie away from her chin.

“And what story do you want to hear tonight, little lady?”

She reaches her chubby hands up towards me and I lean down so she can touch my cheeks. Yes, she’s basically rubbing drool into my face but I’m grossly okay with it. I lay her down next to me on the bed as Ryan lays Tim beside her.

Now, I know I’m biased, but I do think my babies are the cutest things to have ever crawled this planet. They’re both blonds but have my brown eyes. Mia is slightly chunkier than her brother but that’s only because Tim is taller. I used to think they both looked just like Ryan, but I see more of me in them every day.

I lean over to give Tim a kiss and have to chuckle when I see his little cheek pulled back in a half smile. His name fits him so perfectly. My mom said Dad smiled in his sleep, too. Mia tugs on my hair a second later and I twist my head away, trying to untangle my ponytail from her crazy strong grip. I’ve lost more than enough hair post-babies, thank you very much.

Ryan rubs Tim’s stomach and looks over at me. “How about I do the story tonight?”

“This should be interesting.” I slide down the bed until I’m snuggled up next to Mia. I tickle her neck as Ryan lies down on his side next to Tim, propping himself up with one arm.