Here comes baby 2, Parker Gray

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Lex

Piper went into labor, and we ended up at the hospital. There was a lot of yelling and screaming. I screamed as she tried to crush my hand while yelling at me. Did I tell you my wife is a lunatic while in labor? She tried to rip off my nuts when she delivered Payton.

I'm sure the hospital staff wasn't happy with us. What can I say? When you're a Gray, things are a bit nuts.

She finally delivered our son, and I brought everyone to the room. I knew they would wait for us to announce his arrival.

They walked into Piper's room, and I took the baby from Piper while holding him, introducing him to his brother. Payton placed his little hand on him and said, "Brother." That made me smile.

"So, what did you name him?" Dad asked us.

"Say hello to Parker Nixon Gray," I introduced him as Uncle Nixon looked at me, stunned.

Everyone looked at Nixon.

"You named your son after me?" He looked confused.

"Piper liked the name Parker, and I wanted to thank you for listening to me when I was trying to figure things out. You could have easily given me a hard time, but you didn't. You let me take my time and sometimes sat with me, not saying a word," I explained as Nixon wiped his eyes. He looked at Dad as he nodded to him.

Then he walked towards me, taking the baby from me. He looked down at Parker. "Well, little man, guess you, and I will have a conversation about how people in this family can be tools. I'll make sure you're not a tool like your grandpa was with your nana." He smirked as Dad rolled his eyes.

I had a feeling Parker would live up to his namesake when he got older. There was something about the boys that told me we would have our hands full.

They eventually released Piper and Parker. I brought them home along with Payton and got them settled. Having a two-year-old and an infant at home would challenge, especially with working.

That is when my parents suggested to us.

"I don't know, Dad," I answered as Piper and I looked at each other.

"Lex, the boys will need one parent home at least. It's up to the both of you to decide this, and whatever you decide, a job will wait for you," he reasoned as Ma agreed.

I looked at Piper and rubbed my chin. It's funny, as much as I loved working at the bakery, I enjoyed staying with the boys more. Piper and I had talked about one of us staying home while the other work. I volunteered as she gave me the weirdest look.

Ever since the accident, working wasn't as important to me. Being around people who I loved was more important. When you miss a chunk of your life, you reevaluate things, and I knew Piper enjoyed working. I could do this stay-at-home deal.

"I guess I will stay home then," I told them as my parents gave me a look. "You don't seem surprised by this?"

"Honey, we knew after the accident, you weren't the same as you were before it. Even with your memories returning, your love for the bakery never did. I think you did it more so, to stay busy," Ma reasoned as I looked at both of them.

"I talked to Piper, but I didn't have the heart to tell you, I wasn't feeling it," I sighed as I held Payton on my lap and Piper held Parker.

"Lex, you went through a lot with the accident. Trying to manage a family and working, we could tell," Dad said to me as I looked at him.

I know many people wouldn't understand, but for me, this was something I felt in my heart was the right thing to do. I didn't want to miss a chance with my family. Trust me; I went through the possibility of never having a family or even waking up. You tend not to take things for granted when that happens.

Ma and Dad were okay with my decision, as was Piper. I looked at the boys and knew this was a great decision or one I would regret. I have a feeling; I may want to change my mind later on when the boys were older.

After that day, I settled in as a stay-at-home dad, while Piper worked. Not only was I chasing one toddler around, but I was also dealing with Parker as he started to get older and moved around more.

At one point, I caught him trying to crawl out of the room as I was helping Payton. I hurried over and picked him up.

"Little man, we need to discuss your great escape later," I said as he grinned at me. I turned around, and my eyes popped. Payton got into the baby powder, coating himself like a ghost.

"Daddy, I'm a ghost. Boo!" I sighed as Parker laughed.

"Back into your cage you go, while I clean up your ghostly brother," I told Parker as I put him in his crib and cleaned up Payton.

It didn't matter because Parker is a lot smarter than I realized and got out of his crib and crawled away. I finished cleaning up Payton and went to get Parker when I found him missing.

"Great, your ma will kill me for losing one of you," I said as I went looking for Parker while carrying Payton.

I found him in our room, throwing clothes onto the floor out of the laundry basket.

"Parker," I spoke with firmness as he turned and grinned a toothless grin at me. I shook my head as I picked him up. I looked at him, "I see you will be my brilliant problem, child."

He leaned over and gave me an open mouth kiss on the cheek. Note to self; monitor this one. I had a feeling he would need it.

Life at home with the boys was anything but boring. They kept me on my toes and very active. At some point, they would be off to school, then maybe I can decide about going back to work. Who am I kidding? I'm going back. This stay at home parenting idea was nuts.

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