“I promise Mama.” He tapped his foot as he waited for his mother to him bring one of them. As soon as he saw the tiny ball of white fur in his mother’s hands he stopped the tapping and his face went from excited to a gentle expression. Reaching out, he took it in his hands and gave it a small kiss on the head. “ Mama, it’s so small. Aren’t you going to hold one too? ” He giggled.

“No I am just going to watch you hold the kitty for a minute.” She wanted to savor his reaction with the kitten. This was a rare moment where it was just the two of them. The younger set of twins would be awake soon and the other children would come home soon after that. She wanted to take her time and make this into a memory. “Want to do something fun for the kitty.” She took a piece of twine out from her apron and began to dangle it in front of its eyes.

Helgi’s eyes widen. “ I can? This is going to be the best day of my life, we have to hurry!” He picked up his pace and tried to pull his mother along with him.  Once the barn was in sight he sped up even more. “ Mama, do you think the grey one will like me? What if none of them want to play with me?“ He slowed down, realizing he was practically dragging her. “ Sorry.” He smiled shyly.

Bleaja’s heart soared as she saw how happy he was. She loved seeing his happy gap-toothed grin. “Oh we don’t have to slow down. Let’s skip the rest of the way.” His sudden burst of giggles told her he liked the idea. Once they were in the barn Blaeja led him to the corner away from the kittens. “Wait right here Helgi and I will bring you a kitten to pet, but you must promise me to be gentle with it, alright?”

With each piece passed over to him he realized how silly this was and starting laughing. After the last bite he jumped off the chair, almost knocking it sideways, and stood at the door wiggling his legs. “ Okay I’m done. What surprise is it?” The mention of a surprise had given him a boost of energy that would not be there otherwise.

Blaeja laughed as she followed him to the door and took his hand in hers. “Do you remember when the cat had kittens a few days ago and I said you couldn’t touch them until they had a chance to grow stronger? Well their eyes are open now and they are walking around the barn. I thought you might like to play with them. What do you think of that idea?” She gently swung his hand back and forth as they walked.

Helgi sighed and slumped back down into the chair, failing to hide the smile her kiss had brought. There was no winning this battle but there was a way to get to the fun things sooner. He began shoving all the food he could fit into his mouth and chewed quickly. “ I’ll be don -chewing- soon!”

Bleaja couldn’t help but laugh at his antics. She’d never had a child like him before. “Slow down Helgi. You won’t have any fun today if you give yourself a stomach ache. Besides, I have an extra special surprise for you. One you’re really really going to like.” She took the tray from him and began to pass him one piece of food at a time to help pace his eating until it was all gone.