The Drug in Me Is You

We were exhausted. Its been a week since the baby, that we named Amber, was born. We were going crazy. We hadn't anticipated parenthood being this hard. Its been only a week, and every night we get no sleep, due to her nonstop wailing. During the day, its not as bad, but she still cries so much. I held my pillow over my head for the ninth morning in a row. Ryan came into our room, a screaming Lauren squirming in his arms. “Make her stop already!” “I'm trying Ron! She won't stop! I've tried everything, nothings working.” I groaned, and pulled the pillow over my head again.

Several minutes later, she was still crying. I got up, and climbed out of bed, taking Amber out of Ryan's arms. “Come on Amber! Please stop crying!” She kept wailing. I gave up, and put her in her bouncer in the living room. I sat on the couch and watched her kick her little legs, causing her to bounce. Her face was bright red, and she was still screaming her little head off. “You're just going to let her cry?”, Ryan asked, sitting down next to me. “What else is there? She won't stop.” I put her pacifier in her mouth, and she spit it out. I must of put it back in her mouth ten times before she kept it in, sucking on it while her eyes drooped.

Within the next ten minutes, she had finally fallen asleep. Ryan and I sighed, and laid back on the couch. Neither of us wanted to say anything, fearing it would wake her. We sat there in silence, resting our eyes for a while. Twenty minutes later, there was a loud knocking on our door. I ran to open it. “Hey man, how are you guys doing with the baby? She keep you guys up again?”, he asked as he entered. His loud voice woke Amber, and she started crying again. “Damn it Ronnie, we just got her to sleep.” “Oh, sorry.”

Later, she had calmed down again. Ryan had her laying on the couch, and he was tickling her feet, watching her laugh and squirm around. It really was too cute. Ryan and I are awesome parents, and we always will be. Hopefully it'll get easier as she gets older. Of course we'll make mistakes, but who doesn't? We'll just learn from them as we go. She's a miracle, our miracle. And we love her so much. No matter how hard it will be to handle her.

Three Years Later......

I was in the kitchen, getting the cake ready for the party. Today is Amber's third birthday, and we are so busy. Her first birthday was amazing, and her second was awesome. But this year seems to be the most hectic. “Ryan, could you go find Amber?” “You don't know where she is?” “Obviously not. Could you just finder and make sure she's dressed and ready?” He nodded, and went to find our little girl. Ryan and I had gotten even closer since she was born, if that's even possible. Amber was only a year old when I asked him to marry me. We've been one big happy family ever since. Five minutes later, I heard Ryan yell from the other room, bringing me back to reality. I couldn't help wonder what the hell he was doing. “Ron! Get over here!” I sighed, and put the spoon in my hand down. I went to go see what the problem was. “Ry, what's going on in he-” I stopped short when I entered the room.

“Amber! What did you do?!” She stood in the middle of the room, paint was all over her and her clothes. “I said you could paint a picture, not yourself. Now we have to clean you up!” She pouted, and crossed her arms. “No!” “Yes, now go take a bath. Ry, can you give her a bath? I have to finish the food.” “Sure.” He took her hand, and led her to the bathroom. I could hear him argue with her as I walked back to the kitchen. “No Mommy! I don't want a bath!” “Amber, you have to, now get over here.” “No!” “Amber! Get in the bathtub!” I chuckled. Ryan is a great dad, but he is so hilarious when he tries to reason with her. I think he forgets she's a three year old sometimes.

By the time I was finished in the kitchen, Ryan came back with Amber in his arms. “She's all clean. It wasn't easy, but I managed.” “Good, now go play in your room like a good girl, okay sweetie?” “Okay daddy!” Ryan put her down, and she ran upstairs. “She's such a hand full.” “I know, but she's too cute. That's why she gets away with everything.” Ronnie, Jacky and Derek came in. “Hey guys, where's the little princess?” “Hey Ronnie. She's upstairs in her room. Do you know what she did? She got covered in paint, and Ryan had to give her a bath.”

“Oh my god, really?” “Yeah, she's such a little troublemaker.” “Kids do things like that, they can't help it.” “I'm gonna go see her.” Ronnie went upstairs to Amber's room, but came back quicker than we thought he would. “She's not up there.” “What?” “She isn't. I looked in every room.” “Where the hell is she now?” We all went to look for her. “I'll check the yard.” “Okay Jacky, thanks.” He went out into the yard, while we searched the rest of the house. “Jacky came back in.”Uh, Guys, I found her.”He brought her in, and she was covered in mud. Even her new white dress. “I don't think it was smart to put white on her, and then leave her alone.”

“Amber! Again?!” “I'm sorry daddy.” “Aww, she's so cute.” I shot Derek a glare.”Not helping.” “Sorry.” Ryan sighed. “I'll give her another bath.” He picked her up, and brought her back to the bathroom. “Mommy no! No more bath!” She was kicking and screaming as he carried her off. I shook my head. “That kid is so stubborn.” “She's just like her parents. Don't worry, she'll get worse as she gets older.” “Thanks Ronnie, that really helps.” He laughed. “No problem man.” I rolled my eyes. “Alright, lets go bring the cake out.”

Eventually, Amber was clean, and we mad sure she stayed that way. We were ready for her to have her cake. “Amber! Come here!” She came running in as fast as her little feet could carry her. She leaped into my arms. “How's my little princess?” She giggled like mad, and I kissed her forehead. “Ready for cake?” She nodded eagerly, her brown hair bouncing everywhere. I sat her in the chair in front of it. We lit the candles and turned off the light, sang happy birthday to her, and she blew out the candles as best she could. We all clapped. “Yay Amber! You did it!” She squealed happily and clapped her hands. Then she stuck her hand in the cake. “Lauren! Don't do that!” She laughed, and I shock my head. Ronnie came over to me. “If you think she's trouble now, wait until she's a teenager. She'll really be a handful then.” Great. I can't wait.