three hearts in one home (l.s.)

seven months later

I walk to the kitchen after just having woken up, a bit worried because Noa isn’t in bed. It’s happened more often now, sometimes Jonah just lifts her out of bed when he’s awake and takes her to the living room.

Last time, I found them on the floor, watching a book about cats, him explaining everything to her.

The other day, he carefully played football with her, helpong her with walking so she doesn’t fall.

It always makes me so happy seeing them together.
After just having celebrated both of their birthday within the last three weeks, we’re now happy we’re having time to relax on a rainy weekend. We also celebrated them both together with the whole family, as well as a few of our friend’s.

Noa looked adorable, wearing a little paper crown, Chocolate messily spread around her whole mouth. Jonah was being as cute as always, letting her unwrap some of his presents before we stopped him because he was supposed to have some fun as well.

“Okay”, I hear Jonah saying, “Hold still, hear me? Or I’m just gonna mess it up.”

I walk into the kitchen and see Noa sitting in her baby chair, her little curls tied up into a small bun on top of her head. Jonah is sitting right next to her, grinning broadly, as always when he’s with her.
He’s holding a bit of nail polish in his hand and is apparently trying to paint No’s nails.

“Hi, babies”, I say and Jonah greets me with a smile while Noa keeps babbling quietly.

“I hope that’s okay”, he says, “I’m being very careful so she doesn’t get anything in her mouth, no worries.”

I smile. “I know you are.”
I sit down next to them and smile at their painted nails, both in light blue, like the one I gave Jonah for Christmas a few years ago.

“Are you gonna do mine too?”, I ask, staring at my plain, boring nails.

Jonah nods eagerly and turns back to Noa, carefully blowing on her nails so the polish fries faster before facing me once done with Noa.

“Now, how is it, being so grown up already?”, I ask them, “Can’t believe you’re ten and one already, that’s so weird.”
Jonah nods and pokes his tongue out while starting with my thumb. “I think it’s normal that I am ten, but can’t believe my baby No is one already.”

I smile softly and wait until he finishes. As soon as it’s done, Louis walks in, smiling broadly when he sees us. “Hi you three, playing beauty salon?”

He kisses Jonah’s temple who acts disgusted but presses a kiss onto Louis cheek and then turns to Noa.

“Hi, Nono, looking so pretty like your brother and Daddy.”
He points to her nails. “Aren’t they pretty, Jonah did such a good job, huh?”

Noa grins and keeps slamming her hands on the table as if to prove her point while kicking her baby feet into the air.

“O-na”, she then says and it all makes us turn to her quickly.

“Did she just?”, I ask, staring at her with my mouth wide opened.

“Was your first word not daddy?”, Louis exclaims.

“Say Jonah, No. Jo-nah”, Jonah says and leans over, “Jonah. That’s me, that's your brother.”

“Ona”, she repeats, smiling and clapping her hands for herself.

“She just said her first word”, I say and try to take it in, smiling at our little baby.

“And it wasn’t daddy”, Louis says and acts offended.

Noa laughs again as if she understood anything about the situation. “Ona.” She reaches her chubby arms out to Jonah who picks her up out of the chair.

“She loves me”, he says, “I think she really loves me.”

“She does, baby.” I can't stop grinning broadly, so happy about everything.

Jonah presses a kiss to Noa’s cheek and laughs. “I’m Jonah, right. I’m your brother. I love you, Nono.”

~~~

Afterwards, everything goes by very quickly. Just two days after she said Jonah’s name, she says dada for the first time and it makes Louis the happiest person on earth.

He keeps asking her to say it every now and then and it makes all of us happy, as well as Noa, because she can’t stop giggling when we obsess over her like that.

I wake up a week later with Noa sitting down on my tummy, patting my cheek with her hand

“Papa?”

I am awake immediately, opening my eyes as quickly as possible, shaking Louis’ shoulder. “Louis, wake up. Honey, say that again.”

Louis opens his eyes, looking a bit scared at first but smiling when he sees us both alright.
“Noa, who am I? Come on, baby, say papa again”

Louis chuckles lowly and leans over to kiss my cheek. “Say Papa”, he repeats and pokes Noa’s soft tummy once.

“Papa.” Noa claps for herself when we both cheer and laughs loudly.

“Dada. Papa.”
It feels like happiness streaming through my whole body. I was really happy to hear her talk at all, but hearing her say my name, is a little better.

“Noa, such a smart girl, talking so well. Our cute little baby.”

He smiles and pats my cheek with her chubby hand. “Pa.”

“Why you screaming like that?”, Jonah asks and enters the room with a tired smile on his lips, “You crazy?” I laugh and nod. “A bit, maybe.”

He sits down in bed next to me. “She said Papa.”

He grins and sits Noa down in his lap, so she’s facing me, putting his hands on her tummy and wiggling his leg a little so she’s moving a bit. “Say Papa again.”

She knows how much cheering she gets for when she talks so she says it again and again, laughing and clapping every time we all laugh.

“She’s the cutest little sister”, he says, “I love her so much.”

“Jonah loves you”, he says, turning to Noa again, “I love you, Nono.”

She chuckles and babbles for a bit, Jonah wrapping his hands around her so she doesn’t fall.

We stay in bed like that for some time, talking and laughing, trying to get Noa to talk more, but after some time she loses interest and focuses on her stuffed animal instead.

~~~

<3