Day 8 – Happy Birthday!

At 7:15 on Sunday morning, Sonya woke to the sun shining through her bedroom windows. It was the first day of summer and, more importantly, it was the toddlers’ birthday. Knowing it would be a busy day, Sonya got up and made pancakes for the family. When she was done cooking, she fixed herself a plate.

Annie was the first of the toddlers to wake up. She was in her usual happy mood and still got excited about going to the potty on her own. This little angel was pretty easy to please.

Jesse got up a few minutes later, got dressed and checked on the kids. He saw that Annie was the only one up and changed her into her summer play clothes. Then he helped her learn her shapes with the blocks for a bit. Annie was getting hungry, so she ran into the kitchen and ate breakfast while Jesse cleaned the dirty potty and then took a shower.

Sonya was washing her plate from breakfast when the sink sprang a leak. She muttered to herself, “Shoot. I wish Jesse wasn’t in the shower. He’d be able to fix this faster than me.” Sighing, Sonya grabbed a wrench and got to work tightening the loose faucet.

At 9:15, Isaac woke up famished and gave Annie the stink-eye as he ran past her into the kitchen to get some food. Seeing that Annie was already dressed, Isaac figured she’d already eaten. Why hadn’t anyone woken him up? Didn’t they know he was hungry?

When Jesse got out of the shower, he helped himself to some pancakes seeing that Sonya was nearly done repairing the sink.

Isaac angrily grabbed a plate of pancakes with Isabel right behind him. She had woken up very hungry as well but was in a better mood.

Once Isaac started eating, his mood rapidly improved. By then, Fiona was up and ate breakfast with him in the living room. Dirty plates were piling up since the sink hadn’t been usable. Once Sonya finished the repair, she still had to take out the trash, mop the floor and do the dishes.

By now, all the kids were awake, and everyone had eaten except for Samuel and Wyatt but they weren’t hungry yet. Annie, Wyatt and Isabel started dancing to the tunes playing on the stereo. After the fun morning she’d had, Sonya decided to join them for a bit. She enjoyed watching them shake their little booties.

Samuel got hungry and was eating breakfast when his Daddy came over to chat with him. “Samuel, when you finish your pancakes, Daddy wants to show you some flashcards. OK, buddy?” Samuel nodded his head as he stuffed another bite of pancakes into his tiny mouth.

Sonya knew it would be hard for Samuel to concentrate with his brother and sisters dancing around, so she rounded them up and brought them into their room to change their clothes and have them play with the Buildems Blocks play table. Fiona, Wyatt, Isaac and Annie played with their action figures while Sonya cleaned yet another dirty potty.

Wyatt didn’t play long as his hunger finally caught up to him. So, while Jesse showed Samuel flashcards, Wyatt ate breakfast. Isabel popped in to see what was happening.

Isabel was energized and just wanted to run, so she ran around the house. Sonya followed Jesse’s lead and showed Annie some flashcards.

Jesse needed a bathroom break, so Samuel climbed up on the couch that Wyatt had vacated after finishing breakfast. Wyatt sat across from him and they kept each other entertained with talk about their favorite toys.

Annie was tired and held out as long as she could, but she was desperate for a nap. By 2:50, she was off to bed.

While Annie took a nap, Jesse helped Isaac learn his shapes and Fiona played with the SimShape app.

Sonya got busy baking a chocolate birthday cake, and Samuel joined Isabel in running around the house.

Once the cake was finished, Jesse cleaned up the kitchen while Sonya put the cake in the fridge to chill. After putting away the clean dishes, Jesse kissed Sonya.

“You’re in a good mood,” said Sonya.

“Why wouldn’t I be? I have a gorgeous wife who’s a terrific mother to our kids. And it’s their birthday today. Soon, there’ll be no more potties to clean.”

“I’m proud of you, Jesse. I know how much you like things to be neat and orderly. You’ve taken it all in stride, and our kids are really lucky to have you as their father.”

“Speaking of the kids, I’m going to see what they’re up to. You coming?”

“Not yet. I’m exhausted. Maybe coffee will help. I’ll brew a pot.”

“Babe, if you’re that tired, just go take a nap. I’ve got this.”

Jesse entered the kids’ room and started teaching Samuel to spell using the letters on his blocks. Wyatt and Samuel were still chatting like they were earlier, which slowed Samuel’s progress. Annie had woken up from her nap and was on the potty.

Sonya got a pot of coffee brewing and decided Jesse was right. She could really use a nap, so she laid down and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Back in the kids’ room, Annie sat on her bed and chatted with Fiona who had also just woken up from a nap. Annie was still tired and, after a little while, she curled up on her bed to get a bit more rest.

Isabel had gotten tired of running around and came into the bedroom, joining Fiona in playing with their new house and action figures at the play table.

Wyatt and Samuel didn’t want to play with their blocks anymore. So, while Wyatt danced, Samuel told his Daddy some jokes and giggled hysterically.

Sonya woke up hungry and made a batch of grilled cheese sandwiches. While she was eating dinner, Jesse was working with Wyatt. He could tell Wyatt was getting tired, but he had almost finished learning his letters. It was now late evening, so Jesse encouraged him. “Almost done, Wyatt. You can do it, son. Make Daddy proud.” Wyatt did, indeed, finish but was hungry and very tired by then and laid down for a  nap.

When Fiona woke up from her nap, she ran to grab some dinner. Isabel joined her when she finished playing.

Jesse was hungry, too, and grabbed a plate of melty goodness. Isaac had woken up from a nice, long nap, feeling refreshed but hungry. He ran into the kitchen and grabbed a plate.

By this time, most of the kids had succumbed to exhaustion and were napping. Isaac ate his dinner while Jesse drank a cup of coffee. Sonya was heading into the kitchen to pour herself a cup as well. Both young parents were as tired as their toddlers. It had been a very long day. But it was the kids’ birthday, and they were intent on celebrating.

With Isaac being the only toddler awake, it was an easy decision as to who got to blow out their candles first. While Jesse was picking up Isaac, Annie and Wyatt woke up and wandered into the living room. Jesse helped Isaac blow out his candles and make a wish.

Sonya relit the candles and picked up Annie, bringing her to the kitchen table. As Annie blew out her candles, Jesse went into the living room to get Isabel for cake, round three.

Isabel blew out her candles with Jesse’s help while Annie tossed confetti in celebration.

While Jesse went into the bedroom to be sure the boys were up, Sonya helped Fiona leave her fussy toddler days behind and blow out the candles.

Jesse needed to have some caffeine before he passed out, so Sonya picked up Wyatt from the sofa. He had fallen back to sleep, poor little guy. She helped him blow out his candles while Annie and Isaac watched.

Finally, it was time for their last toddler to age up, and Jesse held Samuel over his cake so he could blow out the candles. By this point, Jesse was desperate for sleep. Annie and Wyatt helped cheer for Samuel.

Jesse and Sonya looked at each other across the room, with mixed emotions. They were excited to see their children grow but were sad that there would be no more sweet toddler cuddles. Then again, they weren’t going to miss the dreaded nightmares and finding their adorable toddlers playing in the toilet — yuck! Potty cleaning was now a thing of the past, too. Yeah, maybe they should just be thankful. Jesse put the cake away, and everyone went to bed for a good night’s sleep for a change.

---

Let’s see how the challenge ended. First, a quick overview of the toddlers’ skills right before they aged up.

As a reminder, the yellow-highlighted skills represent the ‘Happy Toddler’ reward trait levels, while the green-highlighted skills are at the ‘Top-Notch Toddler’ level.

Wyatt, our wild toddler, was the only one to max all of his skills, earning him the Top-Notch Toddler trait. All of his siblings earned the Happy Toddler trait.

That makes Sonya and Jesse (aka, me) Model Caregivers. Yay, team! If I were to do this again, I’d do some things differently, but that’s just the overachiever in me talking. We did OK. 😉

For those of you who like to see the details, here’s a look at how each of the toddlers ended up. I used a random trait generator to pick the traits for each child.

Isaac:

Inquisitive Isaac is now a Geek, with an aspiration to be a Whiz Kid. This actually suits him well. Isaac maxed all skills except movement, so he’s half a level behind in motor skill. The only thing I find disappointing is that there isn’t a children’s curly hair for Isaac, so he lost his beautiful curls. I even searched high and low for a cc version, but the only one I could find was on a site deemed risky by McAfee. 😦

Annie:

Angelic Annie is now an Art Lover who aspires to be a Social Butterfly. While her trait is a bit random, her aspiration certainly suits her to a tee. Annie spent too much time chatting to max any skill other than communication. So, she’s half a level behind in everything except social skill, naturally. If giving hugs was a skill, Annie would’ve aced it! 😉

Isabel:

Independent Isabel rolled the Good trait, and her aspiration is to be a Rambunctious Scamp. These suit her fairly well, although I think Whiz Kid might’ve been a better fit since she learns so easily on her own. She had maxed all but thinking skill, primarily because her parents spent time on the kids who needed more help. (Pretty typical, right?) With a little more attention, she would’ve easily been a Top-Notch Toddler.

Fiona:

Fussy Fiona rolled the Goofball trait and the Rambunctious Scamp aspiration. I’m sure her parents are quite happy trading in a Fussy toddler for a child who’s a bit of a Goofball. We’ll take comedy over drama any day. Like Annie, Fiona only maxed her communication skill and has some catching up to do in all other areas.

Wyatt:

Wild Wyatt was our overachiever, maxing all skills, although he nearly passed out from exhaustion at the end of it. He rolled the Kleptomaniac trait and Artistic Prodigy aspiration. Ah, the wonders of random trait generators! I would never think to choose Kleptomaniac for a child trait. I guess that would make things interesting, though. Of all the tots, Wyatt would’ve been voted most likely to be a Rambunctious Scamp, but that’s the way it goes.

Samuel:

Silly Samuel now Loves the Outdoors and aspires to be a Whiz Kid. I guess all that silliness was masking a brilliant mind. Samuel had maxed all but his movement and thinking skills, but for some reason, he was given credit for level 5 thinking skill. I’m not quite sure what happened there.

As for the parents, here’s how their skills looked at the end of the challenge:

Sonya was the only one to post skill gains on the final day, picking up a level each in cooking, dancing and handiness.

This was a really long update. So, if you’re still reading, thanks for joining me on this journey! A special thanks goes to @EuphorialQueen for creating the Toddler Mania Challenge! It’s a bit of a roller coaster, but if you love toddler sims, you’re sure to enjoy the ride!