How Green Becomes Wood

"Let's go tell Xander and Enkidu!" Alec grinned. He galloped down the stairs. "Xander! Guess what!"

Xander looked up from the couch. "Ivy pulled herself up into a standing position in the crib?"

Alec frowned. "Yes. How did you know?"

Xander held up the baby monitor and smirked.
 
Xander reached up and gave Ivy a gentle high-five. "Nicely done, Mini. You are going to terrorize everyone." He patted Enkidu's head. "Sorry, old boy. She's going to be harder to avoid now."
 
Enkidu looked up at Xander and rolled lazily onto his back, unaware and unbothered by this situation. Ivy squirmed, very much awake after her neck and ready to play. And eat. And probably be changed. But everyone was so happy, she wanted to move!
 
Alec laughed and set Ivy down next to the couch so she could move around. "I'm going to go get lunch, okay? You stay here and keep Xander out of trouble." He hurried toward the kitchen to get out the food.

Xander looked down at Ivy as he gave Enkidu a good belly rub. "So, Mini, what do you want to do after lunch?"
 
Ivy sat on the floor looking up at Xander for a few minutes, and then loudly babbling crawled off to get one of her toys. Not long after, she crawled back, showing it off to him before bouncing it and laughing at the sound it made.
 
Xander gave Ivy his full attention, nodding and talking back to her when she wasn't babbling. Alec finished putting food together and came back to fetch them. He put Ivy in her high chair with her favorite food and made faces as he tired to help her eat. Xander finished his plate first and then took over for Alec so Alec could eat without interruption.
 
Ivy tried to feed herself but still struggled with the spoon, which seemed to frustrate her, but she was hungry enough that she didn't try to fight eating. After mealtime, she did get a bit restless again, and crawled like she was looking for something.
 
Alec let her crawl around for just a bit before taking her for a quick diaper change. It was still something he felt uncomfortable with, but it needed to be done, so he would do it! That done, and and Xander took her outside to explore.
 
Ivy loved getting to crawl outside, although it was a bit harder stopping her from getting into trouble out there, because there were so many interesting things to grab at that she shouldn't touch. But, as she crawled around, she spotted the swing bench, which looked still from lack of use that day, so she crawled over, tried to use it to stand up, but promptly fell over when she pushed it away from her.
 
Xander was quick to catch the swing before it could swing back to hit her. Then he caught the back of her outfit and used it to help her up onto the swing. "Whoops. Can't use that to get up. How's that?"

Alec came closer in case Ivy needed anything more touchy than a lift up onto the swing.
 
Ivy sat dumbfounded, confused by the fall, but when nobody freaked out, neither did she. Climbing onto objects wasn't something she had discovered yet, since she still pretty unsteady on her feet, having only just learned to stand that day, so once she found herself on top of the swing, the very next thing she tried to do was crawl on it, only to be surprised for a second time it moved again. This time, however, she did not fall, although her seeming interest in trying to stand on the swing bench didn't quite look like a wise idea, at least not without support.
 
Alec sat on the swing with her and turned her around so she could hold onto the back of the swing and stand on the seat. He kept on hand on her back and supported the swing so it wouldn't move, letting her enjoy herself for a while.

Eventually, it was time to head inside, and Xander checked the schedule before getting started on the next part of Ivy's routine. When thay finished, Xander set up a coloring station for Ivy and talked about the various colors while Alec sat on the couch and worked in his own sketchpad.
 
Ivy still hadn't quite grasped the notion of colouring yet and often just tried to eat the crayons. But how fun it was! And when she got bored of that, she crawled off to go back to play with her own toys and try to play with Enkidu. He fascinated her, and the poor, long-suffering dog did his best to cope with it as she squealed and held onto his fur. He was so much larger than her, and if he wanted to, could definitely still fit her entire head on his mouth, but he sat very still and gently allowed her to hug him and grab onto his fur. Cautiously, he leaned in and licked her face, which made her squeal with laughter. Ivy still wasn't great at it, but it was clear she was trying to be gentle.
 
Xander and Alec kept a close eye on her, and after Xander cleaned up the coloring section, he saved Enkidu and tried to distract Ivy with another toy and game, doing what he could to keep her attention.
 
Ivy was, thankfully, easy enough to distract, and as soon as she crawled away from Enkidu, he got up, stretched, and walked to the place he had learned was a baby-free space and settled down. Still, he watched the rest of his humans closely. It could be stressful to have the tiny one pulling at his fur and trying to crawl on him, but those were his people.

Eventually, shortly before seven, Dark and Daizi returned back home, "We're back," Daizi said as she took off her shoes and touched the salt, "How was she?"
 
"You are twenty minutes late," Xander said with a practiced frown. "Traffic?"

"She was great. Look, Ivy, Mama! Baba! Just who you wanted!" Alec said, scooping her up and holding her out toward her mother.
 
"Actually, we tried to leave early, citing the three of you as an excuse," Dark explained, taking off his blazer and folding it gently over one arm, "Our teenagers are watching the baby, we really should get home to them, and Spencer's grandmother overheard, so we ended up stuck telling her everything while she expressed how distraught she is that she feels none of her grandkids will 'give her' a great-grandbaby before she dies."

"Dark loved it: he got to chat with a morbid old lady and show off baby pictures," Daizi whispered before grinning brightly at Ivy and scooping her up to shower in kisses, "Hi, Hummingbird! Mama missed you so much!!! Yes I did! Was Ivy good for her brothers? Was sweet Ivy-Qadira a good girl?! Did she cause any trouble?" Nuzzling her forehead against Ivy's, she shut her eyes as two tiny hands found their way back into her hair. It had been a nice party, more enjoyed than she had been expecting, but she had missed her daughter. Ivy was absolutely delightful, squealing as hard as she could that her parents had come home.
 
Xander grinned at Dark. "That had to have been the best part of the whole party."

"She was absolutely the best," Alec told her, "and she has a special surprise for you!" He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Should I tell, or should I wait until you see it?"
 
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