Gen 2 Chapter 7: End of an era

After Lorali stopped being the invisible baby, life settled into a good routine. Kevin and I decided that three kids was enough (and we weren't sure we wanted to risk another "unusual" child, anyway) and we're focused on making them the best kids in town.

It was kind of nice to be able to teach Lorali her new skills without the imminent birth of a new baby driving the timeline.

Kevin is able to focus on his career more and I even get to watch him practice sometimes again!

Zeke really seems to love his baby sister, too. I caught them playing peek-a-boo the other day after he got home from school.

Shortly after Lorali's birthday, it was time for Bonni to have a birthday! We invited some close friends and family over for the celebration. We're not much of a party family, but Zeke talked me into it.

Unfortunately, Bonni's big moment was upstaged by a toddler temper tantrum.

And a death!

Kevin's good friend, Tosha, was taken just after Bonni blew out the candles. It also kept anyone from responding to Lorali, so she just kept screaming the whole time!

Kevin was distraught over the turn of events.

I hope it's not some bad omen or something. Death at her birthday party could have psychological effects on an impressionable child!

My maternity leave is finally over! Having kids back to back sure does lead to a lot of time away from the job. I hope I haven't forgotten anything about spying. My first day back coincided with Bonni's first day of school, it was a big day around our house.

Since Kevin works swing shift, he and Lorali had a lot of quality time together while the rest of us were out of the house. Kevin particularly enjoyed naptime when he could play fantasy football on the computer in peace and quiet for the first time in forever!

I'm pretty sure he actually enjoyed the time with Lorali more, though.

Starting back to work might have distracted me from making sure the kids were getting their needs met, though. Zeke has obviously been staying up to late!

Almost too late, I realized that it was Zeke's birthday! I ran over to the school to spend some time with him before his childhood was over and I had a moody, unpredictable teen on my hands. We haven't had much time, just the two of us, since his sisters were born.

I'm so glad that I made it in time to help him celebrate his birthday! After what happened at Bonni's birthday, he really didn't want to risk having a party (I think he feels a little guilty that it was his idea!) but I couldn't stand the idea of him being all alone!

And then it happened.

My little boy is a teenager.

My elder daughter is more and more independent every day.

My baby won't need me much, either, pretty soon.

So it's time to hand over the legacy to my son. I worry about him not having a clear goal in life yet. I worry about him being too smart for his own good. But, mostly, I worry that he's spending too much time with my shiftless brother... (they look a lot alike, don't they?)

But I have to let my kids make their own way, just like Mom and Dad let me find my own path. The hugs make it all worth it, though. Life is good.

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A/N: So that's it for Neli, though I'm sure that Zeke will keep us updated on her. Between Trixi taking forever to reach her LTW and Neli reaching hers before she even had kids, it was a pretty short run. Zeke hasn't come up with a LTW yet, though, so we'll probably have more than 7 chapters with him.

And now some outtakes:

Zeke is offended by the trash on the table while he's trying to eat.

And he neither gets over it nor actually cleans anything up.

Bonni thinks her portrait session is taking too long.

It's always nice to see Trixi! Come to think of it, I haven't seen VJ lately...