Growing the Family By Two

[Ishigreensa]

Randy smiled and nodded at his sister.

"It's okay.

[justagirl4fun]

They made their way to baggage claim and loaded their luggage onto a cart which Noelle and Jane wheeled out to the van since Randy (Ralph?) had his hands full. In the van there were two car seats - one for Natalie and one for Blythe since she was on the petite side and not quite ready to move to a booster - and a booster seat for Samantha. One car seat was in the middle row, the other in the back. "Okay Samantha, do you want to sit in the middle with your sister, or in back with Blythe?" Noelle asked.

[Ishigreensa]

"I want to sit by sister," Samantha said.

[justagirl4fun]

(it's doing it again. I've found I have to restart my phone before I can post, which is a pain in the ass.)

"Sure honey, that's fine," Noelle assured Samantha before seeing her fall and doing their best to catch her. "Oh honey, are you okay?" she asked, a bit concerned.

Blythe waited for Randy to get Natalie into her car seat, then held her arms up for him to help her get in. Jane found a few plastic bags under the seats and handed them to Randy. "Just in case. This car is too new to smell like puke." She and her husband had just gotten the van the week before, in anticipation of the upcoming arrival of their little bundle of joy.

[Ishigreensa]

(Yes, that's what I had to do with my computer!)

Randy nodded.

[justagirl4fun]

(sorry, I probably won't be posting a lot until this problem gets sorted out. I can't keep restarting my phone every time!)

"Oh, no problem. You know I love spending time with my only niece," Jane said. Randy and Noelle both came from big families, but Bylthe had the distinction of being the youngest cousin by 5 years, and the only girl, on both sides of the family which earned her lots of attention. "Well, not my only niece any more. But anyways, I'm glad the timing worked out. A few weeks later and I probably wouldn't have been able to."

Noelle made sure Samantha got buckled in properly. "Yes, they did say you are clumsy but I really don't want to see you hurt badly," She said, thinking there was more to it than the orphanage told them. She was glad they already had check-ups with the pediatrician scheduled for that week, but got the feeling they'd be seeing specialists after that for both girls. She knew Natalie needed to see an eye doctor for a last eye, and she didn't like the looks of the little girl's abnormal gait even though the orphanage said it was no big deal.

[Ishigreensa]

Randy smiled at his sister and nodded.

[justagirl4fun]

"Yes, of course honey," Noelle said as Jane stepped on the gas, pushing the speed limit as much as she dated. She knew there was a McDonald's coming up soon - not much else would be open at this late hour - but within minutes it was evident that they were too late. "Come on, Samantha," Noelle ordered as they pulled into the parking lot, barely holding back a weary sigh. She went to the back of the van where, of course, the suitcase with Samantha's things was on the bottom of the pile. She shuffled things around until she was able to get it out, and dug through it for a pair of pants and panties that were dirty-but-not-too-dirty since there was nothing clean left at this point. "Hon, make sure there's nothing on her seat," she said to Randy before leading the girl inside.

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Samantha stood by her mom crying the whole time she got the clothes, and she went with her mom into the McDonalds and into the bathroom where she just stood there, scared to say anything because she was

[justagirl4fun]

Noelle tried to keep from grimacing as she pulled Samantha's pants down to see the mess that awaited her. Without wasting any time she set to work cleaning the girl's bottom and privates, fighting the urge to scold her,until the girl spoke. "I...I don't know. I just don't. How long did you know you had to go? Were you trying to wait until we got home? Because honestly, I would much,

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Samantha looked down and frowned.

[justagirl4fun]

"Now honey, don't cry. I'm not mad. I just want you to know that you don't have to be scared or embarrassed to ask us to stop and use the bathroom. Okay?"

"Daddy, why did she poop her pants like a little baby? An' why they takin' so long?" Blythe asked before yawning and rubbing her eyes.

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"I don't know, honey, but don't call her a baby.

[justagirl4fun]

"Well, tell them to hurry up," Blythe ordered grossly. "I wanna go home!" After sleeping at her aunt's house for two weeks, she was eager to sleep in her own bed.

Noelle furrowed her brows, trying to figure out what the girl meant. "Um...yes, I would believe you..." she finally said, hoping that was what Samantha meant.

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She looked up at Noelle, sort of scared.

[justagirl4fun]

"Really, bro? Really?" Jane asked, pointing to her gigantic belly. "You really want me to drag my fat ass in there, when you know as soon as I get to the bathroom they'll be coming out? Just chill. They'll be back soon," she said wearily. Although she wouldn't have changed a thing, two weeks with her active niece had taken a toll on her, and she was more than ready to get home and go to bed herself.

Noelle followed along as best she could. "Okay, so you didn't know you had to go until a few minutes before you told me? Well, no, that's not good. I think we'll have to see a doctor about that." She had finished cleaning Samantha and handed her her clothes. "Okay, now get dressed. I'm sure your sisters want to get home," she said before leaving the stall to wash her hands.

[Ishigreensa]

Samantha whispered.

"I'm sorry I was bad."

She left the stall to wash her hands behind Noelle.

[justagirl4fun]

"No, no, you're not bad. I don't hate you. It's just not good that you can't wait to get to the potty. I'm worried you might be sick, that's all. It's not your fault."

"Three and a half weeks. But my OB says this little peanut is measuring big, and says I could go any time. Of course, they're not always right so we'll see," Jane said. Noelle had measured big for Blythe and said the baby was about 9 pounds, but the girl had arrived weighing in at a tiny 6 pounds, 3 ounces, so Jane wasn't totally confident in the OB.

[Ishigreensa]

"No, sometimes, they don't take into account the amount of energy a little one has," Randy joked.

[justagirl4fun]

"I guess we'll find out soon enough. No sense worrying about it," Jane commented, then spotted Noelle and Samantha exiting the building. "Oh good, here they come."

Noelle watched Samantha's arms flailing around and just knew there was more wrong with the girl than they had been told.

[Ishigreensa]

She got to the van again, and when she went to climb in, she missed stepping down in front of the van instead of up inside, and she stumbled over towards the van about to hit her head.

Randy gasped being too far to stop whatever might have happened, and he hoped that Noelle was a little faster at catching her.

[justagirl4fun]

Noelle reached out and grabbed Samantha just in the nick of time, then helped her step up into the van. "That's not all she needs checked. But I'll call they eye doctor and see if she can get her in too when we take Natalie."

[Ishigreensa]

"What do you mean, that's not all?" Randy asked.

[justagirl4fun]

"Don't be sorry. It's not your fault," Noelle told Samantha before answering Randy. "We'll talk later," she said, then got in the front seat.

Natalie just smiled at her sister. She was pretty content at the moment, though tired.

[Ishigreensa]

Samantha sighed and started to close her eyes to sleep as well.

Randy wasn't happy at hearing that Noelle wanted to talk later because that meant she thought something serious was going on, or at least, that was his fear.