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When Rebecca and Ted had Sarah Keeley Welton-Lasso, they knew things were going to get wild the second she could walk, and boy were they right. Sarah was a menace on two legs and drove her parents wild, trying their best to keep with the tiny terror as she made everyone bend to her will. When it came to the players, she had them wrapped around her tiny finger, which also included auntie Keke and Uncle 'oy, while Jamie was her third favorite. AFC Richmond was now under control of the tiny blonde until her little brother was born.
Freddy Jones Welton-Lasso was not a planned baby, and boy was he a surprise. Of course, not expecting another baby, they had no names ready because they weren't prepared for another kid. It wasn't long before Rebecca chose Freddy, named after Ted's grandfather. While everyone loved and adored him, Sarah wasn't too sure of her new little brother, but she'd love him in time.
Then there was Lady Grey, a retired racing dog they had gotten way before the kids even were planned. She loved Sarah, but became curious around the new baby once he was brought home. As Freddy grew, Lady loved the kids, even when she almost ran them over during her zoomies, she couldn't help it!
It soon became December, meaning Freddy's first Christmas was around the corner. Ted seemed the most excited out of the two kids as he planned things for the family to do before the guests would arrive Christmas morning, Rebecca wanting to host a brunch for her closest friends as she would host the big dinner on Christmas Day during the night. She invited Roy and Keeley with their little boy Ethan, along with Roy's sister Ruth. Jamie was invited by Ted, who wanted to bring Dani along. Ruth was also bringing Phoebe, who was more than excited to be playing with her cousin and new friends. Rebecca invited Sassy and Nora, but they had their own event they had to attend but they would be on time for the dinner on Christmas Day. When the time came to host the brunch party, Ted and Rebecca decorated the night before, with both children watching intently. Eventually, the decorations were finished and both children were whisked off to bed with the promise of biscuits in the morning.
The door to Rebecca and Ted's room opened at about seven thirty A.M with little Sarah trotting into the room. She went over to her mother's side of the bed and woke up her mother by accidentally hitting her in the face as she tried clambering up the side of the bed. This startled Rebecca and caused her to sit up in the bed with a gasp, which made Sarah giggle.
"I sowry." The five year old said quietly as she raised her arms up, wanting up on the bed. Rebecca let out a sigh of relief and leaned over to pick up her daughter, hauling her onto the bed. Once settled, Rebecca kissed the top of her head.
"It's alright baby." Rebecca soothed gently as she settled her daughter's wild hair, smiling as Sarah's hair began to stick up due to the static. As Rebecca tried to settle Sarah's hair and not wake their father up, the baby monitor went off.
"That's your son.." Ted groaned sleepily as he turned towards his wife in the bed, eyes squinting as he spotted his little girl. He then opened his eyes and smiled as Sarah stared at him. "Oh no, the monster's awake, run darlin', I'll handle her!"
"I'm sure you will." Rebecca laughed gently as Sarah crawled to her father, settling on top of his stomach while allowed Rebecca to get up and head to the nursery. She made her way to the room and opened the door gently, revealing Freddy wide awake and staring at her.
"I see you're awake." Rebecca chuckled as Freddy cooed gently, letting his mother pick him up and set him on the changing table. He was changed rather quickly with very little fuss, and was soon being carried into the adult bedroom. When Rebecca returned, Sarah was being held in the air by Ted, clearly playing airplanes as Sarah squealed with delight. Soon Ted spotted his wife and son, and set Sarah down onto the bed.
"After sunrise, these are your kids." Ted teased gently as Sarah sat in the middle of the bed while waiting for her father to play with her again, watching her mother step closer to the bed with her brother in mummy's arms.
"Nope, these belong to you, Mr. Welton-Lasso." Rebecca said as she sat down on the bed so she could set her son into her husband’s arms, the little boy squealing in delight the second he was in his fathers arms as he pressed his tiny hands into Ted’s stomach to gain his attention. This caused Ted to sit up in the bed with a wince.
“Oh! Hold on buddy!! I’m up!” Ted cried out while lifting his son up into the air. “Don’t press all the food from daddy’s tummy! Unless you can get all the fat out then be my guest.”
Rebecca turned in the bed and swatted at his stomach, causing Ted to cry out in a very exaggerated yelp, falling flat onto the bed with Freddy still in his arms.
“You’ve wounded me, my own wife!” Ted gasped dramatically while Freddy just laughed, earning a very affectionate roll of the eyes from his wife. In the middle of the chaos, Sarah slid down the bed and trotted out of the room and didn't return until she had Lady Grey in her arms. The greyhound looked unamused, but didn’t even bother to put up a fight for her release, and accepted her face.
“Mummy! Pwesents!” Sarah cried out while trotting over to her mother’s bedside with Lady Grey still in her tiny arms, letting Rebecca reach down and grab the dog from her arms so she could pull Sarah onto the bed by herself. Now that everyone was on the bed, both the kids were staring at their parents with eagerness.
"It seems the lady has spoken." Ted whispered to his wife as he pressed a kiss to her cheek, which made Sarah giggle. Rebecca then gave her husband a quick kiss on the lips before grabbing Lady Grey from the bed.
"Let's eat first, then we can do presents."
The Welton-Lasso family gathered downstairs after both adults got dressed so that Ted could start on breakfast while Rebecca fed Freddy. Sarah was playing with Lady Grey, who was running in circles around the girl as she got excited. This was enough distraction for Ted to get the cinnamon rolls into the oven for everyone, Lady Grey eventually running over to her father for assistance since she herself could not get her own food. So Ted got Lady Grey's food and placed it down when the door rang, which alarmed Ted. Someone was very early, but Rebecca still rushed over to the door to answer it.
Keeley and Roy arrived first, with Roy carrying the presents and Keeley having Ethan. Rebecca came up and grabbed Keeley and Ethan into a gentle hug as Ted helped Roy carry in the presents.
"The kids aren't even dressed yet!" Rebecca tried to explain to her best friend, but Keeley waved her off.
"Babe, I don't have makeup on, and I slept in this." Keeley said as she pointed to her outfit, then pointing over to Ethan. The two year old still had a Christmas onesie on, which he clearly slept in. "He came just like this, refused to were anything else."
"We didn't have breakfast food." Roy also added as he came up to Rebecca's side, giving her a gentle hug. Rebecca laughed and hugged back, the two of them swaying back and forth. "Merry Christmas, you filthy animal."
"Oh haha, fuck you." Rebecca teased gently as she parted from Roy, the laughter from Ted and Keeley echoing in the house. Soon Rebecca was being handed Ethan because Keeley said she had to piss, so Roy made his way to the kitchen. When he found Ted, he quickly hugged his friend. This was quiet a shock to Ted, but the two just had their hug without any complaint. When Roy let go, Ted nudged the man with his elbow
"Merry Christmas big fella." Ted told his friend as he grabbed a pair of oven mitts. "Help me do the icing?"
"I'd be honored, gotta help somehow." Roy grunted as he went over to the icing bag and cut it open, moving out of the way so Ted could grab the rolls from the oven and set them on the counter.
While Ted and Roy were in the kitchen, Rebecca was watching the children in the living room playing on the floor with large blocks and cars, an early present from Dottie that Ted went ahead and gave them. Ethan and Sarah were playing together while Freddy watched curiously from his mother’s lap, unsure how to feel about his cousin returning to the house.
The second Keeley came back from the bathroom, the door rang a second time so Keeley went to get it, since she was closest.
Jamie and Dani were standing outside with Christmas pajamas on, along with a bag of something that Jamie was hiding with little effort.
“Merry Christmas!” They cried out in unison as they hugged Keeley, the two of them stepping inside once she let them through. Jamie then handed Keeley a smaller bag, while revealed to be two bottles of wine for the ladies of the house. She thanked them and let Jamie sent them on the kitchen counter as he headed that way while Dani went to Rebecca and the kids.
“Merry Christmas grandad.” Jamie said with a teasing tone as he went to hug Roy, getting a hard hug from the coach. Eventually he parted with Roy and went over to hug Ted, who happily hugged him in return. “Thanks for the invite coach! Brought some wine for the ladies.”
“Glad to see ya buddy.” Ted chuckled once he let go, motioning over to the crescent rolls that needed to be put in. “Wanna help?”
“Absolutely, gotta show off me skills.” Jamie replied as he scooted into the kitchen further and grabbed one of Ted’s mittens so he could set the pan in the oven. Meanwhile, Dani was sitting beside Rebecca on the floor and chatting away, Freddy eventually crawling into Dani’s lap when Rebecca wasn’t looking. After a while Keeley brought Rebecca a glass of wine, sitting on the couch as she joined the conversation while keeping an eye on her son.
Over ten minutes went by and soon the doorbell rang again, and Jamie went to answer it since he was closest to the door. He opened it to reveal Ruth and Phoebe, the little girl rushing forward to hug him.
“Merry Christmas!!” Phoebe yelled excitedly as Jamie hugged her back, eventually letting her go so she could send Phoebe over to the kids in the living room. When Phoebe left, Ruth was now left at the door.
“Merry Christmas.” She whispered as she quickly pressed a kiss to Jamie’s lips while letting him take the bag of presents into his hands, not knowing that Ted and Rebecca both spotted them. Ruth stepped inside and started passing out hugs to everyone while Phoebe hugged all her aunts before playing on the floor with her cousins, with Ruth coming to join them. The doctor handed both ladies a small bottle of champagne for each of them, saying that they’d needed it over the next couple of days. The group then headed back into the previous conversation.
“My mother went overboard again…” Rebecca started explaining with a heavy sigh before taking a swing of her wine. “She’s gotten them so many toys this year, I had to *ahem* find more places to hide them.” She explained as she whispered the last part, trying to keep the secret between the adults. They laughed and Keeley squeezed her best friend’s shoulder.
“Oh it’s your mum! You knew this would happen.” Keeley said with a chuckle as Ruth added her response.
“She’s got grandbabies to spoil, she’ll lessen up as they get older. But I assume your mum has money so I don’t think that’s gonna happen.” Ruth added as Rebecca groaned. “You know, when Phoebe was born, Royo bought the whole nursery set-up in his house without me knowing, lil’ shit decorated it himself.”
“Coach is a very soft teddy bear, we are not fooled.” Dani added with a chuckle, causing the women around him to agree. “He acts like a very mean bear, but he cannot help but be nice.”
“Hey y’all, breakfast is ready!!” Ted called out from the kitchen while Jamie set the table with help from Roy. “C’mon in! Then we’ll do presents.”
“Pweesents?” Sarah said as she jumped up from the floor, giving her mother a smile as she tried to pulling her big eyes on her mother.
“Don’t you even try that, we eat first.” Rebecca said as she got up from the floor with Keeley’s help, grabbing Freddy so she could bring him to the table. While Rebecca set Freddy down in his high chair, Ruth and Dani wrangled the rest of the children as Keeley grabbed Ethan from the floor. Then Ruth sneakily snuck a kiss to Dani, unaware that both Rebecca and Ted saw but they didn’t say anything. Rebecca then looked over at Keeley, who shrugged. Perhaps they'd ask later.
Breakfast was filled with laughter and smiles as everyone gathered around the table, both Keeley and Rebecca watching the kids from their table since Ted had placed a tiny table for the kids on the other side. Ted said it was tradition for there to be a kids table, and Rebecca didn’t argue. Ted had made cinnamon rolls, croissants, and some pancakes for the little ones. Jamie had brought a bottle of wine while Dani snuck a bottle of tequila, calling it his present for everyone. While they were eating, everyone praised Ted for his skills, thanking Ted and Rebecca for hosting. After breakfast, the kids were now chanting about presents, begging for the adults to hurry up and finish. Jamie knew they were going to be wild, so he stood up from his chair and pointed towards the tree.
"Alright kiddos, go sit down and the most amazin' uncle Jamie will hand out the presents!" Jamie cried out as he left the table without warning, earning shouts from the kids as the older two got up and rushed to the tree. Phoebe and Sarah sat down next to the tree while the mom's gathered the youngest two, Keeley and Rebecca sitting on the ground with the kids resting in their laps. Everyone else helped to clean the table as Jamie went over to the tree and handed out presents from the bottom of the tree.
"Now you gotta wait til' yer mummy's say it's ok, we gotta wait on everyone yea?" Jamie told them gently as Phoebe huffed, not happy with the predicament but agreed to do it anyway. The football player took that as a yes while he went back to handing out presents, handing the last present to little Freddy as everyone else sat down in the living room.
"Alright, go on lovelies!" Keeley cried out as she grabbed her phone, getting her camera ready as the kids began picking out presents to tear into. They started with Roy and Keeley's presents first. Phoebe got a new paint set from her aunt and uncle, much to her delight. Sarah got a plush lion with a blue bow, and Rebecca laughed as Sarah squeezed it for dear life. Keeley then opened the present for Ethan while Rebecca opened the one for Freddy. Ethan got an onesie with Roy's number, while Freddy's had 'Lasso' written on the back. Everyone loved the onesies, including the babies. It wasn't long before Phoebe started tearing into Jamie and Dani's gift, gasping loudly as she pulled out a pair of pink boots for her football adventures.
"More shoes for me to wash." Ruth teased lightly as she sneakily held Jamie and Dani's hands, watching Phoebe absolutely marvel over the shoes. Sarah then tore into hers and squealed as she pulled out a barbie car that Sarah was wanting. She happily hugged the box for a moment and soon set it aside, letting out another squeal as she pulled out two Barbies, that looked exactly like Ted and Rebecca.
"Surprise! I pulled a few strings." Keeley teased gently as Rebecca gaped at the doll, taking the one that looked exactly like her and opening the flap. It was an exact copy of her, with the purse and everything!
"Hot dog! You're hot as a barbie." Ted told his wife as he leaned down to kiss the top of her head, taking a glance at the doll in the boss. "They made ya eyes blue though, what a shame..."
"UH! Really? I told them green!" Keeley cried out as she took the door from Rebecca, carefully looking at the eyes. "So much for all those emails..."
"I told them to make one of me, but that was a 'no' apparently, but they made coach instead." Jamie pointed out as he watched Ted take a look at his own doll, smiling as Ted gave the doll back to his daughter.
"Well shoot, thy should make one of the boys, I'm sure they'd sell." Ted replied honestly as Sarah pried her little teeth into the box so she could open it, the older man immediately taking the box back so he could open it. While Ted fiddled with the box, Jamie pointed to the other one beside Phoebe.
"Open it, that's from yer mummy." Jamie told the older girl, who wasted no time grabbing the box and opening it, crying out in delight the second she saw what it was. It was Keeley as a Barbie.
"Aunt Keeley, it's you!!" Phoebe cried out excitedly, earning a laugh from the adults. She passed it over to Keeley, who nodded in approval.
"Now we need one of Royo, but they'd never his scowl right." Ruth teased gently as Roy groaned, everyone breaking out into more laughter while Roy waved them off. He then took the doll and handed it back to Phoebe, who set it aside. Soon it was time for Freddy and Ethan's, and the ladies opened the box for both boys. Inside were a pair of Nike's that were the Richmond colors, and everyone awed at their size.
"The little ones must represent the best team." Dani told the group, who agreed whole heartily while setting aside the boxes for later. Ruth then told the group that hers were next, claiming she had a little help getting them. Since Phoebe got hers already, Sarah tore into hers and pulled out a medium sized Triceratops plush from the box. She held the dinosaur in her arms as Keeley pulled out a tiny velociraptor, Freddy getting one in a different color.
"I went to Germany for a work conference in a museum one of my friends worked at, said they're handmade." Ruth explained as both of the younger boys immediately grabbed ahold of the toys and refused to let go, clearly amused with the offering. Meanwhile Sarah set her friend in her lap as she got ready to grab the next one, which earned a chuckle around the room.
"Before y'all open these, y'all get the bigger presents tonight, so keep that in mind." Ted explained as the older girls began to tear into their presents once Ted had finished, letting out their own gasps of delight as both girls pulled out kitty Squishmellows that was almost the same size of Sarah. While the girls enjoyed the their new gift, Rebecca handed Keeley a pair of baby house shoes that were reindeer with a red nose, which would glow when you walked.
"That's for the kitty piano you got Sarah when she was three, you cheeky monkey." Rebecca teased gently as Keeley burst into laughter, Roy groaning loudly as he realized the war on annoying presents would just be starting.
"Sorry Keeley, her idea." Ted told his friend as he handed his son his own tiny shoes, which were normal reindeer instead of the ones like Ethan had.
"Next time, I'll get these kids a drum set, then we'll see who's laughing." Ruth added with a playful smile, somehow managing to dodge the pillow that Roy had thrown her. Jamie tossed one at Roy, nailing him in the face. Laughter rang out as the two men began to playfully yell out different toys they could use to annoy each other, with Keeley and Ruth chipping in with their own ideas. Meanwhile, Ted had sat down on the couch and settled himself behind Rebecca, letting his wife rest her back on his knees. He bent down, giving the top of her head a kiss.
"I love you." Rebecca told her husband as he fixed her hair with his hand, parting it away from her face. She tilted her head back, looking up at Ted with the biggest smile. Ted took the opportunity to lean down and give his wife a peck on the lips.
"I love you too my darlin'." Ted told his wife as they parted, lovingly gazing at his wife while the world went on around them. "You wanna do this again next year?"
"With you? Always, my love."