After family left, Owen and Valeria gathered the kids around the Winterfest tree, to hand out gifts.

Small gifts like bubbles, toy ducks, and glowing lamps, made the kids happy. Just after the final gifts were opened, a loud noise came from downstairs. Esmeralda and Maxwell ran down to investigate.

“Father Winter!” they yelled.

“See, told you he’s real,” Esmeralda said.

He, too, handed out gifts to the kids, making their Winterfest complete. As night came, the Cuevas household made their ways to bed, leaving behind dirty plates, empty boxes, and lots of memories.

Esmeralda greeted her cousins, Anthony and Ashlee, “Merry Winterfest! What do you think Father Winter will bring you?”

“I don’t even think he’s real,” complained Ashlee. “My sister, Precious, was saying that the probability of him being real is super low.”

“She’s wrong,” argued Anthony.

Fumbling to the couch, Ashlee confronted her sister and Aunt Valeria. “Es and Anthony say Father Winter is real. What do your numbers have to say about that, Precious?”

Valeria shook her head. “Girls, Winterfest is not a time to be angry or argue. Father Winter is real.” Then she added, “I’ve seen him with my own eyes.”

At the table, Janet huffed. “Ashlee and Precious are saying Father Winter is fake! I really wanted a special present from him this year.”

Esmeralda chimed in, “He’s real, Janet. Don’t worry. You’ll get your present!”

The family enjoyed their ham dinner, (Valeria had to cook 2 meals worth for this growing family), then everyone went their separate ways, waiting for Father Winter to visit their houses.

“Let’s build snowpals, Maxwell! It will be fun! There’s enough snow outside.”

“Sure! I have a cool idea for mine.” He ran around the house collecting odds and ends for his snowpal. Esmeralda did the same, though she had far less than her brother when they met outside.

“What are you making?” she questioned.

“It’s just an idea I’ve been thinking about for a while now.”

With precision, Maxwell made 3 giant snowballs and stacked them perfectly. Esmeralda, on the other hand, lumped up 2 awkwardly sized snowballs, mushing them together.

She threw on her snowpal the few items she collected from the house, moderately happy with what she made before turning around to see Maxwell’s craftsmanship.

She mumbled to herself, “Can’t get his letters to go in the right directions, but he can manage to make that...”

“Maxwell, did you shower today?” Owen looked at his son, knowing personal hygiene was a top struggle of his.

“I did,” he said honestly, though Owen could tell there was still something wrong. “I also brushed my teeth! That chart mom and you made is really good at helping me remember.”

“I’m proud of you! But I can also tell you’re hiding something.”

Maxwell sighed, “I didn’t have a clean sweatshirt that was soft, so I’m wearing one from the hamper.”

In the living room, Esmeralda, tense from a rough night’s sleep and personal battle with the monster under her bed, snuggled up to Romeo, who licked her face and made her giggle.

Owen stood up from the table, “You have an half an hour until school starts, kids. Please make sure you’re ready to go!”

Early one weekend morning, Esmeralda found herself in Maxwell’s room, trying to help him do his homework.

“No,” she pointed at the paper where he began his Simlish word copying. “You are drawing all of your d’s backwards.” She tried to show him what he was doing wrong.

“Something smells weird. I’m going to go see what it is,” he said, hopping off of the bed, ditching his homework.

“It’s your breath,” she called after him.

Meanwhile, Valeria enjoyed a few snowfall in the small town of Newcrest. She and Romeo enjoyed the fresh crunch of the snow under their feet as they jogged through their section of town, relaxing and letting go of any stress they carried.

Maxwell’s birthday was a quiet one, with just the immediate family involved. He cried when then sang to him, wanting silence while he made his wish and blew out the candles.

Just a day later, Owen brought in a beautiful tree in celebration of Winterfest. Owen and Valeria spent the day putting lights on the house and digging out the tree decorations. When the kids got home from school, they set to decorating their tree.

“How was school today, Kiddo?”

Esmeralda rolled her eyes for dramatic effect. “Well...” she paused, waiting for her mother’s anxiety to kick in a bit before adding, “I got an A on my test and now have straight A’s in all of my classes!”

“Oh!!” Valeria eyed her daughter in that way mothers do. “I am proud of you.”

Esmeralda searched out her youngest sibling. Logan, she felt, was easier to talk to because he didn’t just turn and walk away when he wasn’t interested. In fact, Logan was always interested in what Esmeralda had to say.

Valeria struggled with Maxwell. He was smart, but wouldn’t cooperate. He despised holding still; flash cards were useless.

“You’ve seen this one before, Bud. Think.”

“No. No. NO!” Maxwell squirmed and grew frustrated with his lessons. He stood up and wandered off, not interested in learning words from paper.

Valeria took a few moments to herself. She relaxed, showered, winded down. Not long after, she heard a loud thud from the kitchen and found Maxwell covered from head to toe in the trash.

“You’re serious, Maxwell? You hate every ‘not soft’ fabric on the planet, but you’re interested in the trash?” She scooped him up and tossed him the bath where he proceeded to squirm relentlessly until it was over.

A small growl came from Romeo. Valeria looked down, her stress level higher than she’d like it to be.

“I’ll give you a few scritches. Get over here.”

Romeo gladly complied. They stood in silence for only a moment before footsteps barreled down the stairs.

“Mama!! You’re down here! Will you play dolls with me?”

Valeria took a deep breath, “Of course I will.”

“Logan, what’s wrong?”

“Snow.”

“Yeah!! It’s snowing out. Winter is here.”

“Snow. Cold.”

Fall morphed into winter, and Logan grew bigger by the minute. Before long, he was up, walking and questioning everything around him

Esmeralda enjoyed having a new voice in the house. “You’re going to super smart, Logan,” she said one morning after they woke up. He reached out for a hug and she wrapped her arms around him.

Maxwell and Logan had fun together--Maxwell taught him the ropes on what it meant to be a toddler in the house. “You’re just little now,” Maxwell said. “I’m still sort of little, but I’m going to be big like Ezzy soon.”

Logan nodded, feigning understanding.

Valeria, exhausted from a busy household, dressed them warmly one afternoon and pushed them outside. They played for hours. Laughing and enjoying their friendship.

“Thank. You.” Logan hugged his brother later that night. “Fun.”

Maxwell, generally stiff when it came to any sort of contact tried to relax a little. He left a rare smile escape. “You’re welcome. Playing dolls is sometimes fun for me, too.”

Moments later, a stinky dog wandered into the house. “Mommy,” Maxwell yelled. “Romeo smells yucky. So yucky. Please make it stop.”

Another sigh of frustration escaped Valeria’s lips. She grabbed Romeo’s collar and dragged the reluctant pup into the bathtub. Upon his exit from his dreadful bath, he managed to soak Valeria as he shook off the unpleasantness.

“Looooooud,” Maxwell moaned as he shuffled into the basement. “Loud, Mommy. Please stop it.”

“Sometimes, kiddo, we just have to learn to live with it. It will get better the more practice she gets.”

“Mommy.....” The sound of a dog howling precluding the most recent cry out.

“I know. Gimme a hug. I’ll sing softly to you and we can pretend we hear nothing else.”

Valeria reached out to her son who happily accepted the snuggle. He rubbed his head against her soft shirt, calming himself while sang a song.

Upstairs, Romeo and Esmeralda gave a unique concert of their own--barking and squeaking included.

Harvestfest was a whirlwind of a day as 4 toddlers entered the house, able to explore the world on their own for the first time.

“Hiya!” Esmeralda offered to her cousin, Anthony.

Unsure at first, tears began to swell in his eyes. Fortunately, his father swooped in and smoothed out the introduction to his oldest cousin.

Jada, missing having an infant in the house, found herself drawn to Logan’s cries. She scooped him up. “Don’t cry, Logan. Auntie Jada is here with all of the love.” She snuggled and spoiled him with the affection only an aunt could give.

Outside, Isabella found a few moments of peace. She wandered over to the kids’ playground and knelt beside a familiar object. She stared at it fondly: the doll house of her youth. The one her father, Eddie, build for her with scraps of wood from his old job. It was repainted now--fixed up for Owen’s children to enjoy. Memories of her early days in a small, piecemeal home floated through her mind.

Back inside, the turkey dinner hit the table and was instantly devoured by the family. Everyone graciously thanked Valeria for all of her hard work and she beamed with joy.

Janet, Anthony’s twin sister, danced to the music in her head. A bubbly and smiling baby, Janet filled Bella’s heart with happiness. Jada, helping Valeria clean up, was the first to hear Maxwell’s cries of exhaustion and over stimulation.

“Owen, I think Maxwell has had enough for one day.”

“Yes. Perhaps. He’ll figure it out when he’s ready. He knows where his bed is.”

After the house quieted down, Owen found himself in the nursery, watching Logan sleep. Esmeralda joined him.

“Thank you, Daddy. I love you and am grateful for you and Mama.” Maxwell, exhausted and worn out, fumbled in, tears streaming down his face. “I’m grateful for you and Logan, too.”

She grabbed his hand and guided him towards his bed. “It’s okay, Maxy. Everyone was very loud. It must have been really hard for you with all of the noise. Let’s curl up under the covers and snuggle Snuggles.”

With Logan home and the house hold busier than ever, the Cuevas family had to redo their living space. Long gone were the days of one, small bathroom and two small bedrooms. The basement now boasted of a laundry room and full bathroom, as well as a play area for the children.

The main floor housed the children’s 2 bedrooms with a large bathroom, living room, and kitchen area. A third floor was added for Owen and Valeria’s bedroom and small bathroom. The unused basketball court in the backyard was torn down in favor of a play area where the children could expend their energy.

Romeo, no longer a puppy, still adored Valeria the most. He nudged her lovingly, after getting used to the new layout of his home. “Good boy!! You’re the very best pet.” She rubbed gently under his chin--his favorite spot.

Owen and Valeria found themselves in Esmeralda’s room. “When did we get a daughter old enough to have a bed without side bumpers?” Valeria let out a sigh of happiness.

“I know! She’s such a big girl. What’s the saying? 13 going on 30!”

“So true! She’s got quite a mind of her own. Strong and independent. I love that about her.”

“How do you think she’ll handle all of her cousins coming over for Harvestfest?”

“Drats!,” Valeria cried out. “That’s a few days away! I need to go shopping and grab everything. How many are there now?” She started rattling off family names, “14 people will be here!”

Owen smiled, “Have I told you today how wonderful you are and how grateful I am for you?”

Valeria’s back pain transformed into labor pains rather quickly. Owen, nervous again, rushed her to the hospital--his place of work--and had his normal panic attack while waiting on the news of his third child.

This labor, shorter than Maxwell’s or Esmeralda’s labors, was rather painless, all things considered. It was only mere hours after arriving, that Valeria was able to hold her newborn son in her arms.

“Try as you might to wiggle free of my arms, you’re mine, little one.” She kissed his forehead. “Let’s get you home, Logan, so your brother and sister can meet you.”

“Maxwell, sweetie, focus up!” Valeria’s frustration was high. “Say it with me, ‘Bottle.’“

Maxwell cried, then laughed.

“Bottle.” She sighed. “Try and say it sweetie. ‘Bottle.’“

Romeo howled with Maxwell’s frustration. “No. No. No.”

Valeria eyed Maxwell’s sandwich, uneaten on the high chair. She couldn’t figure out why things were more difficult with and for him than it had been with Esmeralda. Es picked things up quickly, ate what was in front of her and was all around an easier child. She tried not to compare, knowing it was unfair to both of her children.

Maxwell let out one final “no” and toddled off towards his room.

Valeria pushed her very pregnant body up from the floor. Pains in her lower back told her she was getting close to time to meet baby number three. She wasn’t sure she was ready--wasn’t sure she could balance being a new mom again while still being mom to two children. “Too late to start thinking about that,” she laughed aloud.