The Wood Family Legacy

A lag in paying bills has resulted in the repowoman coming to repossess some of the Wood’s belongings. Theo watches on, unamused, as she uses her magic yoinking wand to take . . . the lamp. What is it with this lamp? First the burglar, now the repowoman. For some reason everyone just wants the lamp. Must be made of gold.

In the days that follow, Theodore falls easily into his role as big brother to Evangeline and Benjamin. In fact, he’s the best big brother they could ask for. Must be that good trait he carries.

Theo continues to hone his creativity with painting. As the family grows and Delaney gets older, she convinces Gage to get fertility treatment, too. If she hopes to have five children, she’d better get pregnant again, and fast! No sooner is Benjamin home from the hospital, in fact, than do Delaney and Gage get to ‘work.’

Their midnight rendezvous is successful, and soon Delaney is feeling the familiar pangs that tell her a new life is beginning to form.

She stands near Evangeline and Benjamin’s cradles and imagines her future child joining the brood. Will it be a boy or a girl? Will Delaney and Gage be able to pay the bills? A million questions race through her mind but, for now, she occupies herself with getting ahead in her articles while she has the time off. Because of the leave she was given for Benjamin, she now has almost an entire week in which to improve her job skills. Theo, on the other hand, has something else on his mind . . .

Theodore has made the aquaintance of a stunning young girl named Alexandria Andrews. He charms her with his wit and celebrity impressions, and even attempts a bit of innocent flirting. Alex seems grumpy, but friendly too. Will she latch on to his good sense of humor? Only time will tell.

A pregnant Delaney takes the opportunity to interview her son’s best friend, Royce. She writes an article that isn’t exactly well received, but at least she completed it. Royce seems like quite a nice young man, too. Delaney approves of him as Theo’s buddy.

Theodore is feeling pretty good about himself. He talks to Alexandria on the phone every night, and their friendship is indeed blossoming. His grades are on the up and up, and his painting skill is improving too. Soon he hopes to paint a portrait of his loving, clumsy mom before she goes gray. Speaking of . . .

You know you’re getting old when your friends start looking like grandparents. On her way to get a massage for her aching back, Delaney runs into Artie Page, who’s gone a little rough around the edges. She has a nice conversation with him, giving her some closure, before heading in to the spa. Later that night . . .

Surrounded by the evidence of her growing family, Delaney goes into labor. This time she stays at home, anticipating an easy birth. As the pains progress, she begins to wonder how in the world she thought having another baby was a good idea. And then she remembers.

After changing into her nightgown, as the labor continues, Delaney thinks about just why she’s doing this. Having this baby will bring her one step closer to her dream of having five children. It makes this whole thing a little easier to remember this.

As her baby girl is born, Delaney feels just a bit worried – she’s too old to get pregnant again, and this leaves her with only four children. But wait . . . what’s this?

Delaney doesn’t stop at a single birth. No. Soon there’s another little girl in the family. But that’s not all! Delaney, at long last, is having triplets. With toddler Evangeline playing on the floor and Benjamin, still a baby himself, sleeping in his crib, Delaney gives birth to three beautiful baby girls: Mallory, Madeline and Miranda. Something tells her and Gage that they are in for a long, long life of raising children. Mallory is as good as Theo, but she may be a bit of a couch potato in the making. Madeline seems as smart as Evangeline and Ben, but she’s a potential couch potato, too. Miranda seems to have gotten the best traits, being clumsy like her mom, but friendly, as well.

With her Mommy and Daddy distracted by their new bundles of joy, Evangeline crawls off to Theodore’s room to grow up. She doesn’t have an easy time of it after all the commotion, and has developed the mooch trait.

Little Evangeline takes after her father, and not just in her eyes and hair . . . she seems to have retained a little bit of that toddler fat, too. Maybe she and Daddy can go to the swimming pool together sometime. That is, if he ever finds a moment between taking care of Benjamin, Mallory, Miranda, and Madeline. Evangeline, it seems, isn’t going to have the easiest childhood.

And Benjamin has grown up as well, into an adorable little toddler. Where he got the beautiful, golden brown eyes from no one knows, but the family agrees he’s going to be a looker, just like his big brother. They don’t say this in front of Evangeline.

As the Wood family settles down for the night, they know that the real journey, a new chapter, is just beginning. Now that Delaney has six children, she knows her days of being pregnant are over. Gage wonders when he’ll become the scientist he’s always wished to be, the one who can support a family of eight. Theo dreams of getting closer to Alexandria while Benjamin sits peacefully in his crib, dreaming of being outside. Mallory, Miranda and Madeline drift off in their cribs, the newest additions to the crazy household.

And Evangeline Wood, feeling like the middle child, falls asleep in the room she shares with Theodore, dreaming of what it must be like to be the center of attention. She fears her prospects of becoming the Wood Family heir are dwindling and, unfortunately, I think she’s right.