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"Morning, beautiful" was the first thing she heard that morning; the sound of her wife's voice in the early morning was the best way to wake up, she thought.
"Morning," she mumbled back to her and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.
She looked up at her, her head still on her chest, the way she fell asleep that night, and she could see the smile on her face even without her much needed contacts.
She reached her hand towards the night stand and grabbed her glasses, sliding them up her nose. Just then, they heard the sound of two little pairs of feet, their kids, Mason and Ava, and they soon tried to climb their mothers' bed, the little four year old child getting help from her six year old brother, and started jumping up and down.
"It Christmas! It Christmas! Wake up!" Mason yelled while Ava giggled uncontrollably
"Okay, okay, we're up!" their mothers groaned and got out of bed
"Merry Christmas, Tay" her wife said and kissed her quickly which earned them gagging sounds from Mason and an "Eww!" from Ava "Merry Christmas, Karls" Taylor said and walked down the stairs after their kids.
They walked downstairs after their kids and found them sitting in front of the decorated tree that had presents beneath it and a coffee table with an empty glass of milk and half-eaten plate of gingerbread cookies.
"Mommy, we open them now?" Ava's big green eyes looked into Taylor's blue ones, she nodded her head and her daughter quickly grabbed a wrapped present.
"Mama, wead" the red headed girl handed the present to Karlie while Mason handed one to Taylor
"Mas, can you tell me what it says?" Taylor asked her brown eyed brown haired son
"It say A... Av-- Ava!" the boy shouted in excitement
"Good job, buddy" Taylor handed the present to the girl and Karlie to Mason.
They traded presents, the kids excited about the toys and clothing they got, where their mothers shared an 'I love you' and a kiss when they opened theirs.
"I have one more thing for all of you guys but it'll be here in about half an hour" Karlie smiled at them.
"Mama what it is?" Mason asked
"Mas, you say is it not it is" Taylor always made sure to correct his grammar, and she started doing that with Ava as well, but not as frequently as she did Mason, only when it was big mistakes.
"Tay, cut the boy some slack" Karlie rolled her eyes at her wife but she just shrugged it off
"Mas, you'll have to wait and see" Karlie answered Mason and he turned to his other mother
"Mommy, do you know?" he looked hopefully at his mother
"Sorry buddy, I have no idea what your mother is talking about and I'm kinda scared to find out"
While they dated, every time Karlie told Taylor she has a surprise for her it always wasn't the good type of surprises, often it was her having to leave for a photoshoot or pranking her.
"Calm down, babe. I promise this time it's a good surprise and no one will get hurt"
The small family sat on the couch and watched a random Christmas cartoon playing on the T.V. before the supposedly good surprise Karlie had for her family arrived.
A knock on the door was heard and Ava ran to open it
"Hello. Are your mothers home?" a woman’s voice was heard and Taylor got up to see who it is with Karlie and Mason following behind.
The moment Taylor saw the woman she stopped in her track and her hands flew to cove her mouth. There, in the woman’s arms, was a small baby smiling brightly.
Taylor immediately recognized her as the little baby they met almost a month ago at the adoption center, the same place they adopted Mason and Ava.
"Mommy, you okay?" Ava looked at her, not understanding why she was shocked.
Ava's voice quickly snapped her back to reality and she took the baby from the lady's arms
"Oh my God... Hey baby" she said in a cute baby voice and the small child made cute noises and clapped her hands.
They let the woman, whose name they learned was Linda, inside the house and went to the living room.
"Surprise!" Karlie smiled at her family
"Who this?" Ava asked no one in particular
"This is Elined, do you remember that a few weeks ago we went to a house with a lot of kids and played with a little baby?" Taylor asked Ava and Mason and they both nod their heads
"And do you guys remember what we told you about seeing her?" Karlie continued her
"That she might be our little sister" Mason said
"Exactly. And now she is" Taylor looked at Karlie with wide eyes and a huge smile
"When did it happen?" she asked her
"You didn't tell her? I called about a week ago and talked to your wife. I told her that your adoption was finalized and that the judge signed the papers. I have to go, so I just have to tell you guys that someone from the child care service will have a visit to make sure everything is okay and that you're taking good care of her and I just need to see her room one last time to make sure everything's okay and I'll be on my way" Linda said and all three women got up and walked up the stairs.
They showed her the room they prepared when they got the call that they almost got all of the okays that they need to adopt Elined. On the way out, she took a look at the two children’s messy room, and smiled when she saw how much they cared for their two- now three- children.
"Merry Christmas guys, and congratulations" Linda said when they showed her to the door and Taylor thanked her after apologizing for having to come on Christmas morning instead of being with her family but she just shrugged it off saying it was okay and left.
"Okay, somebody have a lot of explaining to do. When did this happen?! Oh my God, Karlie, why didn't you tell me?!" Taylor asked her as soon as the door closed
"Do you remember a few weeks ago when the kids were at school I answered the phone and was so happy afterwards? And I told you that you'll find out soon?" Taylor nodded "So that was when we got the phone call and I thought it would be a nice Christmas surprise so I asked them if they could bring her on Christmas Eve or today and they said they'll drop her off today. So, surprise!" Taylor beamed at her and kissed her, careful not to hurt the small child in her arms.
"Guys, come here, she won't hurt you. Come on" Mason and Ava approached them carefully and examined Elined.
Her blue eyes had a sparkle in them and Ava yelled "Mommy, she have the same eyes you have!" when she realized it
"Yes, she does" Taylor smiled and patted the spot next to her "Come sit down so you can hold her" Mason sat next to Taylor while Ava sat between Taylor and Karlie.
She handed Elined to Mason and put her arms around his to make sure he's holding her right.
"Mommy she’s so cute. I love her"
After a few minute of holding her, he handed her off to Ava and this time Karlie helped her hold her sister
"Can we call her Eli, Elined is too long" Mason suggested
"Yes, of course" Karlie answered "I like it. Eli. It's short and cute, fits her"
They played with the two months old child for a while and then got dressed to go to Taylor's parents to have a Christmas meal with her parents, brother and his wife and kids.
They helped Ava and Mason out of the car and they quickly ran to the door while Taylor took Elined out of the car seat that they struggled to place earlier in the car.
"Let’s go meet Nana and Papa" Taylor cooed at the baby and she put her head on her shoulder.
"Hi guys" Taylor called as they walked in
"Hey, Tay. What took you--" Taylor's mother stopped in her track the moment she saw the little baby "Why haven't you told me you finally got her?!"
Her parents knew everything about wanting to adopt a third child, Taylor kept them updated and made sure to tell them every time something happened.
"I only found out this morning when the social services dropped her off. Karlie kept it away from all of us"
Just then her dad came down the stairs to greet his daughter and grandkids.
"When did you guys get her? Why haven't you told us?" Scott asked when he saw Elined sleeping in Taylor's arms.
"The kids and I found put this morning when they dropped her off"
They walked to the living room and sat down.
"So what's her name?" Andrea asked excitedly
"Elined, and she's two months old" Karlie answered
"Nana, where Uncle Austin?" Ava asked
"Boo!" Austin yelled from behind Ava, making her scream and run to her brother while Elined woke up crying
"Austin!" Taylor scolded her younger brother
"Whose baby is this?" he asked her
"Ours" Karlie say "Her name's Elined"
The sound of laughing kids filled the house and Austin smiled as he saw his kids and wife coming to greet their grandparents along with Mason and Ava
"Hey guys" Austin said and hugged his niece and nephew.
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The family got home after a long dinner with all three kids sleeping. They put all three of them in their bedroom and change into their pj's before climbing in bed and cuddling beneath the thick comforter.
"We have a baby. We have three kids" Taylor broke the comfortable silence that settled between the two
"Yeah... Can you believe that? Until this morning we were a family of four, and now we're a family of five" Karlie smiled at her and softly kissed her lips.
Before they even knew it, the kiss deepened and Karlie's over-sized t-shirt meet the floor and not too long after so is Taylor's. A loud cry stopped them before anything could happen and they pull apart.
"I'll go get her" Taylor sighs and put her shirt back on
"I'll go with you" Karlie says and before Taylor can protest they're both in Elined's room and Karlie picked her up
"Mommy?" Ava's soft voice whispered
"Hey baby. Come on, let’s go back to bed" Taylor lifts her up and carry Ava back to bed and tuck her back in
"Go back to sleep, beautiful. I love you, goodnight" she kissed the top of her head and went back to Elined's room to see Karlie putting her in her crib and kissing the top of her head.
She stood in the doorway quietly listening to her wife talking to their new baby girl
"I'm so happy you're finally here. You are the luckiest girl I know, you have the most amazing mother and older siblings, you are so lucky to have them, and so am I. I'm so lucky to have your mommy with me; she's the most amazing person. She's kind and caring and nice and loving, she always see the good in people and she can always brighten your day with the smallest smile and her eyes are as blue as the ocean, just like yours, and when she's truly happy, they shine like nothing you've ever seen.
"And your siblings... Mason is just the nicest, most caring brother you'll ever have, he'll always make sure to keep the boys away from you, I'm sure of that. And I'm sure that whenever you'll need help you'll always turn to him instead of me or mommy. And Ava... my God, she's such an energetic kid, you'll never get bored with her, she's so sweet and loving and caring, you have no idea how lucky you are to have them, Eli. You are the luckiest, most beautiful girl in the world, besides your mommy and Ava."
"Hey..." Taylor whispered as she wrapped her arms around Karlie’s small waist and looked over at Elined "You know, she's also lucky to have you, don't forget that. You are the most caring and selfless person I know, there's never a dull moment, you're so fun and active, I miss so much when I blink. Just like that you turn from a five year old child to an 80 year old woman, and it's always unexpected and I love it. She's a lucky girl, all three of them"
"I love you, snowflake" she used the nickname she gave Taylor at the beginning of their relationship, it was a snowy winter and Taylor got so excited when they were outside and it started snowing while Karlie ran inside and made hot coco.
"I love you, coco"