Dylan and August's son Adrian was a relatively calm baby by newborn standards. Winter had been far more fussy... mostly because she had a very healthy appetite and frequently wanted bottles.
August was still in awe of the little boy. They had never imagined that they'd ever have a child that would be a full alien like themself; and while they never felt truly alone with their little family, having Adrian in their arms made them realize that the newborn filled a part of their life that they didn't know were missing.
The feeling of being the only one, the only undisguised alien they had ever seen, had been buried for years under layers of forced half-hearted acceptance. And now here they were, alone no more.
[WN: If August ever travels to Windenburg, then their whole worldview's going to be rocked by the sheer number of aliens in the Villareal family tree alone.]
Erick was simply happy to have another sibling. He reflected on how he went from figuring he'd never have any actual ones to now having two! He was also glad that Adrian came as quickly as he did so he'd have time with the boy before he graduated. He was still debating on if he wanted to go to university, but there was plenty of time to worry about that... now was the time to finish up high school and hang out with family.
In seemingly the blink of an eye, it was time for Adrian to age up...
Baby Adrian has his renny's black hair, and it looks like he'll have Dylan's nose! He's also a Cautious infant.
And while he apparently hates being held, he still manages to keep a smile when being carried around.
Most of the time.
He also tends to go to sleep pretty quickly after being put down rather than crying a lot!
Like his big sister, Adrian's picking up milestones pretty quickly, and Winter is both happy to see them and curious about her little brother.
The youngest kids aren't the only ones learning, Erick's been steadily learning more about the basics of parenting* as well with his father's supervision. Don't worry, he's not a primary caregiver or anything like that. Sometimes it's simply quicker for him to give a bottle or change a diaper whenever Dylan and August are otherwise occupied.
The day before Winterfest came, and the girl herself was excited. Not only would she be getting toys from Father Winter (if he chose to behave), but it was her birthday! Her big brother was going to make her favorite cake, and maybe... just maybe... once she was older she'd be able to figure out how to make Erick's old stuffie smile.
The next day she got to eat a grand breakfast before the family gathered together to watch her blow the candles out on her cake...
Winter is a grade school aged child now! After being a book loving toddler in a house full of writers and fellow book lovers, she's now a Bookworm herself!
She managed to score a gift from Father Winter and it was not terrible! Nice!!!!
More importantly, Erick turned on the stereo, and she got to dance while he quietly vibed to the music. Grandpa Kevin also decided to show off his moves too.
Eventually, Erick grew tired and went to bed, but Winter was still pretty wired from all the excitement. She chatted with her renny and made some silly faces (much to their amusement) before they went to bed themself.
Some bonus pictures of Winter finally getting to play with Adrian like she'd been wanting to!
Poor Erick got woken up because Adrian got the laugh and grab milestones back to back.
*I enabled the ability for teens to gain the parenting skill in MCCC because I got tired of all the (sometimes fully autonomous) efforts that the teens were putting in to help take care of their siblings not counting for anything.
