One String Attached

7.

.Riley.

"Mummy, Mummy, Mummy!" Aaliyah chants continuously, racing down the stairs early Wednesday morning.
Shaking myself out of my current paralysis as I stood by the kitchen counter with my iPad in hand, I place the device down on the table.

As she reaches me, I lean down and pick her up in my arms, spinning her around as I kiss her cheek. James was busy trying to calm Ash down since Liyah had woken him up early this morning, not understanding that the boy needed his sleep.

"Hey, baby," I coo into her ear, holding her close to my chest. She pulls away to cross her arms and look at me whilst pouting. 
"I'm not a baby, Mummy," she whines, causing me to chuckle.
"Maybe not, but you're still and always will be my baby, sweetie," I tell her, kissing her cheek one more time before she had the chance to complain. 

She was so overly excited this morning because she was finally on her half-term break as well and so it meant she would get to participate in the dance camp.
Asher would be taken to the studio along with us but I can promise that he'll be quite literally joint to my hip the entire time, as always.

James currently had Asher held firmly against his chest, our son's arms wrapped around his father's neck tightly while the boy slowly begun to fall asleep once again. 
He makes his way over towards me, a soft smile on his face as Aaliyah giggled when he tickled her side, pressing his lips against my cheek.

I smile softly at him before letting Aaliyah back down to sit above the kitchen counter.
"When are we goinggg?" my daughter continues to whine when I walk away from her to grab my phone from off of the coffee table.
Sauble almost immediately exits his basket to come scurrying over towards me, making me laugh softly as I lean down to pet him, stroking the backs of his ears for a few moments.

"Soon, poppet," James answers when I don't due to the distraction of our adorable pet.

James and I had decided to get a kitten a couple of months after Asher was born. I'd always loved cats and though Aaliyah had an extreme liking for dogs at that age, I just wasn't too fond of the idea of having a pet puppy inside such a tight space. It would seem almost cruel having to keep it restricted inside our small apartment. 

However, when we found Sauble and adopted him as he was astray, it was a little different. I'd grown up with pet kittens as a child and loved them to bits. Plus, they're a lot less difficult to look after.
The day we brought Sauble home, Aaliyah fell head over heels in love with him. As soon as she got home from Nursery everyday, she'd snuggle onto the sofa with him and stroke his fur tenderly. She was definitely the cat's favourite person. They were totally inseparable and loved each other to bits.

But saying that, it was a little different when it came to Asher. He's never really liked the idea of being around a cat as large has Sauble has grown. He finds him vicious and always screams or cries whenever he's left alone with our pet.
The 'baby and pet' lessons we'd signed up for didn't really help much either. It's clear that it'll take some time for Ash to get used to being around animals.

"But you need to eat first," my husband continues to instruct our daughter.
"But what if I don't want to eat?" she pouts in her dad's direction. That girl was a smart cookie for her age. She always knows how to work her way into his head, considering he's so smitten over her. I'm usually the one who has to put my hoof down when it comes to Liyah's antics.
"How about we stop for doughnuts then?" James says, only proving my point as he warms up to his practical daughter once again. 

Rolling my eyes, I turn around to face him after grabbing my phone.
"We don't have time to be getting doughnuts," I groan stressfully, taking in the playful grin on his face. "We're running late as it is."
"I'll order it on my phone, on the go then," he replies, trying once more to persuade me but I only roll my eyes for the second time that day.
He and Aaliyah were the right pair and sometimes they drove me nuts.

"Please, Mummy?" Aaliyah pouts and then suddenly Asher's tiny voice adds,
"Pwease, Mumma?"

I hate to admit it but I definitely had a soft spot for Asher out of the two of them, and so I sigh. He was a lot more fragile compared to Aaliyah, delicate and reserved, a little bit like me. Aaliyah, though she may not be James's offspring, was ironically a lot like him. Clearly she had taken on his personality in the time he'd been around for our small family.

"Even if I said 'no', it's not like either of you will listen anyway," I taunt before grabbing the door keys as well as the car keys then I throw them in James's direction, to which he thankfully catches them, making sure to not hurt Asher by any chance.
"You have one minute to meet me in the car or else no doughnuts," I tell the three of them.

As soon as the words leave the tip of my tongue, Aaliyah jumps off the counter almost like a spring and lands surprisingly safely on the floor before running towards the front door, following me.
"Wait, wait, wait!" she shrieks, gaining my attention just as I was about to open the door to head out. She leaves my side and runs over to the sofa where Sauble had curled himself up on top of the sofa and then she reaches down and wraps her arms around him, causing him to crane his neck to look at her. 

"Don't eat all of the chocolates in the cupboard. Some of them are for me and Asher," she says, loud enough for me to hear.
I knew for a fact I hadn't stored any chocolate in the cupboard, so I instantly look towards James who puts one hand up in surrender whilst the other remained placed on Asher's back to keep him safe against his torso.

As she loosens her arms around him, Sauble rolls himself over on the sofa, laying upside down on his back with his legs kicking around in the air and arms by his head, reminding me of the times when Aaliyah used to do that on the bed whenever I changed her nappy. She was a feisty baby, that girl.
She giggles and tickles Sauble's stomach for a moment before kissing the top of his head and then running back over to me, making me smile as I hold onto her hand.

"We can go now, Mummy," she tells me, causing me to nod.
I share a look with James as he shook his head, a smile of delight plastered across his face as he starts making his way over with Asher in his arms to join us.

Oh, how I just love being a mother.