to grandmother's house we go
Since becoming parents, Kelly and Stella had made it a point to have at least one date night every few weeks. With the help of family and friends, they were able to stick to that, and even get some extra dates in, for the first year of Maya's life.
However, after they survived the first year as parents and emerged from the first-time parent fog, life got back to normal, and things picked up quickly. Between their shifts at 51, working nights at Molly's or teaching at the Academy, Girls on Fire, and trying to be present and involved with Maya, Kelly and Stella hadn't had too much time alone.
So, when Jennifer offered to take Maya for a weekend, Kelly and Stella jumped at the chance. Not only would they get some much-needed time for just them, but Maya would get some special one-on-one time with her grandma. They packed their bags, one for them and one for Maya, and made reservations at a hotel just outside Chicago.
As soon as their shift ended on Friday morning, Kelly and Stella picked up Maya from the sitter. They grabbed breakfast at their favorite diner before swinging by the loft to pick up drop off their work stuff, grab their bags, and gather the few last-minute items.
Kelly got Maya changed into a new outfit, one that wasn't covered in syrup from a failed attempt at eating pancakes by herself, and tamed her little curls while Stella double and triple checked Maya's bag. She knew Jennifer had plenty of things for Maya if they ended up forgetting something, but this would be their first—and longest—weekend away from Maya in a really long time and feeling prepared helped lessen the anxiety.
When Maya was changed and cleaned up and everything was packed, the family headed off to Navy Pier where the carousel had opened for the season. Maya had first seen the carousel the previous Christmas, when the family was at the Pier to look at Christmas lights. The then fourteen month old was enthralled with all the animals and figurines but she was unable to ride it. Since then, every time they passed it, Maya talked about wanting to ride it. Now that she was a little bit older and it was finally open again, she was finally getting her chance!
The line wasn't too long, and Jennifer was still about half an hour away, so Maya got to ride the carousel twice. The family even got to ride the ferris wheel and by the time they were back on solid ground, Jennifer was there waiting for them.
Maya, upon seeing her grandma, immediately started wiggling in Kelly's arms, wanting to be put down. They were still a little too far away, so Kelly still held on, but as soon as they were close enough Kelly put Maya on the ground and the toddler immediately took off towards Jennifer.
Jennifer smiled as she spotted Maya running towards her and bent down, easily catching the eighteen-month-old in her arms. She hugged the toddler tightly as she stood up. Kelly and Stella had made it over to them at that point, and they each greeted Jennifer with a hug as well. The group made their way to the parking lot, Maya happily babbling the entire way.
When they arrived at their cars—Jennifer miraculously found a parking spot right next to theirs—Kelly loaded Maya's stuff into the trunk of Jennifer's car. As soon as the trunk was closed, Kelly took Maya back into his arms.
"Be good for grandma, baby girl." Stella told Maya, leaning over to kiss her cheek.
Kelly hugged her closer and squeezed her tightly before depositing her back into his mom's waiting arms. "Call us if you need us. We'll only be a few hours away."
"We'll be fine, Kelly. We're going to have so much fun, aren't we Maya?" Jennifer asked the toddler, tickling her belly.
Maya giggled happily at her grandma and nodded, though it was doubtful the 1 ½ year old knew what the adults around her were talking about.
Kelly and Stella each gave Maya one more goodbye kiss before they climbed in the car and headed off to their weekend destination.
Jennifer loaded Maya into her car seat then the two of them headed off as well, ready for a weekend of fun.
… … …
The drive to Jennifer's house wasn't too long, about an hour and a half with a few stops, but Maya was more than ready to be out of her car seat by the time they arrived.
Jennifer got Maya's room set up while the toddler played with toys. When everything was set up and ready, Jennifer made them lunch and then Maya was off for a much-needed nap.
Any plans Jennifer had for them that day were put on hold, thanks to a random April rainstorm that spanned the afternoon and into the evening. So, Jennifer remixed the plan, trading their outside activities for a chill day inside. As soon as Maya was up from her nap they baked cookies, ate snacks, and played with toys in between showings of Encanto (Maya's most recent favorite).
They made it through two rounds of Encanto before Jennifer had to persuade Maya to watch something else—she could only listen to 'We Don't Talk About Bruno' for so long. Thankfully, the toddler easily agreed, and Mulan and Brave were added into the mix.
Maya had never been able to watch so many movies in one day and she was loving it. Kelly and Stella weren't anti-screen time by any means, but they usually did try and limit it, so getting to watch all of her favorite movies all day was the best kind of treat.
Jennifer and Maya ended their first night together with dinner, consisting of some of the toddler's favorite foods, and the cookies they'd baked earlier for dessert. After a bath, the rest of Maya's bedtime routine, several bedtime stories, and a FaceTime call with her parents, the toddler was down for the count and ready for the next day's activities.
… … …
Saturday dawned bright and sunny. The rain from yesterday left behind a humidity that covered the area, making the temperature slightly warmer than normal and perfect for the day's outdoor activities. Jennifer's church was hosting a Spring Fling for the community, complete with games, inflatables, food trucks and a bake sale, and a petting zoo.
Maya was most excited about the petting zoo. She loved animals, always had but especially since the first time she met Tuesday during one of her many visits to the firehouse. Her excitement couldn't be contained, and she babbled happily throughout the entire car ride. When they arrived at the church, Jennifer had to hold Maya's hand extra tight to keep the toddler from running across the busy parking lot.
When they were close enough, Jennifer let Maya run and as predicted, she ran right towards the animal pens.
"Gamma, wook!" Maya cried, pointing at the animals in front of her. "Oat!"
Jennifer smiled at the look of happy wonder on her granddaughter's face. She bent down next to her. "I see! That is a goat! Do you know what sound a goat makes?"
"Baaaa!" Maya exclaimed happily. Her smile grew larger, and she giggled as the goats in the pen in front of her belted at the same time.
The other adults around them laughed, or cooed, at Maya's reaction to the goats and Jennifer couldn't help but join in. Getting to experience things through the eyes of a child was a very special thing, and Jennifer was thankful for everything she got to experience with her granddaughter.
Standing up, Jennifer reached into the bag she was holding and pulled out some hay she'd been given to feed to the goats. She passed a small handful to Maya and reminded the toddler to be gentle as Maya stuck her little hand out towards the animals. This pattern continued until their bag was empty. By then, Jennifer and Maya had made it to the end of the pen where one of the workers was waiting. In a larger pen behind him, much to the delight of Maya, were sheep, donkeys, a few small pigs, and even a few ducks.
The worker let them into the pen and Maya was in animal heaven. She was on a mission to pet every animal in the pen and no amount of coaxing from Jennifer would deter her from that mission. It took several minutes, and a foot chase with a few elusive ducks, but Maya met her goal of petting all the animals in the pen. She was ecstatic and Jennifer had lots of photos and videos to share with her parents.
After getting Maya away from the animals, they grabbed a snack from one of the stalls before moving to the other side of the parking lot where the games and inflatables were. Maya got to play and win prizes and candy while Jennifer spoke with some of her friends and coworkers from the congregation.
An hour or so later, Jennifer could see Maya's energy was fading. She got Maya loaded in the car and they headed home, stopping for a quick lunch. The toddler couldn't even manage to finish all her lunch before she zonked out in her car seat. She didn't even stir when Jennifer transferred her from her car seat to her bed.
Once Maya woke up from her much needed nap, a few hours later than she'd normally wake up, and had a snack to supplement the lunch she never got to finish, it was too late in the afternoon for them to do the other plans Jennifer had for them. There were still a few hours before dinner and they could find something to do but it was clear Maya was still tired from the day's earlier activities. Plus, they'd be going to church the next morning and Jennifer wanted Maya to be in a good mood.
They took a walk around the neighborhood and went to visit a friend of Jennifer's who lived nearby. The women had coffee while Maya chased her 2 dogs around the backyard for a while before they headed home. Jennifer ordered pizza for dinner and got Maya ready for bed after they finished eating. Instead of watching Encanto again or any other movie on Disney+ before bed, Jennifer decided to show Maya some old home movies.
There were video clips of birthdays, Christmases, and sporting events, from different times in Kelly's life. When a clear shot of his face popped up on the screen, Maya took notice.
"Daddy?" She asked, pointing at the TV.
Jennifer smiled. "That is your daddy, back when he was a little boy. Just a little older than you," she added, poking Maya's belly and eliciting a laugh from the toddler.
"Daddy cute."
That got a big laugh out of Jennifer, but she didn't disagree. She'd have to remember to share Maya's reaction with Kelly and Stella.
… … …
The next morning was a bit of a rush. It had been a long time since Jennifer had someone else to get ready for church, especially a toddler. It was a miracle, but they managed to make it out the door with enough time to stop for donuts on the way to church.
Despite being in a new, different environment and surrounded by dozens of people she didn't know, Maya did really well in church and in the nursery. Jennifer's friends, all of which knew Kelly when he was a small child, were big fans of Maya's and the ladies fawned over her as they all went out for lunch after church ended.
After they returned home from church and lunch, and Maya woke up from her nap, Jennifer got her changed and ready for their afternoon activity: painting.
Along with animals, arts and crafts was one of Maya's favorite things. She loved making "pwetty pictures" for her parents and aunts and uncles. She'd settle for crayons or markers, but Maya's favorite medium was paint. Upon sharing this information with Jennifer, Kelly and Stella also let her know that while paint is Maya's favorite, she doesn't get to use it often because of how messy it was. Maya's love of paint and utter dislike of using anything but her hands always ended with paint on more than just the paper.
Jennifer got Maya changed into a onesie and let her run around the backyard while she set everything up. She covered her patio with paper for Maya to paint on, hoping to cut down on the mess, and got different color paints set out on some plates. Once everything was set up, Jennifer called Maya over and let the toddler have at it.
Within minutes the little girl was covered in paint. Her arms, her legs, her face, no surface remained untouched. Maya's outfit was ruined, and the patio would need a serious power washing to get rid of all the paint that managed to make it's way off the paper but the joyous laughter bubbling from the toddler and the smile on her face made it all worth it.
As the paint started drying and Maya ran out of surfaces to paint, Jennifer turned the sprinkler on and let Maya run through the water. The hope was that the water would wash away some of the paint, but it only seemed to cause more. Bath time would be an adventure that night for sure.
… … …
Monday came far too soon for Jennifer. As she drove in the early morning hours back to Chicago, she kept casting glances at Maya in the rearview mirror. The little girl was sleeping peacefully though the frown on her face from the early wake up was still present. Maya was not happy to leave this morning, but Jennifer knew her attitude would change the second she saw her parents again.
It was right around shift change by the time Jennifer and Maya reached the station. The street was lined with cars belonging to the firefighters arriving for shift and those leaving so Jennifer had to park quite a ways away and walk the rest of the way. Hand and hand, she and Maya made their way to the station, spotting Kelly and Stella as soon as reached the edge of the apron. They were talking with Brett and Casey and once Jennifer was sure it was safe, she released Maya's hand, letting her run to her parents.
"Mommy! Daddy!" Maya yelled, running as fast as her little legs could.
Kelly and Stella stopped their conversation and turned their attention to their daughter, smiling as she crashed into their legs, wrapping her little arms around them.
"Hi baby girl!" Stella bent down and picked Maya up, hugging her tightly. "Oh I missed you so much!"
Maya hugged her back just as fiercely before pulling back and reaching towards Kelly. He took her in his arms and hugged her before situating her on his hip. "Did you have fun with grandma?"
Maya nodded, excitedly and launched into a very animated retelling of the weekend's events. Jennifer, who had made it over to them by this point, filled in whatever details the toddler left out and shared the pictures and videos she had.
It was obvious that Maya and Jennifer had enjoyed their weekend together, and a child-free weekend had done wonders for Kelly and Stella. As the four of them said goodbye to Brett and Casey and made their way to the cars, they were already making plans to do it again.
A/N: I am having the WORST bout of writer's block when it comes to Maya fics. It sucks because I have SO many ideas planned for Maya but none of them are working out at the moment. Boo.
Updates might be a little less frequent on here, but something else might be coming along *wink wink*
