Rylan always got up early enough to have a very thrilling adventure in his bathtub. He'd bring out his pretend periscope and dive under the 6 inch deep pool. When submerged it was no longer a bath but a large sea, full of interesting plants and creatures, one worthy of exploration. After a while, searching coral for treasures and fighting off squids got a bit boring, so Rylan would get out and get ready for school. More playtime followed after dressing, this time on his horse. At first he was just rocking back and forth, but soon it came to riding his steed at full gallop in an attempt to escape the fire breathing dragon that pursued him. The horse reared up on it's hind legs while Rylan pointed his imaginary sword at the sky and shouted his battle cry before once again hitting the ground again at full speed. He had just escaped the burning ruins when his mother called him for breakfast.
Rylan dismounted and bounded down the stairs. He sat at the table and munched down his French toast just in time. The school bus pulled up to the house and honked the horn. Rylan hugged his mother and ran out the door. He was highly enjoying school and loved going every day. He liked all his classmates, and admired his teachers. Though he didn't have a favorite friend yet, he did have a preferred lesson. He dealt with the reading, and went through the math without complaint, but when he finally got to his music class he sat with rapt attention. He had plans in his future to ask his parents for a instrument, but hadn't decided which one yet.
The girls had all learned most of the things they would need to get by with in life at this time. All three of them had learned to use the potty chairs instead of diapers, but Caylin still wore a pull up at night. Each girl had learned how to speak easily, but Caylin and Dayna had the most practice since they talked nearly all the time. Brenna spoke very well, but still kept quiet most of the time. Dayna was a little behind in learning to walk, still unable or maybe unwilling to keep her balance for more than a few steps. The other two were well on their way to running marathons.
When the toddlers were occupied, David would go downstairs to start making them some breakfast. The three ladies ate their French toast while watching their father clean up and organize the room. David found, in all his days of a stay at home father, that as long as you cleaned up throughout the day, there tended to be much less mess by the night. Even though he knew it was just going to get cluttered again, he kept up with it so he and Rosetta didn't have so much to do later. When the girls finished eating he pulled them out and set them on the floor to entertain themselves while he did their dishes. They spent the rest of the afternoon working on Dayna walking, building blocks or playing with stuffed animals, overall having a good time. By about 2 o'clock every day the girls were put in their favorite napping places - their swings.
Rosetta came home every day to a very happy home. Her husband was always at the door waiting with a hug and kiss as soon as her car pulled in.
"How are our babies?" Rosetta asked as she held him in her arms.
"Sleeping angels right now, but you wait till they get up." David rolled his eyes in mock annoyance, bringing a smile to his wife's face. "They are great as usual. It seems like that 'schedule' we always dreamed that we'd have has finally kicked in. Our first should be home any minute."
Rylan came home from school, when he walked through the door he saw no one, so went upstairs to play in his room until his mom got home and called him for dinner. Reaching the top of the stairs, his ears met silence. The triplets were all in their swings taking an afternoon nap. He tried to sneak by quietly but as soon as he was at his bedroom door Rosetta called him from his parents room.
"Hey honey, welcome home." She whispered, "I've got some time, do you need some help with your homework?"
"Yes yes. I have some math to do." He replied.
She smiled at him, "OK. Well grab it and we'll set down to do it, you and me kid."
Rylan nodded and pulled his notebook and met his mother on the other side of the room. "I've got division today."
When they finished. Rosetta changed clothes in her room while Rylan went off to play and wait for dinner. The triplets were all waking from their naps and asking to get out of their swings. Their mother would happily oblige the requests snuggled and tickled each of them in turn.
Rosetta set Dayna down on the floor and stepped back some, urging the little one to use her own legs to get here where she wanted to go. If she wanted hugs, she'd have to come get them. Rosetta was trying to crack down on her learning how to walk properly because the girls' birthday was coming up very soon. Once she was forced to walk more often, Dayna learned how to balance very quickly. It seems all she needed was a firmer hand than what she had been given before.
Rosetta entered Rylans room one night so she could tuck him into bed and found him riding his rocking horse. He hopped off the moment she came in and made a silly face at her. She smiled, giggled and made one right back at him. Rylan doubled over in laughter. One thing he loved about his parents were the fact that they were always loose and fun. From his times at school he's learned that some parents don't play with their kids like his did.
"Okay big guy, time for sleeping. You ready?"
"Yes yes. Oh wait mommy! I need to check for monsters, since daddy's not here to do it for me." Rylan said.
"Okay. Go ahead."
David was at a gig this night, and would be missing the nightly activities of his family. Usually, since he was brave, he would usually check under beds and in closets for any hidden beasts. None were ever found, though once there was a stuffed snake that made an appearance.
Rylan had inherited his fathers braveness which inspirited him to check things out for himself when he had the chance. Rosetta happily walked with him and smiled as he got down on his hands and knees to inspect the depths of the shadows under his bed. A short moment later she was startled as Rylan jumped back up to his feet with a gasp of shock. He turned on his heel and sprinted toward the door.
Quickly, Rosetta stepped in front of her fleeing child. She put her hands on his arms to stay him. "Whoa. Where you going? What's wrong?" She dropped her arms.
"Momma there's something under there! I saw it!" Rylan exclaimed.
"Oh no, no. There's nothing there hon I'll show you." She turned toward the bed and started to get down, but he pulled her arm.
"No momma don't. It's there it's big and green, there's smoke and everything! It reached for me! He'll get you! Please mommy don't look."
"Oh, honey. Okay." She could see he was truly panicked about something and didn't want him to worry further. She wrapped him in a big hug. "Okay I won't. So I suppose you won't want to sleep in here tonight."
"NO. No way momma. Not with that there, it'll get me for sure! Can I sleep with you tonight? Please?"
Normally Rosetta and David had a strict 'no sleeping with mommy and daddy' policy because they didn't want it to become a habit. As she looked at her frantic son though, normally so brave, she consented to just one night only. She wasn't sure how David would feel about it, but maybe they could move him to his own bed once he was deep asleep.
David came home and had a small snack and sat listening to the silence of the house. It was still a little unnerving to hear nothing when he was home, there was normally noise somewhere. Since everyone was in bed this late night though, he embraced the quiet. Soon though, sleepiness overcame him and he climbed the stairs to crawl in the sheets.
When David got into his bedroom he was shocked to see his spot filled with a much smaller body. He glanced at the other side to see his wife sound asleep. David wondered if she knew that Rylan was in the bed with her. He shrugged, something must have happened. He smiled when Rylan, in his sleep, threw his arm up over his head. Though he didn't want to wake him, David slipped his arms under the child and lifted him. Shifting Rylan's weight to achieve a more comfortable position, he carried his first born back to his own room before getting into his pajamas.
One bright and sunny Saturday brought a birthday among the family. While waiting for his mom to come pull the girls out of the swing, Rylan talked to them as they swung. He was making them all giggle when Rosetta came up to get them ready. It was early morning and she had been cooking the triplets' breakfast while her son humored them. David had been up early this day and was at the park performing for tips, something he did every morning on the weekends for a few hours.
After the girls ate, Rylan wanted to play with them. His mother had taken care of Caylin already and he sat on the floor with her playing his old favorite game - peek-a-boo. Brenna was off by herself, as she often was, playing with something, most likely her favorite doll. Dayna was being tossed around in the air by her mother when Sonia appeared at the top of the steps.
"Hey girl. Hope you don't mind, your door was unlocked and no one answered my knock. How have you been?" She inquired.
Rosetta smiled and placed Dayna securely on a hip before greeting her friend. "I've been good, working and daily life keeps me busy though. How's it going with Steve?"
It was Sonia's turn to smile. "Oh we're so great. Actually, big news, big surprise: We eloped two days ago. We're married now, and starting to try for a baby!"
"That's great honey. I'm happy to hear that." Rosetta tried to give Sonia a disappointed look but she could barely contain a the smile within. "Kinda mean not to let me be your maid of honor but hey, I can look past that."
Both girls laughed. David walked by then, having come home from working, on his way to the bedroom to change clothes. Rosetta flashed a warm smile in his direction before he disappeared through the doorway. She turned and set Dayna on the floor to play and offered the couch for a more comfortable place to chat.
"So, trying for a baby. Big thing. I really hope things go well for you." Rosetta said.
"Yeah, me too. I want a girl, but of course would be happy with either. I think every soon to be mother says the same thing." She laughed lightly and changed the subject. "Big day today huh? Girls birthday, I saw all the things out there, it looks great. Makes me want to be a kid again!"
David came out of the bedroom holding Brenna. "Look who I found curled up on our bed?"
Rosetta was shocked. "She got up there all by herself? I wonder how. Getting good at climbing I guess." She laughed, joined by David and Sonia. "Well, it's getting late, let's go set up for the party! I'll clean up here first. Sonia, thanks for your help with this, you're a party savior."
There were two swings, a jungle gym, slide and a couple things to ride on. Not to mention the other random toys meant for outdoor use stored in the toy box. A table was set out to hold the three birthday cakes, one for each girl. The only thing missing was the party people.
As she said, Rosetta cleaned upstairs, and even started packing things away that the girls didn't play with anymore. She scrubbed the highchairs, took them apart and put them away since her daughters were too big for them now. Even the potty chairs were emptied, cleaned well and stored. As soon as she was done, she brought the girls downstairs. Rosetta and David took their kids outside to show them the gifts and play on them a while before the party started. Sonia was sitting on the porch watching the family.
As they played, the guests started to arrive. Logan came, bringing Velina and Olivia with him. Layla also showed up, happy to see Rylan and the girls. Nicholas came too, he had entered his elder years and apparently had put his feelings for Rosetta way on the back burner, since he had made close to no contact over the last few years. Layla had also brought a friend with her that no one else knew.
At first, most of the guests went inside for a drink or to sit and chat for a while. Outside, Brenna was having a blast as her father stood by her and watched her ride on the new rocket ship. Rylan was thoroughly enjoying the new slide and Caylin was in the grass playing with a doll. Dayna was with Rosetta at first, riding a ship next to her sister, until Layla scooped her up to play with so Rosetta could take care of party business.
After a little bit more playtime, Rosetta started to bring the babies, one at a time, to their cakes so they could blow out the candles themselves. Logan was still in the house, as were Velina, Nicholas and Olivia. Most of the guests actually missed this part of the party, but it didn't seem to bother anyone.
Each of the girls happily made wishes and blew out candles. They opened their gifts, which were some more dolls, a pack of flying discs and a baseball. They also got a couple of decorations for their new room, a bunk-bed and a loft bed.
After admiring their presents and thanking the gift givers, the girls went back to playing on their new playground for a while. Everyone else had a piece of cake, played games and mingled until, one after another, each visitor when back home.
That night, each child fell asleep fast and slept hard. School was coming up in just two days for the girls and they looked to their big brother for some support in this matter. He was happy to tell some things but he advised them to just 'go with the flow'. It would be easier not knowing.
To be continued...
