Erica POV
After a little while, we all fell back into a rhythm. Jessica and Zoe were managing with all their kids, and I was slowly getting used to being in so much pain all day everyday. It was just routine. Jessica, being the amazing mom that she is, scheduled a picnic in the park, and to bring all the kids. The husbands were having a "dads day" so the moms agreed to have a relaxing day at the park. Zoe, Chloe, Mason, Kayla, and I slowly walked to the park together.
Chloe was now four weeks old, and was very strong. Jillian was about 3 months, and was sitting up and giggling.
Zoe had Chloe harnessed to her chest, and pushed a double stroller with Kayla and Mason.
"Mommy! LaLa won't share her goldfish with me!" Mason complained. Kayla was stubbornly holding her goldfish away from Mason, eating them quickly.
"Kayla, if you don't share with Mason we can't get a popsicle at the park." Zoe said sternly. That was enough for Kayla, who immediately started sharing her goldfish. The peace only lasted about 10 second before Chloe started to get fussy. When we stopped at a street light, Chloe bounced her, and stroked her head softly. She sang quietly before Chloe settled down. Right after Chloe settled down though, Mason started kicking.
"I wanna go play soccer with Jamie, Joshua, and James!"
Kayla, being somewhat sophisticated for her age stared at him like he was crazy. She chewed he goldfish slowly, looking at us all suspiciously.
"Settle down buddy. We'll be there soon. 5 more minutes and then you can play soccer. Why don't you and Kayla play eye spy?" Zoe suggested.
"Yeah!" Kayla said "I spy with my little eye something..."
While the kids were playing I spy, Zoe and I finally got to talk. After about 5 minutes, we arrived at the park. Joshua was playing with his friend Mark, who was from school. James and Jamie were playing a mix of soccer and trucks. It almost seemed like the trucks were to players. Once Zoe unbuckled Mason, he immediately ran to go play with James and Jamie.
Jessica had already set up everything on he grass. Jillian was on her stomach, moving and giggling wildly as she was looking at herself in a mirror. Jessica waved us over, and we sat down. Zoe cradled Chloe in her arms, and unbuckled Kayla. Kayla went straight for James and Mark, which obviously caused some drama.
We didn't think much of it at first, we just all talked about motherhood and shared funny stories about out kids. We always kept one eye on the little children, but I guess we trusted Josh and Mark to keep Kayla safe. Turns out, Joshua wanted to be alone with Mark. Josh and Kayla have a sibling dynamic, seeing as they see each other very frequently. When Josh wanted to be alone, he didn't hesitate to hit Kayla.
It might of not been that hard, but when a 7 (almost 8) year old hits a pretty newly 1 year old, it doesn't matter if they meant to hurt them or not.
Kayla came running over to Zoe crying. Zoe set down Chloe on her back. Kayla ran into Zoe's arms, and buried her face in her chest. Zoe stroked Kayla's soft hair, and soothed her.
"What happened baby?" Zoe asked in a soft tone.
"J-J-Joshua hit me" Kayla said, her voice quivering. She presented her red arm as evidence. Jessicas face went pale when she heard that.
"Oh no. I'm so so sorry Zoe! I'll talk to Josh right away." Jessica said nervously.
"No worries, he's 7, he doesn't want to be playing with a toddler. Kayla is fine. It will just sting a little at first." Zoe told Jessica reassuringly.
Jessica scurried away, pulled Joshua aside and scolded him. Poor Josh looked like he was about to cry. Jessica might be harsh, but she loves her children. After a little scolding, she hugged Joshua. Joshua and her walked back to the blanket holding hands.
"I'm really sorry Kayla." Joshua said sincerely.
"It's otay." Kayla said sniffling.
"Josh has to sit here for 20 minutes as a punishment. In the mean time, Kayla, why don't you go play with your brother?" Jessica proposed.
"Otay!" Kayla rushed over to the boys.
Zoe picked at Chloe and un clipped her bra. Chloe began to feed. Jessica had moved to pumping, so she fed Jillian a bottle. Much to my surprise, soon it was actually pretty relaxing. Sort of. The older kids (Mark, Josh, Jamie, James, Mason) were playing happily, and Kayla eventually got tired and sat with us. Jillian was back on the blanket, being as crazy as ever.
Jillian squealed and kicked around madly. Chloe just rested in Zoe's lap.
"Have you talked to Trixie and her kids recently?" Jessica asked.
"Yep. Their coming over again in about 2 months for when I get closer to birth." I replied rubbing my tummy.
"Such sweet kids." Jessica said smiling.
"They sent me a family picture. It's only been a month since I saw them, but their getting huge! Look at just how big Adah got!" I said excitedly, showing them my phone.
"Such gorgeous kids. Their defiantly going to be popular in their high school!" Jessica joked.
"I know, right?" I replied.
I starred at Jillian playing on her stomach. She was such a happy baby.
"I still can't believe Jillian has blue eyes. They're so pretty!" Zoe said.
"Jawa and I were shocked! Jawa's dad has blue eyes, so we think that's where she got it from." Jessica said.
"All the kids are growing up to be such lovely people. They're all so big now! It's crazy! I remember when we only had Joshua, Grace, and almost Sacred." I said.
"I know! Know even the ice queen is going to be a mom!" Zoe teased.
I smiled, much to my surprise. When I first met Ben, I told myself I never ever ever wanted kids. But look where I am today. Im pregnant with twins! I guess when life throws you lemons, you really do just have to make lemonade. Two months later, at 36 weeks pregnant, I was about to get the biggest surprise of them all.
Hi.