“Yeah, well, Mommy’s sleeping.”
She wiggles out of his arms, her little feet hitting the floor, and I quickly have to snatch the back of her PJs before she heads upstairs. “You are not waking her up to ask for Cocoa Puffs. You can have some Cheerios or Rice Krispies.”
“Yuck!” She stomps her foot and pokes her tongue out at him.
My eyebrows dart high, and I share a quick look with Zander, who’s biting back a smile.
Yeah, laugh it up, dude!
Taking Kendall’s arm before she can take off, I pull her around to face me and crouch down so that we’re nearly eye level.
“Baby girl.” I try to keep my voice calm and even but need to add just a hint of my displeasure, so I dip my eyebrows. “Yelling at me and sticking out your tongue is rude, and I don’t like it when you treat me that way.”
“But you’re not giving me what I want.” Her eyes fill with tears as she stomps her foot again.
“Only because I love you and I care about your body. I want you to be healthy and strong. If I give you sugar all the time, your insides won’t be happy. And I want this little belly”—I give her stomach a playful poke—“to be a happy camper today, so that we can have fun and play games and you’ll have lots of energy.”
A few tears escape, trailing down her cheek, and I brush them away.
“I know you’re not very happy with me right now, and it’s okay to feel annoyed. But it’s not okay to stick your tongue out at me. That’s rude, and it hurts my feelings.”
Her lips form a deep pout until she murmurs a soft “Sorry, Daddy.” I’m not sure how much she means it right now, but it’s a good way to wrap up this conversation, so I’ll take it.
“I forgive you.” I kiss her cheek. “Now, do you want cereal or toast?”
She sighs, tipping her head back like this is the worst decision of her day before finally mumbling, “Nana?”
“Banana?” I double-check.
She nods.
“That’s a great choice, snuggle bug.” I lift her back into my arms, and we head for the fruit bowl. I help her peel the top of the banana, then ask her if she wants to watch TV with the other kids.
She nods, taking a big bite of banana as I carry her through and deposit her in between Olly and Seb. They’ve stopped their playful thumb tussle and are actually watching TV for a moment, so I take advantage.
“Don’t let her go upstairs,” I whisper to Olly, who gives me a solemn nod, obviously stoked to be put on guard duty.
I wink at him, then greet the rest of the crew. “Morning, guys.”
They all give me distracted hellos, so I head back to the kitchen.
Zander smirks at me the second I take a seat. “That was well done, Papa Bear. Very cool, calm, and collected.”
I snicker and shake my head. “She’s a handful. And it doesn’t help that Blake lets her get away with everything. It seriously makes me feel like I’m solo parenting sometimes.Blake just doesn’t seem to want to tell them off or make them compromise.”
“So, she’s a yes mama.”
I nod, my eyebrows lifting high. “To everything, and it drives me crazy. I’ve tried to talk to her about training the girls, but she just wants to have fun with them all the time.” My lips twitch. “Don’t get me wrong. She’s amazing. She loves them so much, and they adore her. She’s fun and playful, and there’s a lot of laughter in our home. It’s all because of her.” I can’t help but finish my compliment with a sigh. “I just wish that I didn’t always have to be the disciplinarian. I wish we were more in sync when it comes to our parenting styles.”
“Yeah, man. That’s tough.” He nods. “I’m lucky in that regard. Sienna and I have always been on the same page with the things we believe are important. The kids find it really hard to play us against each other because we’ve been determined to present a united front. It just kind of happened naturally, you know? With Zoey, I took Sienna’s lead, because she was the one who had been raising her, and by the time the twins came along, we’d kind of found our groove.” His lips dip into a frown, and I know he’s going back to worrying over either his daughter or his wife.
“Did you get a chance to talk to Sienna last night?” I run a finger around the lip of my mug.
“No.” He rubs his eyes, then squeezes the bridge of his nose. “Once we got all the older kids to bed, I was smashed. Something is definitely up, but I’m hoping to wake her with coffee and the card Jane made for me. I’ve written the sweetest words I can think of in it. Plus, I have that necklace and the chocolates. Maybe those will soften her up.” He checks his watch. “I’ll just wait for a reasonable hour.” He points in the direction of the living room. “Figured I could do the early shift with Olly as myfirst gift to her. The kid’s five, and he still wakes up at crazy o’clock every morning.”
Grady snorts. “Kendall’s the same. Nichelle can sleep like her mama, but Kendall’s up with the freaking sun.”
“Right?” Zander snickers. “Now that Zoey’s older, she can sleep most of her day away. The boys will be up soon. Those two are so in sync it’s hard to tell them apart sometimes.”
