Evie is crouched down in front of Hayes, camera in hand as she takes a cascade of photos. Shiloh runs over to Hayes, who offers his big brother some of his cake. Despite the uneasy look on Shiloh's face he still leans forward and pretends to fake eat the offering.
Unfortunately for him, he doesn’t anticipate Hayes bringing his hand forward and smearing it all over his face. Shiloh takes the surprise attack well, and ends up laughing before wiping the smeared cake off his face.
Monty leaves the room and returns with cupcakes for everyone else. I help him pass out the treats, when I approach Evie with one and she shakes her head at me.
“I’m good, thanks. My stomach feels a little off, so I’m trying to watch what I’m eating right now.” She tells me quietly, “I don’t believe I’m sick or anything. I’m due to get my period though, and usually my stomach is off for a day or two before it comes.”
I run my hand down her arm, nodding my head in understanding. “I get it, did you need any pain meds or anti-nausea?” I mentally go through our medicine cabinet, trying to remember if we have either of those or if I need to run out later and grab some for her.
“No, I took anti-nausea before the party. I’ll be fine, I promise.” She assures me before she wiggles the camera up, “I’m going to go around and take a few more pictures before everyone leaves.”
After everyone has had their cupcakes, we sit together in the living room, with our loved ones surrounding us. Hayes attempts to unwrap his presents– which goes unsuccessfully, because at that point we’re too close to his nap time, and he’s starting to get fussy.
He begins rubbing his eyes before he curls into me and starts pulling at my shirt. “Mik, mik.” He mumbles, asking for milk.
I get up with him and apologize to everyone, letting them know I’m going to be putting him down for a nap. We head off into his room and I breastfeed him for a couple minutes before laying him down. Hayes fusses for only a minute before I hear his breathing even out, letting me know he’s asleep.
I’m not sure how long I’m gone, but when I return back to the living room everyone has left. Evie and Monty are cleaning up, and Shiloh is laying on the couch watching one of his shows. Blowing out a breath I head to the kitchen and begin helping with the dishes.
The only noise that can be heard is the TV as we work in unison to get our home back to ground zero. Evie is sitting and sorting through the gifts, writing down who gave what and then unpacking the toys, so that everything is ready to be played with in the morning.
It’s such a simple gesture, and it makes my heart swell with affection. It’s the little actions like this that I appreciate so much in our dynamic.
I join Monty in the kitchen, walking up to him. I wrap my arms around his side.
“Hey there” He says, wrapping one arm around me before slightly bending to give me a kiss. His long hair is down so it works a bit like a curtain. “How did Hayes go down?”
“Easy enough, he pushed that nap a little too far. I almost thought he was going to skip it.” I tell him, before pulling away and grabbing the garbage can and joining Evie.
She catches me walking over to her and she shuffles over a bit to give me a spot to sit next to her. Working together makes the rest of the task go by quickly.
“I think we should order in tonight, I don’t think I can do any more clean up after all this.” Monty says as he plops down on the couch next to Shiloh. “What do you think we should have for supper Loh?”
Shiloh looks up at his dad and hums, tapping his index finger to his chin.
“Pizza!” He abruptly shouts, “let’s get pizza from Cheddar Off Dead!”
“Pizza sounds perfect,” Agreeing and pulling out my phone so I can put in an order for pick up. “What kind of pizza should we get?”
“I want pepperoni.” Shiloh tells me confidently.
“Loh, you don’t like pepperoni.” Monty reminds him. “Why don’t we just get you a cheese pizza.”
“It’s literally fine Dad. I can pick off the pepperoni.” Shiloh tells him with a roll of his eyes, and I have to bite my lip so I don’t laugh. Evie snorts, but turns it to a cough to try and hide her giggle.
There is a pause from Monty as he stares blankly at Shiloh before he finally replies, “If you just pick off the pepperoni then it’s a cheese pizza.”
“Yeah?” Shiloh deadpans.
“So if you want a cheese pizza then we’ll just order a cheese pizza.” Monty gestures with his hands in an attempt to make sense of the situation. The more they argue, the harder it is to keep in my laughter. They go back and forth a few more times. Shiloh demands that we add pepperoni, while Monty tells him that it’s a waste if he isn’t going to eat it so we should just order a cheese.
“Okay, Momma is gonna make the final decision.” I finally put them both out of their misery. “Loh, if you aren’t going to eat the pepperoni then I’m going to just order a cheese. It all tastes the same. Then we’re going to get a loaded one for the adults.”
Shiloh huffs, but agrees so I put the order in. Monty and Evie go off to pick it up and I stay back with the boys. Shiloh and I build one of his Lego sets that he got for Christmas while we wait for everyone else. This isone of very few things that will keep him in one spot for a long period of time.
He’s been working on building a city scene in his bedroom. He has a bank, city hall, and police station currently set up on his table, and we’ve been working hard on a regular house when the monitor goes off, letting me know that Hayes is awake.
I leave him to do the next steps and quickly fetch his brother.
