The girls followed Charlotte and Lawrence down the hallway to their room. Lawrence held open the door as the girls and Charlotte filed in. A double pram was sitting in the middle of the room with Lucas and Sep standing over it, gazing at the babies.

‘Hi Lucas,’ Jacinta said, much more loudly than she’d intended.

The boy turned around and pressed a finger to his lips.

Jacinta blushed. ‘Sorry.’

The girls walked over and peered into the pram.

‘They’re adorable,’ Millie whispered.

‘She looks just like you, Alice-Miranda,’ Sloane said, pointing at the baby in a white jumpsuit with a pink trim.

Sep nodded. ‘That’s what we were saying. Imagine how cute it will be when she’s a bit bigger. You’ll have your own mini-me, Alice-Miranda.’

The children huddled around the infants, mesmerised by their tiny faces with rosebud lips and creamy skin.

‘I think Marcus is waking up, Aunt Charlotte,’ Alice-Miranda said as the little boy stretched his arms, his face contorting.

The children watched and waited to see if he’d open his eyes but his face just went red and his eyes remained shut.

‘Pooh-wee!’ Millie held her nose. ‘I think he’s done something evil.’

The other kids laughed.

‘Bags not changing the nappy,’ Sloane said, screwing up her face.

‘I’ll do it,’ Lucas volunteered.

‘Really?’ Jacinta looked at him quizzically. ‘You’ll change his nappy?’

The boy shrugged. ‘I have to learn sometime and I might as well practise on my baby brother.’

Jacinta sighed. Lucas would make an even better father than she’d first thought.

‘Come on, then.’ Lawrence leaned in and picked up the baby boy. ‘Looks like it’s us men on duty.’

Sep shook his head. ‘Not me. I think I’ll stay here if you don’t mind.’

Charlotte and Lawrence didn’t just have one room – they had a sitting room, where the children were gathered, and a bedroom through a set of double doors. There was a huge king-size bed for Charlotte and Lawrence, and twin cots for the babies.

Charlotte looked at Alice-Miranda. ‘Would you like to hold Imogen?’

The girl’s eyes widened. ‘Could I?’

‘I have to get her up for a feed before the party and I’d best make a start,’ Charlotte said, reaching into the pram. She lifted the infant into her arms. ‘Why don’t you go and sit on the chair over there and you can all have a turn?’

The girls and Sep walked over to a large rocking chair and Alice-Miranda sat down. Charlotte placed baby Imogen into her arms.

‘She’s so little.’ Alice-Miranda kissed the girl’s downy forehead.

‘You were even smaller when you were born,’ Charlotte remarked.

‘Really? I can’t imagine it.’ Alice-Miranda admired the tiny baby, breathing in her scent. ‘I love her so much I think my heart is going to burst.’

Charlotte rested her hand on Alice-Miranda’s shoulder. ‘I know she’ll adore you too, darling girl.’

Alice-Miranda wanted to hold her forever but Millie, Jacinta and Sloane were keen to have their turns. As she was passed around all of the children, baby Imogen slowly began to wake up, opening her eyes every few minutes before drifting back to sleep again.

‘Well, that was gross,’ Lucas said, walking out of the bedroom holding Marcus. ‘Don’t ask me to do it again.’

Charlotte smiled. ‘You offered, remember?’

‘I didn’t realise that something so small could make such a disgusting mess,’ the boy replied, clearly horrified by the experience.

Charlotte looked at Lawrence. ‘Was it really nasty?’

‘Nasty is an understatement, Char. Most of it wasn’t even in the nappy and, just to top it off, he let loose on me with the sprinkler.’ Lawrence grinned.

‘Eww.’ Jacinta and Sloane wrinkled their noses.

‘But he is pretty cute,’ Lucas said as Marcus’s tiny fingers wrapped around his pinkie.

Lawrence nodded. ‘Yes, I think we’ll probably keep him.’

Charlotte glanced at her watch. ‘Oh, goodness, it’s a quarter past twelve. Sorry, darlings, but I need to start feeding these two,’ she said, settling herself into the rocking chair with Imogen. ‘It’s a marathon effort and I don’t want to miss all of the festivities.’

‘Thanks for letting us meet the babies,’ Jacinta said.

The children said their goodbyes and made their way to the door.

‘Oh, and Alice-Miranda,’ Lawrence called, ‘I  think you’re up for nappy-changing duties next time.’

The girl turned and grinned. ‘I don’t mind. They could make the biggest, smelliest mess ever and I’d still love them to pieces.’