This post is sponsored by Hanna Andersson, maker of some of our family’s favorite organic cotton pajamas.
Bedtime is my favorite time of day with my family. I don’t say that only because I’m eager for my kids to be sweetly sleeping instead of swinging from the proverbial rafters (though sleep, of course, is the desired outcome).
By the end of the day, I crave a ritual of rest. In the precious moments before my kids fall asleep, the running list of tasks and responsibilities and deadlines going through my head gets eclipsed by the simpler concerns of choosing a book, or pulling pajamas over tiny arms and legs. When teeth are cleaned and negotiations about hair brushing are complete, when a stack of stories is finally decided on, we pile into bed together and we surrender. 
It’s ingrained, no doubt, from scenes from my own childhood. Close my eyes and I can conjure the exact feeling of laying with my head on my dad’s chest, the reverberations echoing behind his sternum as he read us stories, the scratch of his beard as I tucked myself in tighter under his chin. Today when I read a passage from a book, I don’t hear my own voice, but my mom’s. My intakes of breath an involuntary replica of the sounds I listened to as a child in the moments before I went to sleep.
Anyone will tell you that parenting is not always simple. In a given day there might be a million complications–competing desires and distractions and hurdles to leap over. There are demands to satisfy or distract from and vagaries of mood and energy to navigate. Bedtime doesn’t make any of that go away, but it does take the chaotic moments of day and distill them into the essential ones. And you realize: this is it, childhood memories a tangle of limbs and heartbeats and stories at bedtime.
This post was sponsored by Hanna Andersson. We’re wearing their Classic Striped Pajamas in Heather Gray in these shots. If you’re interested, new customers can get 20% off right this way. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Reading My Tea Leaves.
Photos by Whitney Kidder.
24 Comments
Faye is your tiny twin! What a lovely family you have, big gummy smiles and all 🙂
Silas is very like James! They have the very same eyes and expression!
Please tell me your husband has a matching pair too!
🙂
ooh these photos are just the cutest ,I love your matching Pj’s x
These photos are so sweet! And those pajamas look super cozy! 🙂
Echoing the comments before me but, Erin these really are some of the sweetest photos. It almost makes me want to add a forth to our trio.
Also if you don’t mind,what age did Faye transition from crib to bed?
Thanks so much! We transitioned Faye out of her crib a month or so before she turned two (in large part because we’d be traveling and staying in a house without a crib)!
When my boys were little, I always wanted to get them some duds from Hannah Andersson — for one thing, my husband’s family is from Norway and Denmark so I related to the Scandinavian vibe. We didn’t have much money back then, but we each of them had one or two of those little hats that tie under the chin. Memories!
Does he have Dad’s eyes?! Such great photos!
Yup! Tiny replicas!
That photo of you breastfeeding is exactly me at bedtime. Bedtime stories for big sister and boob for the little mister. A sign the day is almost over! Thanks for sharing, I’m always looking for good quality kids’ basics 🙂
These are such gorgeous photos. And the Hanna Andersson zip-ups were my favorites for my babies!
Oh, these PJ’s look so comfy! Sweet, sweet pics 🙂
These photos are absolutely gorgeous! And we love our Hanna’s, they hold up so well through all the numerous wear + washings.
love the branch wind chime/dream catcher thing. did you make that?
I did!
Loved this post. So sweet! I am due with my second in the late summer and am actually anxious about coordinating it all 🙂
Maya, that is so awesome. It’s so hard and so beautiful, and you’re going to be okay. We mamas figure it out, even when we’re weepy and confused 😉
These are so beautiful!! I mean your pictures 🙂 The jammies look so comfortable I think I just relaxed a notch or two thinking about them. Oh, those baby days and rubber pacis and feet in the air. Yum. Also, can we talk about your pretty rings?
How many pairs of pjs do you have for each babe? Do you have a post on how much clothing you have for each kid & how often you do laundry? I’m curious! Thank you!!!!
Faye has three pairs of pajamas. Silas has more than that but I haven’t done a count! We’re in the throes of a very spot-up filled time of life so there’s a lot laundry happening lately! We usually have to send laundry to the laundromat twice a week these days!
Lovely post! Question for you on the adult Hannas – do they stretch or shrink at all? Trying to decide between two sizes – more snug vs. looser fit. I like the look of the snugger fit but am afraid of shrinkage!
Mine didn’t shrink very much at all in the wash!
Love this post of you and the kiddos. What special memories you are making. Also, have to comment on your vintage bed made into the next generations heirlooms. Bravo!-Laurel Bledsoe
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