the baby shower

July 2086. 

* half commentary style just because I didn't want to spend an eternity on this. But I did give Stephanie a baby shower in my game, so I thought I'd share the pics and chatter here. 

The baby shower event is thanks to this mod by BrittPinkieSims. 


At thirty-six weeks, Stephanie's nesting instinct kicks in. Justin and the girls are fast asleep, but she's on a mad cleaning spree.






With the house all finally tidied up, treats baked, dishes put away, Steph needs to get some sleep. She has her baby shower in the morning!


They decided to rent some party furniture and have the baby shower at Stephanie's home. It would have been cramped inside, but luckily the weather is beautiful (ha ha, TS4 doesn't have seasons yet, lol!) and there is plenty of yard to work with.



The girls are excited to meet their new baby brother soon.


Grandma Cindy came early to help set up.


And she brought Justin's old toy robot that they left behind at the house.


Ready to go!

Stephanie's mom and aunt Sophie made the snacks and desserts.


The guests begin to arrive. Stephanie invited mostly family to the occasion, as well as her boss, Sharon.

Keri was also invited. She couldn't attend because of a work trip obligation, not because of spite. But Bryson came, and Keri sent a card.


Stephanie's brother, Patrick, and her sister-in-law, Lara. Their littlest one is Skye.



From a gameplay point of view, the baby shower tasks require that Stephanie lets 5 guests feel the baby. For Stephanie, the idea of all those hands on her belly sounds like mild horror, to say the least. But luckily, there are just about 5 people here that she's comfortable enough with to make it happen.




Nessa is totally charmed by her hubby, Jack. They didn't bring the kids along, so they must think this is some kind of date.



The baby shower turned into an impromptu Nova-Phoenix family reunion, missing only a few of them. Stephanie has always liked her sister-in-law much better than her actual sister, Riley, who did not come. But Liza is here (eating at the left table), so that's something of a concession.

They all promise to attempt a real family reunion soon.


Justin's face must resemble every daddy-to-be at every baby shower in history, being told what to carry and where to put it. This is perhaps not the most fun he has ever had.

But hey, at least they saved him a slice of cake?


Stephanie's aunt Sophie and her husband, Micah—Jack's parents. Hayden's parents, too, although Hayden and his family couldn't make it today. (Because I haven't remade them yet, lol!)


The girls think their cousin Raine is SO COOL. Raine wants to know if they like her rainbow leggings and spunky tank top. Yeah, they do! "And guess what else?" Raine says. "I'm a vegetarian."

"Whoa," the girls sigh. "What's a vegetarian?"

For the next two weeks, the girls will refuse to eat meat. Until Justin makes cheeseburgers one night, which makes them promptly forget the whole deal, at least until their own teenage years come around.


Since a normal baby shower only lasts a couple of hours, and this party turned into an all-night family reunion, Stephanie just can't hack it any longer. She quietly excuses herself and slips away to the bedroom. The rest of them can carry on socializing without her.


Which they do for several more hours.





Soon after, Justin sneaks away too. He figures there are several grandparents here to look after the girls, and they've eaten all of the food so nothing needs to be put away. Curling up next to his sweetie is the best thing he's done all night.

—

notes: they made out pretty well with the gifts. That's a nice perk to having an incredibly large family, like Stephanie has, and an incredibly wealthy ex-father-in-law, like Justin has. In fact, they did well enough that they did manage to get that room addition done for the nursery, and with a couple weeks left to spare. 



This little cottage has come a long way in just seven months. Still need to refinish those floors, though. 

There are still 4 (!!!) story pieces to tell before the baby can be born. Poor Steph, in every game I've played, she's always the one who ends up stuck in pregnancy limbo for real life months and months. But the story needs what it needs. If she ever has another baby, I'll have to make sure she gets to breeze through the pregnancy!