3.3 - Raising Babies

Tyler's Transcripts 

I can't believe it. My hair has gone gray and I still have these two little infants to care for as well as two 2-year olds. Thank heaven for Pampa! Had it not been for her I wouldn't be updating this journal right now and who knows what might have happened to my babies. Especially Florence.

Pampa said she was pretty sure that little Florence or Flo as we dubbed her has Matt's mutation. But she assured me that Flo needn't die from it as Matt did.  

She explained that as Flo got older her appetite would be voracious and she would need to have access to the limited water supply to keep from dying of dehydration as her father had done. Eventually she would learn to live without the extra food and water and adapt to her form. For now she was just a sweet little baby girl. No more demanding than her twin brother Garland. 

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Flo and Garland are now toddling around and it is visibly apparent that Flo did inherit the mutation from her Father that is causing her legs to be pink and scaley. Right now she was still getting enough nutrients through the formula so she doesn't have the food and hydration issues that Pampa said to expect as she reaches childhood and into her teen years.

Flo and Victoria like to play together. Wherever Victoria is sitting, Flo would crawl over to her and just watch her play. It was sweet to watch the sisters.

The down side is now I have 4 toddlers! At least the two older ones can talk, walk and go to the potty by themselves. What a relief...No more pointing and crying and dirty diapers for two of them anyway. 

Before we did anything, I had to stop and count to make sure all were present and accounted for. I would just look for 3 little black heads and one red one! You could always pick out Irving in a crowd. It was easy to tell if it was Irving that was missing.  I am not so sure about that boy!





Poor Pampa barely had time to feed herself. If two were sleeping, usually two were being fed or trained.


Pampa and I work hard teaching the youngest twins to walk, talk and get them potty trained. They need to be ready for school.

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Irving

Victoria

Babies don't stay babies forever and do grow up. Before I knew it, Victoria and Irving were ready to start school. 

We celebrated with cake. And I have to say, you can tell Victoria likes her cake! Don't get in her way when she has something halfway yummy to eat. 
  











Now that we had two in school, there were so many snow days from the blasted toxic cloud that still covered the sky, that Pampa and I worked with Victoria and Irving to help them keep their grades up.  

 

One of the things we noticed about Irving is he has a tendency to have panic attacks which can only be relieved by breathing into a paper bag. And he does this weird thing with his arm. Maybe he is double jointed. Anyway, I hope he outgrows this because he really is a smart child. 

Garland thinks it's really funny when he does this. Easy entertainment I suppose. Or maybe he just wants to know when he can have the brownies that Irving likes to make on the toy oven. They really are delicious. 

Flo and Garland liked to sleep in front of the fire every night. Even though we had cribs it had become their preferred place to be probably because of the warmth. 

We had a party for the youngest twins on their birthday. They would finally be in school with their older siblings. 






Sadly, this would be the last birthday that Pampa celebrated with us. She died shortly after their party.

I would never have been able to do this without the love and dedication of my sister. I will be forever grateful and I know the kids will miss her. 

Her death suddenly makes my own mortality more real to me. I will undoubtedly follow her to the grave in a few years. While we can still be present up until our dying day, we still have far fewer years on this planet than they did in my Grandmother's time. Until this land is once again restored to its former and hopefully better state, I fear this will be the fate of humankind for many years to come. 

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Florence

Garland

My little Garland inherited his sister's love of food. It's sad because it is totally unrelated to the issue that his poor sister Flo has to deal with. She HAS to eat massive quantities of food just to survive. 

Garland lives to eat and Florence eats to live.

I saw them goading each other the other day. Garland said, "Why do you have stupid purple legs?" and then Flo retorted back, "Why do you have two chins?"

Then they started playing chess together like it was nothing....thank goodness.

Seriously though, my children, while not perfect, are my children and I love all four of them dearly. 

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It's funny to see it happening, but Victoria is taking over as the most dominant one of all the children - or should I say bossy. She tells them how to do their homework and makes sure they all sit down together...It's great really. I know they will be teens in just a couple of years and am super happy they will be able to continue their education.

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Victoria

Irving

My firstborn are now teenagers - and able to attend high school! They need to remember that it was their father (at my insistence) that helped make that happen. 

Victoria must be letting Flo have some of her portions or maybe it was the workout routines we were following, but she lost some of her baby fat as she got older. And Irving, well Irving is Irving. He still uses his paper bag ALL the time!

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I know my days are numbered so today I sat down with Victoria. I needed to let her know about what was really going on with her sister and how to help her through a transition period that would allow her to adapt to less water and food in her teenage years because I wasn't sure I would be around.

I felt so bad burdening my daughter with everything. But she was strong. We had talked about their heritage and how things used to be, but I wanted to be sure she read the journals started by her Great-grandmother Abilene. 

She needed to understand what her family had done and hearing it in their words is the best way. 

After we discussed the journals, the next thing I had to tell was especially difficult. All I could do really was impart upon her a sense of duty to continue what Abilene had began. Our little family had done so much, but there was still so much to be done. 

Victoria had to bear children to carry on our family's legacy. Plus, she needs to begin to chronicle her and her brother's and sister's lives so as to pass this down to her children. 

The town was beginning to look to us as role models to make a difference in their lives. The Gentry name meant something. It really was up to her to do make sure that continued. The four of them should do what she and her brothers and sister had done. Figure out what they were passionate about and use that passion to find a way to 'fix' the Valley.

When Victoria asked my why her - it was simple. She was strong and the Gentry name had to blood. Men cannot be relied upon to produce children with a woman and know for certain the child carries their genes, whereas if a woman bears a child - there is no doubt as to the bloodline of the child. 

It couldn't be Florence because of her mutation. And this was hard to tell my daughter - Flo shouldn't procreate because of the possibility of spreading the mutation. Maybe someday someone could create a real cure but for now there were no cures. 

I told her blood is indeed thicker than water. Your Aunt Pampa devoted her life to see to it that you and you brothers and sister were well cared for since your father died when you were but very small children.

I went to bed exhausted at the burden I had just placed on my eldest daughter but she seemed to accept her duty with grace and pride. 

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Garland

It was soon my youngest children's birthday. And we celebrated with cake as was now a tradition. 

Like his older sister, Garland had lost a lot of his baby fat and now Flo could no longer poke fun at his extra chins. 

Unfortunately, she still had purple fish legs.....

Not long after Flo's birthday, the gravity of her condition was soon apparent. 

Florence passed out in the floor. We were prepared and Irving had the honor of throwing a bucket of water in her face. I think he enjoyed it actually - not because he was a hero but because he thought it was funny to throw water on his sister and not get in trouble. 

We were already dealing with Flo's voracious appetite. Both Garland and Victoria envied her. She ate and ate and ate and....well you get the picture. And she never gained an ounce. While Victoria and Garland just ate a little and gained weight. At least they don't have scales on them.

I think Victoria was secretly happy that I had told her she was going to be the Matriarch of this family very soon - maybe sooner than she realizes. 

Until next time...If there is a next time. I really am tired...

All my love - Tyler



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