Picture Perfect?

DEVLIN'S POV :

July 22nd , 2021

"Mommy , tell Zana that she shouldn't be making fussy faces on my birthday !" , Liam demands . " We's s'posed to be happy !"
"Chill out , buddy !" , Ash tells him . "She's still pretty new , y'know . She doesn't know what to think about all of this noise , it's probably scaring her a little bit ."
He walks over to me and gently pats the four - month old baby in my lap and says , "Don't be scared , baby sister , we's just playing . The b'loons just make noises when they pop , they won't hurt you ."
"That's very nice , sweetie ." , I say . "I don't know if she understands you yet , but I think she knows you like her , and you're trying to make her happy ."
"Yeah , but she'll be more fun when she can play with us , too ." , he states .
"Wiam , come back !" , Brendan shouts from the yard . "" Wet's pway some more !"
He dashes off of the patio back out into the yard , where Brendan , Jared , and Trevor are waiting , along with Jinxx and Alice's little boy , Blake , and Jake and Inna's two - year - old daughter , Sasha .
Ash walks over to where I'm sitting with Holli , Emma , Darci , and all of the BVB girls , and lifts our daughter from my lap . "Come here and see Daddy for a while , pretty girl ." , he says , as he cradles her to his chest .
"Looks like somebody's going to be spoiled ." , Juliet observes . "I think you might have a Daddy's girl on your hands there ."
"You mean like Olivia there ." , I chuckle , gesturing to the fifteen - month - old girl who is currently riding astride Andy's shoulders on the other end of the patio .
"Yeah , pretty much ." , she acknowledges .
When we found out that I was pregnant again , shortly after Liam's third birthday , we weren't sure how he was going to handle it . We explained it to him , and he was excited to get a "wittle bubby" . When we found out it was a girl , he was unhappy for awhile , but then he decided that it was okay . As he explained to us , "Now bubby won't has to be sad 'cause I's Daddy's bestest buddy . And Mommy can has a buddy , too , so she won't get lefted out ."
When we were trying to come up with her name , I found out that Ash had become enamored of my dads nickname for me , and wanted to use it as the baby's name . We talked about it , and decided to use it as the middle name , so her name is Rosanna Dove Purdy , or Zana , as her big brother has started calling her .
Today is Liam's fourth birthday , and even at this age it's obvious that he's going to be the spitting image of his dad , with the exception of my green eyes . He also seems to have his personality , too , very energetic and determined , and always wanting to try something new .
Zana is too small yet to be really sure who she's going to look like , but she has my curly hair , and brown eyes like Ash . So far , she's pretty mellow , not terribly fussy , but she can definitely make herself heard if she's not happy .
She's probably also going to be spoiled rotten , like Juliet said , because she's the only girl in the family , at least so far . Paul and Darcy have the twins , Tony and Emma have a two - year - old named Jonathan , and Holli and her new husband , Max Preston , are expecting a little boy in October , who they plan to name Tucker .
She won't be totally on her own , though , since she'll have Sasha and Olivia to play with sometimes , and hopefully she'll also be friends with Anna and CC's little boy , Dylan , who's only three weeks older than she is .
"Miss Dev , Mom wants to know where the cups are , so she can start pouring the Kool - Aid ." , ten - year - old Steffie calls from the kitchen .
"If they didn't get put on the counter , then they're in the big bag next to the pantry door ." , I call back , and she goes to relay this to Elise .
We get up and start wrangling the kids , trying to get them inside to wash up , which meets with a bit of resistance , until Ash informs them that anyone who doesn't wash their hands doesn't get cake and ice cream . This particular announcement results in a virtual stampede to the sink , with kids almost falling over each other .
As the kids are cleaning up , Mindy and Evan arrive , with their kids . Unfortunately , Mindy found out not long after they got married that she wasn't able to have kids , so they applied to adopt , and recently brought home a pair of siblings from South America . Luciana is seven , and her brother Javier is five . They're still adjusting , but so far they seem to be doing pretty well , and will hopefully be ready to go to school when the new year starts next month .
Aside from raising the kids , things are pretty great . The band is still recording and touring , as popular as ever . My business is doing well , as is Ashley's clothing line . We've been married for almost five years , and the guys still find it weird that , in all that time , we've only had one really serious disagreement . That was when Liam was not quite two , and I came home early one day and discovered that Ash had been taking Liam out on his motorcycle , when he knew I didn't want him on it until he was older . He found out that I was serious when he wound up sleeping in the guest room for the next two weeks , and he hasn't done it again .
He was also a bit upset with me when I decided to cut my hair after Zana was born . I wanted it short , because it was way too long to deal with while chasing after two kids , but I agreed to compromise with him , and cut it to just below my shoulders . Even then , there was enough cut off to make two bundles to donate to Locks of Love .
We finally get the kids settled around the table , ready for cake . I take pictures , as my dad walks around with his video camera , and Mom and Elise dish up the ice cream . Ash is holding Zana , bouncing her gently in his arms to keep her quiet , and everyone else clusters around watching .
As I stand here waiting for my son to blow out the candles on his cake , I look around the room , seeing all of my family and friends here to help us celebrate , and realize that my life is pretty terrific .
Would I say that it's "picture perfect" ? I don't know about that , but it's close enough for me .

A/N :
Well , folks , I've finally reached the end of Ash and Dev's story . Thanks to everybody who has read and voted . I'll be re - posting Chapter Two soon , and then the story will be complete . Thanx again !

Notes