Baby Bottle Brews

Terrible Two's

Santana and I kind of prepared ourselves for the little heathen our sweet baby girl was bound to turn into. It was pretty inevitable because there was no way we would be blessed with two well-behaved little angels, that was just wishful thinking. Well, we thought we were prepared but we never prepared for how quickly our little girl would morph. It was like a switch flipped in her or something because as soon as that girl woke up on her second birthday, it was on.

"Look here missy, you're going to wear socks whether you like it or not!"

I tried hard to keep from smiling at the sound of Santana arguing with our daughter while I rummaged through the pantry for Dylan's animal crackers. There were some distinct shrieks of disapproval coming from Charlie's end, but from the sound of it, Santana had control of the situation. Their arguing always sounds a lot worse than it really is.

I ducked through the shelves, pushing boxes of cereal and canned vegetables out of the way in search of Dylan's favorite snack to tide him over until Santana was done getting Charlie dressed and we could leave for breakfast.

"Hey buddy, how about some croutons instead?" I called over my shoulder as I eyed the bag curiously. From the corner of my eye, I could see him peeking over the back of the couch as he leaned up on his elbows and rested his chin in his hands.

"What's that?" He asked with a giggle and I could practically hear him twisting up his face with confusion, similar to that of Santana's. It's really the cutest thing ever.

"Gross crunchy things mama likes to put on her salads," I answered as I shut the pantry door and walked back over to the couch to wait. I knew Dyl would totally lose interest, he hates like all things too crunchy: fries, kettle cooked potato chips, cereal when it hasn't been soaking in milk for almost an hour, "I doubt you'd like them.. too crunchy."

"Eww!"

"Double eww!" I grinned as I sat down next to him and burrowed into my side, his tiny Nike covered feet dangling off the edge of the couch to rest on Slobberz' furry back. We sat quietly, listening to the sounds of Santana and Charlie hashing out another wardrobe issue until finally Charlie came bounding down the hall fully clothed with Santana following closely behind.

She looked tired and it wasn't only the beginning of the day!

"So nice of you to finally join us, baby girl!" I greeted as Charlie scrambled around the front of the couch, "Did you have fun ruffling up mama's feathers?" I was addressing Charlie, but mostly talking to Santana. Charlie was more occupied with shooing Slobberz out of the way so that she could sit next to her big brother. She was singing something I'd never heard before as she kept pushing at Slobberz behind so he'd move, and then got frustrated when he didn't.

"That's your child, Britt." Santana sighed, shaking her head as Charlie started up with her wailing because Slobberz wouldn't move for her, "She used to be so easy to handle and now she's done lost her mind." I just laughed while Santana slipped into her jacket, pretty much hiding from Charlie's sight. She was a total Santana's girl. They had a very love hate relationship, but when it came to being upset, Santana was the one to go to. I noticed the move so I bent down, hooking my hands under Charlie's arms and hoisting her up to sit in my lap to get her away from Slobberz instead. Her tiny hands fanned over her eyes as she sobbed, her little body shuddering through every cry.

"What's the matter, birthday girl?" I cooed, rubbing softly at her back in hopes of calming her down. Dylan eyed us both as he shuffled to his knees and tried peeking under Charlie's hands, "Huh, sweetheart? What's the matter?"

"Meanie!" She pouted and folded up her arms like a total diva. Sometimes I think that it was actually Santana that carried her because she didn't learn that from me! I tried to keep from smiling at her when she was just so distressed. I could hear from behind me Santana was cracking up; clearly we didn't have the same intentions. I watched Charlie's pale cheeks get redder and redder as she cried harder while I tried pulling her hands away from her eyes. She was so pissed, it reminded me of when we first brought her home and she was still getting used to everything.