Generation 1 Chapter 9: Amani Vista

 

“Come on Bee, walk to Mommy,” I cooed, outstretching my arms.

 

I let out a good natured laugh as she plopped herself back down, demanding Tubby. “That’s okay,” I remarked with a smile, “We’ll give it another try tomorrow.” Patience is key regarding a child with a learning disability; something I picked up excessively quickly the moment Bee hit the toddler stage. I understood learning the basic building blocks of life were going to be difficult for her, but I had no idea they would be to this magnitude. Hopefully Concord and I will adjust seamlessly with time. 

 

Bee’s still insanely obsessed with the makeshift toy Albany bought for her when she was first born. Tubby, as Bee calls her. Thankfully, the doll keeps her preoccupied a hefty portion of the day, allowing Concord and I to occasionally catch up on our hobbies, sleep, or you know… with each other.

Ahem.  

 

Recently, Concord and I have discovered we’ll be welcoming another bundle of joy into the Vista family. I’ve been attempting to be more nurturing and cautious this pregnancy, eating prenatal vitamins as instructed and reading up on tips that promote a healthy delivery. When I’m not giving into my savory sweet cravings, I’m eating tons of veggies and keeping a balanced diet. In other words, salad has managed to become my new best friend. Concord is such a sweetheart, too, voluntarily making my meals and even accompanying me in my health kick.  

 

Concord’s been improving miraculously with his sculpting skills. He’s been exploring different materials, like ice and wood, rather than sticking to solely clay. Now he’s capable of making a wide variety of items, he even constructed an adorable little toy box for Bee! She loves passing the time playing inside the bin with Tubby and all of her other toys.  

 

As my stomach grew in size, Concord stepped it up a notch and began to tackle most of the chores that needed to be taken care of around the house. I felt awful that I was leaving all of the dirty work to him, but it’s not as if I had all that much of a choice. My ankles were double their natural size and my baby bump restricted me to minimal movement.  

 

Practically every aspect of my pregnancy was similar to when I was carrying Bee, besides the fact that I was much more health conscious. Concord was constantly placing his hands on my stomach, making promises to the little one inside of me. Whenever Concord would begin to talk, the baby would begin to kick, leading me to believe somebody was going to be very attached to their daddy…

 

Once Bee had grasped the concept of putting one foot in front of the other, Concord readily began to try teaching her some basic words. Unfortunately, she wasn’t having any of it, insisting Tubby meant every single word in the English dictionary. Oh well, hopefully she’ll learn with time.  

 

This time around, my contractions weren’t quite as painful, which was a good sign, I hoped. Concord yet again failed to be helpful, leaving me to steer myself in the direction of the hospital. I’m just thankful he remembered to call a baby sitter. Thinking of the alternative most definitely wasn’t heartwarming…  

 

Much to my delight, I delivered a perfectly healthy baby girl, Amanda.  

 

Deciding to brainwash yet another one of my children, Albany bought Amanda a doll very similar to Bee’s, whom she’d already named Puzzle.  

Perfect, just perfect…

 

With two toddlers on our hands, time was the last thing on our mind. But sure enough, Amanda’s first birthday had managed to creep up on us. The only thing she had inherited of mine was her hair color, everything else was Concord’s. She had his pure blue eyes and gorgeous tan skin tone. Not to mention that she already appeared to be taking after his devilish good looks…  

“Please, Concord? I really want to have two little boys! It would be just adorable to have two little clones of you running around the house!” I confessed. 

“I know, Amani. I get it. But we have two rambunctious toddlers running around, one with a learning disability. I think we need just focus on them for now. Maybe when Bee’s a little older, then we can try.”
“But when I’m pregnant, that’s almost an entire year. They’ll still be growing-!” Concord let out a sigh as I protested. My OCD was beginning to get the better of me… You need to think of everyone else, I reminded myself.