Tiny New Additions

The Hoang Family

4 Rich Street
$21,099

Title: Tiny New Additions

Last Visit: A New Start

Kennedy: Hello there. It's me Kennedy Cox. It's been so long since we saw you. Just to quickly refresh your memory about who we are; My lovely partner Hannah recently moved to Affluence Valley with her daughter Jen. She hadn't been here too long when we met and instantly fell in love. Soon, with her daughter's approval, Hannah asked me to move in, and of course I accepted. Shortly after I moved in, Hannah told me she was pregnant! I am so excited to finally be a father. I wanted to get married, but Hannah told me she wasn't ready to take that step yet, since her last marriage fell apart, in a dramatic and heartbreaking fashion. She asked that we wait a little while, maybe even until after the baby was born. I wasn't excited about it, but I understood. So I think thats probably enough of a refresher. Now let me tell you what has been going on as of recently.

Well I guess the first place I should start is with Hannah and I's union. After giving it a lot of thought, Hannah finally decided she wanted to get married before the baby was born. Partly because she loved me, more than anything (she says), but partly because she wanted the baby to have my last name, Cox. Affluence Valley law states the the baby automatically takes the last name of the mother upon birth...NO MATTER WHAT. We realized that if we wanted the baby to have the last name of Cox, Hannah and I would have to get married and she would have to legally change her last night. It wasn't the most romantic moment of my life, but I was happy to finally be able to call her my wife. Beggars can't be choosers, so they say. So we are now officially Mr. & Mrs. Cox.

And of course you remember Hannah's first child, Jen. When we last saw you, Jen had just celebrated her teenage birthday. Well she has grown up a bit since then and is now a sophisticated young woman, thinking about college, and her future. She really is a wonderful girl and she and I have gotten quite close...about as close as we can be given that I am not her biological father.

Jen is extremely excited to have a younger sibling. I was worried she would be resentful, as she has been an only child for the last umpteen years...but no such thing. She was constantly talking to the baby, and rubbing Hannah's belly. It was quite adorable.

Then...before we knew it...it was time. Hannah was giving birth. It was a scary moment for Jen and I, but we managed to get her to the hospital in time. Four hours and 20 minutes later we welcomed a new member to the family. After a brief stay in the hospital (routine for all new mothers) we finally came home and welcomed little Kevin Cox to the family. He definitely has my eyes, but other than that we will have to wait until he gets a bit older to see who he looks most like.

Things were so busy with the baby we didn't even realize that our little puppy Gingersnap was no longer...well...little. Seemingly overnight he had grown into a handsome dog. I think he is a little *odd* looking, but we all love him nonetheless.

Especially Jen who spends all her free time (when she is not in front of the computer, on the phone, at school or doing homework) playing with him. She has been trying to teach him how to speak on command, but, well, he's a bit of a doofus. It may take a bit of time.

Days passed, weeks passed, months passed and soon it was time for little Kevin's first birthday. We threw him a very small party (as he was too young to even realize it was his birthday). It was just Jen, Hannah and myself. I held Kevin as I blew out the candles for him and made a wish that he would grow into a healthy little toddler.

Business was normal around the Cox-Hoang household. With two women (one of them a teenager), a toddler and a dog around it seemed like something always needed fixing or cleaning up. Jen and Hannah did their part to help, but some things just had to be done by a man.

Thus far Jen hadn't shown any interest in the boys of her school, like you would expect most teenage girls to do. Instead, she often hung out with her friend Callie West, the teenage daughter of Cadence West, also a new resident to this area. I would estimate that Callie spent at least 4 out of 6 nights eating dinner with us. I was happy to see that Jen had such a good friend.

As Kevin grew a bit older it became more and more evident he had inherited my nose. I had hoped he would get something in between Hannah and I...but I still think he's a handsome little guy. It's just that some people consider my nose a bit "big". Anyways...soon Kevin was at the age where we thought it was ready for him to learn how to talk and walk. Hannah volunteered to teach him to talk, as she had studied journalism in college and was excellent with language.

Thus, by default, I got the task of teaching him how to walk. It was a tedious task, occasionally filled with frustration, but we persevered and soon he was cruising around the house like he had known how to walk for 15 years.

Kevin is a precocious little child, but extremely sweet...and relatively intelligent. He really enjoys his "Logic Blocks" which Hannah and I bought for him when he turned 2. Most times he sits there chewing on them...but occasionally he will make the effort to try and put them in the proper holes. His favorite block to chew on seems to be the yellow triangle. Odd little boy. Personally I would go for the green circle.

And then it was time for Kevin's birthday out of toddlerdom and into childhood. Unfortunately Jen was unable to be there for his party, as she had just started at Sim State University (living in an apartment with her friend Callie and Callie's sister, Cadee). So it was just Hannah, Kevin and I, but Kevin seemed to enjoy the party. For a birthday present we re-did Jen's old room, which was decked out in a "princess" theme, into a more sporty, boy theme. He was quite excited.

So this is where we leave you for now. Things are going quite well for us. Hannah and I have been focused on raising Kevin, but now that he is starting school, it may be time for us to start focusing more on our careers, as we need to start saving for Kevin's education.

Well, I must go cook dinner for Hannah and Kevin, so until we see you again...Thank you for stopping by.

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COX (HOANG) FAMILY OUTTAKES

You better watch it or I might stab you in the eye with my giant pointy schnozz (nose).

A Whole Lotta Fun...And a Little Bit 'o Work

The Hopkins Family

12 Affluent Lane
$38,331

Title: A Whole Lotta Fun...And A Little Bit 'o Work

Last Visit: All In the Family

Leihla: Welcome back! It's so great to see you. So much has happened since you were last here. If you remember the last time you were here, my sister-in-law, Valarie, had just gotten married to a gentleman named Malcolm Landgraab IV. Malcolm had quite a bit of money so they decided to move out and get their own place. Though I love my sister-in-law, I am definitely glad to have her out of the house. We are all happy this way.

You might also remember that I had just given birth to Eric and I's second child, and first daughter, Tessa.

Tessa is absolutely precious. I just can't get enough her. When Brady was a baby I was still in high school so raising a baby wasn't as enjoyable. But now that I am a *bit older* having a baby is such an enjoyable experience. I even enjoy the little things like giving her a bath.

We also decided to get a puppy. We thought it would be nice if Tessa had a pet to grow up with so we went to the Affluence Valley Animal Shelter and adopted a little white puppy. We decided to name him Jai, after Eric's best friend in high school. I was really worried we were going to get this hyper little dog that wouldn't stop running around, but he is actually very calm. He spends most of the day sleeping.

Brady has really taken to Jai. When he isn't doing his homework, working or on a date with his girlfriend Laci, he is most likely playing with Jai.

Eric is a wonderful husband. Things have been extremely busy at work as of lately. Every night I come home completely exhausted. Within 30 minutes of being home I am out like a light. When Tessa starts crying for her midnight feeding, Eric is up within moments and taking care of her. He really is my saving grace. I don't know what I would do without him.

Before we knew it, it was time for Tessa's birthday. She was about to exit infantdom and enter toddlerhood. I can't believe how fast she is growing up! The birthday party was small. Just the family plus Valarie (Malcolm was at work, unfortunately).

Of course Tessa wasn't quite ready to blow out the candles by herself, so Eric had to do it for her. It was quite a picturesque moment.

Even though Eric and I are both extremely busy, with our jobs, the baby and a teenage son, we manage to find time to have some good old fashioned fun of kicking each other's butts at video games. Well...actually it was mostly me kicking Eric's butt. I do aspire to be a video game designer after all.

Tessa continues to be the cutest little girl ever. She is definitely a Daddy's girl. Eric dotes on her so much. She has brown hair, like I do, but she has her Daddy's blue eyes.

Teaching Tessa to talk was a pain. Most of the time she was really receptive and ready to learn, but every once in a while she would get extremely feisty and would refuse to say anything except for no. However, she eventually she came around and now she won't stop chattering away.

Eric had a much easier time teaching Tessa to walk, than I did teaching her to talk. I don't know what it is, but every time he is with her she just melts and does everything he wants. I will admit I am a little jealous, though I still think it's absolutely precious.

Jai is no longer a puppy. He lost nearly ALL of his white coloring as he entered adulthood, but I still think he is quite a good looking dog. He has maintained his relaxed, easy going disposition, though he will run for the door when Tessa is chasing after him. Eric would like to start training Jai as soon as possible, maybe even enter him into a few dog shows.

Brady finally finished his senior year of high school (with an A+ I might add) and is ready to go to college. He applied to a few around here and was accepted to all of them. He ended up choosing Affluence Valley State University, partly because his girlfriend, Laci, is going there. No matter his reason for choosing AVSU, Eric and I are extremely proud of him, especially since we did not have the opportunity. He is not sure what he is going to major in. He has thought about Economy or Political Science. He doesn't have to choose until his junior year anyways. He has plenty of time to see what he likes.

Since Brady is now at AVSU and can no longer babysit Tessa we had to hire a nanny. I really wanted to just take a hiatus from work so I could be at home with Tessa myself, but Eric was persistent about me continuing to work. He said that I should not give up on my dream to be a Game Designer, and that we were bringing in enough money that we can afford it. So we hired one. I can't quite recall her name now, but Tessa calls her the "Fun Nanny". She is a little odd, but she seems to do her job well.

And before we new it, it was time for Tessa's birthday again. My little angel was about to become a child and begin school. We didn't throw a party this time around, as Brady couldn't come back from AVSU and Valarie and Malcolm were...a little busy...so to speak. So it was just Eric and I. But Tessa didn't seem to mind. As a birthday present to her we re-did Brady's room and turned it into the perfect room for a little princess. She absolutely loved it!

So this is where we leave you for now. Eric and I are unbelievably happy. Tessa is turning out to be a beautiful girl, and we couldn't be more proud of Brady. If you had asked me 20 years ago if I thought this is where I would be at this point in my life, I probably would have laughed in your face. But here we are, and there isn't any other place I would rather be. The past few years or so has been q bit of work, but it really has been a lot of fun.

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HOPKINS FAMILY OUTTAKES

I think the "Fun Nanny" had a little *too* much fun and is now a tad bit out of it.