Thursday 26 January 2012

Shining light

Round 33: January 2037 (Summer)
last update/next update

Calvin and Aaron Clarke are both 34 and Amy is 2.
(Lake is 80, Kendal is 61, Josie is 35, Troy is 34, Rebecca is 28, Jude is 5, Willow is 2 and Andrew is 11 months old)

Narrated by Calvin Clarke

I didn’t think it was possible but now that we have Amy, Mum drops over even more than she did before. She used to mostly stick to the weekends but she and Lake often come by in the evenings during the week now too.

I don’t know if anyone besides Aaron or me was as excited as Mum was when Amy was finally placed with us.

Fortunately, I really don’t mind so much. Mum and I have always been close and I was expecting we’d see her around here even more once we became parents.

Amy took a little while to warm up to the extended family but she just adores everybody now.

She seems to enjoy the visits from her grandparents as much as we do.

Mum and Aaron have always really got along, so she knows she’s always welcome here.

Her relationship with Troy’s wife isn’t quite so easy but I have difficulty with Josie myself sometimes.

We normally get along quite well but we’ve had our moments over the years. I just grin and bear it if I see her when she’s in one of her moods.

She can definitely be trying at times but I like seeing Troy and my nephews, so what can I do?

Jude and Andrew are a lot of fun and they’re so much like Troy. Especially Andrew - it’s almost like I’m looking at my brother when I look at him!

The last time the family all got together was this week when we held a party in the park for Amy’s second birthday.

We’ve got a good-sized backyard but it’s still a little sparse for entertaining, so the park seemed like an excellent option for the warm weather we’ve been having. There are so many young kids in the family at the moment and they all had such a great time.

The birthday girl really enjoyed her party as well, being passed around among all her aunties, uncles and grandparents all afternoon.

Willow idolises Amy. Once Amy is doing something, it’s almost a guarantee Willow want to follow seconds later.

It’s really sweet to watch. There’s a bit of a difference in maturity levels now, as they’re 9 months apart but that will seem like nothing at all in a few years.

Aaron and I are just loving parenthood in general. Everything is so new to Amy, which almost makes it seem new to us as well.

It's harder for Aaron and I to make time to spend alone together but it's really been worth it.

I’ve been down on the floor with Amy playing peek-a-boo and singing nursery rhymes. Even when we were in the middle of adopting, I didn't picture myself doing stuff like that.

Over the last several months, I’ve found myself entertained by all sorts of things I would never have imagined I’d ever care about.

She's such a gorgeous, sweet little girl.

Most of the time anyway. One thing Amy isn't shy about is letting us know when she's not happy.

Amy can throw some truly epic tantrums if she’s not attended to right away.

And then at other times, she’s happy to entertain herself in her nursery for a while and will still be quietly playing when we come in to check on her.

We’ve enjoyed raising Amy so much that we’ve decided we want to add to our family sooner rather than later.

Aaron was the one who brought it up, just a couple of weeks ago.

He was ready for me to say I wanted to wait a little bit longer but I realised straight away that I was keen on adopting again too.

We're both thinking we'd like to adopt a baby this time, which would be totally new for us. Neither of us has much experience with infants.

We both knew we had the day off the next day, so we agreed to go down and see Rebecca again and see what she could do for us.

We had to bring Amy with us. Rebecca doesn’t have her office set up for kids but as it turned out, Amy was fascinated by the fountain in the corner anyway.

Unfortunately, Rebecca can’t help us out much at the moment. The adoption agency which placed us with Amy requires a minimum one year wait between placements.

I can see why they’d put that rule in place but it didn’t make it any less disappointing.

It wasn’t a totally wasted trip though. We were able to talk about what the process would be like the second time around, so we’ll be fully prepared for it when we can finally start.

Some parts will be less in-depth this time, seeing Rebecca already collected so much information last time which is still relevant.

But Rebecca will also need to assess how we’re doing with Amy at that point and how she’ll likely react to another child joining the family.

We can start some of the preliminary work now but we won’t be considered candidates for placement until a year has passed. It’s a bit nerve-wracking but the process will at least be a bit more familiar to us this time.

Because we'd like to adopt an infant, we could end up with a longer wait ahead of us this time. Despite that, we left Rebecca’s office feeling very positive about the whole thing.

Amy joined our family last June, so by this June, we hope to be totally ready to join the waiting list. We’re really looking forward to making her a big sister.

Extras:
Just some cute spam that didn't fit into the update!

Willow cracks me up! She makes the funniest faces!

Notes:
  • Title is from Shining Light by Ash.
  • Sneak preview of Andrew! You'll see him properly in the February birthdays but wow - he really does look a lot like Troy!
  • Aaron rolled the "Expand Family by Adoption" ROS this round. I decided they might want an infant this time around because Aaron rolled the "Study Parenting" want, even though he doesn't actually have any infants anywhere in his family right now. So I guess he wants to change that. ;)
  • I'm planning on doing the same thing I did last time to figure out when Aaron and Calvin will get their baby but I've lowered the odds. It's harder to be placed with an infant than with an older child, so I changed it from 1/4 to 1/5. I don't want it to be too impossible! I won't start rolling until June. It could mean a long wait but they could also get lucky and their number will come up right away. Can't wait to find out - I haven't done the rolls yet!

20 comments:

  1. Awww Willow and Amy are so cute and I can't wait to see a close up of little Andrew!
    Aaron and Calvin make the best parents and I had to laugh at Kendal is seems just like her.
    I really do hope they can adopt soon I would love to see them with a little baby too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You should get to see Andrew in just a few days. He really is daddy's little clone!

      Aaron and Calvin are doing really well with Amy, so it's no wonder they would want to adopt again. Kendal doesn't know the plan yet but she'll be very excited to have yet another grandchild. :)

      Thanks for reading!

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  2. You do adoptions in such an interesting way, I love going through all the story posts to see how you do them, though if you ever do a behind the scenes post on how you roll for adoptions and fertility treatments, I will definately read it...several times.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm glad you enjoy my method. When I read your comment, I thought about doing a post but in the harsh light of day, I don't know what I'd put in it! It's really pretty cobbled together and a lot of it is just story. The rolls are the only thing where I don't have total control over the outcome. Thanks for the interest though!

      Thanks for reading!

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  3. Amy just fits right in with the whole family, extended family as well. So glad that Aaron and Calvin are enjoying parenthood. They make it look so easy!

    I can see Amy and Willow being very close growing up together. Can't wait to see what they get into.

    Great update as always. Should I be ashamed that I'm counting down the families until I can see Jack Benton again??

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Amy has integrated into the family seamlessly, which is really nice. That's part of why it looks so easy, I think.

      I'm hoping Amy and Willow end up best buddies. They're too young to tell now but they're very cute.

      Ashamed? Heh, everybody has their favourites, so I'm going to say no. ;) Jack gets a little mention in today's update, but no cameo.

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  4. Amy is quite adorable and Aaron and Calvin are great parents. I really hope they are able to get their baby sooner rather than later :). And lol, Kendal might as well move on in!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Amy is a really lovely little girl and I'm glad she ended up with Aaron and Calvin. It seems to be a good match! Fingers crossed she gets a sibling soon enough!

      Ha, Kendal moving in? Lake might have something to say about that but I'm positive Kendal wouldn't mind the extra grandbaby time. :)

      Thanks for reading!

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  5. I'm so glad these two decided not to wait too long between adoptions! I can't wait to see this new baby!
    Amy is such a cutie! I can understand why the entire family adores her, and is visiting all the time :) And Willow is just as cute as her cousin, I'm sure both girls will grow up to be very pretty girls!

    Looking forward to getting a good look at Andrew in the February birthday update!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This ROS worked out quite well, didn't it? Just the right scenario at just the right time.

      Amy and Willow are a lot of fun to have in the family. I'm keen to see what they get up to as older kids.

      February birthdays coming up tomorrow! :)

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  6. Aww, their little family is so sweet! It's wonderful that they want another one right away.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was pretty pleased with the way this ROS worked out. Makes sense that Aaron and Calvin would want to expand their family, given how happy they've been with Amy.

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  7. Amy is a pure jewel!! How adorable...
    And the ROS was for them!!!! How cool!!! I would have never hoped they rolled it, but it's perfect, it sounds so coherent. What an adorable family!!
    Cuteness overload at Willow!!! *squeee*

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Amy and Willow are just so sweet and together? Even sweeter, right?

      I was very satisfied this ROS was for Aaron. It made it easy for me, because I didn't really have to explain much why they'd want to adopt - it's the only option for them, so of course they would.

      I usually only let my Sims adopt if they're gay or if they're having trouble conceiving. The one exception was Connor - James and Madelyn adopted him when she rolled this same ROS. Funny that her son has now rolled the same one!

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  8. I really like that you roll for their adoption odds. It adds a surprise element that I really like.

    Calvin and Aaron are too cute together and Amy seems to fit in perfectly.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I sort of wish EA had added the surprise element to adoption themselves but I think they would have screwed it up anyway. ;) I'm likely better off doing it myself, where at least I know it'll happen eventually!

      I know when Calvin and Aaron are getting their baby (and when Amy will get her little sibling!) but it's not yet, is all I'll say. I'm anxious to reveal it all to you though!

      Thanks for reading!

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  9. Willow is so adorable in those last pictures! A little wild child! Amy is just super cute and totally reminds me of Matilda. And how perfect was that ROS! I wondered who got that and I don't think it could have gone to a better family. I hope they do t have to wait too long. Im always glad to see that Abigail is welcomed over so often, seeing that the other boys aren't always as keen. It's nice she is welcomed and can spend time with Amy, who is super cute!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Willow is such a cute little munchkin. I can't get over her. She's definitely one I'll be sad to age up. And I was thrilled with the way this ROS worked out. You'll come to a little update on Aaron and Calvin soon but I won't say anything else. ;)

      Calvin's a bit of a mama's boy and always has been, so it's somewhat of an open door policy with Kendal! Lucky Aaron likes her too. ;) And it's always good to have Grandma around, with a little one in the house.

      Thanks for reading!

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  10. Awww, I just love little Amy! She fits right in, clothes and all. I’m glad that Amy and Willow are already becoming close. They’re both so stinkin’ cute.

    How perfect that the ROS was for them (and how cool is that that Madelyn rolled the same one all those years ago?! They're a special family). Love all the details about the adoption process. I don’t know if I would have done all the research for that. Ok, yea I probably would have lol. I did it for an ROS. I really like Aaron and Calvin as parents and I hope they don’t have to wait too long to be placed with a baby.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Clothes and all! Yes, Amy's favourite colour is yellow, just like one of her daddies (Calvin, if it wasn't obvious!).

      I'd forgotten about Madelyn rolling this same ROS all those years ago until I did this post but I like how it's all come full circle. LOL, I always do research when I can. I'm always thinking someone is going to come in and say "that's now how X happens" and I'll have to defend it, lol, even though it's just a Sim story. I went and did even more research on it the other week and added more detail in someone else's update, lol.

      I've rolled the date for Aaron and Calvin's next kid, so it will definitely happen - it's just a matter of when. :)

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete