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Rolling over on the bed until she’s curled comfortably against her husband, Skye lets out a content sigh. She wraps an arm tightly around his torso and slips one of her legs between his, trying to get as close to him as humanly possible. She breathes deeply and relishes in the natural warmth coming off of him, savoring this moment of calm and quiet before it’s inevitably broken by the day ahead of them.
A smile curls at the edges of her lips when one of Grant’s arms snakes around her waist, tugging her closer as his lips drop to her forehead.
“Morning,” he says in a gravelly voice.
She tilts her head back to look at him. “Merry Christmas.”
He smiles lazily. “Merry Christmas.” He breathes deeply, holding her closer. “We should probably go check on the twins, huh?”
“Probably. I kinda just wanna stay here for another minute, though. Quiet moments are so rare for us now, I wanna bask in this one for as long as I can.” She closes her eyes again and curls herself further against her husband.
A second later, soft murmurs drift through the baby monitor that’s sitting on the bedside table.
Skye groans, reluctantly rolling away from her husband and sitting up. She looks down at Grant, reaching out to run a hand through his unruly bed hair. “I’ll get them ready if you want to get breakfast started.”
“Okay.”
Skye stretches as she climbs out of bed and then makes her way to the twins’ room, making a quick stop in the bathroom to relieve herself. And then she’s stepping into the nursery and flipping the light on, smiling softly at the sight of her babies lying awake in their cribs, Max resting dutifully in the middle of the carpet, right between both cribs.
She stops by the dog first, crouching down to give his head an affectionate rub. “Good boy, Max.” She presses a kiss to the top of the dog’s head and then approaches Ava’s crib. She lifts the eager baby out, holding her close and dropping a kiss to the top of her head as she gently sways for a moment. “Merry Christmas, sweet girl.” She carries the eight-month-old over to the changing table in the corner and makes quick work of the baby’s soiled diaper, replacing it with a clean one, and then fixes her onesie back into place.
Lifting her daughter back into her arms, Skye settles into the rocking chair in front of the window to nurse Ava. She shifts her focus to the other crib in the room once Ava has eagerly latched on, taking in the sight of her son lying awake but quiet on his back. The more calm of the two babies, Adian is less likely to start whining immediately if he doesn’t get fed right away, unlike his sister who seems to crave attention even at such a young age. That’s certainly going to be fun as they get older.
Once Ava has finished eating, Skye burps her and then sets the baby on the carpet on her back next to Max as she heads to the other crib for her son. She cuddles him for just a moment like she did with Ava before changing his diaper and then settling in the chair again to nurse him. She’s definitely going to miss these quiet bonding moments when the twins are old enough to not need to be nursed anymore. So she soaks up every second that she can with them like this.
When Adían has finished nursing, Skye sets him on the carpet next to his sister and then crosses to the dresser to grab the clothes she’s been planning on putting them in since she saw the outfits at the store several weeks back. When she kneels on the carpet directly in front of her babies to get them dressed, she’s beyond grateful that neither of them has tried to escape.
She quickly manages to wrestle both babies into their matching Christmas onesies and then carefully lifts each baby into her arms. It takes her a moment to find her footing as she stands, balancing a baby on each hip, but once she does she’s out of the nursery and making her way down to the main level of the house, Max following right at her heels.
She has a smile on her face the entire time, eager to see the twins’ reactions to all the presents sitting underneath the tree. There are probably more presents than necessary under there, all for the twins because Grant got a bit excessive. She can’t entirely blame him, though, when she’s responsible for a lot of it too. It’s their kids’ first Christmas, though, and even if the twins won't remember anything, she and Grant still want it to be as special as it can be.
As soon as they’re in the living room Ava’s entire face lights up, immediately wiggling so she’ll be let down. Adian simply keeps his head resting on Skye’s shoulder, though he does seem mesmerized by the colorful lights on the tree.
Bending down just enough to set Ava on the carpet on her hands and knees, Skye lets out a laugh when the eight-month-old shoots off like a bullet, heading straight for the Christmas tree. Or, more specifically, the presents that sit underneath its branches. She’s immediately scooped up by Grant as he enters the room, though, spinning her around while pressing kisses to her cheeks to make the little girl giggle and squirm.
Skye watches the exchange with a smile, continuing to hold Adian in her arms. She rubs a hand absentmindedly up and down her son’s back, resting her cheek against the top of his head as she gently sways from side to side. She loves that he’s such a cuddler, taking every opportunity she can to cuddle with him before he inevitably decides he’s too old to do so.
“What do you think you’re doing, Ava-loo?” Grant asks their daughter as he gently bounces her in his arms once they’ve finished spinning, keeping the smile on the baby’s face. “We need to have some breakfast before you can open your presents.”
“And Auntie Rose is coming over later,” Skye adds, glancing at her son. “She’s bringing Matthew and Uncle Eric with her too. That’ll be fun, huh?” she says, knowing she won’t get an actual response from the baby. She presses a kiss to his temple and then looks up at her husband. “Breakfast ready?”
He nods. “It is. Nothing too heavy, just some pancakes, eggs, and bacon.”
Skye smiles even as her stomach rumbles. “Sounds perfect.”
Breakfast goes as well as it can with two eight-month-olds to deal with—more of their cereal pieces end up on the floor than in their mouths. But it’s enough to keep them occupied and entertained long enough for her and Grant to get through their own meals. Max even seems to be a bit calmer this morning, sitting patiently in the living room instead of begging for food at the table like he usually does.
Once breakfast is finished, Skye grabs Adian while Grant takes Ava and they make their way into the living room, sitting down on the carpet and settling the kids in their laps. Max wanders over almost immediately, settling himself in between their bodies, his tail wagging as he lets out a soft bark.
Skye looks at her husband and smiles. “Guess we should just start, then.”
He nods. “I guess so. Never done Christmas with a baby before.”
“Yeah, me neither.”
“Um, I guess we can just let them rip into the paper and hope for the best.”
Skye nods once. “Sounds like a plan. But stockings first.” She reaches out to grab one of the two stockings sitting nearby, pulling it closer so it’s in front of her and Adian. “You ready to open your stocking, baby?” she asks her son, ducking her head just enough so she can look at his face. She presses a kiss to his cheek and then carefully tilts the fabric stocking upside down so its contents spill out onto the floor. She can see Grant doing the same with Ava’s out of the corner of her eye.
She lets Adian down after a moment so he can explore what was in his stocking; some new bath toys, a few pairs of socks, a container of his favorite puff snacks, a new teething toy, a couple of small board books, and a new stuffed animal. Ava has much of the same in her stocking, though slightly different in some aspects so they won’t get the twins’ things mixed up at any point.
Opening the actual presents is a much, much slower process, given that Adian and Ava seem more interested in the wrapping paper and the boxes their presents came in than the actual presents themselves. She really shouldn’t be surprised though, she’s had plenty of moms tell her that this is what Christmas is like with young children. She just hopes they’ll find some interest in their toys at some point, seeing as many of them have a lot of lights and sounds meant to engage a child’s attention.
It’s entertaining, to say the very least, watching two eight-month-old babies enjoy the holiday, even if they don’t fully understand it yet. The wonder in their eyes as they watch the lights on the tree is enough to make her mom-heart completely full. She just barely remembers to take plenty of pictures to share with their friends later.
Of course, they got a few presents for Max too, the german shepherd happily gnawing away at one of the chew toys he shredded the wrapping paper off of. He’s settled himself right in the middle of where the twins are crawling around, not even bothered whenever one of them–mainly Ava–climbs over him or grabs at his tail or ears. It’s very good proof that his training to help Grant worked well. Something she’s incredibly grateful for.
.
.
.
“I’ve got it,” Skye calls out as she descends the stairs with Adian on her hip. She smiles brightly when she pulls the door open and sees who’s standing on the other side. “Rose, hi.” She immediately pulls her sister-in-law into a hug, being careful not to squish Adian in the process. “Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas to you too,” Rose says as they break the hug. “Oh, there’s my favorite little guy. Come here.” She beams as she takes Adian and moves further into the house.
Skye just laughs and shakes her head, turning to the remaining two figures on the front porch. “Hey, guys.”
“Merry Christmas, Auntie Skye,” Matthew says with a wide smile and a wave. “We brought some presents for Adian and Ava. And you and uncle Grant.”
“That’s very sweet, Matthew, thank you. Why don’t you go into the living where your mom and uncle are? But no opening presents without me, okay? We got a few things for you too.”
His smile widens. “Awesome.”
Skye watches him walk further into the house, a smile on her face the whole time, and then turns back to her brother-in-law, closing the door as he steps inside. “You guys know you didn’t need to get me and Grant anything. Just having you three here for Christmas is more than enough. I don’t think I’ve seen Grant as happy as he is with Rose other than at our wedding and in the hospital when the twins were born.”
Eric shrugs. “We wanted to. It was mostly Rose and Matt, though. I think Rose has been trying to make up for lost time and Matt is just feeding off her energy.”
Skye laughs quietly. “Yeah, that sounds about right.” She takes a deep breath. “Well, should we get in there before they decide to start opening the presents without us?”
Eric smiles. “After you.”
She smiles back and makes her way through the house into the living room, smiling a little wider at the sight of her husband, children, sister-in-law, and nephew all on the living room floor together. Just as it should be.
“Mind if we join the party?” Skye asks, already moving to sit down beside her husband. “So are we gonna finish opening some presents or just keep sitting here!”
“Presents!” Matthew exclaims with a grin as he reaches for the bag of gifts he and his parents brought. He begins digging through it, pulling out various wrapped gifts and setting them aside.
Skye laughs quietly as she watches Ava crawl across the floor and plop herself right down in Eric’s lap, though her eyes are focused on all the presents. For his part, Adian seems content to just relax in his aunt’s arms. Even Max is weaving his way repeatedly around their bodies, consistently going back and forth between the twins, almost as if he’s checking that they’re alright. It’s an incredibly sweet sight.
Shifting on the hardwood, Skye leans back against her husband, tilting her back to rest on his shoulder when she feels his arm encircle her waist. “Are you enjoying yourself?” Skye asks quietly as she watches Matthew attempt to help Ava open one of her gifts.
Grant presses a kiss to the top of her head, lingering. “You know what? I actually am. Part of me wants everyday to be like this, but I’m also glad that it’s once a year, it makes it more special that way.”
Skye smiles up at him. “I couldn’t agree more.”
“I’m glad to hear it. This is, by far, the best Christmas I have had in a very, very long time. And I can’t wait to see what next year looks like.”