It was April, and much had changed in the past four months for the Levine family.
Baylee was almost done with her freshman year of homeschool. After asking to do homeschool, she pursued it for second semester and had a few assignments left before she was done. Adam and Lena got Baylee into private driver's ed, and she had obtained her driving permit. Adam and Lena officially signed her up for sophomore year homeschool, and they were seeing a greater person come out in their daughter.
The twins were just as crazy as ever. Adalyn decided she wanted to take up dancing for an activity, and Kennedy had been busy playing Little League softball. Both girls were so excited to have a big sister again who did everything with them.
Aiden was a growing boy. Adam loved taking care of his future little rock star. Aiden was everyone's little cuddle bug. He would cling to you and fall asleep just like that. Baylee loved spending time with her little brother and helped Lena as best as she could with him.
Adam and Lena loved seeing the new girl in Baylee. She was much more mature and kind. She was always there to help, and having her home all the time was a huge weight off of their shoulders. They were quite busy running the twins around while still managing Adam's busy schedule with The Voice and Maroon 5.
***
"Adam, I need you to pick Addie up from dance today at four o'clock," Lena said as she flipped the pancakes on the griddle for her family. She knew pancakes were a family favorite, so she had decided to make them for the first day of summer vacation for her three girls.
"Babe, I can't. I have to do some recording with the guys today, and I have a coaches shoot for Season seven of The Voice. I told you I couldn't help you out today. I wish I could, but I can't. Is there any way Addie can miss dance tonight? It's one class," Adam said as he set the table for breakfast and poured glasses of orange juice.
"Her recital is next week, Adam. She can't miss another class, or they will remove her from the recital. She has to be there tonight. Her dancing means a lot to her. I don't need her throwing a tantrum," Lena said as she got the stack of pancakes onto plates and set them on the table.
"Well, I don't know how she's going to get home. Can you take off work? All you have to do is leave the office an hour early. They won't miss one secretary," Adam said as he set Aiden in his high chair and shouted up to the kids for breakfast.
"Why can't you leave the studio for fifteen minutes to pick Addie up and bring her home? I can't just leave my job when I please, but you can. You're going to have to figure out how to get her home, Adam. I can't leave my job early. They won't let me anymore," Lena said as she washed off the griddle and her baking utensils.
"I can't leave, Lena! We have a deadline we have to meet. We can't have this same argument every time one of our children needs to be picked up. We need to find a better system until Baylee gets her driver's license. Maybe we need a nanny," Adam said as he sat down at the table next to Aiden and started feeding him.
"A nanny? You want to get a nanny for our children?" Lena asked right as the girls appeared in the kitchen. Lena looked at them and shut her mouth before taking her seat across from Adam.
"Mommy, what's a nanny?" Kennedy asked as she climbed onto her chair. She took a sip of her orange juice before taking a bite of her pancakes and looking up at Lena.
"A nanny is a lady who takes care of you while mommy and daddy are at work. Since daddy and I have a hard time getting you and Addie around, maybe a nanny isn't such a bad idea," Lena said as she looked across the table at Adam. He returned her look with a smile and continued to feed Aiden.
"Mom, why do you need to hire a nanny? I'm fifteen, almost sixteen, years old. I can look after the little ones. I have been for the past few months. You don't need to hire a nanny," Baylee said after she swallowed her first few bites of her pancakes.
"And you have done an amazing job caring for them, sweetie. We just need someone who is able to drive and pick them up from their activities. Since you can't drive without an adult yet, a nanny might be a good choice for us. It would only be for a few months. You would still be allowed to be free and do what you want. The nanny would just be for Adalyn, Kennedy, and Aiden. The nanny will barely affect you," Lena said. She meant everything word of it, too. The nanny wouldn't affect Baylee. They just needed an easier way to get their three young children taken care of.
"I think we should start looking for nannies tomorrow. I'll talk to Shawn and get an hour off to bring Addie home. Baylee, it would be a great help if you could start researching for us. If you help us out, there will be a reward," Adam said with a slight grin.
Baylee raised her eyebrow at her father and chuckled. "If the reward is my Fault in Our Stars phone case I have been wanting for three months, then yes I will research nannies for you."
"Fine, if you research for us, I will buy you the phone case. This doesn't mean finding crap nannies in five minutes. You find us good candidates, I'll take you shopping for summer clothes. This is the person that will be driving your little siblings around and caring for them. I don't trust people easily with my children; therefore, this person better be top notch in order for us to hire them. They have the lives of the people that mean the most to me in their hands. They have to be amazing," Adam said.
Lena looked back at Adam and smiled. What he had just said was very sweet. They may bicker back and forth, but she knew how much Adam cared about them. He loved their family so much, and he never ceased to show it.
"So it's settled. We're getting a nanny."
