After Scott adjusted to his new job as Santa that Christmas, many changes occurred at the North Pole and in Lakeside in the next six years. This is what happened during the months of 1996:
February: Ella celebrated her sixth birthday on February 14th and she had a small party with her family and everyone at school sang "Happy Birthday" to her while celebrating Valentine's Day. Sarah gave Ella two small teddy bears, one for her birthday and one for Valentine's Day, before the first bell rang at school. Laura taught her how to play "Mystery Date" like she promised after Ella got home from school. The birthday girl enjoyed every minute of the game and Scott arrived right before dinner. Ella also received special gifts at her party such as the Mary Poppins and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh video tapes from Charlie, a locket from Laura and Neil, and a collection of books including Arthur's Eyes, Amelia Bedelia, Little Bear, Little House the Big Woods, Little House on the Prairie, Mary Poppins, Mary Poppins Comes Back, and Winnie the Pooh from Scott. He also brought gifts from Bernard and Judy. Bernard gave her a bouquet of irises and roses while Judy gave her a Christmas sweets recipe book with all of the recipes written by her and the kitchen elves to say thanks for her help.
April: Scott was invited to celebrate Easter with his children and Laura and Neil. While everyone was getting ready for dinner, Scott told everyone that the North Pole is going through a major expansion due to the rise of computer games and new toys in the market. He also showed them a copy of the construction plans Quintin and Bernard gave him. The plans revealed what the new workshop will look like, new stables for the reindeer, an extended kitchen/bakery for Judy and her team, etc. Finally, it was time to eat. Neil said the prayer and then he and Laura announced that they are going to have a baby. Ella jumped up and down and hugged her mother and stepfather and gave Charlie a high five. When asked if they think the baby will be a brother or sister, Ella and Charlie's answer was either one was fine with them as long as the baby is happy and healthy.
May: Charlie turned ten years old on the 9th. Like Ella, he received special gifts from his family and friends. From Ella, he got a Buzz Lightyear plush and Laura, Neil, and Scott chipped in and gave Charlie an NES along with a few games that both he, Ella, and the rest of the family could play including Super Mario, Darkwing Duck, Mickey Mousecapade, Home Alone, Snoopy's Silly Sports Spectacular, Donkey Kong, and Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers.
September: It was time for Charlie and Ella to go back to school. They had a great summer before their new sibling is born. Scott invited them to come up to the North Pole to spend time with him for a few weeks and while getting ready for the new baby, the Millers moved to a new house, which was about 15 minutes away from Lakeside Elementary School and a 5 minute walk over to Sarah's house so Ella could go over and visit her friend anytime. Charlie was going into the 5th grade while Ella is going to 2nd grade. In the middle of the month, Laura and Neil had a baby shower and homecoming party. Scott, with a little help from Bernard, transported a new baby mobile over to the Miller house since they were finishing up the nursery, which had peach and white painted walls, white crib, white changing table with a dresser, and stuffed animals that Charlie and Ella had when they were babies.
October: It was 3 days before Halloween and the Calvin children were all ready. They picked out their costumes at a nearby costume store in town. Ella chose to dress up as Esmeralda. Charlie chose Buzz Lightyear as his costume. That morning, Laura and Neil decided to have a baby naming contest held after the kids got home from school. Ella thought the baby would be named Lucy if it's a girl and Cameron if it's a boy; Neil thought of Julie and Daniel; Laura thought of the names Bridget and Richard; and Charlie thought of Jessica and Michael. When the children contacted Scott via the snowglobe to give his opinion, he suggested Katie and Christopher. Halloween night came and went. The children went to a carnival at their school and talked to Scott before they went trick-or-treating. He told them that he and the elves are also celebrating Halloween while working on their expansion to the workshop, which should be done in 2000.
December: At 8:30AM one morning in mid-December on the beginning of Christmas vacation, Ella woke up hearing her mother crying out in pain and Neil talking on the phone saying that the contractions were about 10-15 minutes apart. It meant one thing: the baby is coming! Ella washed herself, got dressed, and ran to Charlie's room. She tried shaking her brother awake. "Charlie, Charlie, wake up! Mommy's going to the hospital to have the baby."
"Okay, okay, stop shaking me!" Charlie rolled over and opened his eyes slowly. "What did you say, El?" he yawned.
"I said the baby is coming!" Ella answered. "Now, come on, Sleepyhead!"
Charlie jumped out of bed and got dressed while Ella grabbed her mother's bag from the bedroom door. Sarah's mother, Rebecca Walker, who was 6 months along with her second child, was called to watch over Charlie and Ella. She brought Sarah with her so the kids could have a little bit of fun while waiting to hear the news. Throughout the day, Sarah, Charlie, and Ella played outside in the snow, wrapped their Christmas presents, baked cookies, read stories, watched Christmas movies, and played video games from Charlie's NES. Neil would call every other hour to check on the kids and give them an update on how Laura is doing.
Charlie and Ella's half-sister, Lucy Abigail Miller, was born on December 20, 1996 at 12:20AM. While meeting her at the hospital that afternoon, Ella said that Lucy was the best early Christmas present any girl would ever wanted. Even Charlie was surprised that the baby was born five days before Christmas. After Scott delivered the presents on Christmas Eve, he stopped by the Miller house to meet the new member of the family and give her very first Christmas present.
While Scott held her for the first time, Ella asked, "Daddy, when should we tell Lucy about you being Santa?"
Scott looked at her and smiled. "Well, sweetie, when the time comes, we'll tell her," he answered.
