Surprise!

Calleigh beamed. She couldn't be more proud seeing her daughter crawl to the other end of the carpet to get a blue stacking ring. The mother was so happy she scooped up the child, kissing her cheek. Nevaeh put a sour expression on her face; she wasn't pleased to be interrupted in her mission to retrieve part of her favorite toy.

"Mommy's so proud of you!" Calleigh said.

Nevaeh looked over her mother's arm to the floor, at the object she had been handed for. Her mom smiled.

"All right," her mom said with a smile. "I'll put you down. You're busy."

A baby crawling for the first time may certainly be a big deal for mommy and daddy but not a little girl who had been making her way to her favorite toy when her mom excitedly noticed her new skill.

Calleigh didn't say anything to her husband about their daughter's newfound skill. Rather she hid her excitement and let him find out on his own. She was in the kitchen taking dinner of out of the oven when and from the living room she heard Eric excitedly called out,

"Cal! Cal, come here!

"That was amazing! Did you show mommy what you can do?" Calleigh heard her husband say to Nevaeh.

"She did," Calleigh said, coming into the room. "But I picked her up when she was busy going for what she's got in her hand. She wasn't happy with me."

Nevaeh was holding the blue plastic ringer in both hands and was mouthing it. Ever since her husband had gone back to work when Eric got home her little daughter totally ignored her and wanted daddy for everything. Calleigh didn't mind. Besides getting a break she thoroughly enjoyed watching how father and daughter interacted. Plus after seven Eric was all hers. Did daddy Eric mind looking after his baby after working al day? Hell, no! Time with Nevaeh was the ultimate relaxation for him.

Eric smiled when Calleigh made one attempt to feed Nevaeh her sweet potato. Nevaeh closed her lips tightly.

"Do you want daddy to feed you?" Calleigh smiled. "You do, don't you?"

Neveah replied with a grin. Eric's mischievous grin.

Having had his back to his family for a moment Eric turned around and chuckled. He took over Calleigh's seat in front of Nevaeh's high chair. The child ate eagerly for her dad. Calleigh took advantage when Eric told her she could take a break. She was going to go take long bubble bath.

"See you later," she said, toying with Eric's ear and kissing his head. "Remember, you made a pleasure appointment for 7:30."

"Ohh," her husband replied. "I'll be there with nothing on."

A six-month-old is too young to understand sex talk.

"Mommy gone?" Eric said to the baby once Calleigh was in the bathroom and the water was running.

Eric decided to give Nevaeh a treat. Chocolate pudding. He wasn't going to give her all of it, just a taste, considering her new milestone.

The "wow" expression that crossed Nevaeh's face when the taste of chocolate was on the tip of her tongue made Eric laugh.

"Good, huh?" He said. He gave her three more spoonfuls before putting the pudding on the counter.

Eric cleaned off her face with a wet paper towel and took off her bib. Chocolate had got the baby's shirt anyway. "Daddy's going to have to change your clothes and hide the evidence from mommy," he said lifting the baby out of the high chair. He carried her to the nursery and took a sleeper out of the drawer. "Arms up. Daddy peels you like a potato," Eric said to Nevaeh, seating her down on the change table.

Nevaeh put her arms up so that Eric could remove her t-shirt. She smiled.

"That's my girl," Eric said after he pulled the shirt over her head. He laid the baby down on her back removing her socks and jeans then unsnapping her undershirt and removing it and changing her diaper.

Fastening the last button on the clean sleeper the baby now wore Eric washed both their hands with wet wipes and picked up his daughter so he could take her into the living room.

"Wanna play with some toys?" Eric said, setting Nevaeh down on the living room carpet and getting down next to her. He pulled Nevaeh's Leapfrog Learn & Groove Activity Table closer to her, smiling as she started moving to the music that played when she hit one of the buttons.

Even through Alexx had told the two they should start putting their baby down in the crib and let her put herself to sleep at night now that she were six months old the first time parents couldn't bring themselves to do that yet. Hearing Nevaeh cry when either put her down and left the room was too much. But it never took long for Nevaeh to fall asleep when she was in the rocker with either of her parents.

Calleigh was sitting on the sofa wearing a pair of navy blue silk pajamas, her legs folded up, a fleece blanket wrapped around part of her body when her husband came back to the living room.

"Hey," she said. "That didn't take long."

"Naw," Eric said, sitting down next to her. "I think she was tuckered out from all the moving she did today."

Calleigh put her feet down and leaned into her husband before putting her feet back up. He put his arm around her shoulders and kissed her deeply.

"I was so excited to see her crawl today," she smiled, "but she didn't see the big deal."

"She looked at me funny when I got excited, too," Eric replied.

"By the way, does daddy's girl have your sweet tooth? I saw the puddling cup on the counter. I know it wasn't you 'cause you'd never leave it three quarters full."

"Guilty," Eric grinned. "She liked it. You should have seen her eyes light up when she tasted it.

"Now," he said pulling his wife down to his lap and kissing her hard. "I seem to recall something about a pleasure appointment."

"You're right," Calleigh said, starting to get off of the couch. "But I forget to tell ya, that's only if you can catch me!" She said running toward their bedroom.

"Oh, you asked for it!" Eric said bolting after her.