We walked through the kitchen to a hallway, which was new thanks to the expansion of our upstairs apartment. The first room was a bathroom for the girls when they got older. Inside was a small sink and toilet along with a standard shower/tub combo. The shower curtain had baseballs and cupcakes on it, and it made me laugh.
“Cooper ordered that custom-made,” Dominic said from behind me. “He knew you’d like that!”
“I love it!” I said. I also squealed when I saw the little baby bathtub that was sitting inside the tub. There was also a bin of bath toys. Rubber ducks in different colors, numbers and letters that would stick to the wall, and other bath items for the girls when they got a little older.
“I know they won’t use those yet, but they will eventually.”
“Thanks, Coop!” I said. “Great idea!”
“This next room was done by Penelope, Emma, and Meadow,” Dominic explained as we walked into the nursery. Two cribs sat next to each other, and above each crib were wood cutouts spelling out their names. Of course, Olivia’s name was in purple, and Hazel’s name was in yellow. I had no idea how they got them done when we had just announced their names a few days ago.
"How?" I asked, in shock, and pointed to the cutouts.
"Carter has a tattoo artist friend, Archer, who is great at woodshop, too. Carter asked him to make those for his nieces," Tyler's mom explained. "As soon as we knew the girls' names, Archer made them and had them shipped overnight so they'd be here for the girls."
"Meadow, Pen, and Emma painted the letters the appropriate colors," Hayden told us.
On each crib were the baseball mobiles that we bought after we found out we were having twins. There was a gray glider with an ottoman that looked perfect for feeding the girls. Above the glider was a beautiful canvas painting that I had to get a closer look at. Two redheaded baby girls were laying next to each other in the painting and they were each wearing little onesies with baseballs and strawberries on them. One little girl wore a purple headband and the other wore a yellow headband. The details were beautiful, and I gasped when I read the name on the bottom corner of the canvas.
“Tyler!”
When my husband came over to look at the painting closer I pointed at the name. “Michael ‘Gramps’ Stone” was signed on the painting.
Tyler turned around to see his dad standing in the doorway and he went over and hugged him tightly. I knew he had said his dad used to love to paint but had no idea how talented he was. I followed Tyler and hugged his dad, too.
On the other side of the room was the changing table. I opened up the closet door and was overwhelmed with gratitude. It was filled with tons of girly clothes, probably more clothes than they could both wear. On the far end of the closet were all the boxes of diapers the Raptor teammates had given us for a baby shower gift. We wouldn’t have to worry about diapers for a long time!
The next room was Ty’s work out room. The stationary bicycle, treadmill, and punching bag fit in the room nicely. I also noticed the purple yoga mat, and I knew I had to wait to get the okay from the doctor, but as soon as I did, I would be working out in this room, too, to lose the baby weight. I also had to chuckle when I saw the two baby bouncers in the corner of the room. I knew those were there so the babies could be with us while we worked out. I know I kept saying it, but they really had thought of everything!
The room across from the girls’ was my office. Inside, I found a desk and chair along with some shelves and file cabinets. The shelves and walls were empty, and Dominic explained that they figured I’d want to decorate my office in a certain way. I appreciated the thought. On the other end of the room was a daybed with a soft white comforter covered in pretty flower embroidery. It would be a perfect guest bed.
“It actually has a trundle bed under it so it can turn into a full-size bed or keep it as two twin beds,” Hayden told us as he came into the room. “There are extra sheets, comforters, and pillows to match in the closet over there.”
“I love it! Thank you!”
We walked into our master bedroom, and just when I couldn’t think of things getting better, I was wrong. There was a huge king-sized bed with a purple and blue comforter and lots of pillows. It looks so comfortable and inviting. There were two small end tables with matching lamps on either side. On my side, there were a few of my favorite books, and on Ty’s side of the bed was a video game controller. Across from the bed was a big TV and a gaming console sitting on top of the dresser. I walked over to the closet and opened it to see a nice sized walk-in closet filled with both of our clothes. When I closed the closet door, I noticed the two bassinets on the other wall.
“Penelope said you’d probably want them close to you if you were breastfeeding them, and this was the best thing to do until they outgrow the bassinets,” Cooper explained.
I picked up a soft yellow blanket lying in one of the bassinets. There was also a yellow bunny rabbit in Hazel’s bassinet. In Olivia’s bassinet, there was a purple elephant along with a purple blanket.
“Peyton, Camden, and Nico picked out the stuffed animals,” Hayden told me.
“They are perfect!” I said.
“For this next room, we did get some of Ty’s input,” Dominic explained as we walked into the bathroom. My dream bathtub was along the right wall, a deep soaker tub, complete with jets. Next to it was a shower that would easily fit two people, and it had the special detaching shower head I loved. There was a toilet on the other wall next to a double vanity. On one side, there was Tyler’s shaving gel, toothbrush, and other things guys needed. On my side was my make up kit, shaving items, toothbrush, and all the products I used.
“I will never be able to thank you guys enough,” I said with tears in my eyes.
“No kidding. You guys are amazing! I can’t believe you did all this,” my husband said.
“Well, we did have a lot of help,” Hayden said.
“We wanted you to be able to bring your babies home to your apartment,” Dominic told us.
We all walked back to the family room, and that is when I noticed a picture frame next to our door. It was a whole collage of pictures. Dr. Campbell and Mack hammering along with the construction crew. Meadow and Penelope painting along with Emma, Hayden, and Ivan, while the season was still going on. There were candid shots of the Raptor players, along with Dominic, Carter, and Tyler’s dad, carrying furniture and bakery cases. Another set of photos showed Camden, Nico, and Peyton baking along with Tyler’s mom, Janel and Robyn. There was even a picture of sweet Mrs. James putting flowers in a vase and setting them on one of the cafe tables.
The best picture was in the middle of the collage and showed a whole group of people standing in front of the bakery. So many familiar faces that had helped our family. It was unbelievable. I definitely would want another copy of the group picture in the bakery.
