Original subtitles

Bill" previously on "the little couple"...

Jennifer got a bunch of tickets

for us all to go to the grand prix.

ladies and gentlemen, start your engines.

♪

woman: all right, mateys, are you guys ready

to have some fun for Will's birthday?

all: yeah!

because Will's gotcha day and birthday

are so close together,

we decided to dub this whole period of time

Willie-palooza.

all: yargh!

♪

Bill: coming up...

all right, Zoey.

i'm not gonna let go.

Jen's birthday weekend's coming up,

but before we do that, we're gonna hop on the bikes

and try and get a couple lessons.

hey, party pooper.

Jennifer: good job, Will.

i definitely appreciate these moments,

and it's even more special to watch them

do their bike riding on my birthday weekend.

-happy birthday. -happy birthday.

-happy birthday. -happy birthday to me.

Bill: Jen deserves something special,

so the kids and i are going to make

something special for her for her birthday.

are we all gonna make a card?

-yeah. -what color do you want?

we don't have much time left to finish up Jen's presents,

so hopefully we'll be able to get it all done.

it's coming down to the wire.

Bill: do you hear mom?

she's gotten into the elevator.

♪

surprise!

surprise!

♪

♪

-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

captions paid for by discovery communications

♪

Bill: what do you think mom would like?

hmm? hmm, hmm, hmm?

a chair.

you want to get mommy a chair?

yeah. (laughs)

what kind of chair?

this big?

how is she gonna sit in a chair that big?

all right, that big?

that big?

that's not even a chair.

that's nothing.

hey, Zoey, come here.

what do you mean why?

i know. i'm gonna let you help.

i need your help.

here's the question --

i had an idea for mommy's 45th birthday.

okay? but we got to keep it a secret.

ready?

it's Jen's big birthday, the big 45.

i think it's gonna be a great year for Jen.

she works her butt off and has for a very long time.

she's my partner, my soul mate, she's my best friend,

the mother of my kids, their caregiver.

she's all those things,

and she does it without ever complaining,

without asking for anything for herself.

so my goal for her 45th year is to keep her smiling,

and she deserves something special.

so the kids and i are going to put a little extra effort in

to make something special for her birthday,

which is next week,

and we have a lot to do to prepare.

i want you guys to make pottery for mom.

like a sculpture that you paint

and then they put it in a kiln.

yeah, you got to pick one out

that you can plant a flower in.

'cause you know how mommy loves flowers?

so we're gonna buy one that has a hole in it

that you can put flowers in.

okay, i'll pretend.

right.

right.

i'm listening. i'm listening.

perfect. i'm ready.

are you guys ready? Zoey: yeah.

want to go knock this out?

♪

♪

♪

let's check this place out, huh?

(dog barks)

man: welcome, sir.

hi.

what brings you in today?

i have a couple of new bicyclists.

ooh, i love it.

Bill: Jen's birthday's coming up next weekend,

so we have some things to do to prepare for that,

but first, we are going to do some bike riding.

so first we have to hit up the bike shop for some new gear.

i want to buy a new helmet.

well, we can take a look.

we got the kids bikes a few months ago,

and, you know, those are working out great.

but they're growing,

and so the goal today

is to get some new pads and maybe a new helmet.

hey, Will, you want to try that one on?

give it a shot.

(gasps) is that a unicorn?

think this one Will fit me?

-(laughs) -that's a good look.

-thank you. -i like it.

yeah?

it's okay.

you can try that.

you can try whichever one you want.

try and do it gently.

Bill: so both of them are proficient

with balance bikes, which is great.

the only problem that we all have

is being able to reach the ground,

so they're just kind of learning.

but they're still crashing a good amount.

okay, yeah. so we need some protection.

some protection, and then, of course, you know,

i was thinking maybe some flashy lights to put on there

just so that everybody's aware of them

because they're certainly lower

as far as the bike height is concerned.

so that's a concern, daytime or nighttime.

one of the points of pride for most little people

is that there are very few things

that we can't accomplish,

and bicycling is certainly

not the biggest challenge to overcome.

press that button and hold it.

there you go. hold it.

whoa. whoa!

as a parent of a little person and being a little person,

i look at it differently than likely my parents did.

my parents probably had a measure of,

"i don't know if you can do that,"

with everything i did.

but i know.

i've already been down that road.

so when it comes to the kids,

i know that having skeletal dysplasia

Will certainly make certain things

a bit more challenging,

but i think if the incentive is there,

if the interest is there, between all of us,

we'll figure out a way to make it happen.

(bike bell dings) Bill: come here, Will.

(horn honking)

(laughter)

(horn honking)

yeah, you guys should get those.

(horns honking)

♪

Jen: hi, everyone. nice to meet you.

i'm dr. arnold.

i'm one of the neonatologists.

good to see you, dr. Cruz.

good to see you, too.

Jen: so, today we're at

the fetal care program's outpatient clinic,

and we are seeing a patient by the name of Melissa.

we are looking at an ultrasound,

and we're seeing melissa's baby

who has a prenatal diagnosis of cleft lip.

we're taking a look at the baby

and in that image, you can see the cleft lip.

it's on the right side.

the baby's growing okay,

and there's good fluid.

there's no other anomaly

that we can see on ultrasound.

great.

so, essentially a cleft lip and palate

is a malformation that happens

during the development of a baby

where there is an opening that's left in the lip.

sometimes it goes all the way up to the nose,

and then other times it can involve the palate,

which is the roof of the mouth essentially.

and after the baby's born,

the treatment involves surgical repair

of that opening that a baby is born with.

-it's the uvula. -so, usually when you see

the uvula on ultrasound,

it's a good sign the soft palate

is usually intact.

that's good news. melissa: that is good news

because that's really important for breast feeding.

yep.

Jen: having a cleft lip and/or palate

causes some issues after birth.

specifically we worry about

the ability to feed properly and to gain weight,

and then down the line, speech problems, as well.

so based on what we see today,

it looks like the cleft involves the lip.

it doesn't show signs of involving the soft palate,

but we're still not sure about the hard palate.

so i think it's all good information.

it's just a matter of

can't be 100% until the baby's born.

everything is on target.

-very good. -good job.

yeah, awesome. -thanks.

well, we'll get to see you in just a few minutes

all together with dr. rottgers, too.

-okay. he is here? -okay.

thank you. see you soon.

Jen: the idea of the fetal care program

is that we are actually bringing together

all the care specialists in one sitting with a family

so that we can provide more coordinated care

and help prepare them on what to expect

and provide the best care possible

for mom, the baby, and the entire family.

she's about 28 weeks today.

-28 and 3.

man: so, that puts the due date

in, like, what, june?

i'm trying to do math in my head.

june 22nd. it's saturday.

-yeah. -awesome.

okay.

Jen: so next up,

we Will all convene in a meeting room

where we bring together all the subspecialists

who are going to be involved in her care.

-hello. -hello, everyone.

-hello. welcome. -how are you guys?

-come on in. -come on in.

nice to see you again. over there?

Jen: nice to see you, too.

thank you both for coming to the fetal care program.

Jen: when i was a patient growing up,

we didn't really have this type of program.

this is relatively new and novel.

we didn't have all the caregivers

coming together in one sitting.

we had to go to each different visit,

hear different information,

and then, you know,

my parents had to kind of

put the pieces of the puzzle together.

i've seen a lot of kids that have, like, feeding tubes.

yep, okay.

so is that, like, something that, like,

if her palate was involved, like, would a feeding tube...

that is not something i expect.

and i think it's important to know that, you know,

we want to make sure you have

all the support you need, as well,

taking care of harper,

so the feeding specialist

and we'll just keep an eye on her weight.

Jen: it's really pretty amazing in this situation

is that melissa herself also had a cleft lip,

and she is going to be super prepared

to be able to take care of harper.

it's definitely an overwhelming of emotions,

like, when they first told me that she had the cleft lip.

it was like all those times back in middle school,

like, getting, like, people just, you know.

curious not understanding. yep, being kids. yep.

Jen: when Bill and i started the adoption process,

you know, we started off looking for kids

who had skeletal dysplasia

because we're both pretty well prepared,

and, you know, i think it helps

when you've been there, done that

to be able to have that emotional connection

in caring for your child,

as well as the medical side of things.

from my perspective,

i'm expecting harper to be super healthy,

not to need any extra care

from a neonatal intensive care perspective,

but if she does,

we are right there and ready

to take care of her,

and we'll keep you updated along the way

with everything that's going on.

so our goal is that she's feeding

and able to go home.

it's amazing to have all you guys come together

to make sure that we have everything that we need.

so, thank you to everyone for coming together.

-thank you, guys. -thank you.

♪

♪

Bill: you could have.

i need you to get really good at it first,

then we can all ride bikes together.

together.

Jen's birthday weekend's coming up,

and that's gonna be a lot of fun,

but before we do that, we're gonna hop on the bikes

and try and get a couple lessons in.

Jen's working hard right up until her birthday,

so she's gonna meet us at the park straight from work.

Bill: there's mom.

i'm excited to be done with work for the day

and to get to meet up with Bill and the kids,

spend some quality time and do a little bike riding.

you know, being a working mom,

you have to try and squeeze in the quality time.

it's not about quantity. it's about quality.

and so bike riding is something that all kids love to do.

and it's definitely something special

and that i want to be there for

to see my kids get to experience and have fun doing.

Bill: all right, you ready?

what do we got to work on?

we got to work on your starting, right?

Bill: they've been practicing on balance bikes

for the last couple of years.

they've gotten really good at it,

but balance bikes only take you so far,

so we wanted to get a couple of big-kid bicycles,

which are customized to accommodate their size.

so we're at that in between phase right now,

where Will's able to balance and ride,

but stopping is a bit of an issue

and starting is a bit of an issue.

so i still have to help him out a little bit.

but Zoey is still novice.

she's still crashing and burning as soon as i let go.

so, for the most part, i'm Zoey's training wheels.

now push off with your right foot.

give it a little kick,

little kick, little kick, spin, push.

push with your pedal.

push, push, push.

all right. turn the corner.

oh! (laughs)

pedaling just doesn't come naturally,

so, you know, it's time to break out the teaching hat

and give these guys some lessons.

ready?

the bikes themselves are very small.

they're, i think, 10-inch or 12-inch wheels

so that they fit Will and Zoey.

there he goes! (chuckles)

the crankshaft is a little bit shorter,

which allows them to be able to pedal the bikes better.

(chuckles)

Jen: wow, look at him go.

(chuckles) stop before the road.

he Will.

yeah.

you ready? come here.

come here, cuteness.

♪

all right, Zoey.

i'm not gonna let go.

i'm gonna tell you when.

♪

all right, you got to balance, though.

ooh. ooh.

keep pedaling.

i got you.

Bill: Zoey's a little bit more gun shy at this point.

she's a little more timid.

she's not quite as confident as Will,

but she'll get over it,

and eventually she'll want to go faster.

Bill: good job, buddy.

and she'll want to do what her brother does.

so that's all she needs --

a little bit of motivation.

Jen: good job, Will.

Will's definitely gaining confidence on the bicycle.

i'm super excited that he is.

bicycling, of course, is very liberating.

hey, party poopers.

i think it's cool.

i'm happy for him.

ready?

now, i want you to pedal.

then i'm gonna let you go.

no, no, no. we're not going fast.

no.

it'll be as fast as you want to pedal.

Bill: i'm not letting you go.

you got to steer and you got to balance.

you were doing it.

you were doing it. Jen: yay!

it's okay, you can let go of the bike.

it's great watching Bill with the kids.

this is definitely Bill in his element.

i think he's definitely enjoying teaching the kids

to ride their bikes.

Bill, it's starting to rain pretty hard.

i know. we're leaving.

i think we should probably go in.

Bill: yep.

i definitely appreciate these moments.

i mean, the kids are getting older

and, you know, i enjoy watching these simple moments

that i know are eventually i'll be looking back saying,

"i remember when..."

you know, i already do that

from when the kids were younger, so...

this is one of those moments that i got to see

and be a part of,

and that's very important to me.

and it's even more special to be able to watch them

do their bike riding on my birthday weekend.

-you did great. -everybody did a great job.

yay!

♪

Bill: coming up...

judy: happy birthday.

how old's my daughter? 32?

yeah, 32 for the 17th time,

right? yes.

oh, did she find the chicken?

Bill: we picked out a garden store to go to

in the hopes of finding plants

that we can put in the pots that we had made.

(squeals) (chicken clucks)

(both laugh)

(squeals)

(chicken clucks)

♪

happy birthday.

come here, my darling, my first born.

how old's my daughter? 32?

yeah, 32 for the 17th time,

right? yes.

Jen: so, today is my 45th birthday,

and i'm very excited

because my parents have come into town

from gulf breeze, pensacola, florida.

and we're gonna just have a fun day

of celebrating me today.

do you want to try a bite?

it's a special breakfast.

is that good?

you want to try a bite, Will?

Will doesn't want to try a bite.

while it's great to be back in florida

to be closer to family,

my parents are still a good ways away

in the panhandle of florida.

so when they have an opportunity to come down and visit,

it's definitely a good thing.

i know Will and Zoey are super close to them,

and we definitely cherish every opportunity we can

to have my parents nearby.

okay, so, today is your birthday.

we're all getting older. we are.

as dad says, "it's better than the alternative."

(laughs) right?

you look as beautiful as you did

when you were...

when you were 32.

yes. even before that.

(laughter)

judy" it's hard to believe that my daughter's

actually 45 years old.

she was a joy to raise.

i mean, she was a pain in the butt at times,

let me tell you.

she was a typical teenager.

but, no, it was all worth it.

she's a pretty cool person

and a good friend besides being a daughter.

so, we're gonna go to lunch, right, today?

yes, where are we going?

maybe we'll grab barb.

well, they've got something else

they're doing today, i think,

that i'm not allowed to know about,

so maybe you and dad and me can go grab some lunch.

that would be fun. okay, good.

-Jennifer? -yes?

-she made me breakfast. -she did, huh?

david: well, and then Bill did, too,

so i'm getting, like, double breakfast.

oh, that sounds good.

well, go in there.

and i've got a carful of everybody

trying to get there on time,

and it's like, "oh, there it is right there.

quick, dad."

and so i pulled in.

judy: there you are.

i hope Jen's out with her family for a while

because the kids and i,

we need a little time to make these presents.

i don't know if a couple of hours

is gonna be enough.

Jen: okay, honey?

Bill: yeah?

i'm going. okay.

my parents and i are gonna go off.

you guys are gonna go off, too. have fun.

bye, guys. love you.

perfect. have fun.

david: all right, love you, too. have fun.

you guys ready to go?

all right, let's go.

come on.

we'll go down the stairs.

come on.

♪

oh, wow.

there's, like, some veggies and...

i forgot to ask him what kind of fish this was actually.

Zoey would so love this.

(laughs) yeah, she would.

she would.

i'm excited to be getting outside,

having some good food with my aunt barbara

and my parents to celebrate my birthday.

for me, my favorite meal is anything involving seafood.

that's my favorite.

so i'm excited about lunch today.

are you taking it easy at work?

yeah.

well, you say you take it easy, but...

i mean, i'm not doing 24-hour calls,

so that's good.

no, she's still in pain, though.

it's three months.

yeah, i think my hip is -- it's doing well.

i mean, i'm getting better. it's just still a little sore.

it's been about three months since i had surgery,

and, you know, my recovery's been going pretty well.

i'm back to work full-time and walking around pretty well.

i would say that my stamina is getting there.

i'm feeling pretty close to normal.

doing the best i can.

we know that.

i mean, you're a big girl.

you can take care of yourself.

i don't do as much clinical anymore.

that's good.

otherwise, if it didn't hurt, i'd be like,

"yeah, let me intubate some babies and do rounds."

i love it.

it's good you're teaching other people.

yes.

you can help more babies that way.

my parents definitely --

while they worry about me taking care of myself --

they definitely understand and appreciate

my dedication and my love for my work.

i mean, i love teaching,

and i love taking care of patients.

so right now my job is a pretty good combination,

so i'm pretty happy.

so, you want to go see where you grew up

for your first eight months of life?

uncle jack has talked to the new own--

well, new owner of 45 years.

and if we could get jack on the phone,

maybe we could drive by the old house and look.

that would be really cool.

i would actually be excited about that.

that'll be fun.

i don't know where it is.

people have asked me, though, like,

"do you know where your house was where you were born?"

i'm like...

so, the last time we were in that house

was 43 years ago.

Jen: so, after lunch,

we are going to actually visit the house

that my parents brought me home from the hospital in.

it was the house that my grandparents lived in and my mom

and all of her siblings, so i'm excited to see it.

you know, it's right around the corner.

ironically, i haven't seen it yet

since i moved back to st. petersburg,

so my mom thought it might be cool

to actually go drive by and check it out.

all right, i'm done.

well, if you're done, i'll give you your gift.

i didn't wrap it.

(laughs)

ooh.

wait a minute,

i want to make sure that that was the expensive one

because that was the one from me.

the other one's from mom.

thanks, dad and mom.

thank you. they're nothing big, honey.

no, but i'm sure i'll love it.

oh, it's dolphins.

that's where you started. those are beautiful.

i know. she started with dolphins.

oh, i'll totally wear those.

ever since the age of 10,

i've been obsessed with all things coastal,

and i also had a lot of jewelry growing up

that my parents gave me that were all sea life.

and so it definitely meant a lot.

it was a nice lunch.

-happy birthday. -happy birthday.

i'm not gonna do this again until the next one.

that's a year from now, right?

happy birthday.

happy birthday... to me.

hey, one more time.

Bill: coming up...

Jen: hi, hector. nice to meet you.

i'm excited to see the house

that i was brought home from the hospital in.

i wanted to show Jennifer where her crib used to be.

i don't remember this house,

but i'm excited to see

a little bit of my family's history.

♪

Bill: all right, slow down, slow down.

dad's got to help you.

maybe i should have just dropped you guys off.

♪

today we are going to a ceramic pottery place

to make mom's gift.

you get to pick out one that you like,

and then you grab the paint colors that you like,

and you paint.

it's fun, and we get to, you know,

have a little bit of fun in the process.

hi, guys. welcome to practically pikasso.

yes?

awesome. yes.

so, we have a birthday coming up.

whose birthday is it?

mommy's.

so mommy's birthday's coming up,

so we'd like to do like a planter of sorts.

okay.

you know, if you could guide them

in the right direction, that'd be great.

and then if they want to do one more

that's just for them, great.

okay.

you know, Will and Zoey have for, you know,

i don't want to call it a tradition,

but every other year or so,

we get them over to the pottery place

and they get to pick out something

that reminds them of mom

or that they think mom Will like.

and they paint it up and, you know, personalize it,

and then they give it to her as a gift.

this year we're doing something a little bit different

because Jen's a big fan of flowers.

the theme is that

you have to be able to plant something in there,

and so hopefully all of our gifts hit the mark.

and, yeah, she'll have them for months to come

until one of us knocks it over.

hey, picasso, slow down.

picasso.

picasso is a famous painter.

check mine. what do you guys think of mine?

i tried.

Bill: i decided to make a ceramic sign

that says "beach",

but they didn't seem to be too impressed,

and that's okay because it's the thought that counts.

all right, let me check out and then we'll be all set.

no.

♪

all right, here we go.

let's go see the house.

oh, let's go see the house.

it's so cool. oh, jack's here.

judy: oh, my goodness, look at the...

-there's jack. -there's jack.

Jen: my mom had a great idea.

she thought that since we're all living back in florida again,

wouldn't it be cool to go visit the house

that i was essentially, you know, born in,

brought home from the hospital in,

and where my mom and her parents and siblings grew up.

so after lunch, we called my uncle jack

and he was able to get us in to visit.

judy: we brought you home from the hospital here.

your very first home. i know.

you know, obviously for me i don't remember this house.

i was there from being born

until sometime, you know, between 1 and 2 years of age.

so i'm excited to see the house, you know,

mostly for my parents, barb, and jack

because this is the house where they had memories,

where they spent, you know,

the latter part of their childhood

into adulthood.

so i'm excited to see it,

to see a little bit of my family's history.

-hi, hector. -come on in.

-hi. -jack.

-how are you? -good.

Jen: hi, hector, nice to meet you.

nice to meet you.

thank you for having us.

oh, it's a pleasure.

it's a pleasure.

judy: it's a surreal feeling

because i haven't been back in all the years,

and, yeah, it was definitely a feeling

that, you know, like, "oh, god, i'm home."

i wanted to show Jennifer where her crib used to be.

is that okay? oh, of course.

judy: yeah, because that's the garage, actually.

this wasn't here, Jen. this was a wall.

-watch your step here, okay? -yep.

so watch your step. Jen: okay.

so this wasn't here and this wall wasn't here.

the wall we had was further back.

so your crib actually sat

kind of right where this door is,

but along this wall.

so, while i was born,

you know, average size, average weight,

they didn't really know what was quite going on.

we really didn't have a definitive diagnosis

as to the fact that i had a skeletal dysplasia

until sometime, you know, between 1 and 2 years of age.

some of the things that i've learned

from stories of my parents

is just despite the fact that they were young

and they didn't, you know, have any experience

with a child with medical complexity,

they didn't let anything that came their way keep them down.

but this was our studio apartment, the garage.

how did you get in and out?

there was a door back here, Jen,

where there still is one.

judy: it wasn't a lot of privacy,

but it was enough that they could offer us.

but we could come into, like, the laundry room, Jen.

i mean, mom and dad did as best as they could for us.

i know, it's wonderful.

and you weren't big, you didn't take up a lot of space.

i was just a baby.

(laughter)

yes, that's true.

it was very scary being a first-time mother,

and with Jen, it was even more,

"oh, my gosh, what are we supposed to do?"

you know, Jennifer was perfect.

she was just small, you know,

but we couldn't get a diagnosis on her anywhere in the area.

i don't know.

just my own Will power, you know?

i have a good faith in god, you know?

there's a reason Jen came into our lives,

and it's never been a burden or...

it was all worth it.

well, i can't thank you enough

for inviting us into your home

and letting us relive some of our family's history.

so thank you.

you know it's her birthday.

we are here -- we came down for her birthday.

-it's your birthday? -oh!

so we're reminiscing.

-many, many more, okay? -thank you.

thank you, yeah.

so, i think every person

wants to know more about their family,

their family's history,

you know, where they came from.

and for me, on my birthday,

this was an opportunity to learn a little bit more

about where i came from.

and i actually got to be in it, you know what i mean?

to experience it,

which is pretty amazing.

thank you for having us, really.

you're so kind. thank you.

love your home. thank you.

can't believe i was once here as a baby.

-again. -thank you.

(laughs) thank you. -you're welcome.

♪

Bill: coming up...

Will: come on, let's go shopping for a flower.

okay.

Bill: we don't have much time left

to finish up Jen's presents.

it's coming down to the wire.

where do you think Zoey went?

♪

oh, boy.

♪

(rooster crows)

♪

Bill: do you know what flowers she likes?

no?

blue flowers. that's right.

Bill: we picked out a garden store to go to

in hopes of finding plants that we can put

in the pots that we had made at the ceramic store.

you know, it's coming down to the wire.

we don't have much time left to finish up Jen's presents,

so hopefully we'll be able to get it all done,

make everybody happy.

those aren't sunflowers, those are daisies.

those are pretty daisies.

mommy loves these daisies.

you want to get that?

all right, there you go.

Zoey: these are pretty. perfect.

♪

Bill: Jen's a big fan of nature.

she's a big fan of her kids.

and so i thought that a perfect gift for her this year

would be to have something made

that, you know, she can keep for a long time.

her favorite flowers are irises, gerbera daisies, and sunflowers.

she has some extras, but if you want to impress,

stick to the main three.

see what it smells like.

let me smell.

a-choo.

(laughs)

a-choo!

mmm, no.

no, it smells pretty.

♪

where do you think Zoey went?

♪

oh, did she find the chicken?

oh, boy.

(laughs) of course she did.

his name is pokey bite bite.

it's got that big red gobble gobble underneath, huh?

what does that do for a chicken?

i don't think it lays eggs.

it's a rooster.

it goes... [imitates rooster clucking]

bok, bok, bok. bok, bok, bok.

i said -- i'm a chicken.

(squeals)

(rooster clucks)

i'm silly.

-aah! -(laughs)

-goodness. -(squeals)

(rooster clucks)

(squeals) (rooster clucks)

-(squeals) -(rooster clucks)

you know, i don't know if clucking to a chicken

is a sign of any veterinary skills,

but it can't hurt.

-(squeals) -(rooster clucks)

-(squeals) -(rooster clucks)

-(squeals) -(rooster clucks)

i've never spoken to a rooster before, myself,

so i can't really say that i understand

what the conversation was all about...

-(squeals) -(rooster clucks)

...but it sounded pretty deep.

(rooster crows)

oh! whoa!

(rooster crows)

♪

okay, so what are we gonna make?

are we all gonna make a card?

-yeah. -okay, i'm gonna make one, too.

you want gold?

okay.

which one?

Will, you're gonna go with red?

yeah.

i'm gonna go with mommy's favorite blue.

what?

(chuckles)

what color do you want?

Bill: so we got the pots from the pottery place.

we got flowers and they're all planted.

last thing we have to do is make birthday cards.

so one of the cool things Jen does

is she saves all of the kids' gifts

in a keepsake box.

so when they make a new card,

it starts off with the finger paints five years ago,

and now it's all about

handwriting and personalizing cards.

and so i think over time,

Jen Will be able to look back and see their progress

and revisit some of those old memories.

so it's pretty neat.

hey, hey, hey.

uh-oh, my glue is kind of getting sloppy.

oh, it's on my cap, too.

ew, i don't like arts and crafts.

(laughs)

i remember when i was a kid,

all of this stuff would just dry

and then you could peel it all off

as, like, one big piece of skin.

like this. see?

you know what we used to also do?

we used to make like they were boogies.

ew.

♪

(laughs)

Will, do i have a booger in my nose?

(laughs)

okay.

Bill: i think my kids are more mature than i am at times.

i am thrilled to be a parent,

but i am also thrilled to be able to be a kid again,

and hanging out with kids and playing around,

playing with their toys,

playing with the glue is a lot of fun.

very nice. i like it.

it's very pretty.

you did a great job, Zoey.

wow, you did a lot of stickers.

okay, let's take our cards upstairs.

we'll take our flowers upstairs

and we'll set it up for mommy.

♪

yes, turn off the light.

good job.

close the door, Zoey.

Bill: coming up...

Bill: do you hear mom?

she's gotten into the elevator.

♪

surprise! surprise!

♪

okay.

boom.

boom.

here, you do those. i'm gonna go find a lighter.

how about...

oh, my gosh.

really, 20?

it's gonna be, like, a big inferno.

Bill: for Jen's 45th birthday,

we've been working on a few surprises,

so the kids and i have been kind of sneaking around,

doing our best,

and we spent a good amount of time on this project.

and Jen's about to get home.

so i hope Jennifer likes them.

all right, so when mommy comes,

we got to say happy birthday and go,

"happy birthday, mom!"

no, no, no, it's on, it's on.

it's just very dark.

(door closes in distance)

do you hear mom?

she's gotten into the elevator.

♪

she can't see me behind the bag.

♪

surprise!

surprise!

Bill: hey.

surprise!

(laughs)

♪

Jen: i think their surprise went well.

they definitely surprised me.

i wasn't expecting to get off the elevator

and go straight into a birthday.

can i have a kiss? Zoey: sit by me.

i'm coming to you.

let me give you a kiss.

Bill: don't blow them out, William.

-who made that beautiful cake? -only when mommy says it's okay.

-ahh. let's sing. -wow, very pretty.

is that cream cheese frosting?

yep.

1, 2, 3.

♪ happy birthday to you ♪

cha, cha, cha!

♪ happy birthday to you ♪

-cha, cha, cha! -cha, cha, cha!

♪ happy birthday dear mommy, Jennifer ♪

-cha, cha, cha! -cha, cha, cha!

Jen: careful, hot. ♪ happy birthday to you ♪

-yeah! -cha, cha, cha!

judy: oh, hurry, Will, more. more.

Bill: wow, i think the smoke detector's gonna go off.

whoo!

Bill: Jennifer deserves a good birthday.

she's either working really hard at work

or she's working really hard at home.

there's nothing that gets 90%.

it's always 110% for her.

it's good to see a smile on her face.

Jen: oh, you got cards?

so we got a couple of presents here.

oh, very nice. okay, thank you.

cards first.

cards first. cards first.

by Zoey klein.

aww. thank you, Zoey.

(gasps)

magical underwater world.

that's so cute.

look at that, a dolphin.

aww.

yes, that's so sweet.

i love it.

oh, my goodness.

her dolphins are very good.

is this from you?

thank you, Will.

"happy birthday, mom. love, Will.

magical underworld.

dear mom, i love you.

happy birthday. love, Will."

look at all those pretty fish. thank you.

Zoey, you made a beautiful gift.

i love it.

wow, that is beautiful.

Jen: i think homemade presents are the best.

i'm sure there's not many more years that i'll have

to look forward to homemade presents,

so this is definitely a perfect birthday.

i love it, Zoey. it's gorgeous.

thank you for making that for mommy.

this was definitely a birthday to remember.

it's a big one turning 45,

so i must say i wasn't looking forward to it.

but after a day like today,

i'll take turning 45 any day.

thank you, Will.

that is awesome. judy: aww.

Bill: would you like to read my card?

-sure. -he made it homemade, too.

it says, "happy birthday, Jen."

judy: that is awesome. (laughs)

do you have the best husband ever?

i do.

totally.

i'm a keeper.

most days.

what the --

(laughs)

-thank you. -look what daddy made you.

b.

-and your colors. -and my colors.

oh, and we put it --

i think it's pretty neat

to be able to celebrate your 45th birthday

in the same city that you were born in.

i got to see the house that i was born in.

i got to celebrate it with family,

i got to celebrate it with Bill and the kids,

i got amazing homemade presents

that i'll try my best not to kill.

and it was a wonderful birthday.

i think over time,

we've accumulated pretty much everything

that we could possibly need.

but i think time with family

is probably the more important thing nowadays.

you know, family, health, happiness is all that matters.

-who wants the first piece? -oh, let's eat the cake.

it's chocolate. i know.

it's chocolate with cream cheese frosting.

-her favorite. -yummy yum.

(laughs)

Bill: next time on "the little couple"...

so my dad wants to get rid of his boat.

are you thinking about getting a boat then?

i'd love to.

i'm kind of hoping that Will and Zoey love boating.

just a fun thing to do as a family.

♪

♪

today's the big day.

we get a chance to test drive my dad's boat

and see if it fits us.

is everybody ready to go a little faster?

but i'm not an experienced boater.

♪

Jen: oh, boy.

whoa!

okay, slow it down!

(laughs)

♪

happy holi! happy holi!

Jen: the holi fest is a celebration of springtime,

of sort of new beginnings.

i'm excited to immerse Zoey in something of indian culture.

happy -- [coughs] -- holi.

holy cow.

Bill: i think we're very, very lucky

to be able to experience all these new things.

i don't think we'd be at holi if we didn't have Zoey.

it was a blast.

holi -- holi...

camoli.

(laughs)

♪