Gen 1 - Chapter Nine: Toddler Times, Birthday Times, and Wedding Bells

Potty-training Dee was amazingly easy. She was ready so early, I almost wasn't ready to teach her yet! "That's mama's big girl!"
"Ma!" It even seemed that she was beginning to talk. This little girl was well on her way to learning her necessary skills and she hadn't even been a toddler long.


One time while I was working with Dee on learning to use the potty, I got a phone call. Blink. I quickly grabbed my cell, a little irritated at being interrupted during Mommy-Daughter time, but I didn't let it sound through my voice as I answered. It was someone inviting me to Moxie Logan's party. I accepted, though reluctantly, since I knew I had to get out of the house and away from my angels sometimes. Or I'd go stir crazy. I was pretty close as it was, how long had I been cooped up in the house just taking care of them? A very long time, since every time I wanted anything, I would call Buster up and ask him to get it for me, since he didn't seem to be interested in anything else recently.


Later that night, I went to the party, reluctantly calling the babysitter - I haven't had good luck with babysitters.. - before I went. When I got there, there was no one in the yard waiting for guests. In fact, it didn't even look like it was a party at all. I waited outside for way too long, before finally spotting some people in the upstairs window. It looked like they were way too distracted to notice lil' ol' me, so I decided to just go home to my girls. They were better company anyway, even if they didn't let me get much sleep.


This babysitter never went upstairs, either! I don't usually lose my temper at people, but I snapped at her that she was fired, before going upstairs to take care of my poor starving Naomi. I'd fed Deirdre before I left, but I hadn't even taken Naomi out of her crib, thinking for some strange misled reason that the babysitter would, you know.. take care of my babies.
"C'mere, Naonao, Mommy's sorry for leaving. My poor baby girl.." I cooed to her, before setting her on the floor and giving her her bottle. She was so hungry!





My days went on about the same. Work on my little girls' skills, attempt to make myself food before one of the girls would cry (never worked), wish I could go get a message at the spa (stupid babysitters, and Buster wasn't much help either - I feel like I'm becoming an irritable person..), take a nap whenever I could get one.. I've never, ever been one for naps, but I decided while I was raising twins by myself that they were my best friend!


It was getting close to time for me to go back to work, and even though we had the same work schedule, I wanted to have Buster around to help me out. I loved him so much, and he loved me, but ever since the girls were born he'd been mostly avoiding me. Every time I try to propose, or even just ask him if he wants to get married, he would 'have to leave'. Or would not be 'in the mood'. I decided to try again, and called him up, inviting him over. "Hey, Buster, it's me, Sean."
"Oh, hi Sean! Do you need some groceries?"
Groceries? Was that all he was to me anymore?! I almost giggled at that thought, but held back. "No, no. I want you to come visit. Please. I love you and we never get any time, because you're always busy. I know you aren't right now, Buster. You have no excuse."
"I haven't been making excuses!" Yeah right. "I really have been busy, having to babysit for my roommates."
"And making me raise our TWO children all by myself, no help from anyone. The babysitters never go to my apartment, so even when I do want help, I can't get it. I'm stressed out all the time, and you're never in the mood to talk."
".. I am so sorry, Sean. I'll be right over."
"Thank you. I love you."
"I love you, too."
Click. I was glad I'd confronted him. Maybe he wouldn't pull a 'I have to leave' or a 'I'm not in the mood' this time..




After I buzzed him up, and he came in, he came straight over to me and started to flirt, and just plain.. apologize in a very nice, but innocent, way. It was really nice to actually spend time with him again. I think I was beginning to know what he was trying to do, spending all this time away from us.. and I wasn't going to let him do it. He was thinking about how he would die long before I did, or even before our girls were adults. Did that matter? No. In fact, it was all the more reason for him to spend as much time with us as possible. I would try to convince him of that, but later.


This is an intermission of absolutely precious cuteness. Naomi sure loved to chew on her dolls' heads for some reason.. and Dee liked picking her nose. I would have to break them both of those habits, but it sure made for an adorable picture.


I asked him to stay the night, and he accepted. Maybe he would help me out with the girls?
No, no he didn't. Whenever they'd wake us up crying, it was me that had to get out of bed and take care of them. I feel bad about it, but I felt a little bit like pummeling him.. he just was no help! I loved him, but seriously?


In the morning, he was even less in the mood for anything than he was the night before. As I went to take care of Dee, he ate breakfast, then stood. "I have to go. Have to get ready for work, you know. We'll talk later, okay?" he said, and I doubted it, but looked over at him and nodded anyway. I said nothing. I wanted him to get the picture that I wasn't pleased with him - babies need two parents, and I wished he would realize that and just get married to me! Even if it was a real quick, short ceremony before he went to work! We still weren't even boyfriend/girlfriend, for crying out loud!




Buster didn't visit for a while again, so I went back to spending every waking moment (which was becoming shorter every day, thank goodness! Sleep!) with my sweethearts. I was beginning to forget all about my wish granting ability - I wished I could get married, and it hadn't happened yet, so maybe the power died when the girls were born and went to them. When I was spending my time with them, though, I didn't care about anything but them. Watching them play together at the dollhouse, playing with them myself, teaching them their life skills.. Naomi didn't take to those as well as Dee, did. Dee, my little angel in orange, was eager to learn.


"Dee, can you say marr-iage?"
"Mawadge!"
"See, honey, even you can say it. Maybe you can help me convince Daddy to say it too?"


I just loved watching the twins play. I could do it for hours on end, and sometimes I did. Naomi liked climbing into their toy box more than playing with the toys she got from it. And it seemed she'd taught her sister to put the dolls' heads in her mouth..


A day I had been dreading came all too soon, and I had to go back to work, because the girls were almost children. I told them goodbye in the morning, and then went to work. I never saw Buster, since I had been promoted to a talent scout, so I was in a completely different area than he was. When I got home, naturally, the babysitter - another one yet! - had never gone upstairs. I didn't fire that one, per se, but I did tell him to not bother waiting for me to call him tomorrow. When I got upstairs, the girls were crying their eyes out, and I immediately scooped up Naomi. "Nao, Mama's so sorry she had to leave you today to that awful babysitter. It won't happen again, okay?" I shouldn't make that sort of promise, since I would have to go to work again, but they were going to be growing up very soon, and wouldn't need a babysitter anymore. I took care of their needs, then put them to bed. As well as myself.


Their birthday was approaching so fast, I didn't know what to do. I didn't know how to deal with it - how does any parent deal with it? I had no idea how I would deal with it when they grew into young adults, if I was even still alive at that point (I was getting closer and closer to becoming old myself..). The day before their birthday, when I picked Dee up out of her crib, I, admittedly, just stared at her as she cried for a little bit. Strangely.. I would miss the cries from her little toddler vocal cords. "MAMA!"
"Sorry, sorry honey, Mama's a little distracted today.."


I needed to finish up teaching my babies their skills, and since I'd been wanting to teach her to walk for quite a while, I worked on Naomi's walking. "You can do it, sweetheart! Just a few steps forward.." I had to take a lunch break in the middle of the teaching, but then got right back to it.



The next day was the girls' birthday, and I was going to have a party for them, but Buster called and invited me to a party he was throwing. I really hate to seem like a bad parent, but that was more important - if it got me one step closer to marrying their father, I'm sure they would understand.



Since I took Dee with me, Naomi didn't want to wait for her older twin sister to get home and age up first, so aged up almost as soon as Dee and I left. Into a beautiful young lady with my naturally curly hair, and my eyes, but everything else about her appearance was purely her Daddy.



And Dee, almost as soon as I set her on the floor of the room that the boy that Buster babysat (who was a teenager.. I hope for Buster's sake he just recently aged up) stayed in, she practically leaped into childhood. When I took a picture of her in her, she blinked. "Here, let's take another one.."
"I don't wanna, I wanna play!" she huffed, before hurrying off to go play with some of the teenage boy's old toys. Hm, seems she was a little hot-headed.. I hoped she'd get over that.






Buster was finally, finally accepting my advances again! In fact, he pulled me into the bathroom and held my hands. We flirted, made out, and he apologized.
"I'm sorry I've been so absent since the girls were born. I was.. scared, to be honest. Scared that they'd think I was their grandpa, scared I wouldn't be a good enough father, scared that I would die before I got to be a good father.. but that's enough of that. I won't leave you alone again. Will you be my girlfriend?"
"Yes! Yes, definitely!" And we made out some more.
Then I remembered something I had in my back pocket, and pulled away from him. "Now, I have a question for you.." I got down on one knee, and his eyes bugged out. No one expects the Spanish Inquisition! .. or to be proposed to by their girlfriend of five seconds. I pulled out the box, and nearly dropped it, meeping as I did so, but then quickly lifted it and opened it. "Buster Round, will you marry me?"
"YES!" That wasn't exactly what I was expecting, him hopping up and down like a little girl, but I sure liked that reaction. I grinned, and slid the ring onto his finger, then I stood and we hugged tightly. At that moment, Dee came in, and then stopped in the doorway, staring up at us.
"I'll go use the other bathroom.." she said, then turned and left.




We decided that before either of us chickened out, we better get married. Has anyone you've ever met gotten married in a bathroom before? It certainly wasn't what I'd been expecting for my wedding, but I'd always held to the opinion that the marriage was much more important than the wedding. Weird, I know.
After we were finally, finally married.. the first thing I wanted was another baby. I'd have to run it past Buster, but it would be a good wedding present, right?

(A/N: To say Buster was annoying during this time would be an understatement. I very nearly tried to find her someone else to get married to that wasn't always too tired or anything to even accept a compliment. Oh, and it was really weird about Naomi, she was going to age up about three days before Dee so I had to trigger Dee's age transition so they'd stay twins. D: Naomi grew up with the trait 'can't stand art', and Dee grew up with 'hot-headed'. 'Cause Sean only wanted to teach Naomi one thing, and didn't get enough time to teach Deirdre to walk before Naomi suddenly grew up. I'm hoping to get another chapter up today, 'cause I probably won't be able tomorrow!)