Affectionate Parody: In "Baby on Board", a telenovela-style drama, echoing the fictional "Fire and Ice" that Gloria, Cam and (shh) Jay have been following, takes place at the Mexican hospital's waiting room, which results in Cam and Mitchell being deprived of a chance to adopt another child that they had been expecting (in a stunning example of Mood Whiplash).At one point a character introduces himself as "Joe" and Mitchell asks "Just Joe?". Their gay friends being oddly named is a Running Gag.A non-fantasy example with Cam's list of friends he wanted to invite to his fundraiser in Regrets Only: Longines, Pepper, Lamichael, Steven and Stephan, aaand.In real life, Sofia Vergara has a son in his twenties, so it's both a partial Actor Allusion and a serious case of Older Than They Look for Gloria. She's actually 14 months younger than Claire. Adoptive Peer Parent: Gloria, of the stepmother variety.In "The Future Dunphys", two seasons later, Lily puts orange slices down the top of her shirt and asks when she'll get real boobs.(Which is really quite humorous in this episode since the sweater is a form hugging one which made it very clear that Ariel Winter was growing "outward"). Haley replies it was the first time the top half got any exercise. In "Two Monkeys and a Panda", Haley insults Alex after Alex complains about Haley wearing Alex's sweater without asking.In "A Fair to Remember", Cam recruits Manny for his football team after he spots Manny charging his way through a crowd, shouldering people out of the way, in order to get to a cake-baking contest before it closes.In "A Diamond in the Rough", Manny won the youth baseball championship for his and Luke's team by getting hit by a pitch with the game tied and bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth.All the Dunphy kids are absent in "Legacy" which is a very odd case and a huge plot hole since their grandfather Frank dies at the end of the episode and neither are present to pay their respects to him.With the exception of Haley, all of the kids are absent in "The Escape".
With the exception of Manny, all of the kids are absent in "Valentine's Day 4: Twisted Sister".Speaking of understandable, none of the cast members playing the children appear in season five's "Las Vegas".She was missing presumably because she had a kidney transplant in April of 2012, yet her in-character reason was totally understandable. Sarah Hyland wasn't completely missing for several episodes early in season four but she appeared via Skype only.Ariel Winter is the only regular to be absent from at least one episode of every season, missing several episodes in season two for unknown reasons (some people think it's because she was under fourteen and therefore subject to child labor laws - Nolan has been absent for quite a few episodes too for what many suspect the same reason).Absentee Actor: So far averted by the cast members playing adults.