Not A Baby Anymore

"Papa! Papa, wake up!" Katie screams, throwing open the door and jumping up on the bed, her brother hot on her heels.

"Katherine! Jeremy! Quit jumping on the bed and be quiet! Your little sister is still sleeping." I snap, turning to the sleeping infant on my right. Thankfully, Amelia is still sleeping soundly.

"But Papa," Jeremy whispers, crawling onto my lap. "Daddy's coming home today, remember? We have to pick him up from the airport." 

I smile at my second oldest child and brush his hair out of his eyes. It's time for a haircut. "Yes, sweetheart. I remember but we don't have to go get him for another six hours. Do you know how much we can get done in six hours?" 

Katie bounces up and down excitedly. "We can make daddy 'Welcome home' signs!"

I laugh and nod. "That sounds like a great idea, Katie-kins, but how about some breakfast first?" 

They both cheer and race out of the room. I can hear their feet trampling down the stairs and into the kitchen. I laugh and shake my head, my heart filling with love and adoration for my children.

I gather Amelia into my arms carefully so as not to wake her up. She's only five months and has yet to sleep through the night. I finally got her to stop screaming two hours ago and she's due to wake up any minute now, looking for food.

I pad into the kitchen and set the infant in her bassinet, rolling it up to the table with her siblings.

"So," I grin, leaning on the table between the two eldest. "What shall it be? Boring old cereal or.....pancakes?" 

"Pancakes!" They screech in unison. 

I quiet them down by flipping on Handy Manny and handing them sippy cups full of their favorite: watered down apple juice. I then set to work on the pancakes.

I've made them so many times that it's practically effortless. Before long I'm buttering a stack for Jeremy and spreading strawberry jam over a stack for Katie. They dig in quickly, soon becoming a mess. I decide to worry about their mess later and start on the dishes.

"Papa!" Jeremy squeals. "Katie is feeding Mia pancakes!" 

I spin around quickly and stop Katie from smearing jam all over Amelia's face again. "Jeremy, you're such a tattle tail." Katie sighs.

"Just eat your breakfast." I scold, picking up the now-awake baby and fixing a bottle. She accepts the nip into her mouth the second I put it to her lips. I smile at my green eyed bundle of joy as she sucks down the milk eagerly.

Once the bottle is done for, I hold her to my shoulder and pat her back, rocking her up and down. She buries a hand deep in my hair and runs it between her fingers. I smile when I realize that she's fallen back to sleep and go upstairs to put her in her crib, making sure to turn the baby monitor on before heading back downstairs.

Katie and Jeremy are finished with their breakfast and I clean then up quickly before pulling out their art supplies and letting them loose. I help them with the writing but they do most of it on their own.

When they're done, I help them clean up the mess and announce that it's bath time. They scream in horror and race upstairs. I smile and run a bath, making sure to add a generous amount of bubbles, before chasing them down and forcing them into the water.

Katie is five and Jeremy is three. Both young enough to bathe together so I place them side-by-side. During he half hour, I manage to get soaked. You know, the usual. 

Katie insists that she wears her new dress and I help her into it while Jeremy rolls around on the bed naked. I decide to let him have his freedom as I finish dressing Katie and curling her hair to perfection, as per her request. She wants to look pretty for her daddy. He went out on a business trip and we haven't seen him for three days. Though, he does call every night before the kids' bed time.

It's hard to get Daniel to be interested in things but he absolutely adores our kids. That's one of the things I love about him. He hates being away from them for more than 24 hours but sometimes his job demands it. As editor-n-chief for one of New York's most recognized sports magazines, it'd be weird if it didn't.

I dress Jeremy in jeans and his "Daddy's little boy" T-shirt. He's just the cutest little boy on the planet.

"How about if papa makes you some hotdogs for lunch?" I ask. His face lights up and he nods, throwing his arms around my neck. I pick him up and lead Katie back downstairs. They play in their toy room while I make lunch and somehow, they manage to keep themselves clean while they eat.

After lunch I put them down for a nap, with much protest from them. Once I tell them that we can go pick up daddy when they wake up, though, they lay down without hesitation.

With all three kids down, I take a shower myself and get ready as well. I haven't seen my husband in 72 hours and I'm definitely feeling his absence. I miss waking up next to him and taking the kids to the park with him and staying up with him after all three of them have gone down for the night, no matter how tired we both might be.

I make sure the house is in order before packing a diaper bag. Then I wake Amelia and feed her before waking up Katie and Jeremy. They spring up from their beds and would be in the car already if they knew how to work the garage door. I put their shoes on them and strap them into their car seats before starting the long journey to the airport.

By the time we get there, Katie has fallen asleep again but Jeremy is as hyper as ever and Amelia is just a smiley little thing. I fix up the stroller and instruct the oldest two to grab a side each so they don't wander off. 

We have to wait half an hour for Daniel's flight to land and unload but soon enough, I get a text saying that he's on his way through the terminal. I give Katie and Jeremy their signs with instructions to stay close to me.

They jump up and down with excitement and I watch over them with adoration. I really couldn't love them anymore than I already do. They have conquered my whole heart and then some.

"Papa, look!" Katie yells. I follow her finger and see Daniel through the crowd of weary travelers. He notices me and his entire being lights up. He sets his suitcase down and opens his arms wide. Jeremy and Katie drop their signs and run to him, hugging him tightly and attacking his face with kisses.

He laughs and kisses them back, picking them both up and walking over to me and Mia. "How were my babies?"

"They were a handful but nothing less than our perfect angels." I say. 

He smiles down at me. "I meant all of my babies."

I feel a blush creep over my cheeks and he leans down to kiss me passionately. "I missed you."

"I missed you too." He admits. "But I'm back now." 

I smile back at him and then to our kids. What more could I ask for?



"Papa! Papa, did you hear me?" Katie asks, waving her hand in front of my face. She's so grown up now.

"I'm sorry, baby girl." I apologize, realizing that I drifted off. I stir a pot on the stove before covering it with a lid and allowing it to simmer. "What'd you say?"

"Spencer asked me on a date this Friday night." She says again. "Can I go?" 

"Daniel!" I yell, not quite knowing how to handle this. "Daniel, come here!"

"Papa, really? Daddy doesn't have to know about this." She whines.

"I don't have to know about what?" Daniel asks, walking into the room and observing the pots.

"Spencer asked Katie out on a date." I say.

I see him tense and for a moment before looking over at her. "Spencer seems like a nice kid. We'll need to know where you're going but I don't see why not." 

Katie squeals before throwing her arms around him. "Thank you, daddy!" She runs from the room before anything else is said.

Daniel leans against the counter, suddenly looking very exhausted. I wrap my arms around him and he leans into me. "What's wrong honey?"

"Keith, our babies are aren't babies anymore. Katie just got asked out on her first date. I just had 'The Talk' with Jeremy. Mia has started having her period. Pretty soon they'll all be grown up and we'll have an empty nest." 

I kiss him tenderly and run my fingers through his hair. "We've got years until that happens and you know that they'll always be around. Plus, you've always got me. I'm not going anywhere." 

He looks down at me and kisses me again. "I love you, Keith."

"I love you too." I smile back.

Suddenly we hear a crash and a grunt. "Jeremy Thomas Walker! What have I told you about skating in the house?!" I scream, walking into the hallway and seeing that he knocked over a picture of the kids when they were little. 

"Sorry papa." He says sheepishly, grabbing his board and racing up the stairs.

I rub my temples and sigh. "Jeremy has dishes tonight! Mia, come set the table! Katie, if that damn Chemistry project isn't done tomorrow night, no date!"

I receive three "Yes papa"'s before I smile in content and return to the kitchen. I catch Daniel fishing out a spaghetti noodle and shoo him from the room. He complies but not before smacking my ass. I can't help but smile and feel the love of this house. 

No, my babies aren't babies anymore.

But I'll always be their papa.

Daniel will always be their daddy.

And they'll always be our babies.