Chapter 20

Lee grinned from ear to ear as he stared at the two gifts in his lap. He lifted the book the boys gave him and scanned a few pages. "This is a great read. Thanks," he nodded. "But this…" Lee paused as he lifted the collage picture frame filled with pictures of Lee with the boys. "This is my favorite gift."

Amanda leaned her cheek against Lily's head and whispered, "Your Daddy's only kidding. He likes your gift."

Dotty reached over and patted Amanda's knee with her free hand. "You know they don't understand what you're saying, Amanda," she admonished her with a grin and a tilt of her head before she turned her attention to DJ resting peacefully in the crook of her arm.

"I know that, Mother, but I don't want their feelings hurt," Amanda replied softly.

Lee ran his hand down the front of the t-shirt Amanda had given him. "I love my new shirt, too," he insisted.

"Yeah, Lee, I think it's great. You should wear that to the gym the next time we go," Phillip teased.

Lee shrugged his shoulders and stated, "I'm not so sure this is gym material. I mean, for around the house, it's great, but the gym. I don't think the other guys would get your mother's humor." Lee looked down at the light blue shirt with bright pink letters that read, HOT DADA. "But I do love it," he added. He lifted the frame and pointed to one of the pictures, "Jamie, isn't this the one you took?"

Jamie grinned and nodded enthusiastically, "Yeah, when we went hiking a few weeks ago. I wish Mom could've come with us. That view was amazing."

Lee smiled, "Well, she wasn't in any condition to go hiking that day, but if I know your mother, she'll be good to go before the end of the summer. We'll have to take her up there."

"Can we bring the babies? I mean, I know they won't be able to see much, and they probably won't even care but maybe… I don't know… we could bring them and make it a family day," Phillip suggested.

Lee looked at Amanda and waited for the subtle nod before he assured him, "I don't see why not. I saw these baby carriers that are like a backpack almost, but you can wear it in front. We could get a couple of those and take turns if you fellas want."

Jamie eyed the tiny bundles in his mother and grandmother's arms, "Won't they be too little… for Phillip and I to carry in those things, I mean?"

Amanda patted the couch beside her and bobbed her head to the side to encourage Jamie to get closer. Jamie shifted from his end of the couch to sit beside her and was surprised when Amanda carefully moved Lily into his arms. "They grow fast. A few weeks from now, you won't even remember her being this tiny," she assured him.

Jamie stared into the sleeping face of his sister. He watched as her little hands opened and twitched slightly near her chin. "What's she doing?" he asked nervously.

Amanda gently rubbed the downy strands of light brown hair on her daughter's head, "Dreaming. Growing. They do a lot of that the first few weeks."

Phillip moved away from Lee to kneel on the floor beside Dotty. He watched DJ frown, her bottom lip quivering slightly. "She's not going to cry again, is she?" he questioned.

"They do a lot of that, too, the first month," Amanda laughed lightly. "You boys have to remember, the only real way they know how to communicate right now is to cry. And after a few more days, you'll begin to learn what their different cries mean," she tried to explain.

Phillip pinched his face in disbelief, "Different cries? You mean to tell me they actually have different ways to cry?"

It was Lee's turn to laugh when he thought about Phillip's question. "Sure, they do. Think about Charlie and the different ways he cries," he interjected.

Phillip rested his elbow on the arm of the chair and tucked his chin into his hand. "Okay, when he's tired, he does this whiny sounding cry where he stops every couple of seconds," Phillip began.

"Yeah, and when he's hungry, he screams so loud. Grandma can't get the food in front of him fast enough," Jamie added.

"Oh, and when he bumps his head, he makes that… that… I don't know how to describe it… it's like he's not really hurt, but he wants attention," Phillip sat up straighter.

Amanda smiled at her boys, "That's what I'm talking about. Now, Charlie is a little older and he's learning to use words to express his feelings. It makes things easier to figure out what's going on with him. The girls will get there in time, too, but for now, it's going to take us a few weeks to figure out what their cries mean."

"I already know one of them," Phillip declared with a wide smile.

"What's that, Sweetheart?" Amanda encouraged.

Phillip made eye contact with Lee as he stated, "When Lee's trying to change their diapers."

Lee narrowed his eyes at his stepson as he challenged, "The next one is all on you, Ace. Let's see if you can do any better trying to change both their diapers."

"Bring it on, Pops," Phillip grinned. "I bet twenty bucks I can get it done faster and with less crying," he added.

Lee reached his hand out to shake on it as he agreed, "Fine. Next diaper change, I'm breaking out the stopwatch."

Phillip gripped Lee's hand tightly, and with a solid pump, he stated, "Let the best diaper changer win."

"Boys!" Dotty exclaimed as she rolled her eyes. "Everything is a competition."

Jamie settled back against the pillows of the couch and sighed, "Not for everyone. I'm pretty content to stay right here, holding… um…" He looked up at Amanda with a nervous look on his face.

"DJ," Lee offered.

"No, I'm holding DJ," Dotty stated. "Or at least I think I'm holding DJ." She looked at Amanda in confusion. "This one is DJ, isn't she?"

"I thought Amanda was holding DJ, and you had Lily," Lee admitted. Amanda began to laugh at her family. It wasn't until she realized she didn't know who was holding who that the tears began to stream down her cheeks, and her body shook with glee. "Amanda?" Lee called her name nervously, but she continued to laugh until she was out of breath and her sides hurt.

"Mom? Are you losing it?" Phillip stood and rushed to her side.

Amanda rocked her head side to side as she tried to answer. "I'm fine, Sweetheart," she assured him between giggles.

"You must be exhausted. Exhaustion has made you lose your mind," Dotty declared. "You need to go right back up to bed and get some rest!"

"No, Mother, I'm all right. I just can't stop laughing," Amanda chuckled again. She wiped the tears from her eyes, took a deep breath, and instructed, "Take off their socks." Dotty and Jamie gave Amanda a strange look but did as she said. "Now, which one has a bright pink toenail?"

Everyone studied the sweet little baby feet until Jamie spotted the nail polish on the toenail of the infant in Dotty's arms. "Over there!" he pointed.

Amanda reached up and ruffled his hair as she stated, "DJ will have one painted nail until she starts putting her feet in her mouth where Lily will have none. That was a trick one of the nurses gave me. When they get a little older, we can get their ears pierced… if that's okay with you, Sweetheart." She looked at Lee when she realized they hadn't discussed that possibility.

"That would be okay. When they're what… six, seven? Or is that too young?" Lee nodded.

"I was thinking more like six or seven months," Amanda admitted softly.

Lee blinked slowly as he processed her suggestion. "They actually do that to babies?" he questioned.

Dotty carefully got up from her chair and handed DJ to Amanda. She patted Lee on the shoulder and assured him, "Amanda was only three months old when we got hers done. She doesn't remember a thing, and she never touched them. But, since we've solved the mystery of which of my granddaughters I was holding, I think we need a family picture. Go sit on the couch, and Phillip, you squeeze yourself in there, somewhere, while I get my camera."

Lee moved to the opposite end of the couch, leaving space for Phillip to sit beside him. "Here," Jamie carefully handed Lily to Philip as soon as he sat down. He turned back to Amanda and asked, "Can I hold DJ? That way, you can put your arm around me… like you used to when we took pictures when we were little."

"Only you're not so little anymore," Amanda smiled as she placed DJ in her son's arms. She blinked back the tears that threatened to fall as she observed her sons holding her daughters and her husband's damp eyes looking back at her from the other end of the couch. Lost in the moment, she didn't notice Dotty gleefully dancing her way back into the room.

"Smile, everyone! That means you, Lee," Dotty instructed. She snapped several pictures and sighed, "What a beautiful family I have."