Anybody and anything familiar belong to Janet. This is the first time I'll say that every typo in this chapter is intentional. And I'll tack on a cavity warning since this is written in Matty's voice.

Adventure 4 - Stephanie's Birthday

Matty's POV

"You still sleepin', Mama!?" I called from outside her and Daddy's room.

Daddy told me and Tyze that our secret mission is to make Mama's birthday super-duper gooder than her last one. I think we already done did that since Tyze wasn't borned way back then, and we gotz him now. But I still worked extra hard on making her a present that will caused many big smiles.

"Yes!" I heard back. "I'm so asleep, I'm almost snoring!"

"We were supposed to sneak in extra quiet to surprise Mama," Daddy reminded me.

I felt my eyebrows meet over my nose. They do that when I'm not sure about somethin'. "But she said she sleepin'. We surprise her."

Daddy smiled without really smilin'. He does that all the times. Mama tells him it's okay that he's not a smiley person cause we can feel it when he means it.

"Alright," he told me. "Go ahead and open the door. Tyler and I will be right behind you."

Daddy almost always opens the doors and looks around real careful like before me, Tyze, or Mama goes in someplace. But he's holding Tyze and Mama's special birfday treat, so I got to be the one who let us in and make sure everything's okay dokey.

I looked at the big bed and saw only the top of Mama's curly hair poking out of the blankets. That means we done a really good job of sneaking up on her.

"Happy Birfday, Mama!" I yelled, but not so loud it scared Tyze or Buttercup.

Those two are super-scaredy sometimes. Not me. I'm a tough, no-scares guy just like Daddy.

I saw her nose peek out from the covers and then we could see the rest of the pretty face we love so much. We didn't do nothin' yet, and she's already smiling. I think she smiles more to cover Daddy's wanna-smiles. But I'm just a kid and don't know stuff like that for sure.

Mama's eyes crinkled at the corners when she saw us standing deer. "Hey, guys."

That's how I know when she's super-duper happy. She gets crinkle eyes. I don't say that out loud, cause Auntie Valie worries 'bout wrinkles there. But Mama don't got those, so she smiles and laughs when she wants to.

I climbed up onto the big bed without needing Daddy's help this time, and I pushed my present at her. "I made you dis," I told her in case she don't know I worked super hard on it.

"Can I get a kiss from my guys before I open it?" Mama asked me.

I pouted when Migo got to her first. I KNOW Mama was wantin' kisses from me, Tyze, and Daddy, but he has … one, two, three, four legs so he got deer first.

"Thank you for the morning breath, Migo. But I was hoping for kisses from my human boys," Mama said to Tyze's big puppy.

I knew it! And the look I gave Migo told him so, but I think he was too happy to see it. I moved extra quick so I could get a full cuddle in before Daddy let Tyze go and he crawls up to join us. Daddy is slower than us kids, but he gets the longest kisses from Mama. Sometimes more than just one!

"We know you like cake more than flowers," Daddy was telling Mama, "so the boys and I got you a cake pop bouquet instead of roses."

Mama sat up even further hearing that. Tyze crawled into her lap and I slid under her arm and sat with my back against the bed just like she's sittin'.

"You guys are the best. Thank you."

"But I no give you your present yet?" I said, my eyebrows squinching together again.

Was she saying 'Thank you' for the kisses and cuddles?

"I'm thanking you for the food flowers and for crawling in here with me so I don't have to get up right now."

I shook my head in a 'no way'. Why would Mama want to be in bed on her birfday? I can barely sleep when mine's here. I wake up when the sun's still sleepin' just to make my day longer. I can't wait already. I'm gonna be a whole three, that's three fingers if you count on your hands like I do, when April's on the lalendar again.

"Your coffee is coming momentarily, Babe," Daddy said. "Would you like that, a cake bite, or your gift first? I can promise you won't be disappointed with any of them, but Matthew has made something just for you. It was all his idea that he did almost entirely by himself."

My chest puffed up real big hearing Daddy say that. He says he's proud of all of us all the time, but I know he means this special for me and Mama. Tyze is Mama's boy too, but I had her for more than two, that's two hand fingers, whole years all to myself … when I wasn't sharing her with Jubie and Daddy. She's my bestest friend along with Daddy.

"That settles it," Mama answered. "I need to see what you made, Matty. Everything else can wait."

My chest got bigger again. She loves me sooooo much. As much as she loves Daddy even.

I tried to move Migo so I could lift the book Daddy helped me wrap, but he didn't budge until Pup-Pup nudged him in the side with his nose. Pup-Pup is just like Daddy to Migo and Buttercup. He likes things going super-duper easy.

"Here, Mama. This is for you and your birfday," I reminded her in case she got too distracted by Tyze not being able to sit still.

I'm a good big brother and tried to tell him that we have to be really good today, because it's Mama's birfday, but he's still a baby and don't know what I mean all the times I talk to him.

She scooted Tyze so she could have both arms around him as she unwrapped my present. She's super-smart that way. She finds ways to do a bunch of stuff at the same time so we don't get left out of anything unless it's big people business.

"Oh my God, Matty! This is the best gift, besides you and Ty, that I've ever been given."

When I looked up at her, I saw that her eyes had lots of water in them. I glanced at Daddy, not sure if I should feel good or bad.

"Those are happy tears, Matty. Mama loves your gift so much, her emotions are overflowing," he explained.

That made me happy, so I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her tight. I would have stayed there just like that, but I felt her opening my book and it reminded me that I wasn't done yet.

"I read it!" I said, this time a little loud which made Tyze turn to look at me. "It's part the present."

I was saying that to Mama and Tyze. Daddy already knows that cause he helped me make it perfect. I took the pages I made that Daddy turned into a book and resettled against Mama as I opened it and flipped to the first page I learned to say.

"I love you, Mama … cause you love me," I read just like she and Daddy reads to us at night. I flipped to another page. "I love you, Mama … cause your eyes are blue like mine. I love you, Mama … cause your smile makes my heart big." Another page and drawing change. "I love you, Mama … cause you give me lots of hugs and kisses." I was gettin' close to my favorite drawing I did of her with lots of brown curly hair and a big smile. "I love you, Mama … for being the best Mama I could have."

Daddy did helped me get all the right words wroted down, but I'm the one who came up with them. Mama seemed to know that cause she curled one arm around Tyze and the other one around me and pulled us close. Her hug was tight, but I didn't say nothin' cause it felt really good. Mama's hugs always make me feel all warm inside.

"Thank you, Matty. You, Ty, and Daddy, have already made my birthday way better than Halloween, Christmas, and Valentine's Day combined."