Going Solo: Grace Gen 4.27

I loved being a mother. I'd never known it could be possible to have love so deeply for someone so tiny, but I did. Every time I looked at Matt, my heart swelled. Jonas was just as in love with his son. We worked well together, caring for him.

Late night feedings, changing dirty diapers, baby vomit, all of it, Jonas happily took care of. Watching him with our son only made me love him more.

Vor even took an instant liking to the newest member, going so far as to sleep in Matt's room at night. Mom and Dad were at the house often. I'd seen Dad care for Carter and even Erin, but sometimes it was still funny to watch him love on his grandson.

They were happy to babysit every chance they could. Mom said it was important to still take time to for us, which we did, but probably not as often as Mom would have liked.

I'm pretty sure the older Matt gets, the less I'm going to see him. Mom and Dad were already making plans for overnight trips and toddler classes and all sorts of activities that apparently Jonas and I were not included on. With them having a grandchild in town, I knew it was to be expected. They still flew out to see Trevor often and spoiled him from long distance. Mom was even trying to convince Hope to let him come for the summer.

Being a mother was a very fulfilling job. Every coo Matt made or each time his little fingers wrapped around mine warmed my heart and the suffering I went through to get him I'd do 100 times over. Time flew by and before I knew it my baby was getting ready to turn one. We planned a small party at the house with family only.

Caleb and Hope flew in for the occasion. I did good and didn't cry at the idea of my little bundle of joy was now a 'big' boy, a 'big' boy that looked a lot like me, but had Jonas' adorable ears.

Life with a toddler was much different. Matt was a curious boy and like to explore and he kept us on our toes. He and Vor were great friends and where one was the other could usually be found. Matt's current favorite teething toys, much to our dismay, were Vor's chew toys.

I think I nearly had a heart attack when I first saw them chewing on the same rubber hotdog, Jonas however thought it was funny. Germs were good for him Jonas had said. Our life was quiet and simple and we enjoyed it that way. The store was doing well and Jonas was even thinking of expanding and opening a second location in the next town over.

My garden was thriving and although the stairs were getting harder to navigate, Vor would still try to be by my side some days. Life was good.

Matt was a smart boy and loved to learn. Jonas and I had decided to always talk to him as a person instead of in baby speak and because of that he picked up on talking fairly quick.

We'd read all the books at the house to him a few times over and since our house was small, I didn't want to keep buying books and cluttering up the space so one day while Jonas was at the store I headed to the best place in town that would give us unlimited reading material.

I stood outside the steps looking at the building, I'd not been back here since that night, choosing instead to buy books on my tablet and get my fill of reading that way. I'd missed the place, I'd always felt at home at the library. The quiet comfort. People left you alone for the most part since it really wasn't a place for socializing. Stepping inside, it was different than I remembered. They had done some renovations over the years. I held Matt close as I walked back to the children's area.

The place was great with soft chairs and a play area for little ones to explore. Matt and I sat and I found a few books to read to him. He loved being there and I was amazingly not as nervous as I thought I'd be. As I went to put away the books we'd used, my phone started vibrating.

"Hey, Jonas," I said keeping my voice low.

"Hey, babe, where are you?"

"I brought Matt to the library."

He was silent for a moment. "Wow. You should have called, I would have gone with you."

I could hear the concern in his voice. "I know, but I'm okay. Really. I'm good."

"Well, since you're in town, how 'bout my two favorite people meet me at the park?"

I finished putting away the books, gave Matt a quick diaper change and headed towards the playground. Jonas smiled when he saw us approaching.

"You're really okay?" he asked giving me a quick kiss.

I smiled and nodded. "We had a good time. So any word on the approval?"

Jonas smiled and ruffled Matt's hair a bit. "All is on schedule, we got the approval from the city today for the location we wanted."

"That's great!"

"Yep, and I finally decided on a camcorder. Put Matt on one of the rides so I can test it out."
Jonas ran to his car to get his camera and I got Matt on the spring ride. Jonas had been weighing his options on cameras for weeks, wanting to make sure he got the right one. I had no clue there could be so many differences and he'd make my head spin with all his techy talk about them.

Matt had a blast and Jonas looked like just as big a kid playing with his new toy. We spent the afternoon in the park letting Matt play and having fun family time. Jonas recorded nearly all of it until his battery died which is when we we headed home for some dinner.

Flying came easy for Matt, learning to walk however was a bit trickier. Poor kid inherited my clumsiness it seemed. Eventually he managed to get steady on his feet and Jonas recorded every moment of it.

All these little milestones, talking, learning to go potty, and eventually walking, were great but a bit sad as well. It meant my baby was growing up.

**A/N**

Grace is now at level 8 in her career. She needs around $20k to move up to level 9. Luckily Matt has learned all his skills so she can devote more time to working her garden.

So while Davis and Cora were over for a visit they thought it would be a good idea to show how much they are still in love. Since they were guests I couldn't cancel out the action. Not sure if it was risky or not. Guess I'd know in a few days. LOL

Bonus Matthew shots