Hello and welcome to my weekly family recap – I’m so glad you’re here!

This week was all about lovely moments with the children, spending more time at home than out and about. Sometimes that’s exactly what I need to slow down a little. I had also completely forgotten just how short the nights can be with a baby. Our little gentleman is almost a whole month old already – can you believe it? He certainly hasn’t become any quieter, but somehow he’s even cuter now, if that’s even possible.

Having everyone sleep in the same room has many advantages. However, Liv has recently rediscovered her midnight appetite, and the moment Henry lets us know he’s awake, she suddenly feels an urgent need to join in as well. More often than not, the four of us end up squeezed into one armchair while Mike and I exchange tired looks over the babies‘ heads that seem to say, „What on earth were we thinking?“ Neither of us actually says it, though—we’re far too exhausted. Villie, on the other hand, remains completely unimpressed by the nightly chaos. She has always slept like a rock. Knowing that this demanding phase won’t last forever makes it much easier to take it all in our stride.

Of course, I also spent plenty of time building in Cats Hollow again this week. The wedding venue is essentially finished, but perhaps you know how these things go. You work on one area, then suddenly spot something somewhere else and think, „Oh, I could improve that as well,“ and before you know it you’ve wandered to the opposite end of town laying cat paw pavements. I’m actually quite proud of those because I built them myself in Blender before uploading them to Second Life. Seeing all those individual pieces suddenly become far more efficient once they’re linked together feels oddly satisfying. It’s one of those tiny builder victories that probably only fellow creators truly understand—but it makes me ridiculously happy every single time.

My sister-in-law Sayokii stopped by while I was working in Cats Hollow Heights, and of course we immediately had to try out the new gossip poses beneath the big tree next to the bike shop. Mr. Ginger kept us company, making it one of those perfectly ordinary Cats Hollow moments that somehow end up feeling rather special. Afterwards I took her home with me, where Mike had already fired up the barbecue. Together with Lottie and the children we enjoyed dinner and spent a wonderfully relaxed evening together. I absolutely love our terrace outside the kitchen with its view across the beach and the town. It gives me serious Victoria Grayson in the Hamptons vibes. lol (from the TV series Revenge).

Generally speaking, I think our house is absolutely beautiful. That actually inspired me to add a small Before & After section to my blog every week, simply to document how our home changes over time. When Henry announced his arrival, it quickly became obvious that our previous house had reached its limits. There were enough rooms for everyone, but everything felt just a little cramped. House hunting has always been one of our favourite little adventures anyway, so this time we visited Diamond Home. And what can I say? We found the perfect place almost immediately. After briefly considering an old castle—which we quickly dismissed because it simply wasn’t practical for everyday family life—we discovered The Taylor. It honestly feels as though it was designed especially for us. It has a fantastic layout, plenty of space, a swimming pool and even a basement. Every man seems to dream of having a basement, and mine is certainly no exception.

Unfortunately, the land we owned at the time wasn’t quite large enough. Thankfully we were able to buy an additional parcel, although squeezing the house onto the property was still quite a challenge. After quite a bit of trial and error, I finally made it, and now every single time we’re there we find ourselves saying the same thing: this is the most beautiful home we’ve ever had. Over the past few months I’ve customised it quite extensively. I’ve changed textures, redesigned the outdoor areas to better suit the surroundings, added windows where there weren’t any before, moved walls and even built new ones wherever we needed a little more privacy. I honestly think it was worth every bit of effort. The pictures really speak for themselves.

One of the things I love most about The Taylor is how incredibly flexible it is. With houses from other creators I’ve often found myself running into limitations—walls couldn’t easily be changed, textures refused to cooperate or resizing simply wasn’t possible. Here, none of that gets in the way. It lets me shape the house exactly the way we want it, and that’s something I really appreciate. I’ll show you more next week.

Of course, a house only truly becomes a home because of the people—and the occasional cat—who fill it with life. Some afternoons don’t need any special plans. This week we simply ended up on the living room floor together. While I played peek-a-boo with Henry, the girls happily entertained themselves with their toys. A little later, Henry slept peacefully on his father´s arm, I was already close to falling asleep on the carpet, but apparently still awake enough to hold out my hand for Finn, who gladly accepted the invitation to be stroked. It was one of those wonderfully ordinary family afternoons that don’t seem particularly remarkable at the time, yet somehow become the moments you remember most fondly.

For quite some time I’d had a particular photo idea in mind after seeing something similar on a real-life social media account, and I was determined to recreate it with our children. The pose has the children lying on their backs in a star shape, holding hands above their heads. Henry, being a Zooby Baby, can actually take this position while sleeping, which explains the wonderfully relaxed expression he has in the photos. For the girls I simply chose suitable lying poses, positioned them carefully and adjusted their arm positions using the Hitoshima Animator. I’m genuinely delighted with how the pictures turned out, and I’m fairly certain one of them will soon find its place above our fireplace.

I already mentioned our swimming pool, which is without question one of our favourite places to spend time together during the summer. This week we took some new family photos there, and I also updated both of our daughters‘ avatars. They each received brand-new heads during the last Akeruka sale, and I have to say—it was absolutely worth it. They’re both unbearably adorable. Villie is almost five years old now, and Liv will turn two this autumn.

This family roleplay is one of the things I enjoy most about Second Life. Villie was actually born back in IMVU before joining us in SL, and behind her story is a friendship that has grown over more than five years with a truly wonderful lady. She isn’t able to be online in Second Life very often these days, but we stay in regular contact through other channels. Villie’s avatar, just like Liv’s, is controlled using Moonbots—an absolutely brilliant system. But that’s a story for another day.

Until next week, take good care of yourselves!