Picture Perfect?

ASHLEY'S POV :

"Are you sure you're gonna be okay while I'm gone ?" , Dev asks , as she's standing by the front door , getting ready to leave .
"We'll be fine , darlin' !" , I assure her . "I need to learn how to deal with him by myself sometime , and besides , you deserve to have some 'me time' just as much as I do . Go have fun with Mindy and Elise , I have your number if I need anything ."
She kisses Liam , then me , and walks out to her car . Apparently , Mindy found out about some sort of craft vendor show going on in town , and they decided to go , along with our neighbor , Elise , who also crochets , as well as making quilts . And since we're not touring or recording right now , I can wrangle Sprout while she has a 'girls day' .
"Well , it looks like it's just me and you , buddy ." , I say , as I close the door and head back into the living room . "So what do we want to do today ?"
"Ma !" , he shouts , waving his hands .
"Yes , Mommy will be back in a while , Sprout . Why don't we go out to Daddy's studio for a bit , and you can listen to some music ?"
I grab my phone and his bouncy seat , and head out back to the barn , with the dogs following along . I let them run in the yard while Liam and I go inside , and I unfold his seat and place him inside . He starts bouncing as I plug in and start tuning up my guitar , trying to see if I can come up with anything worth putting down to show the guys when we get together to start thinking about the next album .
I play with some chords for a little while , then I hear "Thump ! Bong ! Thud !", from my left . I look over , and see that Liam has bounced himself over to the drum kit , and gotten ahold of one of the sticks , randomly banging on things .
I put down the guitar and walk over to take the stick from him , which makes him rather unhappy with me . " So you think you might like to be a drummer , huh ? Uncle CC will be glad to hear that , but I think you're gonna have to work some on the eye - hand coordination first ."
I pick him up and go to sit behind the kit , helping him hold the sticks while he sits on my lap , and we bang on the drums for a few minutes , which makes him giggle .
"We're gonna have to do this again later , when Mommy's home ." , I inform him . "She'll get mad if she doesn't get a picture of this ."
I put him back in his seat , and take a few minutes to jot down the tune I'm working on , until he starts to fuss . I go over to pick him up , and find that he needs to be changed , so we go back to the house .
I clean him up and get him changed , then wash my hands and say , "Okay , Sprout , how about some lunch ?"
I get him into his high chair , and check the cabinet where Dev keeps his food . "All right then , it looks like it's gonna be carrots and maybe some applesauce today . How does that sound ?"
Grabbing his little spoon , I sit down and start feeding him , and he's surprisingly cooperative today , actually eating more than he gets on his face and clothes . After he's done , I make myself a turkey wrap , with some avocado and a bit of cheese , and scarf it down before he can get fussy again .
He starts to act sleepy , so I make him up a bottle and put him down for a nap , then sit down in the living room with the baby monitor and my acoustic , to try and work a bit more on my song idea . I'm only a few minutes in on that , when my phone rings .
I see that it's Dev , so I pick up , saying , "Hey , darlin' , are you girls having fun ?"
"Yeah , we are , actually ." , she responds . "I was just wondering if you think you might be able to handle things until dinnertime ?"
"I think I might be able to muddle along until then ." , I tell her . "Liam's had lunch , and he's down for a nap right now . I think he tired himself out having his first drum lesson ."
"His first WHAT ?"
I tell her about what happened out in the studio , and , as I told Sprout , she was unhappy that she didn't get a picture . "Relax , Dev , we can do it again tomorrow ." , I say .
"Yeah , I guess we can ." , she answers . "But right now I have a question for you . How do you feel about having Elise make us a quilt for our bedroom ? I saw one that was absolutely gorgeous a little while ago , and she says that she can do one , in whatever colors we want . I'm sending you a picture right now , let me know what you think ."
I move the phone away from my ear , and see a picture of a quilt with a large , multi - pointed star design , in several shades of yellow and orange . "I like the design , but the colors ... not so much ." I say .
"Me neither ." , she answers . "I'm leaning toward what Elise calls an Amish - style , which is basically brighter colors , with a black background ."
"Go for it !" , I tell her .
"Cool ! We're gonna hit up a couple of other shops , and I'll be home for dinner ! Love you , babe ! Kiss Liam for me when he wakes up ."
"Love you too , darlin' ! See you soon ." , I say , and end the call .
I go back to my guitar for a little while , and actually make some progress on my tune , until I hear "Da !" , coming through the monitor .
I go to Liam's room , and see that he's gotten himself onto his hands and knees in his crib . He smiles when he sees me , and says something that sounds like , "Da ! Blibbt popop phtttt !"
"I couldn't agree more if I actually knew what you were saying ." , I inform him , as I lift him out of the crib . "But I tell you what , little dude , I'll be glad when you're able to speak something other than Ewok , or whatever it is ."
"Da !" , he says again , and snuggles into my neck , which makes me melt every time he does it .
"Yes , Daddy loves you , too , Sprout ." , I say . "Just wait until you get a little bit bigger . We're going to have so much fun together , and I have so many things I want to teach you . You're my greatest accomplishment , and I love you more than anyone else in the world , except Mommy , I love her just as much ."
I carry him downstairs , and put him down to crawl around a bit . "To !" , he exclaims , making a beeline for Tokyo , who very patiently lays down and lets Liam basically maul him for a few minutes , until he wriggles himself loose and goes to the patio door , looking at me as if to say , "Okay , Dad , I know he's trying to be friendly , but I need a break now , and I can't climb up on the counters , like that cat does ."
So I open the door to let him out , and Killer shoots out from his hiding place behind Dev's chair to join him , while Tinsel watches from the top of the bookcase .
We hang out and play with some of his toys for a while , until he lets me know that he's hungry again , so I wash him up and take him back to the kitchen .
I grab a couple of containers of baby food , and start feeding him . Unfortunately , it doesn't go quite as well as lunch . Apparently , he's not in the mood for what he's having now .
"Seriously , dude ! Was that actually necessary ?" , I ask him , as I wind up with a faceful of his supper .
"Blllbt !" , he responds , and as he does , I hear a slight whirring noise from the doorway . I turn my head , and see Dev standing there , with a camera in one hand , and a dishtowel in the other .
She comes closer , handing me the towel , and asks , "What are you feeding him , anyway ? You look like an extra in a slasher flick !"
"I just grabbed a couple of them out of the cabinet , I think he's having beets and some mashed bananas ." , I say , as I wipe the mess off of my face and shirt .
"Well , you can't blame him then , you won't even touch those , Mr . Healthy Eater !" , she giggles . "And for future reference , he feels the same way about strained peas ."
" I'll keep that in mind ." , I say .
Dev makes dinner while I finish feeding Sprout , and then grab a shower . Apparently , he even managed to get the stuff in my hair .
We eat , then after dinner she shows me what she bought today , and a rough drawing of the quilt she's having Elise make , which looks much better in the colors she picked .As we watch some TV a bit later , after Liam is in bed , she looks at me and says , "So it looks like you two had a good day today , with the possible exception of the beets . I guess that means you'll be okay if I decide to go out again ."
"Yeah , I had fun ." , I reply . "I think I'm okay with having father - son day . I need to spend as much time with him as possible before we start recording again , and touring . I want to be sure he doesn't forget me when I'm gone ."
"Babe , that will never happen ! He knows who his dad is , and he adores you ! There's no chance he'd forget you , and I'll never let him do that anyway ."
"I guess not , but I still want to spend all the time with him that I can . I'm not going to miss anymore than I can possibly help . I want to make as many memories as we can ."

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