Chapter 11
Chapter 11 (Brian’s Work, Memory Tests, & Toddler Resolve)
Chapter Description: I hear Brian has to work, so Mommy is gonna be babysitting me. She tells me something about a memory test that Brian was planning…and when he gets home, my toddler emotions are kinda a mess at first, but…he always manages to make me happy in the end.
Date: Tuesday 07-Dec-21 08:25 (Tuesday, December 7, 2021, 8:25 AM)
Location: Brian’s Residence, Skyward Villas Apartments, Kirkwood, Missouri, United States of America
I rub my eyes as muffled voices echo a few feet away from my door. I sit up in my crib whilst my purple T-shirt flutters and my Pampers Baby Dry diaper crinkles, “Wha…what’s going on?” I rise to my feet and waddle over to my crib bars to unlatch the locking mechanism. When my crib bars fall, I jump onto the floor and wiggle my toes.
I giggle as the cool tile of my bedroom floor tickles my bare feet and I waddle toward my slightly cracked door. I peek through into the hallway and spot Mommy and Brian wearing blue jeans, tennis shoes, and T-shirts. The difference between my mommy and Brian’s outfits are that Mommy is wearing a red T-shirt while Brian is wearing a green T-shirt.
I turn from my door and waddle over to my changing table to open the second drawer. I grab a pair of rolled up blue jeans. Seconds after unrolling and sliding the jeans up to the crinkly waistband of my Pampers, my ears pick up Mommy’s voice…
……
Sarah smiles at Brian and pats his shoulder, “Don’t worry, I’ll watch over Stacey while you’re at work.”
Brian smiles and kisses his mom’s cheek, “Thanks, Mom. He’s not up yet, is he?”
Sarah shakes her head, “I checked on him when I came in. He was fast asleep and in need of a new diaper. I got him changed and tucked him back in.” Sarah chuckles as she walks her son to the front door, “He’s a heavy little sleeper.”
Brian chuckles as he enters the hallway and darts his eyes across the sunlit space, “I was going to give him a memory test.” Brian turns and heads back into the living room to grab the two iPads sitting on the table resting to the right of the couch. He picks up the purple cased iPad, “This is Stacey’s, it has the interface he needs to use to answer the questions along with other games and such for when we go on long car trips.”
Sarah walks over to her son and nods as she shows off the green cased iPad, “And that one is yours that has all the teaching material on it.”
Brian nods and smiles at his mom, “Yep. Can you do that for me when Stacey wakes up? It’ll be able to distract him for a while.”
Sarah nods and once her son sets the iPads on the couch, she gently guides him toward the front door and shuts it behind him. She sighs as she hears her son head toward the elevator, “Alright, I should probably go check on the sleepy tot.” Sarah turns toward the hallway, “I know he…” and she stops when she spots me standing in front of the kitchen entrance teary eyed. Oh no…
I whimper and sniffle as silent tears inch down my face, “Mommy…where…where’s Brian going?”
Sarah rushes over and kneels to pull me into a warm hug. She rubs my back and pats my padded bottom while I rest my head over her shoulder, “He had to go to work, sweetie.”
I sniff as I wipe my tears with my balled-up fist, my fears of the worst not confirmed, “So he’s not abandoning me?”
Sarah rises with me held close to her, “Of course not, Stacey. He’d never do such a thing.” Sarah walks over to the couch where the iPads are sitting and sits down between them, “Stacey?”
I sit down in Mommy’s lap and train my inquisitive eyes on her, “Wha…what?”
Sarah hands me the purple cased iPad and points to the floor in front of her, “Brian wanted to do some memory tests, but he had to work. So, I’m going to do them with you instead.”
I jump out of Mommy’s lap and waddle toward the center of the living room with my iPad. I turn toward her and sit down with a crinkle, “Okay…” I sniff and my belly growls while the sunlight shines through the balcony window. I turn on the iPad and my eyes widen at the snow-white interface showing off five buttons: BASIC ADDITION AND SUBTRACTION, SHAPES AND COLORS, COUNTING MONEY, READING AND WRITING, THE ALPHABET.
I train my confused eyes on Mommy, “So what do I do?”
Sarah scans her own iPad interface and sees the same buttons with percentages on them, “Well we can start with addition and subtraction.” She presses the button and smiles as it shows basic problems for me to do along with her ability to grade them, “Okay. Press the ADDITION AND SUBTRACTION button.”
“Okay.” I press the ADDITION AND SUBTRACTION button and smile at the simple questions, “1+1=2, 2+2=4, 5+6=…” I count on my fingers and giggle as I enter 11.
Sarah smiles as she watches me answer all ten questions correctly and she reaches out to ruffle my hair, “Good job, Stacey!”
I giggle and smile toward Mommy, “Thankies.” I glance down to the iPad and press the SHAPES and COLORS button. My eyes widen at the circles, squares, triangles, along with all the different colors each shape comes in, “SO COOL!”
Sarah smiles and boops my nose, “All you have to do is choose the color each shape is first. Then pick the name of each shape. Can you do that?”
I give Mommy a thumbs up and scan the circles, squares, triangles, and rectangles on the right side of the screen with jumbled names on the left. I tap and drag the respective name of each shape to the circle, square, triangle, and rectangle. I giggle and smile as I clap my feet together while I begin naming off the colors as I drag them, “Blue, Purple, Green, Red, um…Yellow!”
Sarah smiles as she grades the Shapes and Colors test, “Good job, 100%.”
I giggle and smile, showing my mouth full of baby teeth, “Thankies, Mommy!” I turn toward the balcony window and my eyes widen when I see five butterflies flying toward the balcony, “OOOOH! BUTTERFLY!” I waddle-run toward the balcony window and giggle as I watch the butterflies land on the balcony railing, “MOMMY! MOMMY LOOK IT!”
Sarah chuckles as she notes under ATTENTION SPAN, 5 minutes and sets the iPad down, “I’m coming sweetie.” She walks over to me and smiles at some of the butterflies landing on the balcony, while others fly off into the distance, “They’re really nice huh?”
I smile toward Mommy and nod, “Uh huh! Uh huh!” I turn back to the living room and notice the iPads, “What are those for?” I waddle over to my iPad and open it to see the Counting Money, Reading and Writing, and The Alphabet buttons. I turn to Mommy’s iPad and see the same buttons but with percentages and an additional button: ATTENTION SPAN: 5 minutes. “Mommy? What’s this?”
Sarah chuckles as she walks back into the living room and sits down on the couch. She takes her iPad into her lap and boops my nose, “Brian was going to give you a simple test of your memory to see if since becoming a tot you’ve forgotten anything from adulthood. Since he had to work, I’m going to do it and watch over my baby boy.”
I giggle when Mommy pokes my belly and I tug at my shirt, despite it doing nothing to hide my belly and the crinkly waistband of my Pampers, “MOMMY!” I backpedal and slip on my iPad’s case causing me to crash-land on my padded bottom. I grab my iPad and smile toward Mommy, “I’m ready to finish.”
Sarah smiles and presses the COUNTING MONEY button, “Alright, can you identify these?”
I scan my iPad and smile as I point to each monetary unit while saying its name, “That’s a quarter,” I poke it and giggle as it fades allowing me to point out and poke the rest, “nickel, dime, penny, $1 bill, $5 bill, $20 bill, $50 bill, $100 bill.” I clap my bare feet and giggle at the last piece of money fading from the screen, “That’s all the money.”
Sarah smiles and ruffles my hair, “Good job!”
……
Date: Tuesday 07-Dec-21 09:24 (Tuesday, December 7, 2021, 9:24 AM)
Location: Brian’s Residence, Skyward Villas Apartments, Kirkwood, Missouri, United States of America
I giggle as the screen fades to reveal a sentence, “What now, Mommy?”
Sarah boops my nose and smiles when I giggle, “You need to read it, Silly.”
“Otay!” I scan the sentence twice and smile, “The…quick…brown…fox…jumps…over… the…lazy…dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.” I smile toward Mommy and glance back to the screen to see the same sentence but an empty space for me to write, “So now I write it?”
Sarah nods, “Yep. You can use your finger or,” She pulls out a black stylus from her right pants pocket, “you can use this.”
I reach for Mommy and grab the stylus. I stick my tongue out as I write out the sentence, albeit sloppily as my handwriting has obviously degraded since my regression to toddlerhood. I turn the iPad to Mommy and peek my smiling face above it, “How’s dis?”
Sarah giggles as she struggles to read my scribbled writing: The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. “Not bad. A little sloppy, but something I expect of a tot.” Sarah ruffles my hair and smiles, “Good job.”
I jump to my feet whilst tossing my iPad onto the couch, “How’d I do?” I bounce up and down whilst repeating “How’d I do?” each time I land.
Sarah chuckles and lifts me into her lap whilst her iPad slides over to her right. “Let’s see.” She picks up the iPad and holds in front of me, “Basic Addition and Subtraction: 100%, Shapes and Colors: 100%, Counting Money: 100%, Reading and Writing: 80%, The Alphabet: Passed, Attention Span: 5 minutes.”
I giggle and poke Mommy’s nose while I hear keys in the door lock, “BRIAN!” I jump out of Mommy’s lap and waddle-run toward the door. I backpedal a few feet so that when the door opens it doesn’t hit me. When Brian steps through the door, I tacklehug him, sending him to the floor while I rest on his belly and giggle, “BRIAN! WHY COME YOU LEFT AND DIDN’T TELL ME?!”
I glare down at him and poke his nose, “That wasn’t nice!”
Brian chuckles as he sits up, causing me to slide into his lap, “I didn’t want to wake you up. I never wake up my baby brother when he’s sleep because I used to be cranky when I got woken up from my sleep at your age. I’m sorry, Stacey.”
Sarah chuckles as she walks over to us and kneels to kiss both our foreheads, “Well Brian, I’m gonna head out. I already fed Stacey some waffles and sausage links during a break between the tests. He passed. He just needs to do better with his writing. I didn’t take off much for it being sloppy, he’s just a toddler after all.”
Brian hugs me close and rises to his feet, “Thanks, Mom.” He glances down to me as he holds me on his hip, “So did you and Mom have fun?”
“Uh huh! I even saw butterflies!” I giggle and boop Brian’s nose.
Brian chuckles and sets me on my feet while his mom leaves and shuts the door behind her, “You did?” Brian kneels with a smile and ruffles my hair, “Where’d you see them?”
I waddle over to the balcony door and point at the railing, “I SAW THEM OVER HERE!”
Brian rushes toward the balcony door and nods, “I see. They’re not there now.”
I shake my head, “They came in the middle of my tests. Mommy took a picture of me admiring them and then we finished the test and did another and had lunch and then we finished the rest and then you came.” I whimper and sniffle as I turn to Brian, “I missed you.”
Brian kneels and pulls me into a warm hug whilst alternating between rubbing my back and patting my bottom, “I know, Stacey. I missed you too. I kept thinking about you while I was helping the director with the employee timesheets and then we had a meeting with the mayor.” Brian smiles as he brings me out of the hug and wipes my tears with his thumb, “Hey don’t cry. Big Brother’s right here.”
I hiccup and sniffle as I wrap my arms around Brian and bury my head in the crook of his neck, “I…I just…I’m glad Mommy was here but…but I missed you. I…I thought…I thought you abandoned me.”
Brian rises and pats my bottom while he slowly walks around the apartment, “I’d never abandon my baby brother. Not ever.” Brian walks into the kitchen and pulls a baby bottle of ice-cold lemonade from the fridge. He walks back into the living room and sits on the couch. He adjusts me so my head is resting in the crook of his arm, and he smiles down at me as he flies the baby bottle high above my head, “Want some, Stace?”
I reach for the bottle and smile as my tears fade, “Pwease?”
Brian’s heart nearly melts at my baby talk, “You’re such a cutie.” He flies the bottle toward my open mouth and smiles when I begin sucking down the delicious lemonade. “Mom did this for you and you were so calm. I guess I can do it as well when you’re upset, and it’ll cheer you up huh?”
I smile around the bottle and clap my bare feet together as I drain the bottle. Once it’s empty, Brian pulls the bottle free of my mouth. “Thankies, Brian.”
Brian rests me over his shoulder and pats my upper back, “You’re welcome, Stacey. If you ever want me to bottlefed you again, just ask.”
“I will, Brian. It…it’s really…Eaaaaaaaaaaaaaarp.” I giggle and kiss Brian’s cheek, “It really calms me down. You and Mommy help me so much.” When Brian stands me up his lap, I poke his nose, “I love you both lots.”
Brian smiles as he slides my jeans down and slides a finger into the cuff of my Pampers, “I’m glad we can help. He’s a little damp, but his Pampers can hold.” Brian pats my diapered bottom and raspberries my belly, “I love you, Baby Brother.”
I step out of my jeans and jump down from Brian’s lap, “I love you too, Brian.” I grab my jeans and slide them back up to the crinkly waistband of my Pampers, “You and Mommy are the bestest!” I giggle when Brian pokes my belly, “NUUUUUU!”
Brian slowly rises from the couch and pokes my belly again, “I need energy. I must tickle the baby brother.” Brian stomps toward me when I backpedal toward the TV. “I MUST HAVE LAUGHTER OF TODDLERS!”
“WAAAAAAAAAAAAA!” I giggle as I waddle-run toward the balcony as Brian’s lumbering steps and deep laughs echo across the apartment, “You’ll never catch me!” I love Mommy and Brian, they’re the bestest in the whole world. I’m glad that I have a family now that love me for the adorable toddler I’ve become. I glance back and my eyes widen at Brian gaining on me and I dart for the kitchen.
I dart my eyes around the kitchen and giggle when Brian’s lumbering footsteps and laughter reach my ears. I dart toward the cupboard and shut the door behind me. I cover my lips whilst my light giggles echo around the cupboard.
Brian tilts his head as he enters the kitchen, “Now where is the tot? Where’d he go?”
I giggle as I dart my eyes around the cupboard while Brian leaves the kitchen, “He left. Yes!” I reach upward and smile at the pull-pin can of pineapple slices I managed to pull off the shelf. I smile as I open the can and begin eating while hoping Brian doesn’t find me.
……
Date: Tuesday 07-Dec-21 11:44 (Tuesday, December 7, 2021, 11:44 AM)
Location: Brian’s Residence, Skyward Villas Apartments, Kirkwood, Missouri, United States of America
Brian leaves my bedroom and rubs the back of his head as he heads toward the empty balcony, “Where could he be?” Brian cups his hands around his mouth, “STACEY? STACEY!”
I jump at Brian’s voice and whimper when I hit my head on the cupboard shelf above me. I dart my eyes around the two cans of pineapples I’ve eaten and hissing echoes around me as the shock of hitting my head resonates with the pineapples leaving my body, “Oww…” I whimper as I rub my head and push the cupboard door, but it doesn’t open! My eyes widen and I whimper, “No…no…I can’t get out. BRIAN! HELP!”
Brian’s ears perk up at my shout and he rushes toward the kitchen, “THAT’S WHERE I DIDN’T CHECK!” He stops in the kitchen and when he hears my voice coming from the cupboard, he walks over to the door and turns the knob resulting in him being hugged at the legs by my sobbing form. “Stacey…you were in the cupboard?”
I train my teary eyes on him, “It was a good hiding place, but…but I couldn’t get out. I…I ate two cans of pineapple because I got hungry and…and…” Silent tears inch down my face as my words are lost.
Brian sighs and rises with me hugged close to him, “It’s alright. I’m here. I’m here.” He kisses my forehead and ruffles my hair, “Big Brother’s gotcha.” Brian heads toward my bedroom and lays me on my changing table. He slides my jeans down to my ankles and pulls them off. He chuckles at the pineapple slices and juice decorating my jeans, “I guess you need a new pair huh?”
I sniff and wipe my remaining tears with a balled-up fist, “Uh huh.”
Brian grabs a pair of jeans from the second drawer and sets the down at the right edge of the changing table. He scans my diaper and takes note of the yellow-green wetness indicator. He pokes my belly and smiles when my happy giggles echo toward him. Yellow is dry, yellow-green is damp, green is wet, blue is soaked.
Brian blinks twice as he watches my Pampers wetness indicator slowly change to green. He turns his eyes to me and notices my tears, “What’s wrong, Stacey?”
I sniffle and cover my eyes with one of the fresh diapers whilst the hissing fades, “I’m sowwy.”
Brian chuckles as he unfastens my soaked diaper and lifts my legs with his left hand, “It’s nothing to be sorry about.” Brian slides the old diaper away and begins getting me dry with some Pampers Complete baby wipes, “That’s what diapers are for.”
I sniff and wipe my eyes with a balled-up fist while Brian lowers my legs so he can roll my old diaper into a ball, “Brian?”
Brian tosses my old diaper into the diaper pail and lifts my legs with his left hand so he can powder my uplifted bottom with his right, “What is it, Stacinator?”
I hiccup and sniffle as Brian sets the powder down and unfolds the fresh Pampers Baby Dry diaper, “You…you’ll take me with you next time right?”
Brian slides the fresh diaper under my bottom and brings the colorful circles toward my belly, “I don’t think it’s appropriate to take my baby brother to work.”
I wipe my eyes and sniff as Brian secures the left tape of my Pampers, “Why come?”
Brian secures the right tape of my fresh diaper and slides my jeans up to the crinkly waistband of my fresh diaper, “Well, I’m not sure. The director said it’s okay, but Mom would rather babysit you instead. That and…I could be at work for hours and you’d get bored.”
I sit up on the changing table and raise my arms to Brian. I flex my hands and my eyes widen, “Uppies!”
Brian lifts me into his arms and smiles when I wrap my arms around him. He rubs my back and pats my bottom as I rest my head over his shoulder, “You wouldn’t want to come to my job and watch me work.” Brian hums a gentle tune as he heads out of my bedroom and walks around the apartment at a snail’s pace, “You had fun with Mom too, right?”
I yawn and snuggle close to Brian as his gentle back rubs and padded bottom pats lull me to a peaceful state, “Uh huh. Mommy’s awesome.” Another yawn leaves my lips and I notice Brian heading toward the kitchen, “Where we goin’?”
Brian sets me on the counter and walks over to the sink to wash his hands. With the sink turned off, Brian scoops me into his arms and pulls a baby bottle of chocolate milk from the fridge. He smiles at me as he shakes the bottle, “I heard you yawn twice. An ice-cold bottle of milk should help.”
“I dun wanna nap.” I squirm in Brian’s hold, “Down. I wan down!”
Brian sets the bottle on the counter and sets me on my feet. He kneels with the bottle in hand and lightly taps me on the head with it, “Wanna watch some cartoons with me instead of nap time?”
I nod, “Can you bottle-feed me too?”
Brian heads toward the living room and sits down on the couch, “Sure.” Brian turns toward me and pats the empty space in his lap.
I giggle and waddle toward Brian while he turns on Rugrats. I crawl into his lap and kick my jeans off allowing my Pampers Baby Dry diaper full view. I smile toward Brian, “Weady!” and open my mouth.
Brian chuckles at my jeans lying on the floor, “What happened?” and slowly flies the bottle toward my mouth.
“Dun need em. Not going anywhere. At home mostly shirt and diapey…outside either shirt and diapey or shirt, diapey, and pants.”
“Makes sense to me.” Brian drives the bottle toward my mouth and adjusts me so that my head is resting in the crook of his arm.
I smile around the bottle and my eyes droop as I suck down the delicious chocolate treat.
Brian chuckles as he watches me battle with sleep while draining the milk, “I thought we were gonna watch cartoons together.”
I push at the empty bottle and when Brian pulls it from my mouth, I yawn. “Sleepy. Wan nappy bye.”
Brian dawws at my adorable baby talk and hugs me close whilst alternating between patting my back and patting my bottom.
I belch and yawn as I release myself from Brian’s hug and sit down in his lap. I smile toward him and boop his nose as my eyes droop, “Thankies, Bwian. I wove yoos.” I yawn and wobble as I rise in his lap.
“Whoa…” Brian steadies me in his lap and hugs me close whilst patting my diapered bottom, “I’m right here, Stacey. Just take your nap.”
I yawn and rest my head over Brian’s shoulder as he pats my diapered bottom. I yawn again and soon my eyes shut, “I wove yoos…Bwian.”
Brian smiles at my baby talk and continues patting my diapered bottom while I fall deeper into sleep, “I love you too, Baby Brother. Have a good nap, Stacey.” Brian turns his attention to the TV and switches to the Jazz Music station.
He turns down the volume and lays me down to his left so I can enjoy my nap while the gentle jazz music echoes across the apartment. I’m glad Stacey’s my baby brother. He’s so cute when he’s sleeping. I’ve been blessed in this world with a precious baby brother and I’m always going to try to keep him happy. I just hope the future keeps bringing happiness to us both.
