Hello there everyone! I'm back with the next chapter for you all, and in this one we've got a lot of Dawsey family cuteness which I hope you all will enjoy!

Just to let you all know, I'm gonna be going out of town again for a few weeks at the end of this week, until February, and like last time I'm not sure how much I'm gonna be able to write while I'm gone. I'm gonna try to get some done, but I just never know how things are gonna go. So it might be a couple weeks before there are any more updates for this story, I'm not sure yet. But I just wanted to let you all know now in case I'm not able to get any new chapters out to you all.

That's pretty much all I've got, I hope you all enjoy this one and I'll see you all next time, whenever that is. Thanks for reading!

Chapter One Hundred and Sixty Three

"Sof, come on baby. Eat your food for Momma." Gabby prompted gently from her spot behind the kitchen island, the mother working on packing up Caitlyn's lunch while her younger daughter ate breakfast in her highchair over by their table, Sofia giving her mom a wide smile before putting another piece of waffle into her mouth. "Yeah, that's good. Thank you Sof." She added on with a laugh, the sound causing Sofia's smile to widen before she began to kick her legs around in her restrained seat, the little girl clearly entertained by her mom as she continued to eat a little bit more. "You're doing such a good job."

"She always does."

Gabby looked over when she heard the sound of her husband's voice to find him making his way down stairs, a soft grin already resting over his face while he walked towards them.

"You're right, she does… Is Caity with you?" Dawson asked while placing the sandwich for her six year old into a bag, before moving to start peeling her orange for her. "We've gotta get out of here soon." She reminded him. Though there was no need to, as everyone in the Casey household knew how important this day was.

Because today was Caitlyn's first day of first grade.

They'd been looking forward to this day for a while- Caity especially, but now that it was finally here there was so much excitement surrounding it. Excitement, combined with some nerves and anticipation, that had actually caused the young girl to wake up nearly an hour before she needed to this morning. Which meant that Gabby and Matt had also, as Caity hadn't wasted any time in coming downstairs to share her enthusiasm with her parents.

But the sight of her eagerness for school was so endearing, neither one of them minded, as Gabby and Matt both were just glad that she was looking forward to this new change in her life.

It wasn't school that would be different, at least not too much as despite her new class and teachers the process was still the same. But what was a major shift for her was the fact that now instead of just being gone for school during the morning, she'd be there all day every day of the week. And that was something she wasn't used to.

They'd explained it to her multiple times, and reminded her often that she'd be gone longer than she was used to. And, to her credit, that didn't seem to dull her excitement at all. But still, it was a change nonetheless. One that they were hoping she'd handle well.

"She's still upstairs." Casey spoke, Gabby glancing up from her task before she nodded. "She's getting her backpack ready."

Dawson stopped her movements for a moment, her eyebrows furrowing as she rested her hands over the countertop, Matt himself biting back a grin as his head tilted to the side. "We did that last night…" She said knowingly, Casey merely grinning before giving her a nod.

"I know. But there weren't enough toys." He told her with a slight chuckle, Gabby soon matching his look as she knew those words likely weren't his own.

"You realize we're gonna have to take all those things out before we leave, right?" She asked him while placing the fruit for Caity's lunch into its rightful container.

"Mhmm." He hummed in response, Casey glancing back to see Sofia playing a bit with her food before he turned his attention back to Gabby. "Just maybe when she's not looking." Matt added on, watching as his wife shook her head in amusement before she zipped up the lunch box on the counter in front of her.

"Uh huh." She replied with a light tone, Casey laughing softly as he moved a step towards the counter. "Alright, her lunch is done." Gabby shifted the subject, placing the purple lunch box full of food down in front of him, before putting another couple more baggies of crackers and gummies on top. "And I've got her snacks too, and her water… We just need to remind her they'll be in her backpack."

Matt nodded in agreement, the man stifling a yawn before he reached across the counter for Caity's prepared meal, knowing they'd need to help her put it up once she came downstairs. "I'm sure she's got it, we've shown her a lot where everything goes… But we can remind her again." He told her, Gabby nodding back at him before her eyes moved over towards the stairs.

"She get ready okay?" Dawson asked when she had yet to see her eldest daughter appear downstairs, Matt following her line of sight before he spoke up.

"She did. After she had breakfast, we went and got her teeth brushed, and her clothes put on. Then we did her hair. She chose pigtails, by the way." He informed her, Gabby laughing softly while she nodded. "Now all that's left is getting her down here and putting her shoes on."

"Thanks for taking care of that." She told him, Casey waving her off as he took a slight step backwards towards the table.

"Of course. Thank you for taking care of Sof." He responded while he turned around, his eyes lighting up the second he saw his girl. "Yeah, there she is. How's my other baby doing?" He asked, his voice nearly an octave higher as he spoke to their daughter, the pure joy in his words bringing a smile to Gabby's face as Sofia began to squirm around happily the second she noticed her dad.

She was still working on eating her breakfast, a squashed blueberry in one hand while she had a piece of waffle in another. But while she looked at Matt it was like food was the last thing she cared about, the baby dropping her breakfast before hitting her hands against the highchair in excitement.

"Hi princess, I feel like I've hardly seen you this morning." He spoke before Sofia grinned up at him, the father chuckling softly as he took notice of the layer of vanilla yogurt around her mouth, before he leaned down to kiss the top of her curly haired head. "Looks like you've been enjoying your breakfast, have you been a good girl for Momma?"

"She has." Gabby echoed from her spot in the kitchen, Casey flashing her a smile before returning his attention to Sofia.

"That's so good, thank you baby." He boasted, Sofia's smile never faltering as she reached her arms up towards him.

"Dada! Up!" She spoke, Matt biting back another laugh as she waved her food-covered hands around in the air. "Up! Dada! Pease! Up pease!" She continued on, Gabby watching with a soft smile as Matt rubbed his hand over Sof's head.

"I'll get you up in a minute honey, alright? Why don't you finish your breakfast first? It looks so good." He encouraged, Matt glancing down to see she still had over half of what had likely been given to her. "You want some more, sweetheart?" He asked while grabbing a small piece of waffle, Sofia's big blue eyes following him while he held the food out in front of her mouth, before she immediately ate it. "Yeah, that's good huh?" He said, before pulling up a chair beside her to help her eat.

And that was where he stayed for a few minutes, Matt making sure his little girl got enough breakfast while Gabby was working on cleaning up some things in the kitchen, the two going through their routines seamlessly before Casey spoke up once more.

"Oh, and before I forget.." He prefaced, Gabby looking over towards him and Sofia just as she finished putting the last clean plate on the drying rack. "We need to remember to let Becca know that Sofia's bed is supposed to be delivered tomorrow." He told her, earning a slight nod from his wife. "Since we'll be on shift, she's gonna need to sign for it."

"I already told her, but I'll text her and remind her." She replied, Matt nodding before he glanced back at Sofia. But his attention was only on her for so long before he spoke up once more.

"And make sure she knows for them to just put her new bed up against the wall." He added on, Gabby pursing her lips together in an attempt to hide her smile. "The crib has gotta stay in there for at least another night once they deliver it, because we won't be here and-"

"We don't want her sleeping in her new bed without us, I know babe." She finished for him with a gentle smile, a sheepish look soon covering his face before he looked her way.

"Sorry." He replied softly, Gabby shaking her head in amusement before she started to walk around the counter towards him and their daughter.

"It's fine, I know you're just excited." She told him, before reaching out to run her hand over the back of his head once she was close enough. "And this is a big thing, her moving into her new bed. It's something we need to be here for, I get it. So I'll make sure Becca knows to just have them put it in her room and we'll handle the rest."

"Thank you." He responded, seeing his wife give him a nod before she leaned down to steal a quick kiss.

"I'm ready!"

The sound of Caitlyn's excited voice pulled them apart, Matt chuckling softly before they both glanced back to see their daughter bouncing her way down the steps, her pigtails moving around freely while her small hand held onto the rail to keep herself balanced.

"I finished my backpack." She continued on proudly before jumping down off the last step, Casey laughing once more while Caity then hurried over to them.

"You did?" Gabby asked lightly, earning an enthusiastic nod from their oldest child.

"I did! I have all my toys." She told them, Dawson shaking her head slightly when she noticed a few of Caitlyn's toys sticking out from her now unzipped bag.

"That's good baby, but we might need to take a few out okay? There's toys at school, remember?" She told her, the look on the young girl's face telling both parents she was thinking deeply over her words. "And we also need to have room for your lunch."

"And my snacks!" She added on, Casey and Dawson both laughing in response.

"Yeah, and your snacks." Gabby repeated, Caitlyn's beaming grin only growing before she looked towards her dad.

"We can get my lunch, and then we can go to school." She told them, as Matt fed Sofia another bite of her breakfast.

"We can, but we still have a few more minutes before we need to leave." Gabby told him, seeing Caitlyn's excitement fall slightly before she reluctantly nodded. "Your sister's still eating breakfast, but while we wait we can finish getting your backpack together. And get your shoes on."

"Okay." She replied easily, Gabby's simple redirection to different tasks helping Caity to focus on something other than them leaving right now as she hurried over to the counter. "I can help!"

A soft laugh escaped Gabby's lips before she followed the six year old over into the kitchen, Caitlyn using her step stool to help her mom with her backpack while Casey focused on helping Sofia, the father letting her finish up her last few bites of food before he cleaned her off the best he could. And from then on out, both parents were solely focused on getting out the door without forgetting anything, Casey taking both kids to the car once they were ready while Gabby grabbed everything they'd need for their short trip away from home, it only taking them about fifteen minutes before they were all securely in the car and headed off towards the elementary school.

Thankfully traffic wasn't too bad, and they were able to pull up outside of Caitlyn's school with some time to spare, the sight of all kinds of kids running around making Caity even more excited as despite any nerves she might be feeling, she was just eager to get inside and make new friends.

"Alright, we're here." Matt voiced while putting their SUV in park against the curb, Caity pushing herself up in her seat to look out the window, or as much as she could while still being restrained, before a bright smile appeared over her face. "You can unbuckle baby, it's okay." He told her, Caity nodding in response before she began to get out of her seat.

Over the next few minutes the parents worked on getting their girls out of the car, Matt being extra cautious with Caity as her door was on the road, his eyes constantly looking at their surroundings while he also helped get her out of the car with her backpack on.

"You good?" Casey asked through the car, while Gabby lifted Sofia out of her carseat and onto her hip. "Need me to carry her?"

"I'm okay right now." She assured him with a soft smile, the two sharing one last look before closing up the doors and locking the car.

With Caitlyn's hand clasped firmly around three of his fingers, Matt walked her to the sidewalk to meet up with Gabby and Sofia, the warm morning sun beating down on them before they started making their way to the crosswalk.

There were a lot of kids around them, more than Caitlyn was probably used to as she stayed close up to her dad's side, the little girl just taking the moment to soak all of this in.

"You ready, honey?" Matt asked her while they waited, Caitlyn standing securely in between her parents while she looked back and forth between them.

"I'm ready, Daddy." She replied with a giggle, Gabby and Matt both laughing softly before he crouched down to kiss her head.

"Good, I'm glad." He replied, kissing her once more before it was time for them to head across the street.

The walk to her classroom wasn't too bad, the crowds of kids and parents beginning to thin out once they got through the front doors as they were all going off to different parts of the school, Caitlyn more focused on looking at everything around her while her mom and dad led the way.

"Okay, we're here baby." Casey spoke up a few minutes later as they came to a stop a couple feet from her classroom, her teacher currently standing out in the hallway talking with a few other parents while Caitlyn looked up at him. "I hope you have a great first day, alright? I know you'll make so many new friends, and have a great time." He started, Matt getting down to her level as she gave him a soft smile. "And remember, we'll see you this afternoon… Your Momma, and Sof, and I, we'll all be here to get you and you can tell us all about your day."

"Okay." She replied, before reaching her arms out to wrap around his neck. "Bye Daddy, I love you."

"I love you too, sweetheart." He spoke, Matt giving her a tight hug while placing kisses against the side of her head, the two sharing their sweet moment for a couple more seconds before she pulled away.

"I love you too, Mommy. And Sof." Caity replied as she turned towards them, Gabby hugging her as best she could with the two year old in her arms while Caitlyn clung to her waist.

"We love you too." Gabby told her, following the similar routine as her husband while she pressed kisses to the top of Caitlyn's head. "I hope you have the best day today." She added on, Caitlyn nodding while she reached up to give Sofia a hug, before she pulled away from them.

"Bye Mommy and Daddy, and bye Sof. I love you all lots and lots." She told them, Gabby and Matt nodding at her as Caitlyn reached in to give her dad one last hug, before she hurried off towards her classroom.

The abruptness of her movements almost caught them off guard, Gabby staring at the doorway while Caity greeted her teacher before running inside, both parents standing off to the side of the hallway while glancing towards each other.

"That was…"

"A lot better than I was expecting." Casey finished her sentence for her, Gabby holding off a laugh while she nodded. "She handled that surprisingly well." He added on before reaching over to take Sofia from her mom's arms, knowing Gabby still couldn't always hold their daughter for long periods of time.

"She did." She agreed, knowing that both of them expected her to be a little more hesitant on her first day. Like she had been when they'd come to visit her class the first time. But clearly, that wasn't the case, as Caitlyn was more than ready to be away from them today.

And even though that left a few bittersweet feelings within them, they were more proud than anything else as neither parent ever got tired of being reminded of how far Caitlyn had come.

"You ready to get home with this one?" Casey asked after a moment, Gabby tearing her eyes away from the door to find her husband watching her with a gentle smile, while Sofia was currently playing with the collar of his shirt. Nodding softly, a small grin came to her lips, Gabby reaching out to rub over the side of his arm before she spoke up.

"Yeah, I am." She told him, Dawson and Casey sharing one last glance back at Caitlyn's classroom before they started to head for the exit, the two of them looking forward to getting home and spending some one on one time with their youngest daughter before it was time to come back here later this afternoon.

Casey let out a heavy breath as he worked on unscrewing one of the last bolts holding Sofia's crib together, a thin layer of sweat forming over his brow as he'd been in his baby's room the past half hour or so trying to get this thing apart. Though it had been so long since he put it together that he'd forgotten how much of a pain this thing was the first time around, Matt now even more ready to get this crib out of here as he got the last of the bolts out.

"How's it going?"

Casey looked up to see his wife standing in the doorway, Gabby leaning against the wall while he held onto the side of the frame to keep the crib from falling, the soft yet determined look on his face giving her enough of an answer before he spoke up.

"I hate this thing, but I'm almost done." He replied, Dawson laughing softly before she continued further into the room, her eyes moving over towards the small bed behind Matt just waiting to be put in place. "Where are the girls?"

"In Caity's room." She told him, earning a nod from her husband before he carefully moved the now loose wooden railing up against the wall. "They've been playing with some toys since we came inside, and Caitlyn was also showing Sof some of her stuff from school." Gabby added on, Matt grinning slightly as he made his way to his feet. "I swear, she gets more and more excited every time she talks about her class."

The smile on his face widened as he listened to Gabby, the man knowing well just how true his wife's words were as even in just a short time, Caitlyn was already in love with her new class. She'd only been going for two days, but so far everything had been great. She made a few new friends, and she completely adored her teacher. And knowing that made the parents so incredibly happy.

"Yeah, she does…" He spoke up as she came to a stop in front of him, Matt using his shirt to wipe away some of the sweat from his forehead before dropping the material back down. "But I'm glad she's loving it."

"Me too." Gabby agreed, before glancing around the room once more. "...So, you're all done, huh?" She asked, seeing the crib mattress leaning up against the opposite wall, their daughter's former bed completely taken down as Matt gave her a nod.

"I am." He answered with a proud grin, Gabby matching his look before her eyes moved back to the crib now in pieces.

"I can't believe we're moving this out of here, that Sof is done in her crib…"

"Yeah, it is kind of weird." He replied while reaching out to rub her back. "I know I was all for getting her into a big girl bed, but there are some sad feelings with it too. Our girl is growing up."

"She is." Gabby mused, her eyes darting around between the mattress and the crib before glancing up towards her husband. "Though, uh…" She trailed off, the uncertainty in her words gaining his attention as he met her gaze only seconds before she dropped it.

"What?" He asked, his soft voice causing her to draw in a deep breath before she spoke up once more.

"What do you want to do with it? The crib?" She asked him, his eyebrows furrowing slightly while his hand continued to move in light patterns over her back. "Should we get rid of it… or put it in storage?"

She saw the look of confusion in his eyes slowly morph into realization, it taking only seconds for Matt to understand what she was truly asking him before his face softened.

"We just haven't talked about it in a while, so I wasn't sure." She added on, feeling him take a slow breath of his own before he shrugged.

"Honestly? I'm not sure either." He told her, Gabby immediately nodding while leaning back into his touch. "You're right, it's been awhile since we've had… that discussion. So I don't know if we should get rid of it or not."

Things went quiet between them for a few moments, neither of them sure what to say after Matt's answer as it was becoming more and more apparent that this probably wasn't the right time for that type of conversation. And if not for needing to know what to do with the crib, Gabby likely wouldn't have brought it up at all. Especially with how long it had been since they'd talked about this, the parents clearly not entirely sure of where they stood now that their girls were getting older.

It was something they would need to sit down and discuss, she knew that. But no decisions needed to be made right this second, as Gabby took one last steadying breath before saying the safest thing she could think of.

"Well, why don't we just put it in storage for now." She reasoned, Matt looking her over before he gave her a supportive nod. "And then once we figure things out, we'll decide what we need to do with it."

"Alright babe, that sounds good." He replied after a brief pause, the two sharing a gentle smile before he leaned forward to kiss the side of her mouth, Matt and Gabby staying together for a moment until she pulled back.

"I'll let you finish up in here." She told him, Casey nodding with a soft grin as his hand slid down from her back. "Unless you need some help moving her bed."

"I've got it babe, thank you though." He quickly told her, Matt not wanting her to risk hurting herself by moving anything too heavy. "If you could just make sure to keep the girls out of here and away from the stairs, I'm gonna be carrying a bunch of heavy stuff and I don't want them to get hurt."

"Yeah, I've got them. As long as you're sure you don't need any help?" She checked one last time, Casey nodding back at her to tell her he was fine. "I don't want you to hurt yourself."

"I won't baby, I promise. If anything's too heavy I'll just keep it out in the hallway and wait until Severide can come and help." He reasoned, watching his wife mull over his words before ultimately nodding.

"Okay, we'll be in Caity's bedroom if you need anything." She reiterated, Matt offering her an easy smile in response. "If Sof's preoccupied, I might start working with Caity on some of her reading homework."

"Well, if you do leave some for me." He replied as he crouched back down towards the ground in front of the deconstructed crib, Gabby stifling a laugh as her body moved a step backwards. "She's so cute when she reads, she's getting so good at it. And I love hearing her try to spell stuff out."

Dawson was unable to stop her chuckle this time, the woman pushing her hair back from her face before she nodded. "Yeah, I know what you mean… How about we just wait and we can all do it together later. She's having plenty of fun playing right now anyway." She told him, Matt giving her another nod after glancing back towards her.

"Sounds good." He said once more, the two sharing another smile before Casey looked back towards the crib, knowing he now had the unfortunate task of getting this thing downstairs and into the garage.

"Alright, well just be careful… Call if you need help." She repeated one last time, Matt giving her another nod before she started moving towards the door.

But her steps slowed down when she caught sight of something on the floor next to the mattress, Gabby changing her path momentarily as she moved over to grab what she saw to be one of Sofia's pacifiers on the ground. Bending over for a moment, Gabby picked up the beloved object before moving to place it on the dresser, Casey catching a glimpse of her out of the corner of his eye before looking her way.

"Whatcha got there?" He asked her, Gabby holding up the pacifier before a knowing look covered Casey's face. "Ahh."

"Yeah, it was on the ground. Figured I'd pick it up before we lost it, or you tripped over it and hurt yourself." She explained, earning a nod from him as her hand came up to rest over her hip. "Though you know, it really is time to try and get her off these things." Gabby reminded him, seeing the slight wince that almost immediately covered his face before he let out a soft sigh.

"I know." He conceded, that grimace never leaving his face as both parents knew how attached their youngest was to this certain comfort item. "It's past time, really. But I just feel so bad taking them away from her." He told her, Gabby laughing softly at the tone in his voice even though she felt the exact same way. "And I know we keep talking about taking them away, that we've tried before but I think we were both hoping she'd just wean herself off them on her own."

By the look that covered his wife's face, he knew his assumptions were correct; that they were both kind of waiting for Sofia to lose interest in them herself. Just like she'd all but taken herself off the bottle, they were wanting this to be the same kind of thing. But with her now being two years old, it wasn't looking like that was going to happen. At least not anytime soon, meaning the parents would now most likely have to intervene.

"Yeah, I know I was." Gabby breathed out, resting her weight into the side of the dresser before crossing her ankles together. "But it hasn't seemed to work… I think it's because she's just so stubborn." She added on lightly, Casey chuckling in response as his eyebrow raised up a bit.

"Yeah, she is… She's just like her Momma." He teased, Gabby narrowing her eyes slightly before she reached out to pick up the pacifier before throwing it at him. "Hey, hey!" He said back with a laugh as he managed to dodge her weak throw, the couple sharing a soft laugh before he reached up to place the pacifier back on the dresser. "I'm just kidding, babe."

"Uh huh." She responded, Casey smirking proudly before he returned to his previous position on the floor. "But as we were saying, I do think we need to start seriously thinking about taking these away." She continued on, nodding back towards the pacifier as Matt followed her line of sight. "I mean, she doesn't use them too much anymore… But she still wants them sometimes, and I think the sooner we can get her off them the better." She finished, Matt nodding in agreement as he let out a soft breath.

His wife was right, the best thing they could do for her now was to get her off the pacifier and help her lose that attachment. That even though she didn't use them nearly as much, she clearly still was comforted by them and wanted them from time to time, which meant more often than not she got them. Especially in those moments where Matt was working and Gabby was at home by herself, as it was easier to just give it to her and avoid the meltdown all together than leave Gabby there to deal with it alone.

But despite whatever fights their youngest would put up, they knew it was time for all of that to stop. That it was time to get Sofia off the pacifiers for good. They just weren't entirely sure of where to start, as some of the tricks they'd tried over the past few months never seemed to work.

"Yeah, I agree." Casey spoke up after a moment. "I'm gonna hate it, because she's going to cry, but we need to start figuring out how to take them away. I'm just not sure how- I mean, aside from the stuff we've already tried." He told her, Gabby tilting her head back and forth while she thought over his words.

"Well, to be fair we never stuck to anything for very long." She reasoned, her nose scrunching up slightly before Matt let out a laugh.

"Okay, you might be right." He gave in, Gabby smiling back at him as he spoke up once more. "But regardless, I'm not sure what to try now."

"We could start cutting them." She suggested, though by the look that crossed his face he didn't really seem to like the idea. "Just cut a small slit in the bottom so she can't suck on them… Might stop her from wanting them."

"That seems so mean." He said sadly, Gabby doing her best to suppress her laugh before she nodded. "At that point I'd rather just take them away… You know, just distract her from them until she doesn't even ask for them." He told her, Dawson pausing for a moment while she thought over what he was saying. "Or we need to do something to make her not want them anymore."

"I know some people sometimes will put a little bit of lemon juice on their kid's pacifiers." She started, Matt immediately shaking his head. "Just something to make it a little sour, though I don't love that idea."

"Yeah, we're not doing that to our baby." He was quick to jump in. "That's even worse than cutting a hole in it."

"I agree, I'm not a fan of that either." She replied, watching him nod. "But we've gotta figure out something." Gabby reminded him, Matt huffing out a soft breath before he spoke up.

"Well, what about this… Let's just do this one thing at a time." He started, Gabby nodding back at him before he continued. "I agree that it's time to get her off the pacifier, but why don't we get her into her new bed first… Let her get used to that, then we'll go from there."

"That sounds alright." She replied back.

"Okay, good. Then that's what we'll do, we'll just focus on one thing right now, like we've always done… Cause I feel like there's too many changes happening at once."

"For her or for you?" Dawson quipped, Matt biting back his smile before he gave her a shrug.

"No comment." He responded, earning a quick shake of her head in amusement before Gabby took a slight step back.

"Uh huh." She spoke knowingly, the couple sharing another smile. "But you're right, we usually do these big changes one thing at a time, so we'll start with the bed… Though for now, I do think we should at least take them away unless she asks for it." Gabby told him, seeing his eyebrows raise up curiously. "An 'out of sight, out of mind' sort of thing. Instead of them just laying around everywhere, that way it might be easier for her to not even think about it."

"I can get on board with that." He replied, Gabby grinning back at him before she continued towards the door.

"Alright, good… I'm gonna head back to the girls, make sure they haven't gotten into anything they're not supposed to." She said, Casey chucking softly before he nodded.

"Okay babe." He spoke, Matt giving her a gentle wink before she disappeared into the hallway, leaving him to finish up getting Sofia's room together.

And that's exactly what he did over the next hour or so, Matt taking his time to get all the pieces of the crib down to the garage safely, and put away in a place where they wouldn't be of danger to the girls, or anything they own, that task in and of itself taking a while. But once he managed to complete that- and stop for a water break, Casey then began to get Sofia's bed moved into the right place in her room, the parents having decided earlier to just keep her bed in the same spot as her crib, with the head of the bed up against the wall. Which is exactly where Matt put it, the father able to move the small bed rather easily on his own.

Then once he had finished up everything on his end, he and Gabby traded off for a while, Casey going to play with the girls in Caity's room while Gabby took over in Sofia's bedroom. Now that the manual labor was out of the way, it was time to decorate and set up everything, which is where Dawson came in as she got to work putting Sof's new sheets down on her bed, as well as getting up a few of the new decorations her and Matt had bought a few days ago.

They weren't making any drastic changes to her bedroom, at least not now. But there were a few things still left in the once-nursery that weren't really age appropriate anymore, and Gabby figured this was the best time to exchange them out for some newer decorations. So while Matt had the girls occupied, Gabby took her time to get the bed all made and set up, as well as put up some of the new things they'd gotten. And by the time she was done, she absolutely loved the way Sofia's room looked now, as it definitely felt more like a room for a two year old instead of a nursery.

"Sof! Daddy's gonna get you!"

The noise of her children's laughter, along with what sounded like Matt moving around, filtered in through the open door, Gabby doing her best to hold back her laughter as she could only imagine how much fun they all were having next door. Though unfortunately, that fun would have to stop momentarily as Gabby wanted Sofia to be able to see her new room before dinner. And Dawson was sure Caity would be equally as eager too, Gabby taking one last second to move around a few things before she headed out of the room and down the hall.

"Daddy got you Sof!" Caity giggled as Gabby came around the corner to find her husband now laying down on the ground with their girls, Sofia currently wrapped up in his arms as loud laughs left the baby's lips, Matt's grip on her enough to keep her on top of him safely but not enough to hurt her as he began to pepper her face with kisses.

That action caused a loud, happy squeal to leave Sofia's lips, Dawson watching on at the scene in front of her as there were an abundance of toys covering the room, Caity now dressed up in a much different outfit than Gabby had left her in as she was beginning to realize they'd played dress up while she was gone too. But despite the mess, it was obvious their girls were having the time of their life with their father, and that's what was most important.

"Mommy's back!" Caity spoke up once more, the beaming grin on her face infectious as Matt glanced her way. "Mommy, Daddy got Sof."

"I can see that." She replied with a laugh, Gabby moving further into the room before sitting down on the bed.

Once Sofia noticed her, she immediately tried to get to her, Matt releasing the light hold he had on her so she could move towards her mom, the little girl crawling on top of him before landing on her feet and waddling over towards Gabby.

"Mama!"

"Hi baby." She said, Sofia coming to stand in between her legs while gripping onto Gabby, the mother smiling softly before she pressed a few loving kisses to the top of her head. "Did you all have fun with your dad?"

"Uh huh." Caity replied happily, the six year old sliding across the floor to rest her body up against Matt's side, the father letting out a soft laugh before wrapping his arm around her. "Daddy was a monster who kept getting us, it was funny." She continued on, Gabby smiling softly while she ran a gentle hand through Sofia's hair.

"I'm glad you had a good time, honey." She responded softly, watching as Caitlyn leaned down to lay across Matt's stomach. "And thank you for being so good, and staying in here with your sister."

"You're welcome." She told her, Gabby and Matt both sharing a smile. "Daddy said you had a surprise in Sof's room."

"We do." Gabby said, her words causing Caitlyn's ears to perk up while she laid against her dad. "We have a surprise for Sof, we got her new bed all set up."

Even though the surprise wasn't for Caitlyn, she was just as happy either way as bright giggles began to leave her lips before she sat up. "Can we see it?" She questioned eagerly, Casey chucklingly once more as he ran his hand along her back.

"Of course, you wanna take Sof to see her new room?" He asked her, even though it wasn't so much a new room as it was a new bed. But Caitlyn didn't care about that as she began to nod her head eagerly, her excitement all the same as she quickly got to her feet.

"Yeah, I do! I wanna show Sof." She said, earning a few more laughs from her parents before Matt got himself up off the ground as well. "Sof, do you wanna see your room?" Caity asked while hurrying over towards her, the little girl pulling away from her mom when she heard her sister approaching. "Remember the bed we liked at the store? It was so fun and big, it's in your room now!"

Gabby and Matt both listened on with soft smiles as Caitlyn talked to her sister, the little girls joining hands before Caity started to lead them out of the bedroom and into the hallway, with their parents following close behind them.

"You ready, Sof?" Caity asked her once more as they got to her room, the little girl yelling excitedly before they stepped inside.

And the second they did, it's like you could feel the excitement coming off of both of them as they ran towards the new bed in the middle of the room, loud squeals of joy coming from Sofia as she got to her bed while Caitlyn stayed back to let her climb on.

"Look Sof, it's your bed!" She said happily, Sofia gradually pulling herself up onto the bed before she immediately began to waddle around on the mattress, the unsteady surface beneath her causing her to fall down a few times. But it never deterred her as each time she'd get right back up, and start to bounce around all over again, the sight endearing to both parents as by her laughs alone it was so clear how much Sofia loved her new bed.

"Mommy, Sof likes it!" Caity said happily while she stood beside her, almost like she was staying close by in case she fell, the girl's protective instincts over her sister making both parents' hearts swell as they would never get tired of seeing their girls together.

"She does, baby. I think she loves it." Gabby replied, Caitlyn giggling once more before returning her attention to her younger sister, who was still content to just bounce around on her new bed.

"It looks like those guards are gonna come in handy." Matt spoke from her side, Gabby feeling his hand slide up around her body to come rest over her stomach before he gently pulled her into his side, the action causing her to smile as she looked up at him. "That was a good call."

"Yeah, we pretty much had to have those." She replied, as Casey looked at the white mesh guard rails they put up all both sides of her bed, in an effort to keep Sofia from falling out.

They wouldn't stay there forever, but until she got used to sleeping in her new bed they knew it would be best to have them, just in case she accidentally rolled too far in her sleep. So they had put them up on both sides of her bed, aside from one spot down towards the bottom where she could get in and out on her own, that being enough to give the parents peace of mind that she wouldn't fall out during the night.

"But I'm just glad she likes it." She continued on while he ran a hand over her waist. "It should make bedtime a little easier."

"Definitely." He agreed, while watching Caitlyn finally climb up onto the bed with her sister. "Though you know she's absolutely going to climb out of that thing tonight." He added on, Gabby clicking her tongue against the roof of her mouth before she nodded.

"Oh, of course she is." She replied dryly, Matt pursing his lips together to hide his smirk as Gabby relaxed back into him. "She'll keep getting out once she realizes she can… Which is exactly why we need to make sure that gate at the top of the stairs stays shut." She reminded him, though she didn't need to as neither parent wanted to risk her getting hurt by trying to go downstairs by herself.

"We will… Luckily she doesn't know how to open it yet." He told her, feeling her laugh softly in response.

"Yeah, we'll have more problems the day she figures that out. But for right now, as long as we keep it shut she'll be okay." She said, as Matt placed a soft kiss to the side of her head.

"Yeah… she'll be okay." He repeated, Gabby giving him a small, gentle smile before pulling herself from his embrace and heading over towards the bed. And it took Matt no time at all to follow her further into the room, as both parents just wanted to enjoy this time with their girls while Sofia got used to her new bed, these memories ones they were sure they'd never forget.