The Willis's

Cassandra and Anthony Willis have been married for about six months, and are enjoying their new life as newlyweds.  They are settled into their new home. Anthony used to be a member of the "Buddies" household, and Cassandra used to live with Lucy Hart, her best friend.  They actually met through Lucy.  Before getting married, Cassie and Lucy, both partiers, lived a fast lifestyle while trying to make it big in the film business. Once Cassandra met Anthony, everything changed and he made an honest women out of her.  Anthony is a Lieutentant for Rosedale Police Department, and Cassie is still pursuing her dream of stardom over at the Warner Brothers set in town. 

Anthony rushes to work, his hugs with Cassie make him later. He's also eager to meet his new partner, Justine Keaton!

Cassie has the day off today, and uses it to call her friend Sun Young Kim from China, that she met while on her honeymoon with Anthony. The two catch up and Sun Young tells her all about the martial arts tournament that's coming up next month. 

After getting of the phone with Sun Young, she's inspired to work on her martial arts skills, which she learned on her honeymoon, all while blasting some Chinese music! Ahh, she misses China...

When Anthony gets home from work, he decides to join her!

While eating ice cream for dinner because she doesn't feel like cooking, Cassie gets a call from her bestie Lucy, who wants to go out! Anthony rolls his eyes, and Cassie goes to meet her friend at the Grind.

Lucy embraces her old roomate and the two catch up.  Lucy tells her all about her latest hookup with a new boy, and teases Cassie for becoming an old married bore.  It's so easy to drift back into her old mindset, being with Lucy, when she paints such a picture of freedom and fun. 

While Cassie goes out with Lucy, Anthony decides to get to know his partner Justine a little better when he meets up with her at Central Park.

Over at the Grind, the place is hopping! Cassie and Lucy waste no time, have a few drinks, and start to party!

The old Cassie comes out, and soon she's dancing on tables! Apparently even when people are trying to eat on them...

When it gets late, Cassie tells Lucy that she needs to leave and Lucy snickers that her old friend wouldn't ever stop partying before 12 am!  Cassie laughs off her comments, although they bother her more than she lets on, hugs her, and takes off.

The next morning, Cassie gets up before Anthony, feeling guilty.  He was asleep when she came home last night, and she knows that he'll always give her her freedom, but that he wants a wife who is more domesticated than her.  She really loves him, and hates to hurt him in any way.  Even though he's younger than her, he's talked non-stop since they've been married about having children and settling down, but Cassie's just not ready.  She decides to make up last night to him, she'll make him waffles for breakfast and show him what a good housewife she can be!  She might not be ready for kids, but she will make him waffles. Baby steps.

Ok, maybe that whole domestic thing was a bad idea!  She turns around and the whole stove has gone up in flames! She yells for Anthony who comes thundering downstairs...



Anthony's training at the police academy kicks in, and he takes care of the fire himself despite Cassie's protests and pleas that he let the fire department take care of it. She calls them in a blind panic.



The firefighters show up only to find that Anthony has already taken care of the fire. They tell him in the future to let them handle it, but admire his bravery.  Cassandra slinks off to work, embarassed and crying, and leaves Anthony to talk to the insurance company, who agree to cover all the damages from the fire.

Thankfully, Cassandra's day get better when her boss, Ashley Whittaker, gives her a promotion and asks her to be his personal assistant! Her day is looking up, despite almost burning down her house this morning.

When she gets home, Anthony is there waiting for her, and she looks at him sheepishly. She says she's sorry she ran out this morning, she just couldn't find the words to say.  She's afraid she'll never be good wife material.  He pulls her into a hug and tells her she doesn't have to try to be something that she's not.  He loves her the way she is, for who she is, and it doesn't matter if she can make waffles or not.





Lucy may make independence seem tempting, but she wouldn't trade this guy for anything.  She feels so lucky to have him in her life.  As she looks over his shoulder at the kitchen, she can't help but stifle a laugh though....

This guy thinks of everything. :P

The Macintyres- A Scary Delivery

In the latter part of Ella' pregnancy, her and Tucker decide to buy Max some new toys to play with since, when they first bring the baby home, he might feel a bit starved for attention.  Max doesn't care about the reasons, he's just pysched to get some new backyard toys!

Tucker frantically cleans the house preparing for the baby, it's almost like HE'S the one nesting! He's a neat freak anyway...

Ella and Tucker enjoy the last few nights of being a family of 4!

Later that night, Tucker and Max try out the new slip n slide out back! Tucker asks Max is he's excited to be a big brother again, and he says "Yea! This time I really want a little brother to play with though- don't tell Mom!" Tucker laughs.

In the middle of that night, Ella wakes up feeling a bit crampy. She says she's fine and falls back asleep. At 2:30 am, Tucker gets an emergency page- they need him down at Rosedale Memorial!  He's hesitant to leave his pregant wife this way, but duty calls. He heads down to the hospital.

Sure enough, after Tucker was gone about an hour, Ella wakes up with terrible pain.  It was a jarring pain, an incredibly intense ache, and did not feel like the contractions that she had had with the other two children. This was different; it felt like her body was being ripped in half. She couldn't move, only scream.

Max wakes up to her cries, and manages to call a sitter for Addison, and an ambulance for his mom.  The whole time, Ella is screaming..."Something is wrong..something is WRONG!"

They get her to the hospital and as she's entering, Tucker is exiting, and see's his pregnant wife struggling to the door.  He flies to her side and gets her safely in.

It turns out that Ella is hemorrhaging and the baby is in distress.  Things are very scary for awhile, and Tucker is yelling orders at the nurses, his face twisted in panic.  They rush Ella into have a C-section to get the baby out safely.  Thankfully, several hours later, mom and baby are, indeed safe.  The doctors tell Ella that there was some damage done to her uterus, and there's a possibility that she may be infertile now, and unable to have any more children.  While this is disappointing her and Tucker are so thrilled that everything turned out alright and that everyone is healthy, it is a minor point.  They were probably done after this baby anyway.  They take turns snuggling little Simon Blake, the newest addition to the Macintyre family!







The Bells- Athan's Birthday and a New Addition

We check back in with the Bells, on this lazy Sunday morning.  Scarlett is up before everyone else, humming and making Sunday pancakes. 

She's spent so much time enjoying her little family lately, she's forgotten the housework. With two little ones, it sure builds up.  She does some long overdue laundry.



Toilet scrubbed? Check.  Dishes washed? Check. Trash out? Check.  Awww, that feels better.

A lot of other people might compain about cooking and cleaning and caring for little ones round the clock, but not Scarlett. She never forgets where she came from, where she could have been, and how hard she's worked to get where she is.  When she was 6 or 7, in another foster home, lonely and scared, she would have given her left arm for a family and a house of her own, even a messy one. 

In the afternoon, Forrest goes out and buys a cake, and they celebrate baby Athan's birthday out on the patio.  Paris sleeps through the whole thing.

And here's Athan now, at 1 years old! He has his father's complexion and eyes and his mother's dark hair.  He's giggly and sweet, and his parents think he's a little bit cute!

Forrest finally finishes up the house's new bedroom addition he's been working on! They bought this 2 bedroom house after they get married with the plan to move when their family expanded, but Scarlett has so fallen in love with this house and the terrific backyard that she convinces Forrest to add on another bedroom so they can at least stay for a few more years.  Here's what Athan's new bedroom looks like-it has a nautical theme!

Sometimes Scarlett can't believe how lucky she got.  She thinks back to that day that Forrest proposed to her at Butterfly Haven, and sighs....

The McCallisters- A Birthday at the Beach

It's another busy morning at the McCallisters!  It's finally Saturday, and this family plans to pack it up and head over to Rosedale Pavilion Beach for a day of fun in the sun, and to celebrate their youngest's, (Erik's) birthday!  It makes Adele sad that he's aging up, she always likes having newborn around the house. 

Here's Mark getting Wyatt his breakfast...

Wyatt is extra whining today. Adele thinks that maybe he knows the attention won't be on him today, and Wyatt loves attention.  She scoops him up after he eats and gives him an extra snuggle.





Ava, who's always keen to pick up on other's moods easily, gives Wyatt extra hugs as well.

Everybody puts on their beach gear and heads to the beach! It's a beautiful day, and Adele brings the birthday cake that she made for baby Erik.

Kendall  (right) and Ava (left) play in the surf and build sandcastles together! They get along so good, when they're not fighting....



A little while later, everyone crowds around the table- Kendall and Ava blow their birthday kazooa and Adele leans Erik over the cake so he can blow out his candles....



That little blonde guy is Erik! Ava plays peek-a-boo with him. She is so protective and caring of her little brothers.

It gets dark out, and the McCallisters head home.  Adele and Mark read the boys a few bedtime stories and tuck them into bed! What a great family day!



The Macintyres

Meet the Macintyres, a thouroughly upper-middle class family.  He's a surgeon, she's a budding politician, 2 kids and a nice house. They're living the Simmy dream! Ella and Tucker Macintyre met at some ritzy summer camp their parents sent them too when they were teenagers. Ella is trying to get noticed by the Democratic Party over at City Hall, while working hard and paying her dues. Tucker is the youngest surgeon ever at Rosedale Memorial at 30.  They have a son, Max, 8, who's outdoorsy and sweet, and a little girl Addison, 2, the spitting image of her mother.

Ella and Tucker are currently working opposite schedules: Tucker works nights as a Trauma Surgeon and Ella works 9-3 as a Ballot Counter over a City Hall.  The upside is that Tucker is home to watch his little Princess Addy during the day, which saves money on a babysitter- not that money is really an issue here.

Tucker is such a hand-on Dad. Here he trying to interpret her baby chatter.

Once school is out, Max and best friend Audrey Washington decide to take the bus to the park together.  His mother always teases him that he's sweet on her, which of course, he vehemently denies.

Here they are arriving at Romper Recreational Playground.

Ella arrives home from City Hall, and isn't feeling well at all! She's so sick to her stomach, maybe she should go lie down....

....but not before hubby Tucker surprises her with a dozen red roses!!

Over at Romper, Audrey and Max play in the treehouse until it gets dark.  He knows he better head home before his parents get upset.  He says goodbye to Audrey and head home....

Back at home, Ella calls her aquaintance Rishelle Glenister over for dinner. She doesn't have many girlfriends in town, and hopes to befriend her.  She seem to be getting along...

....until Ella has to cut the visit short when she starts feeling nauseous again.  Rishelle is totally understanding, but Ella feels embarassed.  She throws up most of the night, and before Tucker leaves for work, he decides to take a small blood sample...he tells her he wants to make sure she doesn't have anything serious, but he has his own suspicions...

Before leaving for work that night, Tucker grabs some leftover autumn salad...there's plenty since sick Ella didn't eat much.     

Tucker's blood tests confirm what he'd been thinking. Ella is pregnant.  They've talked about maybe having more kids, but he's still not sure how Ella will react- she's really focused on her career right now, and Addy is still so young....

He arrives home in the morning to a much better looking Ella, and tells her that he has some news.  She's pregnant, and based on his neato-superior-awesome-doctor skills, and some complicated formulas based on time of conception, he's determined that they're having a boy, although they should get an ultrasound to confirm it.

He hope she's not upset with him for not telling her why he was taking her blood, but he wanted to be sure before he assumed anything.

But Tucker is worried for nothing. Ella is so excited to be pregnant again, and even more excited to be having a little boy again!  She rubs her tummy and says "Let's go tell the kids!"