Lytle 1: Round 12

Last round the Lytle family expanded quite a bit. Charley and Nimbus's third son, Hunter, became a child. Meanwhile Charley found herself pregnant again and gave birth to a fourth son, Pine. By the end of the week, they had also welcomed a daughter, Emerald. Thankfully, their oldest son Moss also became a teenager. Somehow, both Charley and Nimbus managed to score a few promotions, which was helpful to keep up with their growing brood. 

Oh, my...

Charley: I know.

I think you guys need a bigger kitchen table.

Charley: You think? We need a bigger everything!

Charley: Please sleep through the night...please sleep through the night...

Interesting lullaby there.

Charley: At least the older ones aren't waking us up to tell us about monsters anymore. 

Yes! Please, let's go!

Forest: You know there's lots of kids at Leia's house too, right?

Not as many as here.

Leia: So how's your baby sister?

Forest: Loud. Just like Hunter and Pine were. Mom's getting pretty grouchy because she's not getting any sleep.

Leia: My mom's grouchy too...but I think it's cause my dad picked a bad job.

Forest: What job did he pick?

Leia: Um...I think he works in a factory? Mom's never really told us...

Wow, I'm impressed.

Charley: You and me both. I'm just glad I got all that practice time in before the kids were born.

Speaking of practice time...why is your piano in the yard?

Pine: There's no room for it in the house.

Yeah, I guess space is at a premium these days.

And it's about to get worse. Let's do Emerald first. Charley...I'm going to be honest, we may not get to you.

Charley: Oh, that's fine. Let's just get her out of that cradle...

You do know what's coming, right?

Charley: What?

Ugh, here we go again...

Happy birthday, dear Emerald...

Clingy...that should be interesting around here.

Moss: Mom? I think something's wrong.

Charley: What?

Moss: Remember how we saw on the news that some kids weren't growing up all the way?

Moss: Is something wrong with her?

Not at all.

Moss: So, what are we supposed to do?

(sigh) Let me get the shopping list to your mom. You guys have some stuff to buy.

Speaking of, where is your mom?

Moss: Asleep. I think the shock of Emerald becoming a...what did you call it?

A toddler.

Moss: Right. I think the shock was too much for her. I told her I'd handle it for now.

I see. Is that why you're on potty training duty?

Moss: Is that what I'm doing? She just pointed to this thing and made some noises.

She probably can't talk very well yet. You guys have to teach her that too.

Ah, there you are. Feeling better?

Charley: I think so...this is just a lot to take in, that's all.

I know. Trust me, you're handling it better than some other people.

Charley: So, how long until she actually starts eating her food instead of playing in it? We don't have an endless supply of cereal around here.

Charley: I'll admit, she's pretty cute like this, though.

She really is. Have the younger boys seen her yet?

Charley: Oh, yeah. They were all excited to tell their teachers about it.

Looks like she found a favorite toy.

Hunter: That's Tina. Do you know what animal she is?

Emerald: Dinosaur!

Hunter: That's right! You're pretty smart!

Oh, hey there Galaxy.

Galaxy: Hi.

Came over to hang out with Moss?

Galaxy: Yeah. The younger kids all came home excited today because Hunter and Pine told them about Emerald. I just had to see for myself.

Moss: It's actually not that bad, all things considered.

Well, yeah...in this house there's 6 people all trying to take care of her at once. 

Oops. At least I warned her this time.

Charley: It's really ok. I'm just annoyed I had to wake up for it.

Uh-oh...nobody's been watching the middle boys...

Hunter: So, who should we say broke the sink?

Pine: Can we blame it on Emerald?

Forest: Is she even big enough to blame stuff on?

Not when she can't reach the broken item, she's not.

Pine: Oh, yeah...

Oh, hi there Nimbus. Haven't seen you around. 

Charley: Ok, honey...Mommy's gotta go to work now...

Emerald: No! No leave!

Charley: She does this every time I leave the house. Is this normal?

Nimbus: How should I know? She's our first one of these.

That clingy trait sure is fun, huh?

Ok, I guess we have to do Forest...I feel bad skipping a birthday for a kid.

Nimbus: I'll get started on a cake.

Hey, at least the boys are doing something productive.

Hey Emerald...what do you have there?

Emerald: Bear!

You want to come to the kitchen for your brother's birthday party?

Emerald: Party!

She's learning a lot of words, at least.

Happy birthday, dear Forest...

Another friend of the world? (sigh) Ok, but you better do some socializing while I'm at other houses.

Aww, even Emerald gets a slice of cake! How is it, Emerald?

Emerald: Yummy!

And now you're on babysitting duty too, huh?

Forest: I guess so. Ok, Emerald. Time for bed...

Emerald: No! Want Mommy!

Forest: (sigh) Emerald, Mommy's at work...come on, let's get your pajamas on...

Emerald: NO!

Forest: Um, mysterious voice? A little help?

Don't worry, Forest. I think Hunter's got you covered. It seems Emerald's picked a favorite big brother. 

Well, at least two of them have gotten their aspiration finished. Two is better than none.

Nice going, Charley.

Charley: (yawn) Thanks. 

Maybe you should go get some sleep?

Charley: I would love that, but I know Emerald...

It's ok, I think Nimbus can take it from here. Now I unfortunately have to be on my way. Hang in there, guys! I'll see you next round.

A Message From the Mysterious Voice: Well that was...interesting. Interesting in a good way, to be sure. But man, this house...it seemed like Moss, Charley, and Nimbus were all having a contest to see who could get to Emerald first. The poor thing was constantly being taken out of and put in the high chair over and over again when she was hungry. At least in TS4, she was able to grab her bowl of cereal and eat it on the couch. And this was the first time I've been able to see TS4 toddlers interact with children-it's so cute. Emerald had an option to "Show toy" to her brothers, and even Hunter and Pine could comfort her after a nightmare. They could teach her shapes and to stack blocks, too, which I wasn't expecting.