How Green Becomes Wood

"It'd be cool if we found one of those, though!' Daizi said, thinking about it, "We could see if they go high enough to measure Dark! Or me, I'm taller than 6 feet if I'm in heels. Not even just when I'm in crazy high ones."

"We know how tall I am."

"I know," She nudged him, "When Ivy starts standing on her own, that's when we start measuring her height and not how long she is. Right now, she's only a very long baby."
 
"Hear that, Mini. You gotta start walking so your Mama can chase you with a measuring stick," Xander told Ivy. He ate one last pastry and sat back with a satisfied sigh.

Alec finished his last piece and copied his brother. "I don't think that's a great thing to look forward to," he smirked.
 
"Oh no, not me," Daizi definitively told them, "Dark is who gets to chase her around with a measuring stick. But I wouldn't want to give her a complex."

"I want to mark how tall she gets on the inside of my shed." Dark commented, looking down at Ivy, "I would do it inside our house, on a door frame, but I do not know if I could bring myself to damage our fine wood."
 
"But if you do it inside the house, you'll have a memory to preserve," Alec pointed out. "It's not like the house is ever going anywhere, and neither are you, so aren't a few scratches worth the memories?"
 
"But if I do it inside my shed," He tipped Ivy backwards, making her giggle, "then everytime I am working in there, I can look up, see my notches, and think about how big she's gotten." He tipped Ivy again--- it was so much fun playing with her now that she was relatively strong and able to handle being tipped and tossed, "And my tools are already there."
 
Alec very nearly said, "Then only you get to enjoy it daily," but he bit back the words. Ivy was special. Ivy was the little rainbow child Dark and Daizi had done their version of wish and pray and hope for. When she got older, it'd be easier to "share" her, meaning that Dark could have the things like her height notches. It wasn't like Alec and Xander couldn't go in there, and if anyone should complain about the potential inaccessibility, it should be her mother, not the adopted brother. So, instead, he just smiled and nodded.

"That makes sense," he agreed.

"No it doesn't," Xander said bluntly. "It means anytime Mama wants to see the notches, she's gotta take the trek out to your shop instead of just run her hand down the wall in the house she's probably already in."

"Except it's off the garden, and in nice weather, Mama's out there nearly as much as she's in the house," Alec quickly pointed out.

Xander considered this. "Good point," he agreed. "So, should we clean up and go boating?"
 
"I said that if we notch any doorframe, we should notch the one in the nursery, because that's her space," Daizi said, standing up and bringing her cup to the sink.

"I do not know if she would want that when she is seventeen," Dark pointed out, "or even when she is fifteen, end every year we go into her bedroom to carve into her wall. And anywhere more visible and accessible in the house, I would not want her to feel embarrassed when her friends come over. It would be like if she brings a partner home and I sit them down to show them baby pictures of her, I do not want her to feel like every stranger who visits gets to see her entire childhood, and I know it is technically only notches on a wall, but I do not know what kind of person she will be." He stood, bouncing Ivy up, and with the same casual tone he had been using the entire conversation added, "And if things go very, very wrong, and bombs fall here, there is more of a chance we can find it if my shed is blown to bits." Then, pausing, he drummed on Ivy's back, and corrected himself, "Or, a house fire. I meant a house fire." There. That was less upsetting! Saved it. He set up the stroller, setting Ivy safely inside of it, and checking to make sure the wheels were still locked, he picked up the diaper bag and put it where it belonged.

Inhaling, Daizi squeezed Alec's shoulder, and said, "Luckily we don't have to worry about house fires. And we've got plenty of time to figure out the right spot for it, if we decide to notch the wall. But, come on, we've got places to be."
 
Alec and Xander stared at Dark for a moment.

"You are the absolute champion of over thinking things," Xander said dryly. "But i guess that's what first time parents do."

Alec nodded. "Yes, but I think that's okay. Somebody has to think all those things, but Mama's right. Let's go do fun things all day!" He bounced up and checked to make sure he had everything. For once, he did! He declared that today was fated to be an excellent day.
 
Stopping himself just short from pointing out it is not overthinking things if it has happened before, he unlocked the wheels and pushed Ivy outside.

"We don't have the boat for the full day, but we've got it for just long enough that we'll be able to have a nice picnic after." Daizi was holding gently onto Dark's elbow, only feeling a little sorry for herself that she couldn't fully hold his hand like she used to, because she was happy, and it was her birthday, and she wanted to hang on him. But, it wasn't a long walk to the boat rental, and after what felt like an excruciatingly long wait to actually get onto the boat and be talked through how it works, the rules, the safety, and what felt like a million other things Daizi only partially heeded, Dark was at the helm, and took them further out onto the water.
 
Alec sat in the center of the boat and kept checking and rechecking his life vest nervously as they puttered out onto the water. Xander had the top clasp undone for comfort and sat near the edge looking down into the water. He had a tight grip on the edge of the boat and one leg partially under a seat for stability as he leaned just in case. Neither of them were in any danger, and as they slowly relaxed, they were actually starting to have just a little bit of fun.
 
Daizi held Ivy close, putting her hands under the straps of the lifejacket Ivy was put in. Her own was unclasped at top like Xander's was, and she felt it made her grip on their daughter more awkward, but she wasn't afraid of dropping her. The waves weren't bad that day, and if they were they wouldn't have been allowed out, and they had to shout over the roar of the engine. Still, the bouncing was nice, and was apparently quite soothing to Ivy, even though she looked a bit like a marshmallow the way the lifejacket fit her.

Eventually, reaching the preferred depth, Dark shut off the engine and dropped the little anchor, so they could safely float around a fairly open spot for the time being. Turning to the twins, Daizi asked, "Are you two going to swim this far out?"
 
Alec peeked over and gulped. "No, no thank you," he said. "I am quite happy to stay here in the boat. Somebody has to be the lookout, right?"

"There's definitely fish big enough to eat a leg this deep," Xander agreed. But he reached over and cautiously splashed the water. "Still, the water's warm, and I bet there's so many swimmers they've chased away the fish-life.
 
"In any circumstance, all four of us cannot swim at the same time." Dark pointed out, since somebody needed to stay with Ivy, but he too walked to the edge of the boat, staring down into its depths.

Daizi was less worried, and setting Ivy in Alec's arms, since he had no interest in going into the water, she first took off her life-jacket, only so she could remove her dress, and then put the jacket back on. "I'm just going to jump in."
 
Alec wrapped his arms around Ivy and made sure she was secure. "You want to watch Mama go swimming? Mama is so brave! So much braver than your brother."

Xander had gotten distracted and was staring at Dark's back. To push, or not to push... that was an important question.
 
After removing and storing away her sunglasses, Daizi went to the edge of the boat, and with complete confidence, took a breath and jumped in. The jacket quickly brought her back to the surface, and she dried her wet face with her wet hands as best as she could, but she was really just moving water around. "It's really nice actually!" She yelled back up at them, her hair filling the space around her like seaweed, "You can't sink!" Frankly, the life jacket was a bit annoying, but she knew it was better to have it than not, even though it affected her ability to feel totally free.

Dark did not notice Xander behind him, himself being distracted by Daizi's bravery and appreciating how fortunate he was to be in love with such a daring woman.
 
"Wow! Look at that! Mama swims like a mermaid!" Alec told Ivy. "Look at her go!"

Xander narrowed his eyes, debating. There was nothing for Dark to hit or hurt himself on. He had on a life jacket. The little devil on his shoulder won, and he stepped forward, giving Dark a firm shove in the low back to throw him off balance and into the water.
 
Ivy watched her mother closely, not knowing if she should be worried or not about what was happening, but everyone else seemed happy, so she was too, although she held firmly onto her brother.

Dark could not help but yell out in surprise, and as he had before when he and Daizi tumbled down the sand, he twisted his body, and instinctively caught Xander by his life jacket strap, because he was not going down alone.
 
"Hey!" Xander yelped, trying to hold himself back, but there was no chance. He twisted enough to not land directly on top of Dark and splashed down in the warm water. He came up and shook his head, spraying water everywhere.

"And there goes Baba and Xander into the water," Alec commented to Ivy in a calm, cheerful voice, content to stay right where he was. "Looks like the water called to them. Let's wave bye-bye!" He waved lightly.
 
At the big splash of a 230 some man and a teenage boy colliding into the water together, Ivy laughed and came nearer to actually waving bye-bye than she ever had before. She may not have completed the wave, but she briefly held up one hand.

"What happened!?" Daizi asked, swimming over towards the sound of the massive splash, having only heard her husband and then her son yell out.

"Xander pushed me into the water," Dark tried to push his wet hair from where it had fallen into his face.
 
"That's right! Well done, Ivy!" Alec praised. He moved just enough so they could see what was happening. "There they go."

"Professor overbalanced, and when I went to help, he yanked me in," Xander protested. It was hard to look or sound innocent when you were bobbing awkwardly in the water like a cork. The life jacket cut under his arms and made it very difficult to maneuver.
 
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