Steven came in wheezing with a cooing Comet and sat in the middle of the commons. "Please don't get mad at me but I have to show you this!"

Anna readjusted Junipers bib as she ate and smiled. "Oh stars, what is it now?"

Hazel shook his head. "You guys are too cute."

Steven glanced around for Connie and then leaned down to Comet. "Baby! Hi Comet, my sweet boy!" He smiled a toothless grin and his father choked on a laugh. "You know what a cow says? Mooo!"

He burst into tears and screamed his terror so hard Steven collapsed and they started crowing with laughter. "I don't know why but it works every time!" He cried. "Am I a bad parent?!"

Anna had to force herself to laugh quieter as Comet's scream tapered out into him sucking on his fingers. "You're just lucky Connie didn't hear that—,"

"Why is my mommas boy crying?" Connie erupted from the basement as she tore up the stairs. She scooped him up and kissed his tears away. "Poor baby, you're okay! Mommy's got you!"

Adam held back his laughter. "You should teach him what a cow says."

Connie gasped and kissed his nose. "A cow says 'Mooo!'"

Comet let out another horrified scream and Steven whimpered his joy. "Why? Comet, what happened to you in your past life?"

It was coincidental but he turned and gave him a haunted look that almost had them peeing their pants. The horror on his face for that split second was enough to keep them going for days with laughter. Even Connie couldn't deny it was hilarious, and after taking one video they promised to never do it again.

*

Juniper wouldn't stop crying, so Adam brought her out to the commons with Hazel and slumped to the floor as the other babies and kids looked on curiously. "Do it."

Hazel cleared his throat. "Hey Crystal!" Juniper stopped crying suddenly and looked up at him curiously. "Play The Veggie Dance by Gracie's Corner!"

Steven raised an eyebrow as a beat dropped with a very animated character rapping about veggies, then laughed as Juniper started rocking to it and giggling. "Why is this actually a banger?"

Adam grinned at Hazel dancing in the corner and sighed. "I don't know. All of Gracie's shit rocks. Her Good Morning song is the best one."

"Bro, that's bullshit you know The Veggie Dance is bussin!" Hazel called for it to pause and Juniper started up wailing immediately. "Girl, there is not a single tear on your face. Stop playing with me." She screamed louder so he unpaused it. Some battles weren't worth fighting, especially not with toddlers.

Juniper started scooting around the floor to get closer to the music and pushed up to stare at Steven. He smiled and handed a carrot to Azalea while he picked her up. "Hey, pretty girl!"

Juniper put a hand over his mouth to shut him up (the little girl had more audacity than she could fit in her pampers) and leaned toward the music harder, still dancing but now using his legs to bounce.

Chuckling, Steven brought her to the counter so she could bounce more and grinned back at the boys as she wrapped her little hands around two of his fingers. "Stop, this baby is so freaking cute. I'm gonna snatch her."

Adam shrugged. "Then I get Azalea."

Anna laughed from the bathroom. "We are not trading children!"

Hazel sighed painstakingly, but waved at Lucky. "Hi, Lucky!"

She grinned and showed him a picture. "Hi,  Daddy! Look!"

Adam popped open an eye to mutter, "Does she just genuinely confuse you and Steven, or does she actually think you're her Daddy, too?"

Steven blushed heavily and tried to focus on Juniper. "You wanna go and pull on your Daddy's hair some more? You wanna yank Poppas hair out?" Juniper giggled and leaned up to give him a big kiss, then attempted to bite him. "Okay, okay! I'm sorry!"

Adam wiggled his fingers. "Juniper loves me! Both of you come over here and snuggle."

Steven laid down next to him and Adam sighed his content even as Juniper dug her little baby knees and hands into his person, using him as her own personal jungle gym to bounce and drool on. "Babies."

Hazel kissed Lucky's forehead. "Babies."

Steven glanced up at Azalea nodding her head to the music in her high chair as she munched. "Babies."

There were babies everywhere, and apparently these babies liked music.

*

Jasmin belly laughed and reverted their attention to Jacob and Phoebe. The little girl was so chubby, and he was leaned over her with a big smile squishing her cheeks together with careful fingers. "Ugh! You're a dwit, aren't you? Daddy doesn't wanna go anywhere without you, you're just the bee's knees!"

She blew a raspberry at him and he wiped his face. "It's okay, you got Mum's attitude but I'm still your fancy!" She blew another one and he nodded. "I'm taking a raspberry as a yes."

Connie grinned and shook her head. "Here he goes..."

He gave her what was probably a thousand kisses to her cheeks until she screeched her annoyance. "Yes, you love Daddy's kisses!"

She started making a gagging sound and Alex practically collapsed on the floor. "Man, leave her alone! You're smothering her!"

"But she's a baby and you and Jasmin won't let me do this and the eldest twins won't sit still long enough," He whined as he continued on with more kisses. "Oh, quit gagging, you're totally faking it for attention!" Phoebe giggled and grabbed at his hair the next round to hold him in place hard against her cheek. Jacob could barely move but he gave them a cocky smirk. "You were saying?"

He loved his daughter so much he hurt about it. She looked more like her mother, just a bit lighter in tone. He picked her up to bounce gently and tossed his head back. "This isn't enough. I need this again."

Jasmin held up Milo and Jacob got even more excited as he took him too. "My twin! My second son, ugh the pure fucking dopamine is addicting! I could just keep knocking Mommy up forever and ever and ever and ever and ever—," Then to Phoebe, "And ever and ever and ever and ever—,"

"Jasmin's looking at chastity belts," Connie warned with a laugh as she peeked over her shoulder to look at her phone. "You might wanna chill out."

Jacob turned to Phoebe. "Phoebe, say, 'Daddy has zero chill'." She babbled and he turned to Milo "Now you say, 'Mum agreed to this at the altar'."

"He speaks through our children who can't talk yet," Jasmin groaned humorously. "And all of these are too small."

Jacob smirked. "Don't hate me, darling. Hate my tools." His eyebrows raised and he kissed both of his babies again. "See? You can't! Cause I'm a sharp shooter that makes babies with freckles like mine. Ugh, did I tell you guys you were cute today?"

He said that as they started batting at each other and trying to teethe on their siblings hand. They had matching onesies in black too: it was a two line checklist so they could tell them apart. Phoebe had her name checked off, and Milo had his name checked off. It was a struggle too, since they were opposite genders they weren't considered identical but they definitely were, even with Milo looking more like his father and Phoebe like her mother. There was always a moment of great hesitance when trying to figure out which was which.

Jacob had his goofy ass shirt on too; a ridiculous shirt Jasmin hesitated to let him outside in. But it had made him grin so much that she sighed and kissed him again and again. It was his shade of green with block letters saying, 'I don't always make babies, but when I do, I make two.'

The boys had a good laugh about how tickled it made him, Jacob laughed himself to tears.

They couldn't wait for another round.