[A/N: I decided I wanted to continue this as an actual story and I have a lot of ideas for it! Essentially I'll be following Helga's and Olga's lives through Olga's eyes. We'll get further insight into the Pataki family dynamics and maybe learn more about how these two developed into who they are. It will especially be fun once we get around to Helga being 9 years old ;) I hope you like this chapter! It's set a bit over a year after the first one. That's what I'll be doing for most of the chapters unless otherwise specified. Hope you enjoy it and let me know what you think!

D/C: I don't own Hey Arnold]

Sunday, October 8th
3:45 PM

Dearest Diary,

I can't believe I've neglected you for so long! It's been over a year since my last entry! Oh but everything has been so wonderful with Helga here. She turned one back in March and I swear she is the cutest little thing!

I play with her all the time and help Mummy and Daddy take care of her as much as I can. Every morning I take her into the kitchen and set her down in her high chair so that I can feed her before I go to school. Then before I have to leave, I make sure to wake Mummy up so that she can take over. Daddy usually gives me a ride to school on his way to work. Once I come home from school, I sit in the living room with Helga while she plays with her baby toys and I do my homework. She seems to be a pretty happy baby! Sometimes we play games together, too. If I lie down on the floor and cover my face, she'll crawl over to me and try to pull my arms away and "find" me. It's so adorable! She seems very concerned when she can't find me.

She's been more vocal lately, though she hasn't said many actual words. Just a lot of random sounds like "ba" and "da" and "me". I guess you could consider her saying the word "me" counted but I don't think she knew what it meant when she first said it. She has learned how to say my name though! She doesn't always pronounce it correctly, though. She calls me "Oh-ga" but that's close enough for me! Daddy was a little upset she still hasn't said his name yet but I assured him that saying "da" means she's close! She'll get it soon, I'm sure.

4:15 PM

Sorry for my abrupt stop! Helga was giving Mummy a hard time and so she asked me to take her. I have her play-mat on the floor in my room as I sit at my desk and write to you, Diary. I think Helga really likes me! Whenever Mummy can't get her to stop crying, if I pick her up she stops right away! I can't tell you how happy that makes me. I'm very proud to be a big sister.

I have a picture of Helga on my desk. I convinced Daddy to give me money to take Helga to a professional photoshoot for her first birthday and I kept all the photos here in my drawer but the one in this frame is my favorite. It's the only one where she isn't crying. She'd been very colicky lately and I felt so bad for her! Especially since it was her birthday! Poor little baby and her achey tummy L. The photographer was trying everything he could to get her to smile but she kept giving him the grumpiest faces! It was a little funny until she started crying. It wasn't until after I'd picked her up and cuddled her a little that she finally stopped and he was able to get a few pictures done.

This picture is actually kind of funny though. I always heard that babies often lose hair shortly after their born before they start growing their "permanent" hair but Helga sure lost a lot! She was just about bald by her first birthday! Thank goodness it grew back by the end of the summer. People were mistaking her for a boy! Before taking her to the photoshoot, I gave Helga her birthday present from me: a big pink bow. I figured that would help give her more of a "girly" appearance since she'd lost her hair. It's so cute how large it is compared to her head! I got a frame for one of the pictures from the shoot and it's a gold-plated heart that has the words "My Widdle Sister" written around it. It's absolutely PERFECT! I'll cherish this forever.

Helga's starting to cry again. Be back soon!

7:10 PM

We just had dinner! I helped Mummy make it tonight and it turned out wonderfully! We had pork-chops and macaroni with broccoli. So simple, yet quite delicious. Helga has started eating some solid foods so during dinner, I broke up little macaroni noodles and set them on her tray so she could try them. She seemed skeptical at first but once she tried it, she loved it and kept reaching over to my plate for more!

After dinner Daddy went into the living room to watch football and Mummy fell asleep on the couch so I cleaned up the dishes and put away leftovers while Helga watched me from her high-chair. She fussed when I didn't let her down right away but I was quick and once I finished and picked her up, she settled down. I held Helga on my hip while I finished loading the dishwasher. Amongst the silverware and plates, I added the pitcher from Mummy's blender. I really wish she didn't drink as much but I'm glad she was at least able to stop while she was pregnant with Helga. And so long as she is still able to take care of Helga when I'm not around, I guess it's okay. Wouldn't you agree, Diary?

Now I'm upstairs with Helga again and I think Mummy and Daddy are downstairs arguing… I really wish they wouldn't fight so much. Daddy says some really horrible things to Mummy sometimes, especially about her drinking and it just makes me wanna cry. But then I see Helga's face and she looks terrified so I just cuddle her and tell her it's okay.

Yesterday was SO much fun! I forgot to mention we spent the WHOLE day at the park and I think Helga made a new friend! It was nice to have a family outing and I think Helga really liked being outside. It was soo beautiful out and there were so many other families there, too! Mummy and I sat on a bench under a tree nearby while Daddy pushed Helga on the swings. That's where she met her new little friend. Phoebe, I think her name was? Anyway, Daddy got into an argument with Phoebe's mom while they were pushing the girls. I couldn't tell what he was yelling about but I guess maybe she was doing something wrong. I didn't see what happened; I only looked over and saw him yelling at her, waving his arms around. But the funny part was what Helga and Phoebe were doing! Phoebe was swinging her swing around with this huge carefree smile on her face while holding her bottle. Every time the bottle came near Helga, she snuck a sip! That little devil! She's so funny. I'm sure they'll be great friends.

It was only a few minutes later that a couple of frantic parents started running around the playground searching for their little boy! I was so worried for them because they looked so upset! I nudged Mummy to ask if she thought we should help them look for the little boy but she had fallen asleep with her head tilted back snoring. The parents, a tall blonde-haired man and a woman with a round head and brown hair, were running around yelling for 'Arnold'. That's when Helga, my sweet baby sister, actually spoke! She doesn't talk very much but I heard her say "Slide! Slide!" and she pointed to the slide where lo and behold, a little blonde baby boy with an oblong head stood at the very top. His parents ran over to the slide and tried to tell him not to move but that little scamp! He sat down and slid right down the slide all by himself! What a brave little boy. He went flying right into a puddle of mud and instead of crying, he just started playing with it! He seemed like a very happy baby. And a cutiepie, too!

8:35 PM

I just gave Helga a bath and have been trying to get her to go to sleep but she just won't. As soon as I try to leave her room, she starts crying but as long as I stay in here, even if she's in the crib and I'm sitting in the chair in the corner, she's calm. I had almost gotten her to fall asleep when someone slammed a door downstairs and Helga immediately started crying. Then I did have to hold her for a while. She held onto my shirt with her little hands as I walked around the room with her. I told her that Mummy and Daddy really did love each other and they didn't mean to upset her. They were just upset about something but it would be okay. I may have sugar-coated that a little for her but she's a baby. She wouldn't understand if I told her everything. My parents just have a very complicated relationship. I do think they care about each other but… their personalities are very different. I wish Daddy didn't yell so much and I wish Mummy didn't drink so much but they're my family. They're my parents and I love them with everything in me. They've always encouraged me in everything I've ever done, even if they were fighting with each other.

Really, they aren't even as bad as they used to be. I remember when I was little, they fought almost every day and very loudly. I specifically remember one night in particular. It was the evening after my first day of kindergarten and before bed, I'd remembered I completely forgot to show them I had gotten my very first A+! I came down the staircase with my little paper in hand and found them yelling in each other's faces in the living room. I was scared at first but after a minute of standing there, unsure of what to do, they noticed me and quieted. Daddy took the worksheet from my hands and a huge smile appeared on his face. He picked me up and twirled me around.

"That's my girl. You're a stinkin' genius!" He had said.

Mummy looked at the paper and smiled, too. "We're so proud of you, baby,"

I knew from that day on that it was very important for me to make them proud. I didn't want them to be upset and I wanted them to have something to be happy about. If I could give them that, that meant I was being a good daughter, right?

Daddy started entering me into city contests and I worked so very hard to make sure I won. And with every success, it seemed to get easier and easier. He was always so excited for me and I loved making him happy. It was easy for him to get angry or upset over things so being the reason he was in a good mood was motivation for me. And I guess it helped Mummy and Daddy get along, too because they stopped arguing as much. Not completely, but it decreased dramatically. They would come to my spelling bees, recitals – anything I entered – and they were a team, working together to cheer me on! Oh Diary, you don't know how good that felt. And I still try to be that good daughter, and now I have a new role – being the best big sister ever. That's what I plan to do.

9:20 PM

Helga finally fell asleep! Thank goodness – I was actually getting tired, myself. After she'd drifted off, I loosened her pigtails (she's so cute in pigtails, I fix her hair that way every day!) and set the elastic bands on top of her changing table. I made sure to leave both of our doors cracked open so that if she started crying during the night, I could come in and see her. Mummy and Daddy checked on her sometimes, too of course but I feel like I should always be there for her if she needs me. I'm just right across the hall.

Anyway, I should probably get myself ready for bed now. I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow – tests in THREE different classes and I'm meeting with a French tutor after school. I'm always busy doing something but it makes me happy. I feel like I'm doing something positive and making my parents proud. I hope I make Helga proud, too. I'm already proud of her.

Ta-ta for now, Diary!

Love,

Olga