Baby Love

Chapter 63

Word Count: 4084

Taylor's POV

We were up early the following day getting ready for Thanksgiving. I was touching up my curls, while Joe was busy trying to coax Averie into finishing getting dressed. We'd picked out a cute outfit for her: a cream-colored shirt with a floral fall pattern and a blue corduroy skirt with suspenders.

"But Daddy, it's itchy!" she squealed, darting across the hardwood floor, her little feet making a soft thud as she ran. I could hear the cats scrambling after her, or more likely running from her.

I smiled as I peeked into the hallway, watching Joe chase after her with the skirt in hand, looking both amused and mildly exasperated. "Need some help?" I called, stepping and setting down the curling iron.

Joe gave me a hopeful look. "Desperately. She's a little trickster today."

"When is she not though?" I shrugged, taking the skirt from him. "How about you finish getting ready first?"

It took me a while before I finally managed to corner Averie in her room. She squeals and giggles as she tries to outrun me. Thankfully the baby gate has her confined to one level.

Kneeling to Averie's level, I held up the skirt and tried to reason with her. "Hey, baby love. How about we try this for just a bit? Just for the pictures?"

Averie narrowed her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest like a tiny fashion critic. "Nope!"

I suppressed a laugh, trying to match her energy. "But guess what? Daddy and I are matching in blue today too. Wouldn't it be fun if we all matched?"

She considered this, lips pursed, then giggled. "Okay, but only for the pictures!"

"Deal," I said, sliding the skirt on as she wiggled impatiently. She looked absolutely adorable, her blonde hair tied up with a little bow, and her eyes twinkling mischievously. She giggled mischievously when she spotted Olivia on the top landing of the stairs, the itchiness of the skirt quickly forgotten as she darted off.

With Averie dressed and both of us fully ready for the day, we packed up everything we needed—an overnight bag in case she got tired, dishes and food for my mom, and the bottle of wine Joe picked out. As we headed out the door, I glanced down at Averie skipping ahead, her excitement contagious. It hit me, all at once, how special this was. Her first Thanksgiving with me. A "first" I was lucky enough to share with her.

———

The drive to my mom's was short, and when we pulled up to the house, Averie was eager to help by carrying her backpack. Her hand was clutched in Joe's as we walked in and greeted everyone. Once the initial excitement of seeing everyone again wore off, Joe and I headed towards the kitchen with Averie grasping his hand tightly.

Averie was a bit shocked when we entered the kitchen to see it was full of adults. Everyone was working on some part of dinner, so I can imagine it was overwhelming for her. Joe and I rarely both cook. One of us is usually playing with Averie since she is kind of hazardous in the kitchen. She has been having what most would call intrusive thoughts like trying to taste a hot soup straight out of the bowl, trying to wash the cats' feet because they get on the counter, or even just pulling out all of the pots and pans to see which one is the biggest. The worst was when she tried to put the cats in the various pots, it was just after she learned she could pick them up by herself. Unfortunately, Olivia is smaller than Meredith and, therefore the easier target.

While I've been explaining bits and pieces about Thanksgiving to her all week, she's still figuring it all out. She pulled Joe with her as she tried to hide behind my leg. I gently stroked her hair out of her face before she reached up to be held. "Hey baby," I cooed while lifting her to sit on my hip, after passing Joe the extra stuff. "Do you remember what I told you today was?"