"Oh... good morning!" Daveed grinned at his wife, "Can you guys say 'Good morning mama'" he cooed to the two little ones in his arms. He left the entrance of the doorway and walked up to Emmy.
"Morning babe," she smiled. She was sitting on their bed under the covers, having just woken up 2 minutes ago. "Why are you carrying both babies?"
"We had an early morning heart to heart," he grinned, bending down to hand her Celeste.
"Oh did you?" Emmy chucked as her hand reached for her baby girl, "Hey baby girl... Hey baby," she spoke in her most mom-like voice.
"Yep," he continued his joke, using his finger to tickle Capri, attempting to get her to laugh.
Daveed sat down on their shared bed and scooted into his partner. He adjusted the baby from the crook of his arm to the center of his chest. His now free arm went to Emmy, pulling her into a side hug, this being the first time he'd seen her since they fell asleep last night.
Her body leaned into his and she ran her hand across her other daughters back. Capri's eyes were closed and hardly flinched when she touched her. "I think she fell asleep the second she hit your chest," she looked up at Daveed.
Daveed ran his hand across the baby's back, "Daddy's little girl," he smiled to himself.
The two little girls at various states of sleep in their arms had came into their worlds a day over 3 weeks ago. The day was a vivid replay in Emmy's mind, her twins taking a full day to make their entrance. She could never complain though, these babies were nothing short of the best thing to ever happen to her.
The family was cuddled into a comfortable silence in their bed when Daveed broke it with a whisper so not to wake Capri. "I was thinking..." he said, turning to look at Emmy, "Do you want to try to get out today?"
Between labor having been as long as it was, and the sheer pain of pushing out not one but two human beings, Emmy hadn't moved the first week, except to attend to them. The doctor had ordered her to take it easy, which she did, the following two weeks her only traveling was up and down the stairs.
Emmy thought for a moment, Would be nice to take off these pajamas. "Where were you thinking?"
"Well, the girls can't go too far," Daveed began, "So I thought we could just spend a few hours outside- in the backyard- get some fresh air."
"That would be nice," Emmy nodded her head. She sat up from where she had been leaning on Daveed. "I'll be right back, I have the perfect thing."
She took two of the pillows from the bed and placed them like barrier walls in the bed. Celeste was put in the middle, a position she only trusted because she knew Daveed wouldn't take his eyes off of her.
She walked across the hall to the room they had converted to the nursery. In the dresser were two newborn sized bathing suits she'd been given at her baby shower. They hadn't used them yet, they even still had tags, but today would be the perfect time.
Emmy left the room holding the matching one pieces, both adorned with pink and orange colored oranges.
Entering the room, the view was even sweeter than the fruit design. The pillow fort was slightly bigger and both babies were held in between. Daveed was standing over them, rotating between the two and blowing raspberries on their bellies. The soft sound of infant laughter filled the room.
Her heart could have probably exploded right then and there. When she called these sweet girls the best thing to ever happen to her, it was in more ways than one. Because of them, she'd fallen deeper in love with Daveed, something she didn't think was even possible.
Watching him as a dad was unbelievable. So many things she didn't think could grow: his heart, his love, his compassion, his support, all became so much greater on that day, 3 weeks ago.
"I found something," Emmy announced, holding up the tiny suits and interrupting the melodic sounds.
She came up behind Daveed to see the residual smiles still on her girls' faces. "They're so beautiful," she said in awe.
"They're perfect," Daveed nodded before turning to face her, "You got the bathing suits and everything, ayeee" he said as he took note of what was in her hand.
"Yes I did," Emmy nodded before she started moving towards her knees.
Before she could barely bend them, Daveed put his hand on her arm. "Here," he moved the covers and pillows to clear a spot for her, "You can sit."
That was that growing heart. He didn't want her doing anything that would cause discomfort, even if it was just being on her knees.
She took a seat on the bed, and this time she grabbed Capri. She handed the second bathing suit to Daveed and the two of them began to get the babies ready.
With the bathing suits, there were also two matching bucket hats, the perfect completion to the sweet and sunny look.
"Look at those cutie girls," Emmy grinned, that baby voice coming back into use.
"My little princesses," Daveed switched on his own baby like voice. He stood up from where he had been on his knees and ran his hand over the back of Emmy's head, "You wanna go get ready?"
"Sure," she stood and met his eyes. The parents shared a quick kiss before Emmy headed off to the bathroom.
Daveed went right back to playing with the babies while he waited for her to come out. It wasn't long before she stepped out in a bright orange one piece, the orange color being the same as the fabric on her daughters.
"You girls got one hot mama," Daveed grinned as he looked her up and down.
"Your turn," she grinned as well, kissing him once more before they traded places.
Daveed was out less than five minutes later. He had decided on pink swim trunks and now all four of them were coordinating.
He joined his girls at the bed and shared a look with Emmy to signal that everyone was ready. He grabbed Capri while she took Celeste. Babies in hand, they walked down their staircase.
Before they entered the Southern California summer heat, Emmy stopped off at the kitchen. She grabbed two previously made bottles from the refrigerator and set them on a tray. Then she took two glasses and filled them with lemonade for her and Daveed.
"Kids or drinks?" she asked Daveed, giggling at the way the question came out.
"I'll take her," he laughed back, "You can carry those."
Emmy handed the baby to him and the four of them finally made their way outside. The sun was alive and it felt so good after so long of only seeing it through windows. Moments like this, Emmy was so glad they'd put so much effort into curating this backyard space.
They decided to take a seat under the cabana in the corner of the yard. It was nice and cool thanks to the covered hood.
Emmy set the tray of beverages onto the table in front of the outdoor couch. Daveed put the twins down and watched a look of confusion overtake them as they attempted to feel out their location.
"You're outside girls," Daveed chuckled at the wide eyes newborns.
"They're so confused," Emmy laughed as she shook her head, "Ooh, you know what, we should get some pictures."
"I was thinking we put them in the pool, but that works too," Daveed said. He was being sarcastic, he knew full well Emmy would never put them in this early.
"Ha ha," she mocked, moving to grab her camera, "Try to get them to smile."
A task right up his alley, Daveed immediately started making sounds of nonsense and jumping around behind Emmy. He puffed his cheeks out at the girls and widened his eyes, continuing to make random noises.
His antics worked and Emmy started snapping. She held down the photo button, not wanting to miss a potentially good photo.
After what she figured was enough of those, she set her hand on Daveed's shoulder to let him know he could stop bouncing.
"Look at their little smiles, and those hats are just perfect," she scrolled through some of the pictures for him, "Ok, now you get in."
She repeated the same process of before, this time making the sounds herself, getting Daveed to even laugh at her. With a trade system they had mastered at this point, Daveed and Emmy switched off, and Emmy took some pictures with the babies.
In the last set of pictures, Daveed grabbed a tripod he kept to the side of the cabana. "Family photos," he smiled softly, "Maybe we can get a Christmas card out of this."
He put the camera into the tripod and went to sit with his family. 1...2..3... he smiled alongside his wife and the bundle of joys they'd created together. They took a few more just like this, capturing this "first" of the little girls' life. First of many times to come in this backyard.
Daveed stood up to put the camera and tripod away. Instead of joining them back on the couch, he took a running start from the side of the cabana and jumped into the pool.
His body bobbed up from underneath the water merely seconds later, and he shook the wet curls of his hair. Emmy was laughing her head off watching him, "You just had to do it, huh?"
"You know it," he called back. He took his hands and start flinging water at her direction. It wasn't going anywhere but he liked to see her squirm away from it.
Emmy flinched at the water that was going nowhere near her, "Didn't know I had three kids!" she giggled at her nearly 40 year old husband.
Daveed swam to the ladder and climbed out of the pool. He was dripping with water as he walked back to them. His hands reached for one of the glasses of lemonade and he took a sip. "I'm a bonus," he boasted.
"Sure you are," Emmy shook her head although she was grinning wildly.
Daveed grabbed Capri from Emmy's arms and raised her up. "You're gonna be my pool buddy aren't you?" he smiled at the baby who smiled right back at him. In his hands, Capri began to clap her own and her smile only grew bigger and bigger. "That's my girl," he said proudly, "You coming too, Cel?" he turned to his other daughter.
"Cece and I are gonna sit back and drink our lemonade," Emmy smiled broadly, picking up the other glass.
Daveed moved back to the outdoor couch, opting to not fall on it this time due to the baby he still carried. He laid out, elongating his body on the cushions and scooting his head up to the side of Emmy's leg. Capri laid on top of him, finding the chest she loved to use as a pillow.
Emmy ran her fingers through the hair strung out on the plush couch cushions. "This was a good idea," she said to Daveed, looking over the serene backyard, "Thank you."
"Of course," he responded before letting out a loud yawn. He put both hands around Capri to cradle her and his eyes started to flutter.
"Nap time?" Emmy asked him.
"Mhm," Daveed nodded, letting his eyes close all the way, "Love you," he said, already half asleep.
"Love you too," Emmy spoke back. She watched the two of them nap together. Both of their breaths were even and their features had softened. Light snores came from both of them. There was so much peace between them, and love in the hearts of all four of them. She felt so much joy being out here with her little family.