Adventures of the Playpen

After a nice dream about colors and shapes, Alex wakes up, finding his pacifier just barely sitting in his mouth. He rolls over and pushes himself into a sitting position before falling straight back over, his head still being too heavy from sleep to hold up. He turns his head to the side so he can breathe, peering around.

He finds that he's not alone in his crib. Jack had been apparently laid beside him to sleep, but he's awake as well, sitting up in the corner sucking on the edge of his blanket contentedly.

Alex pushes himself up again, this time staying upright. He notices immediately that his bottom isn't dry and he curls his bottom lip as he starts to cry. Jack watches him for a moment before dropping the blanket, his face scrunching as he also lets out a wail.

He watches through the bars of the crib, waiting for his mom to come in to get him. It doesn't take long for the two women to appear and Alex holds his arms up to be picked up, opening and closing his hands.

He stops full on crying once he's lifted from the crib though he continues to whine, just bordering on crying.

"He needs to be changed," he hears his mom say and he jerks his head around to find the source of her voice, finding she's holding the other baby. He turns back to find that obviously, it isn't his mom who's arms he is in but Jack's.

He doesn't care too much since he's out of that godforsaken baby jail the adults call a crib, just as long as his booty gets dried. Although he really doesn't like that his mommy is holding another baby. She's a traitor.

Once his diaper is changed and he is clean and dry, he stops whining, popping his thumb into his mouth since somewhere in the process, he'd lost his pacifier. When Joyce picks him back up, he relents easily and lays his head against her. He has to say, her chest makes quite a great pillow.

"You are such a sweet boy," she coos, bouncing him lightly and running her hand over his head, laying down his soft hair that'd been sticking up on one side from his sleep.

"Does he sleep through the night yet?" she asks his mom.

"Sometimes. Around four months old he'd gotten to where he would, but then he got sick and that messed up his sleeping schedule and since then he's gotten where he wakes up again. Just once or twice." she explains, "What about Mr. Jacky here?"

"He has for a couple of weeks now. He usually sleeps through the night but occasionally he'll wake up once for a bottle," Joyce answers, smiling and lightly pinching her son's cheek, "My big boy."

Once he gets the attention from his mom, Jack reaches his hands out for her and grunts. She laughs and uses her other arm to take him from Isobel and set him on her hip.

"Should I take him?" Isobel asks and she shakes her head, "No, I've got it, girl."

"Are you two having fun together?" She coos, bouncing them both a little.

Alex leans forward a little, taking his fingers from his mouth and reaching for Jack's pacifier with a wet hand. He manages to get it, snatching it from Jack's mouth and popping it in his, sucking on it.

"Alexander William, that is not nice," Isobel scolds lightly but Alex doesn't care. At the age he is, he's still a little too young to grasp the concept of not every pacifier around his house is not his.

Joyce laughs lightly, "It's fine, really. Jacky doesn't care too much for it. He'll suck on it if it's there but he doesn't have to have it or anything. I just give it to him because it helps him stay asleep and keeps him content during car rides."

"What? A baby not attached to his pacifier? Alex, do you hear that?" Isobel teases, ruffling the blonde hair on her sons head, "This boy doesn't let his get further than ten feet from him."

She acts like it's a big thing, but Alex is a really good baby, just as Jack is. He's content to be by himself well, never really, but he doesn't cry much and he's generally very happy. He just likes his pacifier.