"Hey!" Fat Amy shouted, one January afternoon. She was sprawled out on floor in the Swanson living room, surrounded by soft toys and three babies. "Hey! Look at Toby! He's walking!"

"What?" Beca came flying out of the kitchen, flour dusting her cheeks, grabbing her phone as she rushed in. "what?"

"Look!"

At twelve and a half months old, the Swanson triplets had been crawling for some time, and Toby in particular was pulling himself up on furniture. But while he was standing with assistance, they had yet to take their first tentative steps on their own.

"He's coasting", Beca corrected, tossing aside her phone and taking a seat cross legged on the floor. "He's been doing it all week, haven't you Toby?"

The little boy squealed and plopped to his backside, scooting over to his mother. Beca cradled him gently, dropping a kiss to the top of his head.

"What the hell's the difference?" Fat Amy questioned.

"He's still holding onto the coffee table".

Fat Amy nodded. "When are you gonna start walking?" she cooed to Jack, who giggled in response. Molly rested her head on Amy's thigh, grinning toothily at her aunt.

"Won't be long", Beca predicted. "Well, for this one, at least".

Toby let out a shriek of delight, beaming at his mother. "Ma!"


"Honey, I'm home!" Jesse called cheerfully.

(He knew how much she hated it when he said that. And that was the sole reason he did it.)

Dumping his backpack in the kitchen, he advanced into the living room where Beca was lying on the floor with three wriggling babies.

"Hey!" he said, looking down at her in surprise and she propped herself up with her elbow, Jack climbing onto her back. "What's going on?"

"We're playing". Beca shrugged, batting Molly's hand away from her ear (because she had had her earrings pulled by an active child and she knew that if Molly were to tug on them, she would shriek profanities that she avoided around them). "Fat Amy was over earlier, she came over to play. She told me Toby was walking, but she lied".

Jesse dropped to the ground, Jack immediately crawling over to him. "Hey there buddy!" he enthused, lifting the little boy up and holding him above his head. "When are you gonna walk for Daddy? Are you gonna walk first? Or is your little or sister brother going to beat you?"

"I think it's going to be Toby", Beca said confidently, rolling over onto her back. "Dinner's on the stove, did you see?"

"No, I didn't really look".

"Pasta tonight".

Baby food was expensive, and Beca had taken to feeding their kids what they were eating, cut up into teeny tiny pieces. That night, Beca had cooked pasta and pureed the vegetables that had gone into the sauce, before all but mashing the cooked pasta for them.

"What time is it?" Beca questioned, and Jesse glanced at the clock.

"Just gone five thirty".

Beca hoisted herself off the floor, scooping Molly up with one arm and Jack with the other. Toby grabbed Jesse's fingers, and Jesse stood up, holding his little boy by his hands as Toby stepped towards the kitchen.

"Won't be long", Jesse noted, swinging him into the high chair and tugging a bib over his head.


"Bec, here you go!" Jesse called, passing a towel wrapped Toby to Beca, before draining the bath and lifting Molly out. Wrapping his daughter in a towel, he made his way onto the landing where Beca was dressing Toby and Jack was contently sitting beside his mother.

Setting Molly down and grabbing her pyjamas, he got to work dressing his daughter while Beca dressed their son. Propping Toby up, she towelled his soft baby hair before slinging the towel over the banister.

"Are you guys ready for bed?" she questioned, and Molly just laughed in response.

"Dad!" Toby called, pulling himself up using the rails of the banister.

"Yeah bud?" Jesse checked, snapping together the clips on Molly's pyjamas and sitting his daughter up. "Good boy Toby! Daddy's watching!"

And as if he'd been doing it his entire life, Toby let go of the banister and took six wobbly steps towards his wide-eyed mother, falling into Beca's arms and giggling.

"Good boy!" Beca cuddled him tight, kissing the top of his head. "Good boy Toby!" and to Jesse, she just beamed. "Told you".

Jesse grinned at her. "Good job, Swanson. Good job".


The next day, as Toby's wobbly steps got stronger and further (Beca forgot to kick the baby gate shut before entering the kitchen and turned around to find her youngest grinning up at her with the same smile as his father), Molly and Jack continued to crawl on their hands and knees and shuffle on their bums.

"You aren't going to take after your big brother?" Beca checked with Jack, as she helped him to stack blocks. Jack just beamed at her, crawling closer towards her and slapping a sloppy kiss to her cheek. "Thanks bud", she chuckled.

Three days after Toby's first steps, Molly, ever the daddy's girl, took three wobbly steps from her spot on the kitchen tiles to her daddy, walking through the back door.

"Hey there baby girl!" Jesse gasped in surprise. "Look at you, Molly Claire, my big girl!

"That's two", Beca said, almost faintly.

"My man Jack, when's it gonna be your turn buddy?" Jesse cooed, cradling Molly tight and running his fingers through Jack's fine hair.

The little boy just giggled.


With two little ones toddling around, Beca and Jesse had to be very careful what they had lying around. Beca's laptop cord, even though most of it was on the lounge, was tripped over by Toby (who, at almost thirteen months old, was as clumsy as his mother), resulting in a black eye.

"It's just you, Jacko", Beca said, as she twisted the little hair that Molly had into pigtails. "We're just waiting for you, kiddo!"


It had been two weeks since Toby's first steps, and ten days since Molly's. and yet Jack was happy crawling after his brother and sister. Beca had shrugged, claiming that he'd walk when he was ready, and Jesse had shrugged, claiming that he liked being carried by his parents.

And then one day, out of the blue, Jack lifted himself off the lounge room floor and toddled to the other side of the room, picking up the bear that Toby had thrown.

"Jack!" Jesse said in delight, tossing him into the air and tossing him into the air. "Look at you, my big walker!"

"They're all walking", Beca said in amazement, as Toby launched himself at her. She caught him, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. "They're all walking! Your big brother's walking now, Toby!"

"So I guess we're completely rearranging the house tomorrow".