We’re going back to the Spice Market to see Miranda! She just came back from her travels, and she has yet to see Hannah!
Hannah, however, is more interested in Miranda’s pets than her aunt.
Hip bump!
Somehow, Nolan doesn’t seem to have aged at all! His hair got redder, but apart from that, it’s almost as if someone has put his aging on hold and forgot to make him grow up.
According to Miranda, he’s the smallest kid in his class.
Though he’s quite a few years older than Hannah, they get along great.
This en-suite is luxurious and comfortable. But when Hugo decides to make a normal night a special night, for no particular reason, it turns into the most beautiful place in the city.
Even the city is asleep, but we are not.
Yep.
Poses from @darkmarron , thank you! They are beautiful.
Oh, sure, now we have to deal with her being able to reach into the toilet bowl, and hear her complaining because she didn’t get a second slice of cake (because she’s her mom’s daughter), but you know.
It’s so much easier.
Now we have a lot of fun, the three of us. Playing stupid kids’ games that Hannah loves, watching fun movies as a family… And the soft moments, the hugs, the smell of her baby hair, the love we all feel each and every second of every day.
I’m still always worried to know if she’s okay, or comfortable enough, and if she’s still breathing in her sleep. So after I wake up in the morning, if she’s still snoring, with her tiny, gentle snore, I’ll come watch her sleep.
‘No, mammy! She mean!”
That’s Hannah’s idea of telling me the doll she gave me to play with his her favorite doll’s archnemesis.
Okay then. Guess I’ll have to take my meanest voice and go:
‘Well I don’t like your dress, Hannah!”
“But mammy, I wear pants!”
Implacable logic.
Not enough coffee in the world to deal with toddler logic.
This stupid black-and-white movie is captivating to Hannah. She never tires of it, and asks for it every single night.
It puts her to sleep around the 30-minute mark, so we don’t mind.
One day, maybe, she will see what happens at the end.
We’re getting better at this. It feels like we’re a team again, what with being woken up in the middle of the night by a tiny human and stuff. We can even take some time for ourselves.
I start working again, in freelance. Gotta love being in your cactus jammies in front of tall, transparent windows above the chic neighborhood of your city. It’s not like anybody could look up and see me in all this sleepy glory.
Hannah is now sleeping in her own room most of the time.
Hugo dabbles a little in programming again, or more precisely, in modding the game he likes to stream.
This new balance makes us happy again.
And if you’re wondering how we achieved this balance…
… One of us has started taking it upon himself to also wake up in the middle of the night to comfort his progeny.
No matter how tired this makes him in the mornings…
I’m not much more dynamic, but today I managed to steal the bathtub to sleep in.
And we found these magical Granite Falls bath oils, so I’m fine.
It’s not really that I need her physical help. I delegated most of my responsibilities to other people, the shares and the consulting salary get me my paychecks now.
What I need is the moral support; and what she loves more than anything is pinching her great-granddaughter’s cheeks.
I still suck at cooking, but my baking is improving.
Sometimes I have to make a bit of an effort to remember that this is Hugo’s job.
…
It’s okay, though, we still love each other… and the walk-in wardrobe in the guest’s bedroom.
He’s getting better at taking care of Hannah, though. I can now take morning jogs around the neighborhood with a peaceful mind.
Oh how I’d love to say that we settle into a routine, this time again.
We don’t though.
Oh, we try, but Hannah takes a long time to settle into her schedule. And even when she does, what do you know, she will wake up yelling in the middle of the night.
And every day, everything seems to be new again. The views we’ll never take for granted, each and every single one of Hannah’s smiles, and at night, the softness of our pillows.
Hugo easily gets lost in thought these days, watching the city light up from above.
It’s taking him more time to get used to this new life of ours. For a while, I do most of the baby-shushing.
Hannah’s fine with that, she knows I got the milk.
Grandma often comes to help.
As soon as the sun rises, Hugo and I go to the first floor and spend most of the day there. I’m usually the first one up, so I put Hannah in the downstairs crib.
From the crack of dawn to the last minute of the next night; it’s a job that never stops.
The Stewarts Family (and other shenanigans) 