How Green Becomes Wood

"Maybe," Daizi said, listening to Dark plead with Ivy as he tried to feed her with a content grin on her face. "But I feel like if you live somewhere, that's when you know things aren't perfect. Because then you're just living a normal life, and nobody's life is smooth all the time."
 
"Me too!" Daizi exclaimed, propping herself upright briefly before lying back down, "But I'm also glad to be away from 'real life.'"

"She liked banana yesterday," Dark grumbled, trying to entice her to open her mouth, "Today? Today she refuses to eat it."
 
"Me too!" Alec agreed happily. "Say. Do you want to have a picnic out on the sand when the food gets here?"

"I'm not fond of eating sand," Xander told him dryly. To Dark, he said, "Well, that was yesterday's food. Yesterday is gone and history."
 
"We can! I know tomorrow, we're renting a boat, and I thought we could have a picnic on the beach before hand? Like for Brunch. And then we'll have some snacks while we're on the water. We got a tube to pull behind us, too, you lay flat on it, and hold on." Daizi said excitedly, turning towards him, "I think it's going to be so much fun."

"Silly me." Dark said, frowning at his daughter, "Will you grab another puree, Xander? Maybe she'll try something else. Unless you want to try." After all, a person didn't need to touch a baby to feed them.
 
"Yes! Boating time!" Alec cheered. He never knew he wanted to ride in a boat, but, yes, he absolutely did!

"Uh, sure?" Xander got up and stretched before wandering over. "Alright, ya little mini mouse. Why ain't you eating your banana? Is it because you don't want to turn into a monkey?"
 
"Dark says he's going to let me drive, and that'll be my first time driving anything." Daizi said, "but I'm glad we aren't doing anything too over the top for my birthday."

Ivy squeaked, squirming away. When Dark handed Xander the cup of mashed banana and the spoon, he said, "Darling Ivy-Qadira, Baba knows you're hungry! Just open your mouth, sweet girl."

"She prefers Mama's food," Daizi teased.
 
"You picked a marvelous way to spend your entire birthday week," Alec told her happily.

Xander got down so he was level with Ivy and gave her a long look. Then he turned sideways and pretended to scoop some mashed banana onto the spoon and put it in his mouth. In actuality, the spoon was empty, and he'd moved the spoon on the far side of his face where Ivy couldn't see, giving it the illusion he'd put it in his mouth. Then he gave Ivy a big smile. "Yum! That's good stuff!" He offered her a small bite. "You wanna eat some 'nana?"
 
"We didn't really intentionally set it over my birthday," Daizi said, stretching. After a full day in the sun, she was more tired than she expected to be, "But we couldn't go over the fourth of July, and August seemed too close to when school started again. It is nice, though. You three have winter birthdays, it's harder to make work."

"She is looking at you like she thinks you are stupid." Dark replied, resting his chin on his knee. It was true Ivy was looking at him, but her motivations were by no means cut and dry. For a moment it seemed like she might go for it, but then she reached out, and probably unintentionally, knocked over the banana cup.
 
"I guess we'll just have to do a birthday party vacation over winter break!" Alec said teasingly.

Xander caught the cup before too much spilled out and righted it. "Good thing this stuff isn't liquid, exactly. So, trying to be a wise guy, eh?" He moved the cup out of her reach. "Don't you know wise guys don't get awesome foods? They get even more boring foods like carrots and then peas."
 
"Maybe not this year, but we can do that in the future." Daizi told him, remembering how in the past he had blanched at the idea of going on a trip.

Dark got up and wiped the spilled banana and got up to get a different food in case she was more likely to prefer that one instead, while Ivy just giggled, apparently deciding this was a game.
 
"One awesome trip a year is good with me!" Alec td her cheerfully. He wasn't serious about the trip even if it did sound fun because he doubted they could pull it off.

Xander wagged the spoon at Ivy. "Wasting food is not a game, Mini. You don't gotta eat it, but you can't be throwing it everywhere either.
 
"Do you think so?" Daizi asked, "Where would you want to go next?"

"She has to eat something." Dark grumbled in the kitchenette before re-emerging and offering her pureed apple. And suddenly, miraculously, she wanted banana.
 
"How about the mountains next?" Alec suggested after a bit of thought. "We could take Cooger."

Xander kept the cup out of her reach so she couldn't spill it again and offered her as many spoonfuls as she wanted.
 
"I think that would be great," Daizi said, "Although if we go in Winter we may end up living The Shining."

Now that Ivy was actually eating, she was very well behaved, although she did occasionally make a funny face at random spoonfuls, but she was still learning what foods tasted like. All the while, though, she watched Xander intently, occasionally smiling in between each spoon.
 
Alec sat up and looked at Daizi curiously. "What's the shining? That doesn't sound too bad."

Xander occasionally made a face back at her but mostly kept his expression serious. "Right you are, Mini, this is the finest banana outside of the tropics. Brought to your doorstep and mooshed for your convenience."
 
Daizi half smiled, struggling between two decisions, "It's a movie... and a book. I'd put it on for you, but I don't want to make it so you can't sleep."

After eating another spoonful, Ivy squeaked and bounced. She allowed one more spoonful and then fussed, reaching her arms up to signify she was all done and wanted to play, now.
 
"Oh, so, it's a horror thing?" Alec asked, instantly wilting. "Um, then, no, we can stay home for all of Christmas break every Christmas break."

"Nicely done, Mini," Xander praised her before standing up. He looked at Dark. "All yours," he told him. He couldn't remember Dark ever willingly turning over any aspect of Ivy's care to either of them. Unless it was Daizi asking, they practically had to pry Ivy from his arms.
 
Daizi squeezed Alec's shoulder and pulled him in towards her side, "That's all it takes? You don't even need to know anything about the plot, only that there is a horror movie based in the mountains and you don't want to do it anymore?"

Coming back around and lifting Ivy up, Dark looked at her in her eyes, "Are you satisfied, my dear? Was that good?" In response, she only cooed at him, practicing her vowel sounds. "I am glad to hear it, but we cannot play now. No we cannot, it is too late. We can read a book, or we can sing, but it is much too late to play." Rubbing her back, he gave he a sad little nod and ran his thumb down the back of her head. It didn't strike him as strange he let Xander try to feed him. Until Ivy started eating solids, there wasn't a lot Xander could help with, because he couldn't touch Ivy. Alec could, but he had established boundaries up front. They either couldn't or wouldn't bathe or change her and until she was on solids, they couldn't feed her. It was a gradual thing, he thought, them being able to do more than play with her.
 
Alec willingly let Daizi pull him close to her. "Mountains are already intimidating, and getting stuck up there in the snow sounds terrifying, like the Donald party."

"Donner party," Xander called over as he helped clean up.

"Donner party," Alec corrected, "so getting trapped in a horror film or book sounds like the next level of worst."

"Food's here!" Xander called when he heard the car pull up.
 
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