"Dada!" Riley stood on the sofa, her hands braced against the back as she watched Troye through the big front window. I laughed and pulled her back to sit on my lap.
"Daddy's coming. Just hold on." I said to her, listening for the front door. As soon as it swung open, Riley squealed loudly and laughed.
"Is someone excited to see me?" Troye stuck his head around the corner, looking into the living room.
"Dada!" She started bouncing in my lap, making me laugh even more. Troye joined in and crossed the room, picking up our little girl when he was close enough.
"Hey princess. I missed you, I did." He scattered kisses across her face. "How's my little birthday girl?" It was Riley's first birthday and Troye had just gone out to get some balloons to decorate for when my parents came over in a few hours.
"She missed you too." I told him, seeing his eyes light up when he looked at her. "Just as much as I did. She was watching out the window to see you come back."
"I saw. She's adorable." He grinned, turning back to Riley. "You want to see what daddy got for you?"
"Ya!" She squealed, wriggling in his arms until he had to let go, setting her on the floor where she kicked her legs and clapped her hands excitedly. Troye and I just laughed.
"Someone's excited today." He said and I nodded, standing up to hug him and press a kiss to his lips.
"I think she knows that we're doing something special." I agreed, taking his hand in mine. "Did you find what you were looking for?"
"I did. Give me a second to go and get them." He glanced down and grinned. "And watch her. She's full of beans today." As he let go to head back out to the car, I looked down to find Riley pulling herself up by the fireplace guard, almost tipping it over. I rushed over and scooped her up, ignoring her indignant whimpers as I set the guard back as it should be.
"Silly girl. That's not for climbing. Here, you can play with this." I set her down in her playpen and handed her the little dog toy that seemed to be her favourite at the moment, just as my phone rang. Jumping up, I grabbed it off the mantle, grinning when my mom's number flashed at me. "Hey mom."
"Hi honey. How are you?"
"I'm good. What's up?"
"We may be a little later than expected."
"How come? Is everything okay?"
"Yeah. Just your father forgot to buy wrapping paper for Riley's present so we'll have to stop for some on the way."
"Mom, I really don't think she'll mind. She's more interested in what's inside than what it's wrapped with."
"I want to wrap it." She insisted and I laughed.
"Okay then. We'll see you when you get here." I hung up the phone, shaking my head as Troye came back inside, carrying a bunch of colourful balloons. "How are you not being carried off into the sky with all those balloons?"
"Ha ha. Very funny. Who was on the phone?"
"My mom." He let the balloons go in the living room and they rested on the ceiling, causing Riley to look up.
"What'd she want?"
"Oh, just being a perfectionist again. No drama."
"Right."
"Dada!" We both turned to look at Riley, finding her on her back, looking up at the balloons scattered across the ceiling.
"What are those, Riley? What can you see?" He asked her, sitting beside her.
