GEN I: Chapter 17

Most days with the Fullers' are happy and fun filled. There is a lot of playing everyday. Alan only works once a week, so is there for his family almost all the time. Jenni works four days a week, but always in the late morning, so she is there for the children every morning. Hayden gets ready for school five days a week with the company of both parents, which he really enjoys. They all sit down and have breakfast together, including Damien.





Some days aren't so perfect, when babies wake up hungry and crying. Damien pretty much handles his own, except when it comes to diapers and food. Other than those two things, he is a happy baby. He will call for mommy or daddy when he needs something, but otherwise would like to be left alone to his toys and thoughts.
















Bright and early this morning, before school, it is learning time for Damien. First he learns to walk, a little wobbly but he can do it now. Talking comes second, sitting in the kitchen with his dad learning a variety of words.

After Hayden gets up and takes a shower, everyone has breakfast. Then it is time to relax before school. Hayden loves to play peek-a-boo with his baby brother, and does so everyday. They laugh and giggle together until the bus arrives to take Hayden away.

***Writers caption: I still haven't figured out why the bus parks SO far away from the house... oh well.

Most mornings when Hayden gets picked up, Jenni is outside in her garden. It was growing nicely and she enjoys it so much, Jenni decided to plant some more seeds. She has no idea what these plants are going to be, because she can't tell by the seed. Jenni did find them near garlic plants and bell pepper plants though, so she is assuming that is what they will be.












The one day of work that Alan does do, he jogs home. They do not live to far away anymore to do this, and he really enjoys it. A lot of times Alan even takes a small detour so he can enjoy some good scenery on the way home. There is nothing he likes to look at more than his own home though. Knowing whats inside, and loving it.

Everyday, multiple times a day, Jenni works on potty training Damien. He understands what to do, and he tries. "This is an important thing to learn, Damien," Jenni told him one day "you'll need to learn as soon as you can, that way you can be a big boy." Damien nodded and said "Me potty! Big boy!" Jenni laughed at her sons attempt at repeating her sentence.












Alan helps with the potty training when Jenni is at work, but his favorite thing to do is play with Damien. They sit in the living room a lot during the day just tapping a xylophone. Alan spends his time with Damien while Hayden is at school, that way he can go out an play with Hayden, after homework is done. Right before Hayden gets home, Alan puts the baby down for a nap and most times he sleeps until Jenni gets home.

It's playtime outside for Hayden and Alan, and playtime inside for Jenni and Damien. Sitting upstairs, the two play with a peg box and learn shapes. They play here for a few hours before dinnertime. Everyone gathers around to eat one more time before bed.

Alan and Jenni find times to be the adults they are as well. Sometimes it is hard to get a moment to themselves, but when they do...

They take full advantage. They may be older now, but still have the same fire inside for each other.

Hayden's birthday is coming up soon, Alan and Jenni are planning a party at the house. They have sent out the invitations already, and have gone shopping for his new gift. The parents are pretty excited to have this big day for their son, but also realize how quickly he is growing, and how closer he is to being an adult.

GEN I: Chapter 16

Damien enjoying solitude

Alan gets up everyday at 3am just to make sure he has time to play with Damien before going to work. He also feeds him his morning bottle and gives him his baby bath. It will be Damien's birthday in a few days and Alan is going to miss this.

Alan places Damien back in his crib so he can go have breakfast before his carpool arrives. Today is one of three days a week that Alan works.



Jenni gets up at 4:30, just in time to wake Hayden up and have him get ready to go to school. It's his first day today! Jenni goes out to tend the garden while he gets ready. School might be stressful a little bit later on, but for now Hayden is excited about his first day. Hoping he meets new friends and the teacher doesn't give to much homework, Hayden waits outside for the school bus to come pick him up.

Hayden gets on the bus right away and can't help but stare at the bus driver. He wonders if he should say something, they are the only two on the bus. "I guess I'm the first kid on route." Hayden thought to himself. It is just a short 5 minute ride to school.

Jenni did not get all of her garden quite done when she heard Damien crying. He needed a diaper change, she changed him then decided to just take her shower and eat. Jenni was quite hungry this morning. She spends the rest of the morning carrying Damien around, playing with him and snuggling.

Jenni is still on maternity leave, so she has no pressure to be ready to go to work when Alan gets home.

Alan has some great news to share with his family.

He was promoted today! His final step on that ladder. Alan has completed his lifetime wish and is now an astronaut.

Alan runs into the house as soon as the driver stops the taxi. Jenni wasn't in the living room as usual, so he runs up the stairs to see if she is in the nursery. He nearly knocks her over when he reaches the top. She was just about to come downstairs and greet him as he barreled up the stairs. He spills the news with no hesitation. Jenni congratulated her very happy husband and gave him a big hug and kiss.

That night Jenni remembered she hadn't quite gotten all of the garden tended and went out to pick the apples for the following mornings pancakes. That wasn't the only reason she went outside. Jenni is the typical woman, in which she does not ever want to get old, and get gray hair. She didn't even tell anyone it was her birthday today. So out there in her garden all by herself, she celebrated her elder hood day. Right there she vowed that she would dye her hair as soon as she had an opportunity. Although tonight, it had been a long day and she was ready for bed.

The following morning, as Jenni woke Hayden up, she learned that he had not done his homework the night before. She set him down at the table before anything else and had him do it. "You don't want to start your school year off bad!" she lectured.

"But mom its Saturday..." Hayden retorted "Why can't I do it Sunday night or Monday morning?"

"Look, if you get it done now, you won't have to worry about it all weekend" she said "and then you can just have fun, no worries. Right?"

"I guess" Hayden said, and did his work.

Jenni was right, Hayden spent the rest of that day doing nothing but play, not a second thought about any homework to do. He played tag with dad, and played pirates in his jungle gym. Alan and Jenni seemed busy with Damien but they always made time for him as well. They played together and talked. Hayden considered his dad to be his best friend, forever. They shared secrets and told inside jokes.

On Sunday a little girl from school came to visit Hayden. They got along pretty well at recess and her parents gave her permission to come visit that day. They talked for a while, about their parents and what they liked. Being children though, talking got boring. They needed to get some energy out, so they both ran outside to play tag until lunch.

After everyone ate, Jenni did the dishes and washed the counters. With nothing else to do, she figured it was a good time to dye her gray hair.

She went into the bathroom and did just that. Figuring that she would be like the rest of the family and dye it a reddish brown, with black tips. Although, she couldn't get the dye to go all the way to her scalp, so her roots were still gray. That was okay, it looked good. Jenni was just not ready for the whole world to know right away that she was getting on in her years. She was happy with the results and went to gather everyone up, they were going to the pool today.

When they got there, everyone piled out of the car and dove right in. It was a blast. Everyone had a fabulous time playing and splashing each other. There were contests and games.

They were having a party here because there were two birthdays to celebrate today. Jenni figured they could have a pool party for everyone and then go home to do the birthday part.



First came Alan, he was celebrating his elder hood day. Different from Jenni, he was perfectly fine letting people know how far he had come. His hair was just a reminder of everything he had been through and accomplished in his lifetime. He had even fulfilled his dream of being an astronaut.

Just upstairs Damien became a toddler. The family was there to see it even though there was no cake. He looks so handsome. He got his fathers hair, just like his brother. Also Alan passed down his eyes to both boys. The two children looked just like their father in many ways, but also had Jenni in there too.












Jenni picked up Damien, now a toddler and a lot heavier, and threw him up in the air. She wished him happy birthday with some tickles and giggles. Damien seemed a little tired though, so she went to tuck him in for the night.

She paused for a moment while they held hands. Jenni thought of how quickly her children were growing, and how much she wished Chase would come to live with her too. She would love to have all of her babies around her. Originally she wanted five, but that just wasn't possible anymore. No problem though, she was happy the way things turned out, and loves all three of her precious boys. Boys... all boys. Now she thought of that. She never had a girl. Maybe she will get a grand baby by one of these guys, and that baby will be a girl. Maybe one day.