A\N: I'm sorry for the long wait for this story to be updated. It's been a hard summer for me, and things are just slowly calming down.

Hope's 2nd Birthday

Hope woke up and stood up in her lowered crib, it still had bars, but it was lower to the ground. This was because her new, big girl bed hadn't been delivered yet. She looked over the bars and to the ground. She stood on the step stool and climbed down just as Shane and Oliver walked into her bedroom.

"Happy birthday Hope!" Shane picked up her daughter and hugged her tightly. "You're two years old today. You're becoming such a big girl." Shane placed the toddler on the ground and watched as she ran excitedly to her closet to get her unique birthday dress.

Shane couldn't believe it had been two years since her mother had called her. That wasn't unusual, but the nature of this phone conversation was. Shane could still remember every word they said to each other. Becoming the guardian of her sister's baby was hard to adjust to, and it had Shane and Oliver move up their wedding date. Shane could see a little bit of her sister Alex in Hope. Her green eyes and her hair were a mixture of the light brown hair Alex had and the blonde hair Shane assumed her biological father had.

"Mommy, party dress!" Hope brought her formal pink dress over to her parents, proudly showing it to them. The dress was light pink and had a princess-style body that any little girl would love. Hope had matching shoes as well. It all went with the theme of her princess tea party.

Oliver wanted to start a tradition with her for her second birthday, something he would do with them next year when Jessica was two. Taking Hope to the Brown Palace Hotel for a fancy tea party was just the opportunity Oliver had in mind. He wanted Hope to grow into a polite and well-educated young woman. One that didn't need to rely on technology all the time.

"Mama! Dada!" eleven-month-old Jessica called out from the room across the hall. She started banging on her crib railings. As Oliver left to get Jessica, Shane took the dress away from Hope,

"We need to have breakfast before we put on the dress. Now since you're two years old, you get to help make breakfast. Mommy and Daddy have your first present downstairs.

Hope squealed with excitement and ran to the baby gate at the top of the stairs. Much to her parents' frustration, she had learned to unlock the gate a week ago. Since Jessica wasn't walking yet and Hope was still so, young Shane and Oliver had purchased a new one. They were sure Hope wouldn't be able to figure this out as it had a two-step opening system.

When Shane opened the new baby gate, Hope ran down the stairs at top speed. She raced into the kitchen and jumped up and down as she saw who was sitting at the kitchen table. "Grandma, Grandpa, Auntie Rita, Uncle Norman!" Hope spoke the names of the significant adults in her life. Her speech was getting better every day. "Hope birthday!"

"Yes, we know," Sharon stood up from the table and kissed the top of her granddaughter's messy brown hair. "We have some presents for you. Can you come here and sit like a big girl?"

"Presents!" Hope jumped around excitedly as she began looking around for them, "Not here!" She stomped her foot and frowned. "No fair!"

"They're hidden, honey," Joe fought off the urge to laugh at his granddaughter's sass. He knew Shane and Oliver did not want to encourage it. "You have to find them; it's like a fun game. The first one is in the kitchen. Can you find something that's new? Go look over by the island," Joe pointed her across the recently renovated kitchen.

Hope walked around to the island and smiled, "Stairs," She grinned as she climbed up three steps and could now stand at the kitchen island. "Hope cook," Hope then saw some child-friendly cooking instruments like a dull knife, cutting boards, and stirring spoons.

"Now that you are two years old, Hope, Mommy and Daddy would like you to help us more. With these, you can now help to cook. What would you like for breakfast?"

"Hope, make pancakes," Hope climbed onto the counter and stood up; she then walked around the counter; she was almost about to jump across from the island to the counter when she was picked up.

"Hope, please do not climb on the island or jump off the island; that is dangerous," Oliver put Hope back on the ground, "If you would like, you can help Daddy make pancakes."

"Daddy help Hope," Hope replied confidently as she climbed back up her new steps, "Hope, chef."

After breakfast, it was time for Hope's second birthday present. Rita and Norman helped Hope get a light spring jacket and shoes and took her out into the backyard. They're set up to play along with the climber: a new bike, Baby Shark helmet, and a pop-up post office and mail truck. "For Hope?" She asked her god-patents.

"Yes, but you need to share with Jessica. We thought you'd like to have your own DLO office to play with."

"Hope finder," Hope clapped her hands. She went back into the house and returned with her tablet, "Hope, look, people," She babbled. She went into the tent just as her parents came outside.

"My father and Sharon are entertaining Jessica. Where is Hope?" Oliver asked his friends.

"I think she's pretending to be Shane at the DLO," Rita responded, "It was so cute she said she was going to be a finder and went and got her tablet. Then she said she's finding people."

Throughout the morning, Hope was given a few more presents. Shane took Hope to her room at eleven o'clock to help the excited toddler prepare for her fancy tea party. Hope asked the 'Alexa' device in the hallway to play music, and she began dancing.

"Mommy, catch!" Hope laughed as Shane tried to pick up the active toddler.

"Hope, you need to get ready for your tea party." Shane finally caught her; she placed her on the ground and knelt to her level, "I understand you're excited, but can you try to calm down? Mommy needs to get you ready."

"Hope new dress!" Hope ran to get her fancy dress, "Hope purse?" She asked her mother, "Yellow."

"You want a yellow purse?" Shane claimed she knew she shouldn't; be too surprised. Hope knew her colours but was still far from understanding colour theory. Her dress was purple and pink, and her shoes and tights were white. "I don't think I have a yellow purse."

"No Hope purse," Hope went to one of her toy bins and retrieved a Baby Shark purse, "Purse," She held it up for her mother to see, "I pay watch," She babbled, turning back to her bins of toys.

"Daddy is going to pay," Shane redirected her daughter's attention to getting ready. After many distractions and redirections, Hope was finally ready for her fancy tea party an hour later. She looked like a little princess in her dress and shoes.

"Hope all ready!" Hope ran out of the room and right into Oliver, who was coming to see why Hope was running late.

"Ah," Oliver smiled as he saw Hope, "Good, you are all ready. Our reservation is in twenty minutes. Say goodbye to Mommy and hug her. We cannot miss our reservation."

"Reservation," Hope attempted to repeat the word but didn't come out quite as the word was pronounced.

Oliver led Hope by the hand as they walked into the Brown palace hotel. Hope was getting lots of waves and smiles, which she eagerly returned. She looked around the hotel and everything inside as her father led her to the dining room.

"Oh, you must be here for afternoon tea," The hostess at the front of the restaurant smiled as Oliver and Hope approached. "Can I have your name?" She asked, playing along. She knew who they were, as Oliver had contacted them a few months ago. Due to Hope's diary allergy, he and Shane needed to confirm they'd be able to accommodate them. To Oliver's relief, they were happy to provide Hope with substitutions she could eat. One of the chef's even baked Hope special birthday cookies.

"Hope O'Toole, I two!" Hope announced proudly, "Pretty lady," She grinned at the woman, "Like Mommy."

The woman smiled, "Well, I'll take that as a compliment. I have your table all ready for you." She led Oliver and Hope to a table. There was even a booster seat on one of the chairs for Hope to sit in. Oliver got Hope settled in her chair and then sat.

"Your waitress should be here shortly with some starter food,"

The hostess smiled as she walked away. Soon a few waiters brought some appetizers, drinks, cupcakes, and cookies.

"Cookie," Hope reached for a cookie, but Oliver shook his head.

"Before you eat a cookie, you need to try something else," Oliver pointed to the plate of appetizers. "How about a cracker or a cucumber sandwich?"

"No," Hope made a face and hit Oliver's hand away; she then took one of the crackers and threw it to the floor. Satisfied with the sound, she reached to drop another one, but Oliver pulled the plate away.

"Hope," Oliver spoke low but sternly, "You do not hit me. We will leave if you do not act like a big girl."

Hope looked around the room and pouted. She'd been looking forward to being a big girl. After a few seconds, she picked up an unfamiliar cracker and looked at it. She very hesitantly put it in her mouth before swallowing.

"Yucky, Daddy," Hope put the rest of the cracker off her plate.

Oliver knew Hope was a picky eater. The list of things she wouldn't eat seemed to grow longer daily. She hardly ate at daycare and wouldn't eat much at home. Her doctors had assured Oliver and Shane that it was normal for some kids to be picky eaters. Due to her allergy, it was starting to get hard to make her something she liked. She liked something one day but wouldn't eat it the next.

Oliver understood Hope's indecision about a lot more food than Shane's. Shane ate everything and, even as a child, was never afraid of trying something new. She had been struggling to get Hope to eat and had gotten mad when she would throw a fit. Oliver. While Oliver, who could still be considered a picky eater, had been trying a different approach. He encouraged Hope to try new food and understood if she didn't want to eat it. There weren't many results yet, but Oliver was staying hopeful.

When the main course and drinks arrived, Hope smiled as her sandwich had been cut in the shape of a shark. Her juice was put in a tiny teacup which she drank happily. Afterwards, she looked at her sandwich. It had whole wheat bread and lettuce. She picked it up and looked at it before taking a small bite, much to Oliver's astonishment and delight. She ate the entire sandwich and then asked for another one, which she also devoured.

After lunch, a tired Hope was colouring a picture as Oliver spoke to the chef. He thanked her for being so willingly making accommodations for Hope and then asked how she had cut the sandwich into the shape of a shark. The chef explained it to him but suggested different sandwich cutters, seeing Oliver's confusion. She figured with how famous Baby Shark was, there'd be a baby shark sandwich cutter.

Upon their arrival at the house, Oliver carried a sleeping Hope into the house, brought her to her bedroom, and placed her on her bed so she could nap.

When he returned downstairs, he found Shane cleaning the playroom, which looked like a tornado had run through it. "Dare I ask what happened here?" He inquired as he began to help Shane clean.

"Oh, just a few hours with an eleven-month-old who can't deice what she wants to play with. She finally settled on me reading her all of the girls' books. She's going to be reading before she turns three. How was your tea party with Hope?"

"It was very nice," Oliver then began to explain to his wife about the tea party, including how Hope had eaten two halves of a sandwich.

TBC

A\N: Please review and let me know what you thought. The next two one-shots in the series will focus more on Jessica.