Cynthia'S New Home

[baby_snow_white]

Cynthia nods. "Oh I see. I didn't know if they was Megan's bottles or not. She couldn't take her eyes off of them. Something about them held her attention. Cynthia knew she was too old to drink out of a baby bottle,but she was too old for alot of things. Like toys,training pants,bibs and formula. She also knew that soon there would be a crib in her room. Cynthia blinked a few times. "I don't want to brush my teeth. They are ok just the way they are. See." She smiles at Melanie and there was bits of tuna fish and pickles in her teeth.

[robehouse]

Melanie watched as Cynthia talked about the baby bottles. She saw Cynthia was almost hypnotized by the bottles. Melanie wondered if Cynthia would drink out of a bottle if she filled one with formula. She wasn't ready to try that yet. She saw Cynthia snap out of it when she asked her about brushing her teeth.

Melanie smiled when Cynthia denied she needed to brush her teeth. She could see the tuna fish stuck between Cynthia's teeth. She took Cynthia's hand and led her to the bathroom. She moved the stool over in front of the sink and had Cynthia climb up onto it.

"Look at yourself in the mirror. You have something between your teeth. I want you to brush them. It wouldn't matter if you didn't have something between your teeth. I want you to brush them three times a day, every day. I don't my daughter getting cavities and having to go to the dentist to have them taken care of. Also wash your hands and go potty."

Melanie finished talking and walked out of the bathroom, leaving the door open. She went back to the kitchen to clean up.

[baby_snow_white]

Cynthia nods. "Yes Mommy." She goes back into her bedroom and looks though the box. "I know it is in here somewhere. Because I packed it. At least I think I did. Oh here it is." Cynthia pulls out her Snow White toothbrush and her tinklebell cup. She presses the button to get the song to play. It didn't work. "Dang, the batteries must have died." Cynthia walks back to the bathroom with her toothbrush and her tinklebell cup. She get up on her stool and looks in the mirror.Cynthia brushes her teeth and then risnes her mouth out. She wipes the toothpaste foam off her mouth and uses the potty. After Cynthia finishes. She washes her hands and then comes out. Cynthia walks to the livingroom with her toothbrush in her hand. "Do you have two AAA batteries? My toothbrush will not play the Hi Ho song. I use to to know how long to brush for.

[robehouse]

Mark looks up as Cynthia enters the living room. He was about to pick up the crib and carry it upstairs. He looked at the toothbrush and smiled. It had Snow White on the handle. He led Cynthia into the kitchen and opened one of the drawers.

"This is our junk drawer where we keep odds and ends. We also keep packs of every size battery that we think we will need. I'm pretty sure we have AAA batteries in here." Mark looks in the drawer and spots an unopened package of AAA batteries. He takes the package out and hands the batteries to Cynthia. "If you ever need batteries for something, come and check in this drawer first. if you don't see the size you need let mommy or I know, okay?"

Daddy goes back to the living room. He takes a deep breath and starts picking up the box that the crib is in by the two holes that were there for handles. He walked the box over to the stairs and set it down for a second. He knew it wasn't going to be easy getting the crib up the stairs but he also knew that it was a one way trip, at least for now. The crib was staying in Cynthia's room for the foreseeable future.

[baby_snow_white]

Cynthia stands there waiting on Daddy to see if they had AAA batteries. She smiles when he hands them to her. Cynthia opens the back and takes the old batteries. She lays them on the counter and puts the new batteries in. Cynthia closes the cover and presses the button. The music starts to play. "It works again." She looks at the batteries and then goes upstairs where daddy was at. "Do you and mommy recycle the batteries or do you throw them away. I didn't know. So I left the batteries on the counter."

[robehouse]

Mark finally gets the crib upstairs and almost to Cynthia's room when she comes up and starts talking to him.

"Okay, that is good for now. We have been throwing them out, but it would probably be a good idea to recycle them."

Mark drags the crib box into Cynthia's room and opens it. He sees that the mattress is included with the crib. He pulls out the mattress and lays it on top of Cynthia's bed.

"I forgot my toolbox in the living room. Do you think you can go get it for me?"

Mark starts pulling out the parts to the crib, laying the rails, headboard and footboard against the wall and lays the springs down on the floor. He waited until Cyntia got back before going any further.

[baby_snow_white]

Cynthia nods. "Yes it is a good idea to recycle. We do at school. My school is a green school. That means we recycle eveything we can and reuse what we can. Which reduces the amount of garbage we put into the dumpster." She nods. "Yes I think so daddy." Cynthia walks out of her bedroom and down the stairs to the living room. She picks up daddy's toolbox and carries it upstairs. Cynthia had to stop once to rest while she carries the toolbox. She carries it into her bedroom. "What do you have in there. A ton of bricks" Cynthia looks at the pieces. "This should be easy. Like a puzzle." She and daddy start putting it together. A hour later. The crib was together in Cynthia's bedroom. "There we are finished. Megan has a crib to sleep in when she comes to visit." Cynthia looks at Daddy. "Is there anything left to put together?" Before he could answer. Cynthia runs out of the room and into the kitchen. "Mommy, come see what daddy and I did. We have Megan's crib together in my room."

[robehouse]

Mark concentrates on what they are doing and pretty soon the crib is nearly put together. He just had to put the mattress inside and it would be finished. There was a couple of sets of crib sheets in the linen closet if Melanie wanted to make up the crib before Megan arrived. He gathered up his tools after Cynthia left and stood up to leave the room. Cynthia appeared in the door way followed by Melanie.

"Wow, you guys did a great job! Now it's my turn. I will put the Tinkerbell applique on the end of the crib and clean sheets on the mattress and it will be all ready for Megan. I am going to put an applique on your bedroom door as well Cynthia and I thought you could paint your name on the door as well."

Melanie went down to the linen closet and got a set of crib sheets that had baby animals on them. she came back up to the room and made up the crib mattress.

"There. that part is done. I will do the applique later."

Melanie came over to Cynthia's bed and pulld down the covers.

"Now it's time for your nap. You've been good at helping daddy put things together all day and I think a nap will do you good." Melanie said.

[baby_snow_white]

Cynthia nods. "Thank you mommy. It was fun helping daddy put the crib and the highchair together. I didn't get distracted one time while I was helping him." She groans a little bit. "I don't want to take a nap. I'm not sleepy." Cynthia walks over to her bed and lays down. "Mommy, after my nap. Can we go look at the horses in the backyard? I want to see them up close. They look beautiful from up here." She lays there looking at the crib after Melanie and Mark left the room. Cynthia quietly crawls out of her bed and walks over to the crib. She feels the mattress and how soft it felt. Cynthia looks at the baby animals on the sheets. She goes to the door to see if Melanie or Mark was around. Not seeing them. Cynthia closes the bedroom door and walk over to her bed. She gets Angie. "We have to make sure the crib will be ok for Megan to sleep in." Cynthia crawls into the crib and lays down. Within moments. She was asleep in the crib with a smile on her face as she sucks her thumb.

[robehouse]

"Yes we can look at the horses. I think they look beautiful up close as well."

Melanie tucks Cynthia in her bed and both Melanie and Mark give her a kiss before leaving the room. They go downstairs where Mark cleans up the mess they left in the living room and checks to see if the highchair is dry yet. He decides it is and adds the hardware to attach the tray. He carries the highchair out to the kitchen and replaces the chair that was sitting at Cynthia's place with the highchair. He puts the books away and sets the chair in the corner. Mark gets the tray of the highchair and attaches it to the highchair so it would be ready for Cynthia to eat her dinner on.

After about an hour Melanie goes upstairs to Cynthia's room to check on her. She doesn't think anything of the door being closed as she goes into the room. She looks first at Cynthia's bed and sees that it is empty. She starts to wonder where Cynthia is when she spots Cynthia sleeping in the crib. Melanie smiles and leaves the room. She finds Mark in the kitchen.

"Come with me. You have to see this," Melanie said with a smile.

Melanie got her digital camera and turned it on. She turnd off the flash so she would be sure not to awaken Cynthia. She took Mark into Cynthia's room and pointed at the crib. Mark smiled as Melanie took a couple of pictures.

"Why is she in the crib?" Mark whispered.

Melanie shrugged her shoulders. "Who knows what goes on in her mind? I guess it is good she is trying it out before Megan gets here. At least we won't have to worry about wet sheets since Cynthia doesn't wet her bed."

Melanie and Mark leave the room and wait for Cynthia to wake up on her own.

[SKIP]

You both are doing a very good job here keep it up

[baby_snow_white]

Cynthia sleeps for another 2 hours. She wakes up feeling the need to use the bathroom. Cynthia gets out of the crib as fast as she could so she could go to the bathroom. She doesn't make it in time. Cynthia watches as the wings on her training pants faded away. She hung her head and goes to the bathroom. Cynthia cleans herself up and puts her wet training pants in the clothes hamper. She cleans herself up and gets a new pair out of her dresser where Melanie put them. Cynthia puts the training pants on and goes downstairs. She sees Melanie setting on the couch and she climbs up on her lap. "I had an accident in my training pants when I got up from my nap. I tried to get to the bathroom in time,but I didn't make it."

[robehouse]

Melanie smiles as Cynthia comes into the living room and climbs up on her lap. She hears Cynthia say that she had an accident. Melanie starts rubbing Cynthia's back.

"That's okay, honey. That is what training pants are for. Did you have a problem getting out of the crib? Yes, daddy and I both saw you sleeping in the crib. It's okay. If that's where you want to sleep it's okay with us. I know a crib mattress is softer than a regular mattress. You don't have to worry about either of us being mad at you. I see you put on a clean pair of training pants. Did you wash up good first?"

[baby_snow_white]

Cynthia was shocked that they knew she was in the crib. She nods. "Yes I did have trouble getting out of the crib. It was alot softer than my other mattress so it took me longer to get out of the crib in time. I made it halfway to the bathroom before I started wetting my training pants." Cynthia nods. "Yes I washed up really good before I put my new training pants on and I put my wet one in the hamper like you told me to do when I have an accident. I found my shorts. They was next to my bed. Do I have to wear them at home?"

[robehouse]

"Mark and I came to check on you when you were napping. That's when we saw you in the crib. I imagine that climbing over the rails was also difficult. I guess we are going to have to leave the side down so you can climb in and out if you want. Okay, it was good that you put your training pants in the hamper if they were wet, but your training pants are disposable, which means they can't be washed and used again. They need to thrown out in the garbage. You can stick them in the waste basket in the bathroom if you want or put them in the hamper and I will throw them out. No, you don't have to wear your shorts in the house if you don't want to. Just your training pants and your tee shirt will be fine. We better get you dressed to go out to see the horses now though. How about I put some shortalls on you and your shoes and socks?"

[baby_snow_white]

Cynthia nods. "Oh I thought they could be and the wings would reappear on the bottom. Yes climbing over the railing is difficult. Do you think Megan would mind that I slept in her crib?" She whines a little bit. "Can't I go out like this? It is warm outside."

[robehouse]

"It would be nice if they made a pair of washable training pants that let you know when the child is wet. I don't think Megan would mind. Besides, she is only going to sleep in it when she is here. The rest of the time it will be sitting there, so really I guess it's Cynthia's and Megan's crib."

"Alright I will let you go out like that this time. I want you to stop that whining though. Whining never sounds nice whether it's coming from a two year old or a fourteen year old. Let's get some treats for the horses before we go out. What kind of treats do you think a horse might like?"

[baby_snow_white]

Cynthia looks at bit puzzled. "What do you mean a pair of washable training pants that would let you know when the child is wet? Would the word wet appear on the front and back in bold letters when the pee sets off a chemical reaction?" She looks at Melanie. "Why do you want me to stop whining? It is so effective at getting me what I want." Cynthia thinks for a moment. "Chocolate Chip Cookies?"

[robehouse]

"No, I was thinking more along the lines of the training pants you are wearing. They could have a design on them that goes away if a child is wet. Then when it is washed and dried, the design comes back."

"When you whine it makes you sound like a baby even though you are a big girl. Whining won't get you anywhere but maybe put to bed for a nap. Horses like things like cut up fruit such as apples or pears or sugar cubes. Chocolate chip cookies really aren't that good for them. I have a bag of apples already cut up to feed the horses. Are you going to take your sketchbook so you can draw the horses up close?"

[baby_snow_white]

Cynthia nods. "Oh that is a better idea than the one I had. I've already had a nap so I don't need another one." She looks at Melanie. "If you already knew what they like. Why did you ask me? I have no idea what horses like. I figured they was like me. Loved cookies." Cynthia nods. "Yes I am. Thanks for reminding me." She runs up to her room and gets her sketch pad and color pencils. Cynthia comes back downstairs. "I'm ready to go."

[robehouse]

Melanie smiles as Cynthia comes back downstairs with her sketchbook. "I think there is one more thing we need to do before we can go outside."

Melanie runs upstairs and gets a pair of socks and Cynthia's shoes. She brings them down and puts the socks and shoes on Cynthia, tying the laces for her. "Okay, now we are ready."

Melanie led Cynthia through the kitchen, grabbing the treats and a plastic folding chair, and then out into the backyard. As they walked back to the fenced in area where the horses were, the horses lifted up their heads and snorted at them. They came walking over to the fence and stuck their heads over.

"I think they are used to me coming over here and feeding them treats. I'm not sure how they are around people they don't know. Just don't make any sudden moves around them."

Melanie opened the bag and took out a treat. She put in her palm and held it out in front of one of the horses. He nuzzled her hand and grabbed the slice of apple.

"Do you want to go inside the fence with them? I brought the chair so you could sit down to draw with." Melanie handed Cynthia the bag of treats.

[baby_snow_white]

Cynthia nods. "Yes we are ready to go,but why do I have to wear socks and shoes outside?" She shakes her head. "I'm not going to make any sudden moves. I'm kind of nervious about being around them. They are really beautiful,but they are alot bigger than they looked like from upstairs." Cynthia shakes her head. "No I'll set outside the fence and draw them. She takes out her sketch pad and colored pencils. Cynthia starts to draw the horse as Melanie feeds them. After she is finished. Cynthia walks over to Melanie. "I'm done with my picture of the horses. She shows Melanie the pictures of the horses. Cynthia puts her pad down and takes one of the apples. "Don't bite me. Your teeth looks like they could hurt of you bite me." She cautiously holds out the apple to the horse.

[robehouse]

"You have to wear shoes and socks because you never know what is in the grass. You could step on something like a nail and get it in your foot and then you would have to go to the emergency room. Neither of us want that."

Melanie feeds the horses the apples as Cynthia draws them. She looks at the picture when Cynthia shows it to her.

"Good job, Cynthia! I like that picture. Have you ever shown your teacher any of your drawings?"

Melanie keeps an eye on the horse as Cynthia starts to feed it. The hose gently nuzzles Cynthia's hand, taking the apple from her. Melanie looks up and sees Mary Benton, the teenaged daughter of the people that own the horses, come over to the fence.

"Hello, Melanie." Mary says.

"Who is this little girl that you have with you? Is that the girl you adopted? I thought you told mom and dad that she was fourteen. She don't look no older than five or six."

"Mary, This is my daughter Cynthia. Yes, she is fourteen. Cynthia, say hi to Mary. Her parents own the horses."

[baby_snow_white]

Cynthia nods. "Ok mommy. That makes sense. I wouldn't want to go to the hospital. They stick needles in you and they hurt alot." She shakes her head. "No I haven't. You and Daddy are the only two who has seen my drawings. None of my other parents seem to take an interest in them." Cynthia hears Melanie talking to someone. She looks up and sees her talking to a teenage girl. Cynthia suddenly started feeling really shy and hides behind Melanie. One she didn't know Mary and two she saw her in her training pants. She peers out from behind Melanie. "Hello Mary. You have some nice horses. They are beautiful to draw."

[robehouse]

"I think you should show your teacher some of your pictures. I think she will like them."

Mary smiles at Cynthia."Thank you sweetie. They are actually my parents horses though. It is my job to make sure they are fed and to muck out their stalls and stuff like that. The palamino over there is the one I am allowed ride." Mary pointed out the horse nearby.

"Cynthia, maybe you would like to come over and see my doll collection sometime. I have lots of baby dolls and Barbies as well. Is that your sketchbook? Were you drawing a picture of the horses? May I see it?"