The Cooke Legacy: The Cooke Legacy: Chapter Nineteen –Chapter Nineteen –

Thanksgiving Day TreatThanksgiving Day Treat

A joint legacy between ilovereecee & meadowthayer

Moving back home with your parents fresh out of college wasn’t my idea of a good time. I’m a Romance aspiration and I want as much freedom as possible, so I can bring home all the good looking fellas and ladies of course. Living with my mom Jenna, dad Grant and grandpa Felix obviously wasn’t ideal, but it’s all a part of being a legacy heiress!Of course it wasn’t just my parents and granddad there. In addition to our two dogs Lucky and Max, mom got me my own spotted dalmatian named Cupcake to welcome me home

Once I ate a good home cooked meal and unpacked all my things into my new room, I began helping my dad teach Max and Cupcake a few tricks. They both are employed and we are constantly working on new skills so they can continue to earn promotions. Meanwhile Granddad Felix chats to my siblings about the importance of money!

Max and Cupcake may know how to speak, shake and stay, but it’s obvious that we need to work a little less on skills and a little more on their manners! Taking up all the room on my new bed isn’t going to fly for long!

Mom and Dad spent a ton of money building this new home from the ground up, so of course they hired a whole team to handle all the upkeep! I was thrilled to see that the maid they hired was the same maid that worked for my siblings and I in college! Adrian and I had a little thing a few semesters back and I have a feeling things are going to get heated again soon!

I started working in a fast food restaurant (so much for my college degree, right!?) in order to climb the career ladder to Celebrity Chef! I can’t wait until that day finally comes, I’ll be happy for the rest of my life! Until then I come home every night from taking orders at the drive through and soak in my nice hot bath!

I’m not one whose entire life revolves around their family, but I do love those who are close to me. Granddad Felix is one of those family members that I love and his habits are starting to worry me. Granddad isn’t very active and he naps a lot in his recliner; I know he’s getting old, but I just hope he has a few more years left in him. I’d like to let him see me as more than just a burger flipper one day soon.

Just as I suspected, my feelings for Adrian turned to burning flames once I moved back home with my parents. I’d always thought Adrian was super cute and it’s nice to see him periodically throughout the week. We do more than just catch up on old days, if you catch my drift!

I haven’t gotten on full time yet at the burger joint, so I have a lot of free time on my hands. I like to go out and see what the town has to offer. Usually I meet some pretty interesting people, and the day I met Mona Jalowitz was no different! She’s super cool and witty, even if she is an evil witch! I’d like get to know her more! You never know when having a witchy friend will come in handy!

When I finally got promoted to waitress at the restaurant, my family decided to have a little dinner party at the house. Adrian was invited over by my parents and we had a really nice dinner together! While I was washing my dish in the sink, I overheard Adrian tell my parents he loved me! I’d never been a sucker for love, but somehow having him tell my parents that gave me butterflies inside!

So later that night, I decided to show Adrian that my feelings for him were mutual! This was the first time any man had told my parents how they’d felt about me. It made me feel really good. I hope his feelings stay the same after tonight! We’ve always had a super hot relationship, but this is the first time we have woohooed together!

I’m not the only one in the house earning promotions. Cupcake is a promotion earning machine! We hardly have time to teach her all of her tricks because once she learns one, she’s earning a promotion and needs to learn another! She’s a pretty great dog! I’m glad my parents got her for me to come home to.

As a waitress I work a lot of nights and I’m constantly walking around. My feet are starting to swell and I’m exhausted all the time. I’m starting to take more naps in Granddad Felix’s chair than he does lately!

Unfortunately Granddad Felix will never be able to nap in his chair again! A few days after my promotion to waitress, the grim reaper came to claim my dear old grandfather. I can’t believe this is really happening. It almost doesn’t seem real!

To make matters worse, the night of my Granddad Felix’s death, the family dog Lucky ran away from home! I began to think my poor old dad was going insane; he kept cleaning all the pet beds and food bowls in the house saying Lucky would want to come home to a clean bowl of food. This is not a good time in the Cooke home!

My parents, Grant and Jenna, were more than torn up over the death of my grandfather. Though he is no longer with us, the would still want us to he happy. This is why we had a small birthday party when Mom and Dad aged into elders. I think they still look as good as they did when they first got married. My mom kept her youthful face and dad still has the same caring, big brown eyes!

“Oh my goodness! I know your Granddad Felix would go nuts over this! We’re going to have a new baby in the family, Hannah! This is so great darling.”

The night my parents aged into elders was also the night I found out that I was pregnant with Adrian’s child. It was a complete surprise, but not altogether unwelcome. I, like my mother, was warming up to the idea of having a baby.

“So when’s the big wedding date honey? I’m so happy for you and Adrian! You’re going to look so lovely in a poofy white dress!” Mom gushed over my new belly then hugged me tight. I just laughed and said nothing. To be honest with you, I hadn’t even thought about marrying Adrian. I do love him and I am going to love our child, but I am a romance aspiration and I can’t just give up all of my freedom at once. Having a baby and being a wife just might be a little too much on my plate right now. We’ll have to see what the future holds.

“You’re going to be a daddy Adrian,” I wish I’d put more thought into the way I planned to tell Adrian about my pregnancy. But I didn’t and it just came out all at once, “We’re going to a have a baby!”

Adrian didn’t say anything for a minute. He just stared from my belly then back to my face, then back to my belly again. I think it took a minute to sink in!

“Hannah! This is great!!! Babe, marry me!?”

“Whoa, whoa! Hold your horses cowboy! Marry you!? This is going way too fast! We didn’t even plan this baby. I’m still coming to terms with the fact that there is a child inside of my stomach! Marriage isn’t an option right now. I don’t want to marry you, Adrian!”

I know that sticking my fingers in my ears so that I couldn’t hear a response and running away into the house isn’t the most adult thing to do, but Adrian was taking this news way to easily. And it was freaking me way out! I’m not the type of girl who wants a husband and babies and changes diapers. I’m the girl that parties and gets all the guys to come home with her. This is a lot to deal with right now.

To get my mind off of the fact that Adrian was being entirely to chill about the baby situation, I invited my new friend Mona Jalowitz over for some video games and dinner. I told her the whole situation and she completely understood my point!

“This is exactly why you don’t get knocked up my family aspiration guys, Hannah! As soon as the know you’re pregnant, they want to put a ring on your finger. Just because you’re going to be a mom doesn’t mean you have to marry him. You still have to make yourself happy. If marriage doesn’t make you happy, don’t do it.”

“I know Mona, but I just don’t know if I want my child to grow up without a father.” I was really worried about being a single mom.

“But you don’t want him or her to grow up and see you so unhappy with someone you married solely because you got pregnant.” I had to admit, Mona had a point!

“True. You know, you’re being really understanding about all of this. You’re an EVIL witch, aren’t you supposed to offer to turn Adrian into a toad so I don’t have to deal with him or something!” We both laughed at my lame joke.

After Mona’s chat over dinner I was feeling more at ease about having a baby without Adrian as my husband. I was confident that I was making the right choice. Once I made that one tough choice, my pregnancy was all downhill from there! A few weeks before I was due, my mom said she had a surprise for me! She’d been swearing up and down that I was going to have a little boy, so she finished off the nursery for my little man. I’ll admit it made me tear up a little

Some nice gentleman found Lucky and brought him back home to us! I never thought we’d see the family dog again. It had been so long since he ran away and he was so old in the first place. . . It’s nice to have him home again!

The same night that Lucky was brought home, I went into labor with my child! It was without a doubt, the MOST pain I’d ever felt in my life. But, even for a romance aspiration like myself, I melted once I looked into the eyes of my little boy! Mom was right all along and I was happy to name my new son Issac Cooke! I hope this doesn’t make things even more complicated for Adrian and I now that the baby is here.

I didn’t grow up around a lot of babies and I didn’t have any friends with children. I wasn’t even that involved in my nieces and nephews lives when they were little, so Issac is the first baby I’ve had to care for really. I think it shows too! I didn’t know how to comfort my son or what to do first – change his diaper or feed him a bottle? Which was more important? I’m more than glad my mom Jenna was there to help out when Issac was an infant. I don’t know how I could have done it without her honestly.

I had six weeks off work after Issac was born and that meant six weeks of being in the house while Adrian was there to clean. He did get to see Issac and bond with him during the day. During the awkward times when it was just the two of us though, there was a lot of tension in the air. He never brought up marriage again, but by the way he moped around the house I could tell he still wanted it.

A few weeks after Lucky was brought back to the house the Grim Reaper paid us another visit. I’m glad that we got Lucky back before he passed away, but losing a family pet is just as hard as losing an actual family member. The house is definitely in mourning again. Even Cupcake and Max are sad!

“So I heard you had a baby kid! I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d stop by to congratulate you!” Jim Reeves, the spring fling I met in Twikki Island during my college days, completely shocked me by showing up on my doorstep out of the blue one day. He had heard about Issac and came to wish me happiness with my new life as a mom and wife. He looked a little chipper when I told him I was still a single woman.

I guess your feelings for someone never truly go away. When Jim came by for his visit we rekindled our old flames and shared a sweet night together in my bedroom. It reminded me of simpler times in college when my biggest worry was could I sleep with my professor in time that semester to earn an A in the class.

“Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Issac, happy birthday to you!”

My parents and Jim (who stayed just long enough to wish Issac a happy first birthday) sang to my tiny son as I prepared to blow out his candles and help him age into a toddler. I can’t believe time has flown this fast since I gave birth to my little man.

Issac aged into such a cute and sweet toddler. He has so many genes from both his father and me that I can’t tell if he looks more like me or Adrian.

I don’t care who he ends up looking more like, as long as he grows up to be strong, smart and healthy!

“That’s it buddy, come see your Granddaddy Grant! You got it, keep going Issac!” My father was a complete sucker for my son and immediately started teaching him all the necessary toddler skills. Issac loved all the attention he was getting as an only child and caught on quick too! Looks like he will be a smart child!

I noticed Cupcake sleeping and eating a lot more lately, but I never put two and two together! Turns out she was pregnant this whole time! Cupcake had two puppies, one girl and one boy. They were named Pansy and Fat Boy*.

*Fat Boy is named after a nickname everyone used to call my dog Reecee due to his weight. Reecee recently passed away this November

Another shocking turn of events in the household – I’m pregnant again! Looks like I need to be more careful when rekindling old flames with spring flings from Twikki Island. Jim is no longer visiting, and he’s back home in the islands. After the experience with Adrian wanting to marry me, I think I won’t tell Jim about this pregnancy. I don’t want two men asking for my hand in marriage!

Having two puppies in the house is almost as bad as having a new baby in the house again! Fat Boy and Pansy constantly have to be watched because they aren’t potty trained and they like to run around the house barking randomly. It’s hard to train them. Luckily, we still have Max and Cupcake to praise for their good behavior and constant promotions.

“Say bottle, Issac! Say it for Grandma Jenna. Say bottle, baby!”

“Ba ba! Ba ba!” Issac didn’t say bottle, but ba ba sure is close enough!Mom loved teaching Issac new things and I love seeing him grow. I can’t believe my son is now walking and talking. He’s growing up so quickly.

I swear with every day that goes by, Issac gets that much smarter! He is such a sweet child and loves on all the dogs in the house. He also likes to have his alone time with his toys. By trial and error, Issac taught himself a little tune on his xylophone!

I was nine months pregnant when Issac’s birthday rolled around again. Being so exhausted and so close to my due date I invited Adrian over to help with the birthday, but he didn’t make it in time to see Issac blow out his candles and age into such a handsome child! I think he’s starting to look more like me!

“You’re so going down, Dad! Eat my dust!” Issac and Adrian ended up bonding over video games the night of his birthday. I was thankful that Adrian could make it so that I could go lay down in bed. I’m more than tired these days and the baby is growing so heavy! Plus this gives Adrian and Issac some alone time as father and son.

I didn’t even make it upstairs to my bed before the pains of labor hit me! It’d been quite a few years since I last had a child, but I knew the familiar sharp stabs and called for help immediately! Thank goodness Adrian and Issac were in the other room playing video games!

Issac made it just in time to see his baby brother being born. Adrian never came to help me – I don’t blame him. . . Why would he want to see another man’s child being born to the woman he loves!? Baby Ishmael looks so much like his father with his bright red hair! He got my stunning blue eyes though. He’s a good mix of us both.

Mona came over the next day to congratulate me on Ishmael’s birth. We played around for a while and caught up on life in general. Then I had an idea – both of my babies and been unplanned. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a child that was planned? Mona didn’t go for the idea at first, but I talked her into trying for a baby with me. I had to admit, I was excited to see how this baby would turn out as part witch! It was kind of a thrill to know that I was actually trying to get pregnant this time! I’m glad Mona’s a good friend to help me out with this process!

I know that a lot of pregnant women get cravings and morning sickness during pregnancy, but with my two boys I never had either of these symptoms. I had great pregnancies with both Issac and Ishmael. This time however, I got to experience a lot of morning sickness! Maybe this means I’m going to have a little girl this time around?

Ishmael is such an easy baby to care for! He hardly ever cries (except when he needs a diaper change or a bottle) and even when he does cry, it’s easy to comfort him.I like to think I’m getting better at the whole baby raising thing! With Issac, I was a complete nightmare when it came to taking care of him, but it’s almost second nature to me with little Ishmael.

My third pregnancy is still proving to be difficult! I’m tired all the time, constantly on the brink of starvation and after I eat I almost always throw it all right back up. I’m counting down the days until my due date. I can’t wait to get this little lady or fella out so I can feel back to normal again. It’s like this child has taken over my body completely!

Issac is a smart boy, he is already working on his skills in order to earn scholarships once he turns into a teenager. Thanks to all the tinkering around he did on his toddler xylophone, he already has pretty high creativity skills. Although it always doesn’t show in his llama paintings!

Fat Boy and Pansy have now aged into adult dogs! Thank goodness because potty training a puppy is worse than potty training a toddler! Pansy has one brown paw and the rest of her is white with bluish dots. Fat Boy is brown and white all over with the same blue dots. They’re both a great mix of Cupcake and Max.

My pregnancy is progressing and now that I’m in my third trimester things are finally starting to get better! I feel like I spent the last six months running from the kitchen for food and then immediately to the bathroom to throw it up! I’m thankful I no longer feel sick all the time!

It’s time for my little Ishmael to grow into a toddler! I can’t believe I’m going to have two big boys in the house now! Mom brought Ishmael to his cake and helped him blow out his candles so that he could age into the next stage of life!

Little Ishmael is adorable! He looks a lot like me, I think! My son has a great personality as well: 10.2.3.10.10. I have high hopes for my little man!

Right away my parents starting teaching Ishmael his toddler skills. My son caught on so quickly, I was amazed! Even Issac didn’t learn his toddler skills this fast! Maybe my second son is going to grow up to be a doctor, lawyer or even a rocket scientist!? Okay, that’s taking it too far probably!

Once Ishmael learned how to walk, talk and use the potty all by himself, he was able to focus on his toys all day long! Issac comes home after school and plays alongside his little brother. They enjoy the bonding time and Issac especially loves teaching Ishmael how to use all the toys. It’s really cute to see my children get along so well.

Ishmael is no longer my little baby! There are two new babies in the house now! My twin girls were born a few days after Ishmael’s birthday. Irelyn and Isadora are identical twins with blonde hair and brown eyes. I’m happy I got two girls, maybe this was why I was so sick during my first two trimesters! I’ve been carrying two babies all along!

Having twins in the house means constant chaos! I hardly ever get enough sleep and the same goes for my poor old parents! They are a great help with Irelyn and Isadora! Time has been flying by lately and soon it was time for my youngest boy to age again! He grew up into such a cute little boy. He looks more like me everyday!

These days I feel more like a housewife than ever! I sleep, wake up, feed my girls, change them, clean the house a little, get something to eat for myself, do more chores, feed the girls again. . . You get the idea! This is definitely not the life I ever pictured for myself! I’ve love my four kids, but I’ve got to get out of the house soon before I lose my ever loving mind! I’m not a family aspiration, I need flirting and dates and woohoo again!

Thankfully I can escape to work for a little while. I still need to earn quite a few more promotions before I can earn my main goal in life to become a celebrity chef. While I’m away working, my parents care for the twins. Irelyn and Isadora are lucky to have two older brothers, two grandparents and a mom to love and care for them.

I can’t explain how exhausting it is in the house these days. I get to escape the chaos at work, but my parents are living it twenty four seven. They pretty much only get sleep when the older boys are at school and Irelyn and Isadora are napping.

When the boys are not at school and all of their homework is done, they study for their college scholarships. It’s important that they earn as many as they possibly can, because it will make that first year in college that much more worry free. In their free time they still like to play together and usually run outside to play soccer or tag when it’s nice and sunny.

I can’t believe it’s been a whole year since my babies were born! Irelyn and Isadora are now about to age into big girls. I was at work when their birthday came, but my mom caught me up detail for detail once I got home.

Irelyn and Isadora aged into adorable little girls! They look a lot more like Mona that they look like me! Irelyn is sporting some cute little pig tails and Isadora is rocking the messy side pony tail! Both of my girls are cute as can be and I hope they grow up to be as smart as their two older brothers, but as pretty as me

It’s time once again for my oldest child to have another birthday! I can’t believe he is a teenager now! Issac sure is making me feel a lot older than I am! Mom and little Ishmael were there to help Issac celebrate his teenage birthday!

Issac aged very well and looks more like his father with every birthday that passes. Issac rolled primary family and secondary popularity aspirations. So he got a little of both parents aspirations in there!

Adios!

This is where the chapter will end! I’ve got over sixty slides already and the twins are still toddlers! Thanks for reading the nineteenth chapter of The Cooke Legacy – I hope that you enjoyed it!

Happy Thanksgiving to you all Come back for the next chapter and see how Issac, Ishmael, Irelyn and Isadora all age and to decide who should carry on the Cooke legacy! Bye!!