The family's baby

Chapter 100

*Grace's P.O.V*

Mommy's arms are very comfortable, I decide. She pats my bottom lightly, something I normally would object to but I quite like it just this one time. I yawn after a moment, still not fully awake after my nap. She shifts me in her arms, pushing my pacifier back in when it almost falls out of my mouth.

"Sleepy baby," Mommy says as she rocks me, making me shake my head as I try to find daddy so that he can be on my side. I see him after a moment, blinking in surprise when I see that he has a stroller. Where did he get that? Did he find it?

"Whose is that?" I ask in confusion, feeling mommy shift me up onto her hip. I think it's a distraction method for a moment before realizing I had started to slip in my eagerness to try and see the stroller.

"If you are asking who it belongs to, the answer is Jazmin. If you are asking who it is currently for, the answer is you." Mommy tells me.

"Mmm, no thank you. Leave! No need," I tell mommy as politely as I can, deciding that was the best course of action instead of throwing a fit. Since we were still rather close to the car, I didn't want to risk ruining my zoo trip this early by mommy deciding it was best we just went home.

"This is not up for discussion, Grace. It's here because you have a history of needing to be carried through this zoo. It's a backup plan for when we get tired of carrying you. It's also a place to store all our bags. You worrying about it this much only tells me how much we need it because you obviously aren't planning to just walk like a big girl!" Mommy tells me, putting me down and pulling out some sunscreen.

This was the worst set up in the world! I had to have a stupid stroller following me along all day because I definitely wasn't going to use it and now I had to have stupid sunscreen put on. I stomp my foot, upset that today was already going terribly wrong and it was all mommy and daddy's fault!

"Not fair, not fair. Stupid trick trip," I say angrily, turning away from mommy as I look at the entrance of the zoo far away and consider running off for a very brief moment. Of course mommy seems to sense my thoughts and spins me to face her before covering my face in sunscreen.

"Shush now or don't come crying to me when you get sunscreen in your mouth!" Mommy says with no sympathy for me.

Once she's satisfied about everyone being covered, and I find some joy in daddy going through the same treatment as I did, mommy puts the sunscreen away and picks me up again. Snuggling into her, I remember I'm supposed to be mad at her and unsnuggle!

In fact, I even go so far as to reach for daddy. I may be a mommy's girl but that didn't mean that I always had to like her. In fact, right now I don't like her very much at all. The only people I semi liked was maybe Zahira and Elena and that's cause they weren't here! But Zahira gave mommy Jazmin's stroller so only Elena then!

Out of the two evils currently here though, I would take bossy daddy over meanie mommy. I even try to make mommy drop me by purposefully pressing my knee into her side. It's not to hurt her because that would be mean, but rather so she would be uncomfortable and put me down.

"You do realize I can easily make the stroller a punishment, right? Cause that's the direction you are heading right now. Keep it up Grace and see what happens. For now though, you can walk like we are since you want to play this game," Mommy threatens and actually puts me down. She even takes my hand and starts leading me. I don't dare fall behind either because daddy is right there for easy stroller access!
 
It wasn't fair! I hadn't even considered the fact that mommy could just put me down. That shouldn't have been an option. I belonged in either her or daddy's arms, not having to walk on the stupid ground. And I hated the parking lot, it was so stupidly big to walk through.

I let out a frustrated noise, biting the inside of my lip since I had lost my paci at one point. I didn't like this morning so far. I had gotten a timeout, been lectured like a million times, and now I was on the verge of having to use the stupid stroller! This trip was supposed to be fun and exciting!! So of course mommy and daddy had to ruin it for me! I stumble slightly after catching my foot on a broken sidewalk, having been deep in my own thoughts so I bump into mommy before catching myself.

"Sorry, sorry," I say quickly, not wanting her to think I had done it on purpose to make her mad. I really didn't want her mad right now.

"You need to pay closer attention to what is happening around you, baby..." Mommy says, sounding like she is distracted and just saying that as an afterthought.

"Over there I think, Matias. It's where everyone else is at least..."Mommy says, pointing daddy in the direction of all the other strollers. Wanting to just run and hide because we shouldn't be with all the other baby's, mommy gives me no choice and tugs me along. She even points at the stroller and holds up two fingers when I continue to try to fight her and go somewhere else!

I want to throw myself on the ground and cry. It's not fair I'm already on my second warning. I want to already give up on being good because it's clear that I'm not going to be able to last. And it wasn't like I could get a warning to go away so now I was stuck on 2 warnings and it was only just 8 in the morning. Tears of frustration start to roll down my face as I stop walking, trying to go to daddy instead.

Mommy lets me, seeing how we are at our destination anyway. She follows me over though and takes the stroller from daddy. I watch as she joins a line, pointing to me and daddy when a lady in a zookeeper shirt talks to her. Curious what that was about, I want to go over and ask but I'm scared it will mean strike 3 and she'll put me in the stroller!

So instead I just stay with daddy and just lean against him. He lets me and just starts playing with my hair. It feels nice but he's just messing up my hair that mommy spent all that time on now and it's not what I want. I want to be picked up! I want mommy!! She would know what I want from her!

Luckily I don't have to wait long though as a trolley pulls up and we all climb on in! Afraid I'll be in the stroller that's sitting in the special empty spot next to us, mommy instead moves me to sit on her lap to make more space, giving me my paci back somehow in the process.

I squirm around on her lap, sitting so that I'm facing her and being extra careful that I'm not pushing my knees into her sides or anything. I really don't want to risk getting my third strike and being forced into the stroller.

I take my paci out of my mouth, trying to ignore the raised eyebrow Mommy gives me as I have questions and I want her to be able to understand my questions.

"How did you find my paci? And...can I please know what you were talking about with the zookeeper lady? And also daddy messed up my hair which wasn't nice because you worked hard on it! It wasn't me so don't be mad! At me! It's daddy's fault!" I feel the need to tattle on daddy just so that I'm not the only one who has gotten in trouble today and since mommy never got into trouble then daddy would be the only other option.