Chapter Seventeen

The Kids are Growing up so Fast

The new baby arrived a few months later and they named him Gene. He was a grumpy, cranky baby most of the time and kept waking Casey up from his naps. Gene although an infant seemed to derive some sort of pleasure from upsetting Casey and getting him to fuss. William and Jessica kept having to get up multiple times each night to calm Casey and to get Gene to be quiet. With the lack of sleep, they decided that it'll be a while before they decide to have another baby. William was hoping that Gene will be the last, not that he didn't like all his babies. He wanted time to enjoy all of them and he was afraid with more than his time would be to split up and someone may suffer from lack of attention. 

 

 

 



Ever since meeting Jonas at the skating rink, Sydney has been calling him every chance she gets. She just wants to hear his voice and doesn't understand why he's begun to sound annoyed when she calls. He has a younger brother that's about Sydney's age, so she's been using him as an excuse to go over to the Ingberg house. But whenever she goes over, she winds up following Jonas throughout the house like a lost little puppy.

"Sydney, honey why don't you go outside and play?" Jessica suggested as she was busy feeding Casey.

"Do I have to?" Sydney asked hanging up the phone.

"Yes, it's a nice out and you need some fresh air."

"I hate being outside." Sydney grumbled to herself as she got dressed to go outside.

She thought for a while what she was going to do when she had the idea to build an igloo. That way she would be able to play inside but still be outside. It was a brilliant idea even if she had to say so herself.

 



It was soon Roberts birthday and since Evelyn's birthday was so close to his they decided to combine the two. It would make things easier when they went to school as Evelyn is starting a year early due to her exceptional scholastic scores. So they invited some friends over to help celebrate with them. Robert looks a lot like his dad, except he has his mothers eyes.

It was getting late and a little dark by the time they got everyone gathered together to watch Evelyn blow her candles out. She grew up into a very striking little girl, who had a very unique sense of style. As it was getting so late and the kids had to get up early to go to school the party soon ended.

The next day Sydney accompanied them to school. They stopped short of the door wondering what their first day was going to be like.

"Come on guys, there's nothing to be afraid of." Sydney told them as she walked past and on to her classroom.

"Well this is it, Robert. You ready?"

"Yeah, I guess. But I would rather be at home playing chess."

"So would I. But maybe we can play once we get home."

"If we don't have homework."

"Oh I forgot about homework."

A teacher walked out the school door towards them. "Hey kids school is about to start. Do you need help finding you rooms?"

"No, we just weren't ready to go in yet." Robert replied.

Sydney asked Jonas's little brother if she could come over to his house and do their homework together.

"No that's not a good idea."

"Um why?" Sydney asked.

"Because you creep Jonas out when you follow him around."

"What? I don't do that" Jessica objected.

"Well it sure looks like it to me. But for now, if you really want to do homework together it'll have to be at your house. Got to go before I miss my bus."

Sydney moped around the house after that. She couldn't believe Jonas could be so mean and worst yet he told his brother. How can I go to school and see him again. She had all these worrisome thoughts running through her head and hardly understood anything she was reading. She was afraid it was going to be a long school year. But one thing for sure she wasn't going over to the Ingberg house, stupid boys!

Towards the end of the school year they were busy planning a birthday party for Casey. They had a lot of people invited and everyone was excited. Robert was probably the least excited as it meant he was going to have to share a room with Casey. It wasn't that he didn't like Casey, he just enjoyed having his own space. However he thought it might be nice to have someone else in the room too. Casey was an ok kid and seemed to be content to go along with the crowd. Robert was hoping that Casey being younger, he finally had someone he could boss around.

Soon after Casey's party it was Gene's birthday. They had decided to have a quiet family gathering as it was so close to Casey's birthday party. Gene grew up into quite the little firecracker. He seemed to delight in causing other people discomfort. William has noticed this unsettling trend but is hoping that it's just a phase and he'll soon out grow it. Right now he looked to be an adorable, sweet little boy.