What's Next?

You Say It's Your Birthday

Jess and Rory were both abruptly awaken by something jumping on them very continually.

"Wha-" Rory jerked up. She laughed when she saw who was there.

"Mommy, guess what!" Haeven was standing there, bright eyed.

"Hmm, let me guess?" Rory knew but wanted to play along. "It's daddy's birthday?"

"No!" She laughed.

"My birthday?"

"It's mine!" Haeven jumped again.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'm two!" The toddler jumped into her mother's lap. "Is is time for my party?"

"Woah, there. It will be at two o'clock. Let's get you cleaned up and ready for your birthday party."

"When's two-clock?" Haeven was too young to understand the concept of time.

"It's soon. Now let's get you ready."

"Yay!" She leaped off the bed and ran to her room.

"Has it really been two years?" Jess asked as he headed to take a shower quickly before the twins woke up.

"Gosh, where does the time go? I feel like yesterday she was just born." Rory grabbed on of the baby monitors.

Jess grabbed the other one.

*****

When Rory caught up with Haeven, she laughed at the accomplishment that her daughter made.

"I'm all dressed." Haeven supported a flower shirt, purple leggings, and two shoes that were placed on the wrong feet.

"Very good job, babe." Rory observed the shoe situation. "Let's switch the shoes."

"Mommy, can you do my hair in pigtails?"

"Sure, braids?"

"Yes!"

Rory began fixing her daughter's hair that was growing so fast. How could it already be this long? She brushed it out carefully, trying to avoid tugging at it. When Rory was little, she never wanted her hair fixed; she remembered Lorelai doing it but that was the only person she'd even let close to her hair. Her mother was always so gentle and knew exactly how to fix it without hurting her.

After she finished, she gestured Haeven in her room and turned on some television.

"Is it time for my party, yet?"

"Almost. Why don't you watch the pretty princess movie and check up on the party after."

"Okay."

Rory got the movie ready and tended to the twins. "Morning, Rosalyn. Morning, Adley." The two babies stirred. "How are my lovely daughters on this fine morning?"

In response, Adley stretched: her tiny hands where in the shape of fists.

Rory changed them and put on cute outfits and matching bows. When she went to feed them, Haeven got interested.

"What are you doing mommy?" She stood on her tip toes and leaned over the chair.

Rory, forgetting for a moment that her older daughter was just 10 feet away, didn't know exactly what to say. "Well, I'm feeding your little sisters."

"But how?"

"This is how mommies do it when babies are
little."

Haeven stood for a second, furrowing her brows trying to think of what that meant. "Why?"