"You should be watching like cartoons, not police shows," he said, giving her the hugest frown.

And then he sighed, running his hand down his face. "Well, I guess you're growing up now. Right? Birthday party and everything."

It was hard for Brock to deal with kids actually aging at a normal rate, since the Ventures aged so slowly -- it didn't help that Paradisa kept Mindy at the same physical age, either. It's okay. Brock. Just let go. Baby birds gotta fly out of the nest.