John and Alyssa Webster 14: Is It Time to Say the Family Is Complete?

[Melissa1977]

I think the kids are really cute in the baseball themed picture. It's one of their best pictures. 

[JDuggs]

23 minutes ago, Melissa1977 said:

I think the kids are really cute in the baseball themed picture. It's one of their best pictures. 

I hope Alyssa can take the monogrammed Rs off their jerseys and replace them with the girls’ own initials so they can maybe wear them again. The Webster kids are cute, but I think they are posed for photos more than any other Bates grandkids.

[CaptainFunderpants]

2 hours ago, Melissa1977 said:

I think the kids are really cute in the baseball themed picture. It's one of their best pictures. 

I agree, but I wish the 'R' was a 'W.'

[JermajestyDuggar]

They are going big on the princess party. It’s at an event space with a lot of activities planned. 

[rebeccawriter01]

So other than the dresses, what exactly is princess about it? I'm just not that impressed that this super duper big party was worth the girls' individuality sacrifice. 

For my goddaughter's princess party there was a Disney Princess Belle wannabe who did story time with the children. There were craft stations to make and decorate a crown and/or a fairy door. I remember there was a treasure hunt (children's scavenger hunt) led by another Disney Princess. There was a photo booth. There were games with princess prizes. The food was princess themed based on Disney versions. I know there was a "tea" party too. 

[JermajestyDuggar]

Another princess pic. 

[JillyO]

Omg, the pink goodie bags are for the girls and the white ones are for the boys??? Whoda thunk it?

[Johannah]

That schedule is depressing. There are no activities! What about a game? A craft? Storytime. Princess Bingo or trivia. It doesn’t have to be complicated or pricey. Getting a balloon and a photo and a goodie bag should be the last few minutes of a party. Those aren’t activities! And with tickets? It almost feels like Alyssa is trying to highlight how generous they are. Also, it seems late for a kid party. Why not lunch or early afternoon? And the pray and eat listing made me 🤢. For a second I thought she was going to say, feel free to opt out of prayer if you are uncomfortable or have different beliefs. Nope, just feel free to eat food all night. Either they have no non-fundie friends or they’re deliberately trying to make others feel uncomfortable. Don’t the girls attend ballet classes? What happens if they invite some dance classmates who are C&E type folks? Or nonbelievers? Tough luck I guess. 

[AbysmalCollins]

12 minutes ago, Johannah said:

That schedule is depressing. There are no activities! What about a game? A craft? Storytime. Princess Bingo or trivia. It doesn’t have to be complicated or pricey. Getting a balloon and a photo and a goodie bag should be the last few minutes of a party. Those aren’t activities! And with tickets? It almost feels like Alyssa is trying to highlight how generous they are. Also, it seems late for a kid party. Why not lunch or early afternoon? And the pray and eat listing made me 🤢. For a second I thought she was going to say, feel free to opt out of prayer if you are uncomfortable or have different beliefs. Nope, just feel free to eat food all night. Either they have no non-fundie friends or they’re deliberately trying to make others feel uncomfortable. Don’t the girls attend ballet classes? What happens if they invite some dance classmates who are C&E type folks? Or nonbelievers? Tough luck I guess. 

I guarantee not a single family they hang out with are atheist/agnostic.

[CaptainFunderpants]

7 hours ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

Another princess pic. 

Lexi looks like Mandy Moore, but her expression is too careworn for a child so young. Wasn't she the one that said another baby sounded like a lot of work when told Alyssa was pregnant again?

Makes sense that Allie would love Belle considering their resemblance. Hopefully she also gets to love books like Belle.

Layla next to the Webster girls is a fun and super cute contrast because the Webster girls are tall for their ages, while Layla is short for hers. All three girls are lovely.

[rebeccawriter01]

2 hours ago, Johannah said:

That schedule is depressing. There are no activities! What about a game? A craft? Storytime. Princess Bingo or trivia. It doesn’t have to be complicated or pricey. Getting a balloon and a photo and a goodie bag should be the last few minutes of a party. Those aren’t activities! And with tickets? It almost feels like Alyssa is trying to highlight how generous they are. Also, it seems late for a kid party. Why not lunch or early afternoon? And the pray and eat listing made me 🤢. For a second I thought she was going to say, feel free to opt out of prayer if you are uncomfortable or have different beliefs. Nope, just feel free to eat food all night. Either they have no non-fundie friends or they’re deliberately trying to make others feel uncomfortable. Don’t the girls attend ballet classes? What happens if they invite some dance classmates who are C&E type folks? Or nonbelievers? Tough luck I guess. 

The Webster girls don't attend anything except co-op and church. They don't have dance classes or extracurriculars. They don't have non-religious zealot friends. 

[QuiverFullofBooks]

Putting “feel free to eat as much as you like” on a party invitation says so much about Alyssa’s deprived childhood.

[Kiki03910]

18 hours ago, QuiverFullofBooks said:

Putting “feel free to eat as much as you like” on a party invitation says so much about Alyssa’s deprived childhood.

I feel like I've read so much about the Bates and the Duggars not providing enough food for their children, to the point that the kids (unsurprisingly) acted almost feral about food access. This is unutterably depressing. And at the same time we see some of the now adult daughters behaving personally in very food-restrictive ways. There is no winning in this fucking cult

[GreenBeans]

18 hours ago, QuiverFullofBooks said:

Putting “feel free to eat as much as you like” on a party invitation says so much about Alyssa’s deprived childhood.

I was confused by that sentence as well. I mean, I’ve never been to a birthday or other party where food for guests was restricted. Sometimes there are foods where it is appropriate to just take one each, but then usually it’s already set up that way.

On 3/24/2024 at 4:30 AM, Johannah said:

That schedule is depressing. There are no activities! What about a game? A craft? Storytime. Princess Bingo or trivia. It doesn’t have to be complicated or pricey. Getting a balloon and a photo and a goodie bag should be the last few minutes of a party. Those aren’t activities! And with tickets? It almost feels like Alyssa is trying to highlight how generous they are. Also, it seems late for a kid party.

That’s because it’s not a kid party. It’s an event for the parents.

And it’s completely impersonal. It has a princess theme, but nothing about that party is specifically about each of the girls. Even with a joint party, they could have set up different games for different age groups based on each girl’s interests, so that each of the girls gets an age-appropriate activity to herself and her friends.

[Kiki03910]

1 hour ago, Kiki03910 said:

I feel like I've read so much about the Bates and the Duggars not providing enough food for their children, to the point that the kids (unsurprisingly) acted almost feral about food access. This is unutterably depressing. And at the same time we see some of the now adult daughters behaving personally in very food-restrictive ways. There is no winning in this fucking cult

BTW, should I have put a trigger warning on my post re: ED content? Please let me know; I don't want to upset anyone unintentionally. I apologize that this didn't occur to me sooner.

[Angelface]

I really hope that there were traditional party games and lots of fun at this party. The girls seem to have missed out on sports, ballet/dance, music lessons, language lessons, pottery/ crafts etc etc. I really don’t understand why Alyssa doesn’t do more with them. Yes, there is definitely a cost for these activities but cutting down on unnecessary Sunday dresses would free up some money. I think that Alyssa struggles to enrich her children’s lives because she didn’t experience any of this in her own childhood. The children are better housed, clothed and fed than Alyssa was as a child but that’s about it. It really is a great shame. 

Edited March 25 by Angelface
Missed a phrase

[SassyPants]

2 hours ago, Angelface said:

I really hope that there were traditional party games and lots of fun at this party. The girls seem to have missed out on sports, ballet/dance, music lessons, language lessons, pottery/ crafts etc etc. I really don’t understand why Alyssa doesn’t do more with them. Yes, there is definitely a cost for these activities but cutting down on unnecessary Sunday dresses would free up some money. I think that Alyssa struggles to enrich her children’s lives because she didn’t experience any of this in her own childhood. The children are better housed, clothed and fed than Alyssa was as a child but that’s about it. It really is a great shame. 

Alyssa is really focused on how things look. So, pretty aesthetics (matching dresses, desks and hair bows) makes one a good parent and teacher in Alyssa’s world. Alyssa would likely spend more time on scrubbing the tub vs time building relationships with each of her children individually, and she would likely think she is the best mother for doing so-

[gobucks]

I wonder what the girls think of Layla getting to attend ballet class and having a spring recital. Does Alyssa try to hide this from them? I remember Allie getting ballet stuff as a gift once but they didn't seem to follow up with classes. Did Layla tell them how much she loves her dance class and were they jealous?

[HereticHick]

FFS, a photo booth as a party "activity"? These poor Bates kids have to dress up and pose for photos ALL.THE.DAMN.TIME.

Just for once I'd like for these girls to get to go outdoors and play and get dirty. Make sand castles. Go stomp in a creek. Climb a tree.

[HermioneSparrow]

Allie wrote this. IMO, she's talented and seems profound for her age, it sucks that she was born to the Websters.

[rebeccawriter01]

4 hours ago, HermioneSparrow said:

Allie wrote this. IMO, she's talented and seems profound for her age, it sucks that she was born to the Websters.

I'm not 100% sure, but this may be a handwriting assignment. Not that she couldn't be gifted, but this is way above level in terms of her age and is very strikingly similar to a few published pieces.

[Tdoc72]

Her penmanship is on point but there’s a few spelling mistakes. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[EmiSue]

6 hours ago, HermioneSparrow said:

Allie wrote this. IMO, she's talented and seems profound for her age, it sucks that she was born to the Websters.

Someone on Reddit said she coppied the poem from an Abeka book as an assignment. Not sure why that warrants Alyssa's reaction.

[JermajestyDuggar]

Her cursive looks good for her age. 

[Seeking]

Wow SOTDT strikes again with Alyssa attempting to teach her daughter how to write letters. SMH

Alyssa, if you read here, teach them to always start at the top