Pt 2 of them (continued ver)

Chapter 205

Carter sat in his stroller, firmly clutching his bottle, but instead of drinking from it, he was nibbling on the spout. His little teeth gnawed at the rubber, creating a squeaky sound that caught Malia's attention.

"Carter," she said softly, kneeling in front of him. "Your bottle is for drinking, not chewing, sweetheart."

He looked up at her with wide, innocent eyes before giggling and continuing to nibble. Malia gently tried to take the bottle, but Carter wasn't having it. He hugged it close to his chest and let out a frustrated whine.

Colby, watching from across the room, chuckled. "I think he's claiming that bottle as his chew toy now."

Malia sighed and stood up, hands on her hips. "We might need to buy new ones soon. He's going to ruin every spout at this rate."

Colby walked over and crouched beside the stroller. "Hey, bud," he said, ruffling Carter's hair. "What if we swap that bottle for something better?"

Colby held up one of Carter's silicone teething toys, but Carter wasn't convinced. He turned his head away, clutching the bottle tighter and nibbling even more aggressively.

"Alright, let's try this," Colby said, lifting Carter out of the stroller. "How about we take a break from the bottle and have some milk in a cup instead?"

Carter squirmed, clearly not interested in the idea, but Colby was persistent. He handed the bottle to Malia and distracted Carter by bouncing him gently in his arms.

Malia inspected the bottle, noticing small bite marks all around the spout. "Yep, this one's done for. We'll need a sturdier design next time."

After a few minutes of coaxing, Colby managed to get Carter to sip from a cup. Though Carter was still fussy, he seemed to forget about the bottle for the moment.

"Crisis averted," Colby said with a grin, handing Carter back to Malia.

"For now," Malia replied with a smirk, watching Carter reach for another toy to nibble on.

Both parents shared a knowing look. With Carter's persistent nibbling habits, it was only a matter of time before the next item became his new favorite chew toy.