I Hate California

fifty

I was playing in the backyard with Daddy while Mommy was napping upstairs. Mommy said that when Ivy was born that I would have a playmate, but she couldn't do anything! She couldn't talk or walk. All she did was stare at me like I was dumb and drool, she's yucky.

Daddy told me that we needed to head back inside since it was getting dark and he needed to start cooking dinner. I was going to watch Daddy cook, but he told me I needed to take a shower first since we were playing outside for so long. I carefully climbed up the stairs to the very quiet and dark hallway. I saw that Mommy's door was open and when I peeked inside, she was fast asleep and Ivy was in the crib beside her. I tip toed next to the bed, looking into the crib that Ivy was in and she was staring at the ceiling, wide awake.

"Hello Ivy. Dinner is going to be ready soon, Daddy is cooking" I whispered and she just stared at me. I don't think she likes me.

She started to stir and started whining. I panicked, looking for her paci and tried to reach over to place it into her mouth. I couldn't reach her, so I stood onto the bottom of her crib to make me taller.

"There you go" I said quietly as I plopped it into her mouth and she instantly stopped.

"Sage!" Mommy yelled, scaring me and I stumbled off the crib, shaking it. Ivy spit out her paci and started screaming. I stepped back as Mommy angrily sat up in bed, picking her up.

"Sage, you can't play with her when she's asleep" Mommy tells me sternly. I nodded my head as I watched her hold her paci against her mouth.

"I'm s-sorry, I didn't m-mean to" I stuttered as she rocked Ivy in her arms. I walked out of the room, running into mine and closed my door. I didn't mean to make Ivy cry, I was trying to help her.

I didn't feel like changing out of my clothes anymore. I curled up into my bed and pulled the covers over my head. I silently cried, hoping Mommy wouldn't see me and I closed my eyes; I was tired anyway.

-

I was upset that Sage made Ivy cry. I had just gotten her to quiet down, after feeding her and wanted to get some rest. Ivy hasn't been able to get a good nights worth of sleep and even though Joe and I were taking turns, I couldn't help but wake up every single time.

"Dinner smells good, babe" I tell Joe as he just finished cooking. He takes Ivy from my arms and I go plate up our food.

"Where's Sage? I told her she needed to take a bath" Joe tells me as he smiles at Ivy.

I shake my head at him, "I don't know what she's doing. She woke up Ivy which led to crying and then she went into her room, I guess".

Joe sets Ivy down in her baby swing and he gives me a quick kiss on the lips.

"I'll go get her" I tell him and he nods his head at me as I walk up the stairs.

When I approach her door, it was surprisingly closed, she usually never closes it unless it's bed time. I carefully open the door to a pitch black room and I slowly undimmed her lights, just so I could see. I saw a tiny figure underneath her covers and I sat down on the bed, slowly lifting the covers up. She was passed out and still had her outside clothes on, covered in dirt and sweat.

Sighing, I carefully lifted her up into my arms as she stayed asleep and pushed her hair back, out of her face. She had dry tears and her eye lids were puffy, she had been crying. Did I make her cry? She seemed fine when she walked out of the room and she knows what she did wrong.

I stood up with her in my arms, kissing her cheeks as I headed out of her room. I carried her downstairs where Joe looked at me confused and I shook my head at him.

"She was asleep, but I'm gonna wake her up to eat" I tell him, sitting down at the table with her laid across my lap.

"She okay?" Joe asks, taking a good look at her and I look down at her little face.

"I'm pretty sure she started crying after she made Ivy cry" I tell him.

I rub her back, slowly sitting her up and she whines in my arms, trying to hide her face into my chest.

"Baby, you need to eat" I tell her and she shakes her head.

"Can you open you mouth at least? Mommy will feed you" I tell her and she slowly opens her eyes, squinting from my lights.

She obeys and sits quietly in my lap as I feed her bites while I continued to eat my food as well. I took occasional looks towards Ivy who was content in her swing. When I got Sage to finish all of her food, I held her cup of milk while she drank it, like a baby.

While Joe cleaned up, he offered to watch the baby while I took Sage back upstairs to give her a bath. She was still half asleep in my arms and I quickly took off her dirty clothes, giving her a quick bath since she didn't have any energy to play.

"Okay, out you go" I tell her, helping her out the tub. I sat her down on the counter as I combed her hair. I stared at her through the mirror and she stared back blankly. I didn't think much of it, knowing she was just tired. I then got her into her pajamas, I sat her down in her bed and tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Can I sleep with you and Daddy?" She asks me quietly.

I shake my head with a frown, "I don't think you will want to babe. Ivy will be with us and she'll wake you up during the night".

She sighed, nodding her head as she pulled her covers closer to her chin. I asked if she wanted a bedtime story or song, but she shook her head. I gave her a long kiss on her forehead, making sure her nightlight was plugged in and walked out of her room, leaving it open a crack.

When I walked into our bedroom, Ivy was back in her bassinet as Joe walked out of our bathroom. I carefully picked her up as I sat down on the bed and held her up, seeing if she was hungry and she quickly latched on.

"Sage go down quickly?" Joe asks me and I nodded my head.

"Yeah, she didn't want a story or song. She was so tired" I chuckled, looking down at Ivy who was falling asleep.

I laid a sleeping Ivy back down into her bassinet after burping her and sighed, finally climbing back into bed. Joe wrapped his arms around me as he turned off the lights. I smiled as I placed my hand over his that wrapped around my stomach.

Tomorrow was another day.

Another day that our family of four would try to get through the day again. Before Ivy was born, I was nervous on how I was going to juggle a newborn and an energetic seven year old, but I now I realized everything was going to be okay.

-

Hi everyone! That's a wrap on the first story! The second story will be published right when I can!

Thank you so much to everyone that has come along with me and the rest of us on this journey through Sage's life. I can't wait to do it all over again with our teenager Sage ;) The new story will be called, "I'm New York City "!

See you all there! Make sure to be updated on my profile and this book, to know exactly when it gets published! :D