Disclaimer: see my profile!
/\/\/\/\
'Uncle Spencer'
/\/\/\/\
"Okay, so you're sure you know where everything is?" JJ asked, for at least the third time.
"JJ, I've babysit for Henry before," Reid commented.
"I know, Spence! But, not for this long; and I just want to be sure!"
"She's just being a mother," Will laughed.
"I know, Will."
"Like you don't worry about Henry, Will!"
"I do worry, but not when he's with Spencer."
"He should be waking up soon. I hope he understands why we're not hereā¦"
"Honey, let's just go. We will see him tomorrow morning, and it will be fine. He'll wake up and see Spencer today and there won't be any problem."
"Okay, okay. I just have to give him one more kiss, though."
JJ left the two men in the living room and went into her son's bedroom. Will shook his head and Reid smiled. "It's only going to be about twenty-four hours," Will said. "You'd think it was going to be a year or something."
"Like you said, she's just being a mother."
JJ came out of Henry's bedroom after a few minutes and picked up her purse. "Okay, I'm ready to go now." She kissed Reid on the cheek. "Thank you for babysitting, Spence."
"See you tomorrow morning, Spencer," Will said, as he and JJ left the house.
After the couple left Reid went into Henry's bedroom to check on him. It was still early, barely seven am, and Henry hadn't woken up yet. His parents were going to Pennsylvania to attend a funeral for a relative of JJ's. JJ wasn't able to take much time off work; therefore she and Will had decided to drive the approximately 250 miles to their destination, change clothes and attend the funeral, and then drive home the same evening. They expected to arrive back home sometime in the early morning the next day. They had decided to ask Reid to babysit his godson rather than take the eighteen month old along with them. He could visit the relatives that would be gathering for the funeral another time. Reid quietly left the room and closed the door behind him partway.
Reid walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator to check on its contents. There were sippy cups of juice, water and milk lined up waiting for Henry to drink them. He closed the refrigerator door and peered into the pantry. Packages of instant oatmeal, Fruity Pebbles cereal, animal crackers and plastic cups of fruit and applesauce were among the items that lined the shelves. He smiled and shook his head. "Everything a little boy could want," he said aloud.
Just then he heard Henry calling his daddy from the bedroom. He walked into the little boy's room and saw Henry standing up in his crib. "Hi there, little guy!" Henry looked at him and then raised his arms to be picked up. Reid lifted him up out of the crib and said, "So, Henry, are you ready to have some fun with your Uncle Spencer today?" He reached for a clean diaper and some wipes. "The first thing we have to do is change your diaper, and then we'll go have some breakfast. How does that sound?" Henry responded by trying to grab Reid's nose, which caused Reid to laugh. As Reid laid Henry down on a towel to change him the boy insisted on continuously moving his legs, making it more difficult for him to pull his pajama bottoms off. Once he managed to get the pajamas off of one leg Henry kicked them off the other leg causing them to land a few feet away on the floor. "Okay now, Henry, let's not do that!" The little boy continued moving his legs as Reid tried to unfasten his wet diaper so he could put a dry one on him. "At least you're only wet," he commented as he finally got the other diaper off. After putting a dry diaper on him he set Henry down on the floor and the boy promptly ran from his room and into the living room.
After quickly washing his hands, Reid followed Henry into the living room, and the little boy grabbed his hand and lead him into the kitchen and over to the pantry. He pointed at the box of instant oatmeal and said "Eat?"
"You want oatmeal? Okay, we can do that!" Reid pulled the box off the shelf and showed it to Henry. "Pick one." Henry looked at him and then reached into the box and pulled an envelope out. Reid crouched down. "Okay, let's see what we have here. Strawberries and cream, good choice, Henry!"
A few minutes later Henry was sitting in his high chair with a bowl of oatmeal while Reid had a bowl of Fruity Pebbles in front of him. "You need some help there, little guy?" Reid asked, reaching for Henry's spoon. He spooned some oatmeal onto the spoon and handled it to Henry so he could eat himself. After eating a few spoonful of oatmeal Henry apparently decided he had had enough. He hit the end of the spoon which caused it to go flying and oatmeal to be flung everywhere including into Reid's hair and face. "Henry, was that really necessary?" Reid commented as he pulled oatmeal out of his hair. He stood up and rinsed out Henry's bowl before inserting it into the dishwasher. He put a sippy cup of juice in front of Henry, and poured a glass of juice for himself before sitting down to try and finish his own bowl of cereal. Once he had finished he rinsed out his own bowl and glass and cleaned up all the splattered oatmeal he could find. He set Henry down on the floor at which point he promptly ran off into his room.
Reid followed the little boy and saw that he was reaching into his toy box for toys. "Before you do that I think we should get you cleaned up and dressed," he said, picking up an outfit that JJ had laid out for him. Of course Henry did not really want to get dressed, therefore Reid had a hard time getting him to cooperate when he tried to clean him up and put his clothes on him. Every time Reid managed to get one of Henry's legs into his pants he would kick them off and they would have to start over. Finally, after several tries Henry was fully dressed with socks, pants and shirt all matching. He immediately ran to his toy box to pick out some toys to play with, while Reid placed his pajamas into the hamper. He shook his head and smiled before walking out of the room.
/\
"Henry, stop that!" Reid called, as Henry turned his sippy cup upside down and poured water out on to his parents' coffee table. He grabbed a kitchen towel and wiped up the puddle of water while grabbing the cup away from his godson.
"Drink," Henry said, looking at Reid.
"Okay, well, drink it then. Don't pour it out on mommy's table." He handed the cup back to Henry, who took a couple sips, looked at his godfather and then turned the cup upside down once more to pour it onto the table.
"Henry!" Reid took the cup away from him and set it down on the table while he once more wiped up the puddle of water. He sniffed and asked, "Henry, did you go poo-poo?" Henry looked at him and then went and hid behind a chair. "You don't have to hide, Henry. We'll just change that diaper right now." He grabbed a clean diaper, wipes, diaper ointment and a plastic bag to put the dirty diaper in, and then laid his godson down on a towel to change him.
"No, no!" Henry insisted as Reid tried to wipe him clean.
"Come on, Henry!" Reid said as the little boy insisted on kicking and twisting his body to the side. As soon as Reid had the dirty diaper off and his nephew clean he reached for the ointment. Henry chose that moment to get up and run down the hallway. "Henry!" Reid called, chasing his half-naked charge down the hallway and into his room. He grabbed the little boy around the waist and carried him back out into the living room. "Now, come on! We have to get you dressed again. Then we'll play a little more, and hopefully you'll take a nap after that."
"Night night?" Henry said, as Reid finally managed to get the clean diaper on him and his pants back on.
"Yes, night night. I think we both need the rest." Reid sighed and stood up. Walking over to the door he walked outside and tossed the plastic bag containing the dirty diaper into the trash can. Walking back into the house he knelt on the floor next to where Henry was pushing some cars around on the floor. "Can I play too, Henry?" Reid asked, picking up a car from the floor.
/\
About ninety minutes later Henry was in his crib taking a nap. Reid hadn't had an easy time getting him to lie down. He simply would not cooperate. Reid finally just laid him down in the crib and left him there. Henry cried for a few minutes, which made Reid feel incredibly guilty. However, he left Henry there knowing he needed to take a nap, and went about straightening up the house from Henry's lunch of Spaghetti O's and his morning's play. "I don't know why I'm bothering," Reid said aloud. "He'll just wake up and get all this stuff out again." A few minutes later he sat down on the couch and sighed. "Henry isn't even two years old, the day is only half over and I'm pooped." He leaned his head back against the couch and found himself dozing off.
/\
"Henry, I already had oatmeal in my hair today. Must you fling your macaroni and cheese around as well?" Henry laughed and banged his spoon on his high chair. "Does this mean you're finished eating, little man?" When Henry started banging his spoon again, Reid took it away from him and picked up what was left of his dinner. He pulled his godson out of the high chair and set him down on the floor and then turned to rinse out his bowl and spoon. "Okay, do you think it would be okay if I finish my dinner now while you play?"
"Play?" Henry asked.
"Yes, you play and I'll finish my dinner. Then a little later we'll have a bath and you'll be all nice and clean. We'll watch some cartoons or maybe I'll read you a story. After that we'll go night night. How does that sound?"
"Night night?"
"Yes, in a couple of hours." Reid sat back down at the table to finish a couple of pieces of the pizza he had ordered, while carefully watching Henry in the living room playing. After rinsing out his own dishes Reid walked into the living room and said, "Okay, Henry! Are we ready to take a bath now?"
Henry put his toys down and ran eagerly into the bathroom and pointed at the tub. Reid followed him and smiled. The tub had several bath toys in it and a bottle of baby shampoo and a bottle of Mr. Bubble bubble bath were sitting on the counter. "Oh, look, Henry! Bubble bath!" Reid rinsed out the tub and placed the stopper in the tub before turning on the water and pouring some bubble bath into the tub directly below the faucet. "Look at those bubbles, Henry!" Reid exclaimed as he turned to get his godson undressed.
"Bubbles!" Henry said, excited. Reid lifted Henry into the tub and sat him down, and the little boy immediately began splashing and playing with the bubbles. Reid poured a cup over Henry's head to get his hair wet and then used the baby shampoo to wash his hair. After allowing his godson to play with the bubbles and a few bath toys for a while, Reid decided it was time to take him out of the tub. Henry, however, disagreed. When Reid tried to lift him out of the tub he started crying and kicking, determined to not come out of the tub. "No, no!"
"Okay, Henry," Reid said, putting him back into the tub. He pulled the stopper out of the tub and waited for the water to drain out. Soon all that was left was a few bubbles. "Now are you ready to come out of the tub?" he asked. Henry looked at him with a sad face, which of course made Reid feel guilty again. He lifted the boy out of the tub and wrapped him in a towel. "There we go. All nice and clean and dry. Now we'll go get you dressed in a clean diaper and some pajamas. What do you think of that idea, Henry?" Henry looked at Reid and laughed. Then, as Reid started to towel dry his hair he took off running again. Reid sighed once more before getting to his feet to chase his naked godson down the hallway and into the living room. He grabbed the little boy around the waist and scooped him up. "Do you do this to your daddy?" Reid asked him. He carried Henry into his bedroom and quickly got a clean diaper on him. Miraculously the little boy cooperated and Reid had little trouble getting a pair of pajamas on him. Henry then promptly ran out of his bedroom and into the living room.
After putting his clothes in the hamper and disposing of his diaper, Reid grabbed a couple of storybooks from a shelf in Henry's bedroom and went out into the living room. "Henry, shall we read a book?"
Henry, who had already started playing with his toys again looked over at him and shook his head. "No night night," he said.
"No, not yet. We're just going to read a story, Henry." The little boy shook his head once more and Reid continued, "Okay. How about we see what's on television?" He picked up the remote control and switched the television on."
"Sponge Bob!" Henry exclaimed, as the yellow resident of Bikini Bottom appeared on the screen.
"Why do I like this show?" Reid said to Henry, as he watched SpongeBob and his best friend Patrick the Starfish sing The Goofy Goober Song.** An hour later a tired Henry was sitting on the couch in Reid's lap as he read a story to him. As Reid came to the last couple of pages of the Little Golden Books version of 'Toy Story', Henry's eyes started to close. Reid finished the story and put the book down. He waited a few minutes to see if his godson was actually asleep, and then he stood up and carried him into his bedroom. He laid him carefully down in his crib, and pulled a light blanket up over him. Reid switched on his night light and quietly walked out of the room, closing the door softly behind him.
Walking back into the living room Reid surveyed the miniature disaster area his godson had created. He picked up all the toys and placed them in a corner to be put away later. He didn't want to go into the bedroom and risk waking Henry up to put them away at this point. Reid picked up his discarded sippy cup and the plate Henry's snack had been on and placed them in the dishwasher. Deciding it was full enough to run he put some dish soap in the dispenser and turned the dishwasher on. He wiped down the coffee table and put the story books in the corner with the toys. He then sat down on the couch and switched the television to the Discovery network to watch 'Dirty Jobs', one of his favorite shows.
/\
"Come on, Henry!" Reid said. "Please cooperate!" It was almost two am, and Henry had woken up crying. While the little boy had been sleeping Reid had watched television, then taken a shower and changed into a tee shirt and a pair of flannel pajama bottoms; and then put a DVD into JJ and Will's DVD player. He had fallen asleep before the DVD finished playing and had been woken up by Henry's crying. He went into his room to check on him and found him standing up in his crib. He picked the little boy up, and, knowing he was probably wet, he grabbed a clean diaper. Carrying him into the living room he changed his diaper and then got him something to drink. While Henry lay on the couch drinking a sippy cup of milk he put all of the toys back in his toy box and the books back on the shelf. He then attempted to put Henry back in his crib, but his godson would not cooperate. He cried every time he tried to lay him down. "Look Henry, I can just lay you down and leave you in here," Reid insisted. Henry, holding on to his cup of milk, looked at him as if he didn't quite believe him. "Oh, all right! We'll go into daddy and mommy's bedroom and lay down there. Once you fall asleep though, I'm bringing you right back in here!"
Reid picked up a plush brown teddy bear, and carried Henry into JJ and Will's bedroom and laid him on the bed. He climbed onto the bed and laid down next to his godson. "Now, you go to sleep, little man!" Reid insisted, tickling him with the bear. Henry smiled at him, and Reid smiled back. "Can I have a good night kiss?" Henry looked at him then reached over and hugged Reid and kissed him.
/\
"I'm so glad we're finally home," JJ sighed as Will unlocked the door and the two walked into their home.
"Me too," Will commented, setting their two small bags down next to the couch. "It's quiet. Henry and Spencer must both be still asleep."
JJ headed for Henry's room and then quickly came back out. "He's not in there," she commented. "Where can he be?"
Will headed for the master bedroom where they had told Reid he was welcome to sleep while they were gone and peeked inside. He chuckled softly. "Come here and take a look," he called to JJ.
JJ rushed over to Will and looked inside their room. She couldn't help smiling at what she saw. Reid was sound asleep in the bed curled up on top of the covers, and Henry was sound asleep on his stomach with his head turned toward him. He had one arm up near his godfather's face and the other tucked under his own body. Between the two of them lay a plush teddy bear. It was such an adorable sight JJ could not resist grabbing her camera and taking several pictures. "Wait until Garcia sees these," she laughed softly. She and Will backed quietly out of the room and shut the door on the sleeping Reid and Henry.
/\/\/\/\
A/N: This story is supposed to be funny, and somehow it just didn't seem to come out as funny as I wanted it to. Oh, well! I guess it's okay the way it is.
A/N: My oldest nephew's baby is now a little over two. We used to put the instant oatmeal packages in a container and show it to him and he would pick out whichever one he wanted. He's a little older than Henry now, but when he wants to eat or drink he just says "Eat?" and pulls us into the kitchen and points at what he wants in either the cabinet or the refrigerator. He also likes to pour his drinks on top of his cars, the table and other places.
**I've heard Matthew make a reference to the Goofy Goober song from SpongeBob Squarepants while referring to the 'Goofy Gubler Song'. LOL.
3