When Grace had been born, Mikey and he had decided to just keep the nursery plain white. It was a gender neutral color so it seemed fine. Not only that, but they were spending most their money on things Grace would need. They would prefer using their money towards her clothes, diapers, toys and other baby essential stuff they would need.
Grace didn't seem to mind that the walls to her room were white. She was more concerned about her bookshelf that held all her favorite comic books. She swore that she was going to read to baby Rowan when she was born. It reminded her of when her parents, especially her mom, read comics to her when she was little. She was only six and her parents still loved reading to her, but she also liked reading on her own too.
Mikey and Ray were worried that maybe Grace would have a hard time accepting the new baby. Grace was all by herself for six years. She was the one soaking up all Mikey and Ray's attention and now there was a new baby. Grace had been thrilled about being a big sister. She even volunteered to help paint the nursery.
"Daddy?" Grace questioned, looking up at her dad. The six-year-old was dressed in an older shirt and pair of jeans. Her parents didn't want her staining newer clothes, so they told her to dress in older ones. She already had a bunch of paint on her.
Ray, with his mane of curls pulled back in a ponytail, glanced down at his daughter. He even had a ton of paint all over him. He even had some paint in his hair which he knew was going to be interesting getting off later. He was glad to see that Grace hadn't gotten paint in her own identical curls.
"What is it, sweetheart?" Ray answered, placing his paintbrush down. He didn't want to accidentally splatter any on the white carpeted floor.
Grace eyed the wall in front of her. "Do you think Rowan will like her room?" From what she could see, it was just four walls almost all painted light yellow. There was no way it could be just left empty, but she didn't know how nurseries were supposed to look.
"I do!" Ray declared positively. He planted his hands on his hips. "After the walls are all painted and dried, we can start adding the other stuff to the nursery."
Grace raised an eyebrow. "Other stuff? Like what?" she asked analytically.
"Well you know." Ray replied. Once he saw Grace eye him with anticipation. He forgot she was a kid, why would she know what you're supposed to add into a nursery? "Well, Rowan needs a crib to sleep in, a rocking chair so we can sit and rock her when she's being fussy."
Grace's eyes lit up when she thought of her red bookshelf in her room. "What about comics and books? Won't Rowan need some of those?"
Ray looked delighted when he recalled reading to Grace before she was even born. Ray would talk to her a lot, but he always caught Mikey reading a Stephen King book or a comic to Grace. Once she was born, Mikey continued to read to her. Ray knew that Grace was soothed by Mikey's and his voice when she was fussy. She could be lulled to sleep by her dad singing a song to her or her mom reading to her.
He had a hunch that Mikey or even Grace might try to read to baby Rowan. It would be sweet if they did. Ray would have to somehow take a picture of the moment so they cherish it forever and one day they could look back at it one day.
"Yes, she'll definitely need a bunch of those too," he agreed. He thought of the mini unicorn and torosaurus plushes Grace got when she was a baby. "Rowan will also need some toys too. She'll need baby toys like rubber chew rings for when her teeth start growing in. And toys to play with for fun."
Grace turned around to examine the room. "Where is all this stuff? Is it gonna go in the room right after we're done painting it?"
Ray chuckled. "We actually waited a bit before buying all that stuff. It's okay though because there's two more months before Rowan will be born. Now, we can to buy that stuff. But, your uncles, Grandma and Grandpa have also bought some stuff for Rowan too just like they did when Mommy and I had you."
"So I had the same thing Rowan is going to have?" Grace questioned.
"Yup! The crib Rowan is going to use is actually your old one. We put it in storage because your mommy and I always knew that we wanted you to have a sibling." Mikey and he always knew that they were going to have more than one kid. Ray grew up with older brothers and Mikey had Gerard, so of course they wanted to make sure they had at least more than one kid. They wanted their children to know what it was like to have a strong, close bond with siblings. Besides, it was more fun to grow up with siblings, Ray believed.
Grace giggled. "I'm excited for Rowan to finally arrive." Mikey and Ray were always relieved to hear that. They even wondered if Grace would change her mind once the baby came. Hopefully not.
"Awe! The nursery looks so nice." Mikey announced when he decided to get out of bed and check on his husband and daughter. Although being six months pregnant with a bit of an aching back, he still wanted to go see what the nursery looked like.
Mikey had been excited to hear that Grace wanted to help paint the nursery. He could just imagine Grace being a sweet older sister like how Gerard had been a loving older brother.
With bits of paint in her light brown curls, Grace giggled and dashed to her mom's side. "Do you think Rowan will like it?"
"She'll love it!" Mikey exclaimed. He eyed the paint on Ray and Grace. "You both need to clean up, you got paint all over you."
Grace ignored what her mom said. "Mommy, I wanna help bring Rowan's stuff."
Mikey was happy to hear Grace wanting to be so helpful with Rowan's nursery. "You can help your daddy bring that stuff later. How about after Daddy and you clean up we watch a movie?"
"A Disney movie?" Grace asked with a twinkle in her eye. The Toro family loved Disney movies.
"Of course!" Mikey answered happily.
Ray took Grace's hand. "Come on, Grace, let's get you cleaned up. It might take a bit to get that paint out of your hair." If anyone knew what it was like to have such fluffy curls it was Ray.
Mikey just giggled at the two. He knew the new addition to the family would be as lovable as his husband and eldest daughter. He loved his family so much.
