Got Mail?: Chapter 5
Dear readers, I know I've been out of touch for awhile, and as this short letter illustrates, I've been ridiculously busy. With a large family to take care of, including my husband and four kids... wait, I didn't tell you any of this yet? Oh dear. Well, we should probably start from where I left off in my last letter. Now where were we?
Right. The twins had just become toddlers, I had proposed to Regan, and Sheldon had split for Strangetown.
As far as I knew, the girls were as happy as could be. Here I am holding little Alessandria, or Ali for short.
And as much as I loved my girls, Regan absolutely adored them. He and Verona became fast friends, which surprised me since she's more shy than Ali.
The girls loved spending time with eachother the most. They were very close and crawled around the house together often. I liked to think they were having great adventures.
Verona definitely valued her alone time though. With so many people in the house, these moments were few and far between.
Before long, the girls were learning to walk (with help from Nana Gotta of course)
And soon, they were running around on their own. Good thing too, because their birthday was coming up.
Here's Ali on her birthday. I can't seem to find a photo of Verona, and I know this sounds bad, but as children they practically looked the same! Of course I could tell them apart because they were my girls, but others knew that Ali had my eye color and eye shape, and Vee had Sheldon's.
Regan and I had been waiting for the girls to grow up so that they could be a part of our wedding, and now that they were children there was nothing stopping us.
We had an intimate wedding in the backyard with only our family in attendance. It was wonderful.
The party afterwards was a lot of fun too. I regret not having taken a bunch of pictures, but after all it was MY wedding!
That night Regan and I celebrated our marriage by trying for a baby. As much as he loved being a father to my children, I couldn't blame him for wanting one of his own.
As we peacefully drifted off to a lullaby, I couldn't wait for the rest of my life to begin.
When the signs of pregnancy hit me, I couldn't help but be absolutely thrilled. I found that doing yoga was calming and helped me through my symptoms.
Apart from the changes in my body, the rest of the household had pretty much remained the same. Mom spent a lot of her time reading books.
And the girls found new ways to entertain themselves every day.
When I finally went into labor, it came as a bit of a shock to everyone.
Since baby Firenze came a couple weeks early, his first few weeks were a whirlwind of buying baby clothes and supplies. I don't even have a picture of him as a baby!
When Firenze became a toddler, I found out that I was expecting once more. I could only hope that the new baby was as sweet and well behaved as my son.
I was glad there were so many people in the house that could take care of Firenze, because I was so busy between my job and my pregnancy.
My mom was able to put him to bed every night when I was too exhausted.
And Regan helped him with his skills.
Of course I always found a bit of time to get in some snapshots of my little boy.
I definitely saw a good combination of myself and Regan in him. He looked a little bit like Annie as well. It sounds a little strange to mention, but Regan and Annie are cousins. Regan's father is the brother of Dagmar's other woman. We don't really like to talk about it, so we just say that he's adorable!
I spent my maternity leave, before I had my baby, painting. I found painting to calm me down even more than yoga.
We were all completely prepared for Ravenna's arrival, but we were shocked at her hair and eye color. Neither Regan nor I have red hair or green eyes, but I was pleased to find out that Regan's grandmother Paisley did. Those must be some strong genes!
And all of a sudden, all of my children were growing up before my eyes, and fast!
Ravenna became an adorable toddler, and such a little firecracker! I'm telling you, she's so hard to keep up with!
Firenze also grew up a little, but his sweet disposition remains unchanged.
As for Ali and Vee, you can see they continue to get along famously. But really, they do. All teenagers have their little spats, but I know that they'll always be there for each other.
After I spent some time thinking things over, I told Ali that she's next in line to lead our family. She's headstrong, but has always managed to stay calm even in the stickiest of situations (like the time she was babysitting and Ravenna smeared my oil paints all over the family room). I know that she'll make me proud in whatever she chooses to do. And as for me? Oh, trust me, you're not done hearing from me yet!
Best wishes,
Austin Letter.
***comments on the boolprop thread please! it's easier to keep track of them that way. The link is in my sidebar :)