The family's baby

Chapter 87

*Fami's P.O.V*

Removing the tray, I immediately have a very fussy and upset baby girl on my hands. As I remove her straps and pick her up, Grace is immediately even more upset by me daring to touch her.

"I know, baby... mama is so mean, isn't she? Mama just can't let you have any fun, can she?" I ask in a sing-song tone as I bounce Grace slightly, bouncing her until she's not as fussy and is resting comfortably on my hip. She is still whining and fussing though, trying to lean back in my arms to grab onto the tray I had just taken from her.

I refuse to let her, forcing her to sit properly in my arms, making her even more fussy. There isn't anything I can do about it though, as I am not carrying that giant tray around for her to play with. Instructing Alexa to play my cooking Playlist, I start lightly dancing around the kitchen with Grace in my arms. It takes a couple dips and twirls but eventually the fussiness goes away.

As we are dancing, I start to make Grace a special bottle of chocolate milk. I use real chocolate and not that fake syrup crap you can buy at the store. I also don't just use plain old milk but add a bit of sugar and vanilla extract to it. I make sure to keep my baby Grace occupied while making it by swaying back and forth while I'm next to the stove and stepping away to fully dance when I can.

Setting it aside to cool off, Grace finally seems to register what I am making and reaches out for it. Before I can stop myself, I instinctively slap her hand away from it, causing her to hide her face in my neck as she sniffles and whimpers. Realizing what I did, I take her hand and give it lots of kissies.

"I'm sorry, baby. Mama didn't mean to hit you like that. Your drink just isn't ready yet and is very hot. Mama just didn't want you getting hurt, is all. Mama is very sorry, baby. Can you ever find it in your heart to forgive your mama, my precious baby girl?" I ask as I lightly sway and rock her.

I feel her diaper get warm again and swell some more as I pat it but decide to just ignore it as I don't want to change her right before a bath unless I absolutely have to. Her sniffling doesn't seem to change any so I can assume it's not to the point she needs a change anyway. As she starts to forgive me for hurting her, I break her heart once again by passing her off to sit on her dada's lap.

She isn't happy to be forced off me but I'm not willing to let her near the hot stove again, as I'm terrified she might burn herself. Leaving Matias to console our crying girl, I prep her bottle as quickly as I can. As she sees it, she immediately stops crying and just stares at it with unblinking eyes. Not able to help myself, I move it around and watch as her head and eyes track it the entire time.

"Is a certain wittle baby excited for her baba? I bet she is! I bet she can't wait for her baba and might start really crying if her dada doesn't give it to her soon!" I tell her as I hold her chin lightly and kiss her forehead, nudging Matias so he will feed her already with the bottle I gave him.

When he doesn't, I grab the hand with the bottle and force it up, watching as Grace practically falls off Matias trying to latch onto it. Getting them settled, and more importantly, Grace safely and contentally drinking from her bottle, I go back to making dinner.

I keep an eye on Grace and Matias, seeing how she tries to wiggle her hands under his so that she can hold the bottle all by herself but really it's still just him holding it up for her. He lets her do that, smiling as she settles back down now holding it all by "herself".

"So this whole purée thing, do we just blend up our food and give it to her? Would she actually like that?" Matias asks as he looks down at Grace, not even getting a response as her eyes are on her bottle the whole time.

"That is disgusting to even think about and you know she would not enjoy that one bit. She'd probably just fling it everywhere and then still ask for more so she can continue making a mess," I complain while I roll my eyes. As if proving my point, Grace kicks her legs out in excitement and knocks over a thankfully empty cup that was on the table.

"I know, baby, isn't it so fun to annoy mommy? It's the funnest thing ever, isn't it?" Matias says as he bounces Grace slightly, making her babble around the bottle in protest as the milk splashes around.

"It's mama, dear, not mommy. She's too little for mommy and stop bouncing her before she throws a fit." I warn him.

"Oh I'm so sorry your majesty, I'm interrupting your drinking time, aren't I? Are you tearing the kingdom apart with your drinking issues, always needing more and more bottles? You should really pour it out and not drink directly from the bottle like this," Matias says dramatically, making me scoff as Grace clearly isn't paying any attention to his dramatics. Her attention is focused on the bottle still and probably will be even after she finishes it.

"When she finishes that bottle, you could have her help you mash up a banana, keep her busy so that she doesn't get upset," I tell Matias as I focus on making our Garlic-Parm gnocchi. At the same time I'm also working on mashing up some of the strawberries and apples that I've cut.

"To answer your previous question, her dinner for tonight is mainly going to be apples, strawberries, bananas, and whipped peanut butter. Not all together before you make a joke... only the bananas and peanut butter will go together. It's the best I can do under such short notice and no real time to deep dive the internet for recipes. The whipped peanut butter did come from a quick search though," I tell him, giving him the bowl of chopped up bananas.

I hear a giggle and see that Grace has finished nursing from her bottle. She's sitting propped up against Matias as he leans forward to pull the bowl with the bananas in it closer. I sigh as he sets the fork aside and pushes Grace's hands into it, knowing she would be covered in bananas by the time she was done. However her squeals of enjoyment as she mushes the banana with her hands make me smile, even when she covers her face in banana as she tries to eat the mush off her fingers.

I wonder how different she would be if we adopted her sooner. If she would have been this way after being raised by us or different. I can't help but wonder if she still would have been this happy little girl when we had got her if people had just treated her right. If they had just cared for her like they should have... like we would have.

I wipe away the tear that runs down my face as Matias gives me a concerned look, waving it off. I can't change the past, I just have to try and show Grace that it's okay for her to be how she is, to be our little baby. That's my job right now. Therapist later... It's mama time now.