Trusting Tradition

Chapter 22

Ellie’s POV

    I am beyond stressed right now. We are going on the cruise tomorrow with C.J’s family and I still need to pack and do last minute tasks, but August will not let me put him down. Everytime I put him down he screams his head off, and usually I would let him cry until he calmed down, but today he just wouldn’t stop. C.J has been working a lot more recently in order to take the time off for vacation, so I’ve been taking care of August all by myself for the most part. It’s been about 4 months since our bonding ceremony, and things are going smoothly for the most part. There’s been a few times when school or work is just driving us insane and then we take it out on eachother but for the most part we always take the time to work things out and care for eachother. One child is more than enough for us right now. We had a little scare from our little honeymoon escapades, but much to our relief I’m not pregnant again. It was very nerve racking though.

    I still have to finish packing our bags, do the laundry, finish up a few assignments, make dinner, and tidy up the house. I really feel like I’m on the edge of breaking down when I get a call from C.J saying that he can’t come home for lunch like he planned. August is wailing, and there’s so much left to do that I just get overwhelmed. Tears start flowing from my eyes. I know that crying doesn’t do anything to help, but I just can’t help it. August stopped screaming when he noticed that I was crying much to my relief. 

    What really shocked me was when he gave me a hug after saying, “Mama”

    “Did you just say mama?” I asked him and squashed him tight to me. August has been babbling for the last few months, but this is his first clear word and it was mama. I am so gonna rub this is C.J’s face. This also just turned my mood right around. I can conquer the world. Okay maybe not the world, but at least the laundry, “ Oh August, sometimes you frustrate me, but then you make mommy so happy”

    I put August in his baby carrier, and got started on the laundry. I also got started on packing our toiletries, pajamas, and bathing suits. When I finished, August had finally fallen asleep, and I carefully took him out of the carrier and put him down in his crib. I ate a quick lunch, and finished up my homework before tidying up while waiting for the dryer to finish. 

    When the dryer finished, I folded the clothes and finished packing the rest of our bags. This wasn’t actually that stressful, I think that I was just overwhelmed by how long the list seemed. August woke up quickly after and was a bit fussy. We have been slowly introducing foods to him, but he still prefers to be breastfed. He is pretty big at about 30 pounds and 38 inches. I don’t even need to go to the gym after having to carry my giant baby everywhere. The older he gets, the more defined his features get. August has my blonde hair, but with everything else he takes after C.J, the nose, eyes, cheeks, and even his expressions. When I picked him up, he stopped fussing and gave me a big gummy smile. I covered him in kisses and he giggled at me waving his tiny arms around in protest. 
    August and I were playing around when we heard the front door open. As soon as he saw C.J, August started to walk as fast as he could to his daddy. C.J smiled at the sight, and picked him up with ease. 

    “Hey A.J, were you good for mommy today?” C.J gave him a quick kiss on his head before walking over to me and pulling me into his arms. 

    “No daddy, I decided that I wanted to be a giant stinker today and made mommy cry” I spoke for August. C.J laughed at first but seemed concerned. 

    “A.J you were being a bad boy?” August just kicked his legs in response, “Are you okay now baby? What happened?” 

    “I’m okay now. I was just feeling very overwhelmed by all the stuff that I had to do before we leave tomorrow and August would not stop crying unless I was holding him” He nodded and pulled me tighter. I sighed in relief.