Despite Caroline’s worries that she would not be able to get pregnant, after a few more tries, she tested positive. Caroline was so excited and ran upstairs to Ronaldo, who had just finished another painting.
“We did it!” she said, barely able to contain her excitement. “We’re going to have a baby!” Ronaldo turned to look at his wife, but it took a minute for the news to register.
“We’re pregnant?” he asked, feeling his belly. Caroline laughed joyfully.
“We’ll one of us is,” she said, wrapping her arms around him and squeezing him tightly. Ronaldo pulled away and put his ear to her belly.
“It’s not saying anything,” he said puzzled. Caroline laughed again.
“It hasn’t learned to speak yet!” she explained through her laughter. Ronaldo leaned back down to be eye level with her belly.
“Sharnooth blargen hingleton parly,” he whispered to the barely formed embryo. “He says he’s a boy, and his name is Tyler.”
Caroline smiled. “Tyler...I like that.”
Caroline and Ronaldo were so excited when they learned that they were expecting. Over the next several months, they continued to work hard at their careers, but could not wait for the new member of their family to arrive. Ronaldo spent most of his time painting, but when he had time to be with Caroline and the developing baby, he enjoyed speaking to it. Sometimes he would speak in gibberish, but other times, he would talk to it about art. He even occasionally told it stories. Sometimes he would talk to it for hours, and Caroline waited patiently, beaming with joy as she waited for the nine months to be over.
Caroline did indeed give birth to a baby boy, who she and Ronaldo decided to name Tyler. Caroline loved to hold her son, and she always looked at him so lovingly. She had been worried that she would never be able to have a baby, so she knew how special Tyler was. She marveled at his tiny hands and feet and adored how the baby was made from her and Ronaldo.
Ronaldo was beside himself with joy. He loved to make funny faces at his son and continued to speak to him as much as he could. Tyler often gurgled appreciatively when his father spoke gibberish to him, and Ronaldo clearly loved his son very much.
Tyler grew up to be a very active child, but also admired his father so much that he spent most of his time creating art. He wanted to be an Artistic Prodigy and hoped that someday his artwork would hang in a gallery next to his father’s.
Ronaldo showered his son with love and affection whenever he could. Tyler could never quite understand his father’s gibberish, but he knew it was filled with love.
It wasn’t long before Caroline and Ronaldo learned that they were expecting another child. Tyler was very excited to have a new playmate, and seemed very curious about Caroline’s enlarged belly.
“The baby is in there,” Caroline explained, pointing to her belly.
“In there?” Tyler asked amazed. “Isn’t it lonely in there?”
“I suppose it is,” Caroline said giggling and ruffling Tyler’s hair.
Although Ronaldo predicted another boy and suggested naming him Hrothgar, which Caroline quickly vetoed, Caroline gave birth to a baby girl. They decided to name her Delilah. From day one, Delilah was daddy’s little princess. He always looked at her with adoration and loved to spend time with her.
Tyler was fascinated by his baby sister and couldn’t wait for her to get older so they could play together. He often went upstairs and talked to her as she lay in her bassinet, looking up at him with wonder.
“When you get older, we’re going to play together all the time,” he told her. Delilah’s first smile was at her brother, and it was clear that they would be good friends.
Delilah grew up to be a bookworm like her mother. She spent a lot of her time reading, but also enjoyed other mental pursuits like playing chess. Her brother did very well in school, and she admired him a lot, so she wanted to be smart too.
As Tyler had promised when she was only a baby, he and Delilah played together a lot.
“Let’s play tag!” he said one day. “You’re it!” he said tagging her and then touching her nose to annoy her.”
“Stoppit!” she complained swatting his hand away, but still giggling.
“Let’s play!” Tyler insisted.
“Play outside,” Caroline called from another room. “You know there’s no running in the house!”
“Ok!” Tyler called back. “You’re it!” he whispered to Delilah, touching her nose again.
“I’ll get you for that,” she said, chasing him down the stairs and out the door.
Even as the kids were growing up, Ronaldo and Caroline had to work a lot. When they weren’t working they often had to develop their skills to improve their job performance. Caroline spent much of her time playing chess and exercising on the treadmill, while Ronaldo spent almost all of his time painting. Caroline finally got promoted to an astronaut, and Ronaldo had become an Imaginative Imagist, but they both knew they still had a long way to go.
Caroline’s time to socialize and make more friends was always at a premium, but now that she was an astronaut, she had more days off. When she wasn’t playing chess or exercising, she tried to meet people. Being outgoing, she had no trouble meeting people and making friends, but the process was still a long and difficult one, especially with the small amount of time she had.
Even with busy careers, practicing skills, and trying to complete their aspirations, Caroline and Ronaldo tried to make as much time for their children as possible. When Delilah wasn’t reading by herself, she loved it when her mother read to her. Sometimes, her uncle, who loved children’s toys and book, would listen too.
Ronaldo loved his daughter very much, and took every opportunity to express his love for her.
“I love you, princess,” he said hugging her. “Grimple frib.”
“Daddy, that makes no sense!” Delilah said laughing at his gibberish. “You’re weird!” Ronaldo laughed too and tickled his daughter.
“How weird am I know?” he asked, making a face as he tickled her.
“Stoppit, Daddy!” she whined through her laughter. Ronaldo stopped and gave her a big hug. Even though he was insane, he was a very good father, and he loved his children dearly.
Ronaldo and Caroline were very proud of both of their children, but Tyler was growing up fast, and his grades in school were very good. He had completed his aspiration of becoming an Artistic Prodigy, and his parents hoped that his teenage years would be as easy as his childhood.
Tyler and Delilah had grown very close. Delilah admired her brother very much, and Tyler adored his little sister. The two children were the best of friends, and between their studies and hobbies, they loved to play together. Sometimes they would play together on the monkey bars, and sometimes Delilah would insist that Tyler play dollhouse with her, but they both were fairly patient with each other, even when they were forced into activities that they weren’t interested in. the children rarely fought, but when they did, it was usually about what to do, and they made up in about five minutes.
Caroline and Ronaldo were delighted that their children were so close, and hoped that they would continue to be close for years to come.
