Tara: Not Neglectful! I Promise!

I include this picture simply because it looks like Richie's on fire. I promise he's not!

So maybe the last post gave you the impression that the Strikers are bad parents. I promise they're not. They're just busy. Here, have a series of shots of Tara and Richie teaching Joshua to talk, playing with him, and reading him books!

They also make time for each other, discussing their days and just generally chatting.

And it's a good thing they're good parents, 'cause their family is about to get bigger!

Erin: A Series of Unbearably Adorable Moments

Peekaboo!

A father-son gig: Bronson on guitar, Poindexter on xylophone. Both in their underwear.

Tag!

Poindexter's first steps.

You can't see me!

Robyn: You Made It!

Robyn made it! She's a Star News Anchor - the voice of the community and the face of the network. She has completed her Lifetime Wish and can work on other things. Congratulations, Robyn!

With her new bank, it was time to move out into a real house. It's a cute little farmhouse with plenty of room for expansion. I thought it would be perfect. Actually, I still think it would have been perfect...

...especially since mysterious causes have made Robyn vomit in the mornings.

But suddenly Adam developed a bug. He couldn't cook, because every time he tried, he acted as if he couldn't get to the stove. He stomped his feet and yelled. And then the mixing bowl he'd been using would be stuck to his hand. Forever.

I tried everything. I moved the kitchen to make the stove more accessible. I bought a new stove. I bought a new fridge. I bought new cabinets. I restarted their game. Nothing worked. I decided the house must be bugged. I used a money cheat and moved them into this house.

But lo, Robyn must still do the bulk of the cooking in her maternity nightgown...

for Adam still has a bowl stuck to his hand.

I guess he'll just have to live with it.

Tara: Back to the Grind

When Tara's maternity leave ended, she went back to work, and she and Richie had to hire a babysitter to take care of Joshua while they were out. I really miss the nanny option from The Sims 2; every single day one of them has to call this young lady and get her to come over while they run out.

Sometimes, they have time to feed Joshua before she gets there, but they rarely take him out of the highchair. Luckily, he seems happy enough there until his sitter - Hannah - comes to take care of him.

Hannah is a really good babysitter. She's completely tuned to his needs. Mostly, she leaves him to play with this toys, though she will sometimes play with him. If she thinks he's getting lonely, she comes up to tickle him. If he uses the potty - thank God he's been trained! - she empties it for him.

Can I adopt her?

Erin: They Seem So Normal

Bronson has decided to teach Poindexter how to talk. When he gets home at night, they sit in Cheryl's room and have deep chats.

Meanwhile, Erin helps Cheryl with her homework. They both look rather confused. Like mother, like daughter!

Potty-training Poindexter!

Apropos of nothing, I gave Erin a new outfit, but she never wears it. She always goes back to the ripped jeans and burger T-shirt.

Bronson and Cheryl play tag.

Cheryl also has big business plans. She's decided to take the world by storm with her bake sale table! First, she bakes the muffins and cookies.

Then, she stands outside her house and hopes random people will drive by and buy her stuff.

How adorable!

Robyn: Adam Gets Ink

Adam has wanted a tattoo for a long time. I thought the day after his wedding would be a good time to have him get one. He headed for the local salon, where the only tattoo artist - a graying elder - took him to the basement to ink him up. Oh, that's not sketchy at all.

Adam opted for a red heart with a wordless banner across it. The tat is on his left arm, so why the old guy was buzzing away on his right arm is beyond me.

Soon afterwards, he had to head back to the fire station and take care of the engine. He was called out to an emergency while he was there, and I took a picture of the engine arriving at the scene of the fire. It's all very dramatic. The music gets all tense and string-y as the lone firefighter heads in to battle the flames.

Meanwhile Robyn, determined to become a Star News Anchor, interviewed someone I don't remember, but I'm about 95% sure she was a vampire.

Tara: Joshua Does Stuff

I gave Joshua a new outfit to reflect the insanity that will be his life as he grows up with two professional athletes for parents. Go Llamas!

Here, Joshua sits patiently in front of the dresser waiting for me to finish dressing him.

So far, things are going well for the little Striker. He's an eccentric genius, so he LOVES playing with that pegbox for hours at a time.

Unfortunately, even young geniuses need help doing some things...

Family-oriented Richie basically wanted to take over Joshua's entire toddler education, but that was kind of impossible. He did teach him how to walk, though.

While Richie was doing that, Tara accepted her first party invitation since becoming a five-star celebrity (the highest rating!) and got star-struck gazes when she showed up in her wedding gown.

Tara is so famous that Sims get good moods just from being around her. I'm serious. I've had Star-Struck Sims before, and I know what I'm talking about. They get all excited and start begging for autographs, or sneaking pictures with their phones.

But at the end of the night, when she goes home, she has to fix the stupid shower that Richie broke and then left to leak all over the floor. Star power, schmar power.

Erin's Burgeoning Family

Erin became a fully-grown adult. Um, woo?

All celebrities are required to adopt a kid at some point, right? So Erin did. She opted for a female child. This particular child looks nothing like the children generally adopted by celebrities, but she fits right in with Erin's family, with that bright blond hair.

Her name is Cheryl. She's over-emotional, excitable, and family-oriented. She wants to be best friends with her new parents, and is constantly getting wishes to talk to or play with them. She has her own room that was added on to the front of the house, where she can play with any of her toys to her heart's content.

Shortly after Cheryl arrived, Poindexter aged into a toddler with his father's coloring. He appears to have his mother's eye shape, though, which is cool.