Complicated Love

Bonding

"Aw, what's wrong, baby?" I rock Liam back and forth gently as his cries echo through the room. It's 6 AM and we're obviously done sleeping for the night, ready to take on the day while Brad's on set.

He calms slightly as I change him, even laughing a little when I tickle his little feet to get a reaction. He's getting so big, already crawling around all over the place and yelling out in his own language.

"Let's go see if daddy left us any breakfast."

I carry him out of his room, where the dogs are waiting very impatiently to say good morning to their tiniest best friend, and open the step gates letting them fly downstairs to destroy the place. Liam laughs at all their barking and jumping around, making it somewhat okay that I'm pretty sure one of them just knocked over a bowl.

As soon as I reach the bottom of the steps, Liam practically jumps out of my arms wanting freedom. He crawls as fast as his little arms and legs will let him over to the corner of toys we have set up for him to play with while I dig through everything in the kitchen trying to find breakfast for us.

Liam's cereal is already mixed, making it much easier on me so he doesn't start screaming any moment now, while waiting for me to make it.

I make my coffee, listening to his quiet talking to himself as he plays with all his toys, crashing them together to make extra noise.

"Baby do you want some breakfast?" He stops his playing, crawling over to me putting his little arms up. I try to feed him the cereal, but in return he just tugs on my shirt for some milk.

"You're lucky you're so cute."

I look through the rest of the cupboards to see if I can find anything for myself as I feed him, but nothing sticks out other than the toast we have.

When I make my way to the table to finally eat myself, I find a note from Brad along with a store list.

Sorry 😔
Eggs,
Milk,
Butter,
Pasta,
I'll make dinner when I get home.

"Well, I guess we're going on an adventure today."

I get us both all ready after we're done eating, sticking him in his carseat so I can make sure I have everything we'll need, now that a simple store trip takes preperation.

Once we're there, I stick his seat on the cart along with some of his stuffed animals to keep him occupied while I try to maneuver around without any crazy fans finding us. Liam looks around, squealing as people move around him.

Just as I finally reach the end of our list, someone catches my eye as she walks towards us. It doesn't take long for me to remember exactly who she is and why it seems like she's following us.

"Jen?" She practically runs over once she finally gets a good look at me "Oh my gosh! It's been so long!"

I open my arms immediately, welcoming her in for a hug as she reaches me.

"You look amazing! This little guy is so cute."

She separates from me, gushing over Liam, who is smirking, taking in all the extra attention.

"He's very lucky he's so cute. It's the only thing that saved him when he woke me at 6 this morning."

"Hey, do you wanna come back to the house? I actually have something I've been wanting to give you for him."

Since I have nothing better to do, and it'll be nice to catch up with my aunt, I gladly take her up on the opportunity.

I pay for everything and she helps me get Liam and all his crap into the car so I can follow her. It feels like forever since I've done anything with her, our busy lives getting in the way.

"This is beautiful, I love all the pictures." I walk around the living room, carrying Liam so he doesn't destroy the place "All the kids are so big now."

"They grow up so fast, but you probably know that by now. I bet these past few months have flown by."

"Yeah, they almost feel like a blur. Especially now that Brad is back working. I don't know how he stayed sane when I was working earlier."

"It's definitely not easy, but so worth it."

I eventually lay Liam on the couch when he falls asleep, sitting with Joan in the kitchen where we sip on coffee.

"I got him this, I was going to give it to you earlier, I just didn't want to be bothering you guys when you were so busy with everything else."

She hands me a wrapped up box along with a card filled with a message for Brad and I. I open the box, revealing the cutest blanket with Liam's name sewn into it. It's the perfect colors to match his nursery.

"This is beautiful, thank you." I hold it up, inspecting all the designs on it "He's really into carrying blankets around with him right now. He carries them until he gets tired, then just lays on them in random spots to nap."

"Your mom showed me a picture where he had one. It was so cute watching someone so tiny try to carry something so big compared to him."

"I couldn't believe when I saw the blanket moving, I thought for sure one of the dogs got it and ran. I'll have to keep this one somewhere high so he doesn't destroy it."

"So how have you guys been? Your mom said you've been busy."

"We have been, he should be done filming soon, so we're gonna try to take a break then for a little. It's hard being away from each other so long."

"Do you ever go with each other when you're filming?"

"We used to almost always, but now that we have him it's harder to just leave so we don't go with unless it's going to be long."

We hear Liam crying, so I go to check on him, grabbing a bottle from his bag as I carry him back to the kitchen.

"Do you think you're going to have anymore? He's such a good baby."

"Brad definitely wants more. I want one more so he isn't alone, but I think one more is it for me."

"I'm just so glad you're happy. You and Brad really are amazing together."

"Thanks, he's pretty great."