The Smith Family has moved in to a wonderful suburban home in Willow Creek. Richard has begun working at the local hospital and has moved up quickly to the position of Assistant Nurse. As Izzie was still young, Elizabeth had decided to stay at home in order to care for the youngster. She enjoyed the quality time she is able to spend with her daughter, as well as her other two children, even if William can be a bit of a handful at times.
Once Izzie entered school, Elizabeth found it hard to be at home all day alone, and decided to begin a career. She found out she loved painting while on a date with her husband, and that became her career. [more...]
William Smith branched out on his own by moving to his very own apartment in San Myshuno. He enjoyed his single life, but only for a brief few weeks. He got a job as a Tech Guru and eventually asked his girlfriend, Cassandra to move in with him. Even one of his sisters would come to live with him for a few days. That Love Day Cassandra tricked William into trying for a baby and she was now pregnant. Once William found out he only hoped that his new title of eSports Gamer came with enough pay to support a growing family. [more...]
Being pregnant was no fun at all! By her third tremister Cassandra was so very ready to have this baby out of her! She was constantly hungry and the baby really wasn't during her bladder any favors either. Unfortunately she would have to suffer for an entire day. Fortunately her work offered family leave, which she was more than happy to take.
Well the baby couldn't have picked a worse time to finally decide she was ready to come out. Cassandra had to have a late snack before heading to bed. Not a few hours later, at around four in the morning her water broke and she was in labor.
William rushed his very pregnant wife to the hospital, but was otherwise useless. Cassandra even had to check herself in. Nevertheless, just a few minutes later, with William's father at the controls, Cassandra was lying on a surgical table. Richard was happy to announce a baby girl. With William no where to be found, Cassandra named the child Morgana. She looked on has Richard gently sat the child in a waiting crib.
William finally showed up just as his father was preparing the child's birth certificate. He was happy to see his new daughter. Only it hit him again that this was his daughter and he was now a father. Was he even ready for this?
Turns out William's freak out wasn't entirely unwarranted. Raising a baby wasn't exactly easy work, but it was it had its rewards. Sure there was a lot of late night crying and diper changing, which Cassandra wasn't going to let William weazle out of, and Morgana's feeding schedule seemed entirely random, but everytime William looked into those eyes and saw a smile on that little face he couldn't help but feel warm inside. He made that, I mean not on his own, but he made it and it looked up at him as if he was the most important thing in its life, well, when mother wasn't holding her anyway.
Fortunately for William Morgana wasn't a baby for very long. Of course the end of infancy was just the beginning of an entirely new challenge. Up until this point they just had to keep the baby happy, but now, now they had to teach her things. It wasn't just about changing dipers, they had to teach her to go potty. It wasn't just about breast or bottle feeding, they had to teach her to eat solid foods. They could no longer just relay on cries and guesses, they had to teach her how to talk.
Perhaps the most difficult part of toddlerhood for the young couple wasn't teaching basic needs, or teaching Morgana how to do things, but teaching her what not to do. Morgana could now move on her own. She could go out and explore the small apartment, and, left unchecked could splash in the toilet, make messes, or even wander out into the city.
When Izzie was staying with them, she was quite a little rebel. For the most part William didn't care if Izzie made a mess so long as he didn't have to clean it up. Things were different with his Morgana though. Izzie was his sister, Morgana was his daughter. When she wandered into the hallway and started dumping paint on the ground, William ran right after her. He played in calm this first time, but he wasn't sure how he'd approach it next time.
Of course this wasn't to say that toddlerhood didn't have it rewards, and Morgana's more inqusitive nature wasn't always troublesome. William spent his offtime hacking, working side jobs, or playing video games. Each of these were activities that made Morgana curious. She would often spend several minutes watching her dad as he worked a controller or a keyboard and mouse. Sure it could be annoying for her to be right there is he was trying to concentrate, but it was also adorable too. Besides it wasn't as if she was hurting anything. At lease she wasn't wondering off.
William had proposed to Cassandra awhile ago, but the pregnancy and the baby made planning the wedding, let alone having it, somewhat difficult. Fortunately, with Morgana now a bit older, it was finally time to give this wedding thing a try.
The couple planned to hold the wedding in San Myshuno's large central park. The park was built perfectly for an outdoor ceremony and a reception. William invited his family while Cassandra invited the neighbors and a even a few of William's friends. Of notable absence was anyone from Cassandra's family. William wasn't sure why she didn't invite them. Maybe things were awkward, but it was her business not his.
With everyone gathered, it was time for the main event. William and Cassandra made their way up to the wedding arch. They looked deeply into each others eyes. All the guests seemed to dissappear as the two recited their vows as if they were the only people in the park.
Once the vows were read they leaned in for the keystone of the ceremony. A great big kiss. Who knew Cassandra could be so strong? She about knoced over William with her passionate kisses. Fortunately there was a supportive arm behind him to keep him from falling.
It seemed so quick. A few words, the exchange of rings, and a kiss a now Cassandra Goth was Cassandra Goth-Smith. They had decided, seeing as both families were relatively well known that she would keep her original last name, but still take his, so she hyphonated. Morgana, on the other had would stay Morgana Smith.
This was a long time coming, and Cassandra couldn't be more thrilled to finally be a wife. For William this was a mere ceremony. He already prophesed undying love for Cassandra, the lived together, and they had a child, what else was there? Of course, weddings did have perks.
One such perk was a large reception with everyone he knew in the same building and lots of food. He enjoyed the company of friends and family while eating. He was disappointed there was not quite enough space in the center park's reception hall for a full dance battle, but it was a perfect space for food and intimate chats.
Guests began to file out one by one. It was time for the wedding ceremony to come to an end. Of course that would lead the young couple just about right into the next perk of a wedding that William was looking forward to far more than a reception.
The couple went home to pack, make a few final arrangements for Morgana, and get one last, hopefull good, night's sleep before the honeymoon began.
With arrangements made for a nanny service to take care of Morgana, William and Cassandra headed into the woods of Granite Falls for a relaxing three day vacation with just the two of them. Ever since Morgana was born and especially now that she was a toddler their little one bedroom apartment was now feeling a little too cozy. The cabin they rented wasn't that much larger and even lacked some of the luxuries the couple had gotten used to, like a computer, a stove, and an indoor shower, but it was really just the two of them, and, for three days at least, that was enough.
A quick glance in the refrigerator (there was that at least), revealed that there was no food stocked for guests. William got to work preparing a breakfast for his new wife. Naturally, without a stove, his options were somewhat limited. He could have just made a simple fruit salad though. He was certain Cassandra wouldn't mind that, but he decided to try something different. While Cassandra decided to see what local TV offered her, on the world's smallest television, William got to work in the kitchen.
Combining fruit and yogurt created an excellent parfait, and was enough to immediately grab the attention of his wife. This was there honeymoon, so he was happy that they could spend time eating breakfast across from each other at a table. They hadn't done this since the renovated the kitchen in their apartment. Sure the new kitchen looked nice and actually offered more seating, but it didn't offer the same type of intimate atmosphere the small cabin table offered.
It rained that first morning, actually it rained the first two mornings. This, sadly, limited the activities the couple could do in the woods. In fact, unless they wanted to get soaked, which was not on William's plans, there wasn't anything they could do in the woods.
That first morning William and Cassandra took advantage of the game table set up in front of the cabin. Despite it being situated on the front porch they didn't even notice the sun had come out while they were playing. The game was just too engrossing, or maybe they were just basking in each others presence. Either way it had shot a good portion of the day.
Nevertheless the two still had some time. They spent this first day in the woods mostly just exploring. They took a hike together and checked out the little cabin information center. They had a small dinner at one of the picnic tables and learned the joys of public restrooms in the woods before heading back to the cabin for some quality alone time. After all, this was their honeymoon.
The second day saw more ran the the first. With little sign of it letting up anytime soon, that morning William and Cassandra decided to just say in and watch a movie together. That did keep them occupied for a few hours anyway. It donned on William that this was actually the first time the two shared a movie together. There dates had all been at restaurants and nightclubs, and forget watching a good movie with a toddler present.
By the time the movie finished it seemed like the rain had gotten worse, not better. Whatever was a newly-wed couple supposed to do in a situation like this? Read a book? Cassandra and William had a much better idea. She took the man by the shirt and led him to the bed. It was time for some more quality time together. Sure it might be a little early and it wasn't like they hadn't spent this type of time together just a few hours prior, but it was their honeymoon, they were adults, and they were married, so why not?
As if by magic, the clouds parted just as Cassandra and William finished up. They looked into each other's eyes and rested. Cassandra whispered something about just staying like that for the rest of the day. William thought that would be nice, and it wasn't like they couldn't just come back and see the woods some other time, maybe with Morgana, when she was older, but a quick pillow to the face and a 'just kidding' from Cassandra dashed all hopes of that happening.
They went for another hike. William really wanted to try his hand at fishing. They had a little fishing spot by the creek near his old home. He watched his father fish one or two times, and always wanted to try it, but was too busy with club activities and school, not to mention courting his new bride.
Unfortunately his plans to return to the cabin for lunch and a bit of fishing in the pond behind it were dashed once again by rain. Their lunch became yogurt from a cooler in front of the information center. They headed to a lookout station at the top in hopes of seeing the clouds open up so they could head back, but that just wasn't going to happen.
Cassandra headed downstairs. She decided to make the most of being trapped where they were. She had seen a guitar by the fireplace and decided to try it out. She had never played the guitar before, but she was always willing to learn a new instrument. Unfortunately, for William, the sounds that came out at first were far from pleasant. It reminded him of how bad she was at piano when she first started and the fact that the keyboard he had brought with him was situated in the same room as his computer when she had moved in.
In the end the rain never really let up and the couple was forced to hike back to their cabin in it lest it was dark before they even got back. William apologized for the past couple of days. He should have known better than to book an outdoor retreat during the fall. Cassandra said it didn't matter, the important thing was they were together. William really did marry the right girl.
Though the morning of the third day remained cloudy, it had finally stopped raining. A simple hike on a day like this one, especially after so much rain, was not going to be enough. Cassandra went for a jog by the falls to celebrate such nice weather. As for William, he finally got to go fishing, and not just in the pond by the cabin.
She would eventually join her love for some fishing by the falls before the two headed out for a game of horseshoes. It was a simple game, similar in principle to darts, which William had played when he was in a club, but, at the same time quite a bit different. Getting a u-shaped metal object around a small pole was much more difficult than throwing a pointed dart at a board.
Even though his opponent had also never played the game he just couldn't quite win. Of course Cassandra really didn't do that much better.
The couple returned to the information center. It wasn't like it was raining and they needed the shelter like it was yesterday, but William wanted to try his hand at woodworking. Unfortunately there was only one woodworking table. There was, however, a nearby bench perfect for reading. So the couple did their own things, but never strayed too far from each other.
All in all it was a nice afternoon. The clouds eventually started to break and the sun started to light up the forest. It weaved beautiful rays through the trees. Both could see this from the porch of the information center, but not so well. Once William was done, they would head out for another hike before heading home just to take it all in.
Back at the cabin William was finally able to take advantage of the little grill by porch. For the couple's final meal he made kabobs. Cassandra enjoyed a nice drink while she watched her new husband work. It was almost enough to make her want to share in the cooking duties. After all William had done all the cooking since she had moved in, a skill he had perfected while living alone. Eating out all the time was certainly too expensive for someone just trying to get by, at the time.
With the kabobs done it was time for the couple's last meal of their little outdoor retreat. It was nice to get away from the city, and away from their toddler, for a bit, but it was short-lived. In just a few hours they would be returning to their regular lives. This had not only been a chance to really spend time with just the two of them, but it was also a chance to think about how cramped the apartment was. Maybe it was time to save up for a real house. Of course there was no way they'd be able to afford something like the house William had grown up in right away, but it couldn't hurt to see if there was anything on the market they could afford.
All of that could wait though. The honeymoon wasn't quite over. There was still enough time for the couple to spend more quality time together, and boy did they, all night, until it was time to get ready to leave.
Fresh off their honeymoon, it was time to get back to normal life. Both Cassandra and William had work. Their schedules were perfect for Morgana though. Cassandra worked in the morning while William worked at night. This meant there was always a parent their for some flash cards, chatting, or playtime, not mention feeding, putting to bed, and bathtime.
Though playing with Morgana was fun, and hearing her laughter was eliating, William couldn't just play with his daughter. There were important things she needed to know before she entered grade school. Fortunately Cassandra had all but taken care of the more disguting thing. The hardest thing William had to do was sit the toddler down and teach her animals, numbers, and the like through the use of cards and guessing. This was made all the more easy the more Morgana learned about words and how to speak.
Working only part time meant less money for sure, but Cassandra could spend time with both her daughter and her husband before he had to work. This also meant she got to watch her husband teaching their daughter facts of life. Sure she would also help later after he left for work, but it was nice watching him do it.
Of course not everything was sunshine and rainbows. Their neighbor loved to make noise in the middle of the afternoon and late at night. Middle of the afternoon wasn't such a bad time when it was just Cassandra and William, but Morgana needed naps, and noise certainly didn't help her.
Usually their neighbor was fairly accomodating, always apologizing when he was told to keep it down, but he never seemed to think about them when it was time for him to invite someone over. What was really annoying was when he yelled at them for just having the stereo a little to high while William was teaching Morgana to dance.
At the end of the honeymoon William had considered moving. His reason was that the apartment was just too small to raise their daughter in, and, what if they had another kid? This gave them one more reason to get out.
It wasn't too long after getting back into their usual routine that it was time to take time off to give thanks for everything they had recieved that year. It was time for the family's first ever Harvestfest together.
As William had been the one to do the majority of the cooking in the family he was charged with making the meal. He wasn't sure he was up to making something so grand, but he would certainly try. Morgana had a bit of fun watching him work the ham. Previously, the only option for Harvestfest, and really any holiday involving a grand meal, in the Smith Family had been tofurkey, because Emilie was a vegitarian. There were no vagitarians here, so William cooked a glorious ham dinner.
For some reason, maybe due to space, gnomes didn't visit William's apartment. That wasn't a huge loss, but decorating options were also extremely limited. In fact, for Harvestfest, they were limited to just a couple of festive looking, multi-colored leaves scattered about the small apartment. Perhaps the biggest loss was not being able to gather the rest of their families for William's first ham dinner. They had a hard enough time getting Morgana fitted in place so she could enjoy the ham with her parents, and not just shoved in a corner like she usually was.
The meal was wonderous, and Morgana was fitted in by the counter between Cassandra and William so she was able to enjoy the meal with her parents. At least nothing went wrong today.
After such a wonderful, intimate Harvestfest, it was a shock, a big shock, to wake up in the dark. The lights in the apartment always came on automatically whenever someone woke up. It was annoying when it was the middle of the night and one or more were still asleep, but it was also helpful. Sadly that didn't happen today. In fact it didn't happen even after all three residents were awake.
William was sure it was not a big deal, but he couldn't turn on the lights manually either. He was hungry and grabbed a couple of bowls of leftover fruit salad. The fridge was still cold, but was also not working.
Once the couple sat down they noticed the problem. There was an ominous sparking coming from the breaker box. This box had given them problems before, and William had tried to repair it a few times, only ended up having the call the landlord the last couple. It never killed the power though.
The landlord was accomadating again and came over right away with little complaint, despite it still being fairly early in the morning. He fixed the box and the lights came back on. It was little more than a minor inconvience, but it was an inconvience, and one that the couple didn't want to have to relive. They had all the reasons they needed to move out of the small apartment now.
Fortunately, saving up had really paid off and William was able to find a nice, cozy home with lots of space to grow in Newcrest. Just as they were getting settled in the new house, someone knocked on their door. They weren't expecting anyone, and their nearest neighbor was down the street. The new house was just at the edge of Newcrest's new comercial district. The nearest residence was all the way at the other end of that district.
Nevertheless the teen that came to the door was a resident at that house. She was the only one that came, but she invited the young couple over to meet the rest of the household later that evening. Cassandra thought that was a little strange, but William didn't seem to notice.
Soon after the neighbor's arrival, another guest appeared. This time it was Emilie. William had told her he was moving and how much he couldn't stand the apartment anymore, but he wasn't entirely sure how she figured out where he had moved to. Maybe he had mentioned it somewhere, but he honestly didn't make the dicision until that morning.
Emilie was able to meet William's neighbor and also didn't find anything weird about her. Of course, Cassandra was quick to point out that their wasn't anything she felt about the teen, but something was strange about only sending her and inviting them over later that evening. Emilie shrugged and said that they probably just didn't get out much, or they worked. A perfectly logical answer, but not one Cassandra accepted.
While William had Emilie's attention he had to reiterate how unbearable his apartment was especially with a toddler. He mentioned that you can't even count on your neighbors to be considerate let alone nice, and he couldn't even count on the power staying on even when he was never late on his rent. Cassandra was quick to point out that the landlord was nice, and always helped out, but even she was pissed at their neighbor and hated waking up in the dark.
Even though Emilie was now a young adult, like William, she made the decision not to move out so quickly. She would see how her acting career went before crossing that bridge. William was happy to hear she had decided to become an actress. After her experience in drama club as a child, he wasn't sure what she'd do. He knew she wanted to be famous, but wasn't even sure she knew how that was going to happen after high school.
That evening William headed over to the house at the other end of the street with Cassandra. While the house they had just moved into was pretty modern, this house looked like something straight out of the last century. It was a large brick mension with a huge brick porch. William walk up the stairs and knocked on the large entry door. Any brick house like this would make Cassandra nervous, she spent most of her life in a similar-style home, but this house was much larger than the one she lived in.
Fortunately they were greeted by a smiling young man. He beckoned the joyfully. William looked at Cassandra hoping to see her relax, but she seemed even more tense.
Though much of the house still retained in its old charm, most rooms had been renovated showing a more contemporary side to the place. It was quite cozy even with such a small living room. The neighbors seemed plesant enough, but Cassandra never seemed to relax. If only she could figure out why.
The last holiday for William's family was not exactly perfect. It wasn't terrible, in fact, it was still quite a good holiday. The only problem was the lack of space and freedom due to being in a cramped apartment. Well now they weren't in an apartment! The William Smith Residence wasn't the largest house in the world, but it wasn't the smallest, and it was a house. This afforded the young family plenty of options for decorations. William was so excited to actually decorate outside that he was up early just to get it done.
Of course the outside of the house wasn't the only thing that needed decorating. Cassandra got up just after William and helped him move the piano out of the way. The couple pull a newly purchased tree out and began decorating. William certainly wasn't sure where they would have put this if they were in the apartment, but the house had a perfect spot for it.
Morgana was the last one awake. Being such a big girl she had come downstairs on her own. She even knew what the boxes placed under the tree were and was overly excited at the prospect of tearing them open. Unforuntately she would have to wait. William was in the kitchen cooking breakfast. Which he insisted everyone, including the toddler, shared in at the same time. Of course this was only the first family meal of the day.
After breakfast Morgana wanted to rush over to the tree to open presents, but she was trapped in her highchair. She begged and pleaded to be let out, but the cries fell of deaf ears as the parents were too busy cleaning up. Fortunately she wasn't left in there too long. As soon as she was set down she ran over to the tree.
Unfortunately her legs were much, much shorter than everyone else's so, despite her running, and everyone else walking, she arrived at the tree after everyone else. Nevertheless, she was the youngest and was allowed to open the first present, a toy horse. They each took turns opening presents until all that was left under the tree was open boxes and discarded wrapping paper.
The remainder of the morning was spent setting up new things and playing with new toys, or, more accurately, watching Morgana play with new toys. The second meal was eaten together just like the first, but it was the third meal of the day that would be the crowning event of the holiday.
Morgana's high chair may not have been the cleanest after lunch, and the parents may not have had time to clean it before dinner, but having a grand fish meal at an actual table in an actual dinning room was so much better then at the counter in their apartment. It was far easier for William and Cassandra to enjoy their company and the company of their daughter without having to look passed everyone.
This first Winterfest was certainly the best holiday thus far. After dinner Morgana was put to bed. Both William and Cassandra had suddenly decided that one child just wasn't enough. The perfect way to end this perfect holiday would be a second child, but, unfortunately that would not be despite trying, at least not yet.