"Alright, Jess, you sure you're good?" Joe asks, putting a thumbs up to the nanny sitting on the couch as I sit on the chair near the front door, Willa on a stool in front of me as I fix her hair, one of her shoes popping off.
"Uh-oh," she says. "Uh-oh, mommy."
"Yeah, uh oh," I tell her, finishing her hair and reaching for the shoe, letting out a sigh as I sit back up and put it on her. "Okay, baby, let's go."
"Okay," Joe sighs. "The guys that are coming to build the thing in the backyard should be here any time. Just let 'em do what they gotta do. We'll be back in a couple hours."
She nods. "Sounds good!"
I grin at her. "Farmers market and groceries. That is our mission."
She laughs lightly as we head out of the house with Willa holding my hand.
"Say bye!" I tell her.
"Bye!" she says, waving with her free hand.
"Bye sweet girl!" she calls after us.
Actually having a home in Miami makes it feel weird to walk outside and feel the difference in the weather. Though I love the outfits of the day, Joe in his jeans and blue and green floral button down, Willa in her pink shirt with dress overalls, and me with the spaghetti strap ankle-length black dress. I climb into the car, letting Joe buckle Willa into her car seat.
Making it to the farmers market not long later, Joe and gets Willa out of the car while I round to their side, smiling widely at her as she reaches up.
"Hi!"
"Hi," I tell her, grinning. "Mommy cannot carry you right now, my love. Mommy can hold your hand though."
She takes my hand, smiling and bouncing around for a second while Joe gets settled before we head over to the market across the street.
"Mommy, look!" she says, pointing to one of the setups.
"I see, baby," I grin, nodding.
"Mama, berries?" she asks after a few moments, pointing at the mix of berries at a stand.
"Those are berries, yeah," I nod. "Do you want berries to eat this week?" I ask.
Joe stops a few steps ahead of us, watching and grinning as he does so.
"Daddy, berries!"
"Berries, yeah!" he grins. "Mama asked you if you want berries this week, can you give mama an answer?"
She stares at him, picking at her upper lip.
"Hey, hey," I tell her, gently removing her hand from her mouth. "Do you want berries to eat this week?"
"Yes!" she answers, hopping once.
"Okay!" I laugh lightly at the enthusiasm. "Berries it is!"
"Berries it is!" Joe grins, walking up and ordering multiple things of strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, and more fruit that they have available, knowing that the both of us will completely devour them. "Okay, moving on."
By the time we're done, our grocery store list is now minimal, finding a lot of amazing things at the farmer's market.
"You're happy," Joe grins as he drives.
I nod. "I like that we know the stories behind all of the stuff we just bought. And I love that it'll be better for us too. Being fresh and all."
He nods. "We should do this more often. I know a few farmers markets both in LA and New York that I think we should go to."
I nod in agreement. "That sounds like a good plan to me. Willa, shopping?"
"Yeah, shopping," she says, pausing before speaking again. "Nacks, mama?"
"You want a snack?" I ask.
"No, mama."
"Oh, are we going to go buy snacks?"
"Yeah," she says.
"Yes, baby, we're going to go buy snacks for the new house."
"Yay!" she says, clapping.
Joe smiles instantly at her excitement, switching hands so his left is holding the wheel, and his right reaches over to me, rubbing my belly a little before laying his hand there, my hand soon lying on top of his.
"We're getting close," I tell him.
He nods. "I know, only 4 months left."
"17 weeks left," I sigh. "If she doesn't come earlier than her due date."
Joe nods. "Hopefully even if she does it'll be far enough that she'll still be considered full-term."
"At this point, I'm not really worried," I sigh. "She seems content in there."
He rubs his thumb back and forth. "Safest place for her."
I nod. "I know. I can't wait to meet her though."
"Me either," he grins.
"Mama, dere?"
"No, baby, we're not there yet. Almost, okay?"
"Otay," she responds before reaching for her cup and taking a few gulps.
"I swear this car camera is the best investment," I tell Joe quietly. "I love that I can actually see her."
Joe nods. "Me too. It makes it so much easier to be in the car with her. We're gonna need to move the camera once the baby comes though. Or get another one."
I nod. "We should probably just get another one. I don't want Willa's car seat being in the middle and that's the only way we'd be able to see both of them at the same time, I think."
Joe nods. "I'll order one more for each car when we get home later. What's on our list for the grocery store?"
"Um," I reach into my small purse, grab out the paper, and read it off. "Pasta, chicken nuggets, peanut butter, tortillas, we got bread and jelly at the farmers market, um, mac and cheese, fruit leathers, g-o-l-d-f-i-s-h, c-r-a-c-k-e-r-s, fruit s-n-a-c-k-s, c-o-o-k-i-e-s, m-i-l-k, c-h-e-e-s-e, ranch, rice, chicken broth, chicken, pork, beef, the entire stash of seasonings because we have none, h-o-t d-o-g-s, bacon, butter, cream cheese, y-o-g-u-r-t, flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, c-h-o-c-o-l-a-t-e c-h-i-p-s, cereal, pretzels, popcorn," I pause taking a deep breath and noting Joe's chuckle. "Oil, vinegar, ketchup, mustard, relish, pickles, syrup, honey, siracha, hot sauce, BBQ sauce, and frozen veggies."
"So, the whole nine yards."
"Yeah, pretty much," I nod. "It's a new house."
He nods. "Yeah, we're gonna have to do this at least one other time."
"Any news on the New York closing?"
He shakes his head. "Nope... nothing at all on the farmhouse either."
I sigh. "If we don't get our LA farmhouse I'm gonna be so upset."
"I know," he sighs, grabbing my hand. "We've just gotta be patient, I guess."
"There's no time to be patient," I sigh. "There are only 17 weeks until this little girl is here, and I have absolutely nothing ready for her."
He nods, squeezing my hand. "We'll get there, my love."
Arriving at the grocery store, I get out of the car and round to the other side, Joe setting Willa down as she insists on walking up to the doors.
"Mama, baby," she says pointing at my belly as I hold out my hand for her to take.
"Sister," I tell her, pointing to the baby.
She giggles, grabbing my hand and half-swinging.
"No, thank you, Willa," I tell her, shaking my head. "No ma'am. Don't swing on mommy's arm."
She pouts.
"I'm sorry but that's a no-go, babe," I tell her. "That hurts mommy's arm when you swing like that."
She sighs, walking correctly, though, as we walk up to the doors.
"Sit?" I ask her, gesturing to the cart.
She nods and lifts her arms, letting Joe lift her and put her in the car while I grab the handles.
"No!" she exclaims.
I raise my brows at her.
"Daddy push, mommy!"
"Oh, daddy's gotta push the cart?" I ask, my brows still raised.
She nods. "Daddy push!"
"I need you to try that again, please," I tell her calmly.
"Daddy push, please!" She says in a goofy voice.
I roll my eyes, looking at Joe. "She's all you."
"Absolutely not," he shakes his head, taking the cart. "She's all you, my love."
I laugh lightly, shaking my head as my hand cradles my belly. "Let's do this shopping."
As we go through the store, grabbing the items that we need, we arrive at the snack aisle, my hands reaching for the goldfish and placing the big tub in the cart.
"I some!" Willa says, pointing.
"Not yet, baby," I tell her.
"Mama, I some!" she demands.
"No, ma'am," I shake my head. "Not right now."
She screams in response, crossing her arms and pouting as Joe gets down to her level.
"Excuse me," he says. "Not okay."
I turn, moving through the aisle as he finishes speaking to her, grabbing crackers, fruit snacks, fruit leathers, pretzels, popcorn, pudding, Jell-O, and a few other things that I find myself wanting.
"What do you need to do?" Joe asks her as they catch up to me at the end of the aisle.
"Sowwy mama," she says.
"Thank you, baby," I tell her. "Mama said not right now because we need to buy them first. You can have some when we get home, okay?"
She nods twice, confidently. "Yes."
"That's my girl," I tell her. "High five or hug?"
She opens her arms for me, letting me hug her before continuing our shopping trip.
"Do we need to stop anywhere else before heading home?" Joe asks, putting the groceries in the back while I buckle Willa in.
"I don't think so," I shake my head. "No."
He nods, closing the trunk and kissing me as I walk by to get into the car before putting the cart back and climbing into his own seat. "To home we go."
"To home we go," I grin.
"Mama, nack?"
"You can have a snack when we get home, baby," I tell her.
"Oon mama?"
"Yes, we will be there soon," I tell her.
Joe chuckles.
"What?" I ask.
"You two are so cute," he grins. "I love listening to your conversations."
I grin, pointing my attention to the streets we're passing through on the way back to our house, Joe parks the car before we get out, him reaching for the groceries while I grab Willa, putting her down and grabbing the last couple of bags.
"What are you doing?" he asks, giving me a look.
"Grabbing the last bags so you don't have to come back out," I tell him, seeing his arms full of groceries.
"Addison," he sighs heavily, walking the groceries inside as Willa begins to run around on the driveway.
"Baby, walking feet," I tell her, nearing the door. "You're going to fall and get hurt."
She laughs, continuing to run until she trips, falling forward.
"Uh-oh!" I tell her.
She begins to cry, simply lying in the spot with her head and hands raised slightly.
"What happened?" Joe asks, walking out.
"She was running after mama told her to stop and she fell," I tell him calmly, holding the groceries out for him.
"Ahh," he nods, going inside as I walk over to Willa.
"Baby, mommy cannot get down to pick you up, I need you to stand up for me."
She does as she's told, her face red and tears running down her cheeks, stains already noticeable. She raises her arms, a couple of scratches noticeable on her palms.
I sigh, picking her up. "That's why mommy told you not to run, baby," I tell her. "Mommy knew you were gonna fall and get hurt. Are you okay?"
She lets out an unsteady breath before continuing to cry.
"Okay," I say calmly, walking into the house where Jessica and Joe unload groceries.
"Daddy!" Willa whines through cries.
I turn my head to the side, trying to hide my soft laughter.
"What happened princess?" he asks lovingly, taking her from me.
She wraps her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly as I move around them, starting to help unpack the groceries in his place, giving Jess a look as we both let out small laughs, trying to be quiet.
"Oh my goodness," he says after a moment of silence. "Were you running outside on the hard ground?"
"Yeah," she whines, nodding at him.
"Yeah? Did mommy tell you to use your walking feet so you wouldn't fall?"
"No," she says.
"No?" he asks, giving her a look. "I think mommy did. Let's try again, did mommy tell you to use your walking feet so you wouldn't fall?"
"Yes," she says, nodding.
"Yeah," Joe nods. "Yeah, mommy said that, and Willa didn't listen right? So Willa fell on the ground and got boo-boos on her hands."
"Yeah," she says, nodding.
"Yeah, so I think next time we should probably listen to mommy, yeah?"
"Yeah," she nods.
"Yeah, cool."
"Mommy," Willa says, still slightly whining.
"Yeah, my love?" I ask, looking over.
"Nack now?" she asks.
I nod. "Yes, my love. You can have a snack now. Goldfish or fruit snacks?" I ask, showing her.
"Fishy!"
"Fishies," I nod, getting her snack cup and putting goldfish in it before handing it to her.
"What do we say?" Joe asks her gently.
"Tan Ooo mama," she says, shoving a few in her mouth.
"You're welcome baby," I tell her, kissing her on the cheek.
"Daddy's gotta walk to the backyard can you go hang out with mommy or Jess for a minute?" he asks her.
"Mama," she says.
"There we go," he grins, handing her to me.
After a few minutes, Joe walks back in, sighing. "They've gotta finish tomorrow. We'll have to keep her distracted until after nap tomorrow."
I sigh. "Well, at least it's just the morning. Maybe we should go shopping for her tonight, babe, we can set up the playroom tonight or something."
Joe nods. "That's a good idea, yeah, we'll do that."
"Jess you good with that? She'll sleep through the night anyways," I shrug.
She nods. "Yeah, absolutely."
As planned, we wait until Willa is fast asleep in her bed, Joe waiting downstairs for me to come down in sweats and a tee, grinning.
Joe grins over at me from the couch, Jess on the opposite end, grinning over as well.
"Ready?" I ask, grinning at him.
He nods. "Let's get it, baby," he says, getting up and offering his hand.
I roll my eyes playfully, taking his hand and looking at Jess. "We'll be back with more things than Willa needs for the playroom."
She salutes us, laughing. "Have fun!"
"We will," I grin.
"Okay," Joe smiles as he drives. "I found a toy store I think will be perfect to get stuff. I figured that could be our first stop before it closes and then we can go somewhere else and get furniture too."
I nod. "I like that idea," I grin, grabbing his hand and intertwining our fingers.
Arriving at the toy store, the two of us walk inside, noticing a few surprised but excited faces off to the side, Joe being noticed.
"Do you want to say hi?" I ask, grinning at him.
He chuckles, intertwining our fingers. "Nah, it's date night."
I grin, walking down the aisles with him, grabbing this and that but keeping it Montessori-themed as we've been trying to do.
"Okay, so we're keeping it simple, right?" Joe asks, grabbing at a couple of things as well.
"Yeah, Montessori. Simplicity, real-life skills, independent learning, that sort of thing."
He grins. "Are we getting bigger things too?" he wiggles his eyebrows.
I furrow mine. "Why?"
"I see a couple bigger things," he smirks.
"Like?" I ask, grinning.
"Well," he says, leading me over to the bigger toys, including the kitchens. "I saw this kitchen, it's simple and it's neutral which I know you prefer. Then I saw this climber thing and then I was thinking of a table and chairs, but we can get that at the next place. We'll need that and an organizing shelf for the toys. They also have a nugget couch," he smirks.
"You wanna get her a nugget couch?" I ask, laughing. "I mean I know we talked about it, but..."
He grins. "Well, it wouldn't just be for her. We have two now," he says, cradling my bump.
I grin. "Well, then I guess we need it. We can get that, the climber, the kitchen," I pause, letting him kiss me. "Along with all of the other toys. We can turn it into a functioning kitchen eventually but for now, we should look for a couple of toys to go in it."
He nods. "Let's go do that then."
Hand in hand, the two of us make our way through the aisles yet again, grabbing a few more things before Joe grabs the bigger items, and we check out, placing all of the things in the car.
"I think we're gonna have to drop this stuff off at home first," I admit, laughing at the back of the car after we slide into our seats.
He chuckles. "I think you're probably right."
Hand in hand, we make our way back to the house, Joe unloading the bigger items into the garage before we leave again, soon going through furniture and finding the perfect items to match the room.
"Wait, I wanna look at décor stuff," I tell him. "It's pink and boho all rolled into one, that's the stuff we have to look for."
He grins, nodding. "What about this, baby?" he asks after a moment, holding up a decorative piece.
"I love that," I tell him, pouting a little as I look at it. "That's so cute."
He grins, placing it in the cart.
Once we're done, we once again check out before going back home and lugging all of it into the playroom, letting Jess go to bed now that we're home and can tend to Willa if need be... which I doubt.
Making it our first priority to put together the furniture, I watch as Joe starts to unbox making me give him a look.
"Nope, I need the nugget first."
He chuckles, unboxing the nugget couch and setting it up where I think I want it before plopping down, watching Joe once again before eventually trying to help him.
"No," he says, pulling a piece away from me and chuckling.
I look at him, jaw dropped. "I'm trying to help!"
"You're 23 weeks pregnant and clumsy as hell, that's not going to happen," he tells me, laughing and leaning down, pressing his lips to mine.
I smile widely, continuing to watch him. "I wanna help."
"You can help all you want once this last thing is put together."
I sigh, watching in awe as he finishes, not being able to stop.
"You're staring," he chuckles.
"I mean how do I not?" I ask, widening my eyes in a joking matter.
He laughs, winking over at me.
I smile. "I love you."
"I love you," he grins, leaning over and kissing me again before putting the screwdriver down. "And it's done. Now it's all you, my love. Organize, tell me where to put shit."
I laugh, standing and starting to tell him where to put things.
Once we're done, we both stand and look at the final product.
"Oh my god, I love it," I tell him, grinning. "And I appreciate you allowing me to get the baby corner ready already too."
"Anything to make you happy," he says, grabbing my waist and pulling me in, attaching our lips.
I grin, placing my hands on either side of his face. "Thank you."
"For?" he asks, furrowing his brows, his hand on my back while the other cradles the bump for the second time tonight.
"Making a life with me to fall in love with."
He smiles. "Thank you for building the life with me to love."
I smile wider before looking around once more. "Willa's gonna lose her mind."
"She's gonna be so excited," he chuckles.
"But it's currently one in the morning and we need to go to sleep."
He makes a face, nodding. "Yeah, we do."
I kiss him once more before we head to bed, excited to show Willa her new space in the morning.
(Playroom Inspo; Pink & Boho:
***
hello hello friends! Another midnight update!
please let me know what you think of the chapter!
comment, vote, all the things, i love to hear from you!
all my love,
shan:)