Clary's POV
I wake up from the contstant patter on my stomach from the babies kicking and moving. It feels like they're having a little dance party in there. Jace lies next to me fast asleep, his toned abdomen slowly rising with his deep breaths. I look at my phone and realize that it's January 17th, Jace's birthday. It's also a little over 6 in the morning, so I slowly get up trying not to wake him up and decide to make him breakfast in bed.
I go down to the kitchen, our beautiful new chef's kitchen that we haven't used a lot since we've moved to this new house, and start getting out all the ingredients to make him breakfast. After quickly having a ham and cheese sandwich and some fruit, I decide to make him some avocado toast with a sunny side up egg. I also decide to make some mini chocolate chip pancakes for something sweet.
After a little while, Gray comes down the back stairs that lead straight to the kitchen. He drags his blanket behind him and bobs his head drowsily with his hair splattered in all different directions.
"Good Morning bud" I kiss the top of his head, "Did you sleep good?"
"Good morning momma" he nods and climbs up on the bench and sits on our breakfast nook. I give him scrambled eggs, some fruit and water and go back to cutting some avocado. "What are you making?" He asks when he's finished with his breakfast.
"Breakfast for daddy" I explain smiling, "want to help make some pancakes?".
"Yes" he smiles and I grab a high stool so he can reach the counter.
I measure all the ingredients so he can pour them into the bowl. Then I break the egg and let him stir it all together.
"Do you know what today is?" I ask wondering if he had overheard us talking about it, but he just shakes his head. "It's daddy's birthday today, so we're going to surprise him okay?"
"Okay" he smiles still mixing the batter.
"Your birthday is coming up too" I realize myself. My baby's going to be 5. "Do you know when your birthday is?"
"Mm..." He thinks for a few seconds, "Febuary?".
"Yes GrayGray" He's such a good little boy, "February 8th. That's in a few weeks. We'll have a big party with a your little preschool friends. Is there anything you want?"
"I want a robot" he smirks, "a really big robot".
"Okay then" I run my hand through his hair.
"Are my sisters going to be there?" He stops stirring and looks at me for an answer.
"Not yet Gray" I sigh and he looks down disappointed, "but I promise they'll be here soon". I kiss his cheek and take the batter from him to finish making the pancakes.
We go back upstairs quietly and Jace is still asleep. I look at Gray and he knows exactly what to do since we planned it all downstairs. I count to three and Gray get ready.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Gray yells jumping on the bed and throwing himself on to of Jace. He wakes up immediately and seems a little confused for a second before he realizes what's going on. I hand him the tray with his breakfast and lean down to give him a quick peck on the lips. "Happy Birthday Jace" I whisper and give him another peck.
"I made the pancakes" Gray grins proudly snuggling next to Jace.
"Well I bet they're delicious!" Jace wraps an arm around Gray and pulls him even closer. I love these little moments with my boys. I can't even imagine what having two girls will be like.
We spend the rest of the day together just having fun. Jace sits with Gray at the big piano just playing around, teaching him a few easy songs he can remember. Then Izzy, Simon, Alec, Magnus and the kids come over and we all hang out in the pool. Finally, we have dinner together and sing happy birthday with Jace's favorite chocolate cake that Izzy bought for him.
"I love you" I say as I cuddle with Jace once everyone has left and Gray is asleep.
"I love you more" he smirks cockily.
"Not possible" I laugh shaking my head.
"Yes possible" he whispers kissing my temple softly, and I can't help but smile.
After a week of constant bickering and agreeing to disagree, Jace and I decided that I would be in charge of the decorations for Jace's party and he would be in charge of the entertainment. Obviously, I immediately called Izzy and Magnus for help and Jace called the kings of fun, Gage and Declan. We agreed to keep each others plans secret until the day of the party, but we did select robots as the theme because that's what Grayson's been obsessing over lately. Robots, music, and dinosaurs.
Luckily, Gray's birthday happens to be a Saturday so it all work out alright. Jace takes him ot for breakfast so I can set up all the decorations. Izzy comes over to help because being a little over 7 months pregnant with twins doesn't really allow me to hang and build things. We grab a whole portion of the lawn to place a long table that is covered my a robot patterned table cloth. On the back of the table there are several large multicolored robots made with styrofoam to adorn the tables. We also put up robot cut outs in random spots to keep the theme going. Of course, the whole set up is lines with blue, green and orange balloons and a large banner wishing Gray a happy birthday.
We try not to let Gray see any of it until later today because we want him to be surprised. I'm guessing he'll be as surprised as I am when all of Jace's entertainment arrives. There's a bouncy house, a trampoline, a magician, and a zip line. Gage and Declan are truly the Kings of fun. Even the whole band shows up to sing Firecracker for Gray, which has now become his favorite song.
Everyone is here for Gray's 5th birthday. There's the usuals, Izzy, Magnus, Alec and Simon, the rest of the band, Emma, Maryse and Robert, and my mom and Luke couldn't miss it, so they flew in. They have also been staying in our guest house which has been very useful since everyday I can do less and less stuff. Plus, Gray's little friends from preschool arive a little after lunch time for the party.
Gray runs out to the lawn and he stops dead on his tracks. He did not expect this one bit. Up until now his birthdays have been a cupcake and singing happy birthday at my moms house, so this is definitely an upgrade. He runs back towards us and slams himself on Jace and I hugging our legs. Jace picks him up so he can hug us both properly and I don't have to kneel down.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you" he rants with he biggest smile ever.
"So you like it?" Jace teases
"I love it" he throws his head back and his arms up. Jace puts him down and he wastes no time to get on the trampoline.
Everything is going great. The kids are having a blast, the parents are having a good time, but of course it's not a little kid party without any crying. A few hours in, Raf, Gray and a few other little boys are running around when Raf falls and lands awkwardly on his arm. We all rich to see if he's okay, but he's too riled up. Alec comforts him for a until he's calmed down, but in the end it's nothing more than a little scratch. A few minutes later Raf is back on his feet and running around again.
The table is overflowing with different types of sweet snacks and treats, not to mention the robot shaped cake Izzy had made. There's also a popcorn machine and a hot dog stand for when people get hungry.
We sing Happy Birthday just as the sun goes down and everyone stays for a few more minutes to have some cake and chat for a little longer. I haven't really talked to the kids parents at all today because I've been a little busy with family and dealing with the party, but I finally get to sit down and join them. I go to a small table where I spot Magnus and three moms I recognize. One of them is Kian's mom, who I haven't really talked to, and there there's Theo and Josie's moms who I so talk to since Gray gets along with their kids.
"So Clary" Theo's mom notices me, "are you excited to have more little ones running around?".
"I'm honestly a bit nervous" I admit, "it's going to be kind of crazy around here".
"Well at least Grayson will start Kindergarten soon" Josie's mom adds, "that'll give you a little more space to be with the babies".
"Has he tested for any schools yet?" Kian's mom asks but doesn't even let me respond before speaking again. "Kian got into The Buckley School" she says with her chin held high, "the teacher said his test was impeccable"
"Josie got into Buckley too" Josie's mom gloats next, "but she also tested into St. Mary's and we decided an all girl's school would be better".
"We're thinkinking about Keystone Academy or Buckley" Theo's mom adds gloating as well, "both tests were super easy for him. What about Grayson?"
They all stare at me with their fake smiles and wandering eyes ready to rub their kids in my face. I can't stand gloating moms. I peek over to were Magnus is sitting and I can see that he's holding in his laughter.
"He's going to Bridgeway starting next fall" I say casually and all their jaws drop. I didn't hadn't realized this was such a big deal.
"Bridgeway's test is brutal though" Kian's mom shakes her head, "they'll probably fail him and not let him into the school"
"Oh" I frown and they all went back to their superior state not realizing I'm not done talking. "He already took the test. He's passed actually". There faces go back to shock and defeat after this, and now Magnus is really suffering to hold his laughter.
"He got in" Josie's mom raises her eyebrows and I just nod.
"Rafael got in too" Magnus cuts in and their faces suddenly change from shock to disgrace, "and that does mean that Max has his spot reserved, and so do Clary's little girls".
They all regain their composure and go on with another topic ignoring what just happened. Magnus and I stare at each other smirking. We really shut them up.
That night, after everyone leaves and almost everything is cleaned up in the backyard, Jace and I both put Gray to bed which doesn't really happen that often. We let him open a few presents before bed, but leave the rest of them for another day.
"I know today has been all about Gray" Jace says once we leave Gray's room, "but I have another surprise. This one's for you".
"Jace" I roll my eyes, "we talked about his. You don't have to get something everytime something big happens".
"No, no" he shakes his head, "This one's different. You're going to like it. Close your eyes". I look at him disapprovingly because he knows I don't particularly enjoy surprises, but end up doing as told anyway.
We go down the hallway were Grays room and the other two spare rooms are and he leads the way since I can't see.
"Okay" we stop and he moves away from me. I hear a door open and then his hand in on my shoulder again. "Take a step forwards and open your eyes".
For a second, it feels too bright in here. But then my eyes adjust and I can see his wonderful surprise. The room, which used to be painted a beige tone, is now painted a very light rose pink color. There's 2 ivory cribs with elegant designs right next to each other and they are lined with simple floral crib beddings. On the opposite wall, there's a built in shelving unit with different little decorations and far end of the room there's a matching rocking chair and a changing table and dresser combination. There's also a built in closet on the wall next to me. A beautiful chandelier hangs in the middle of the room and just above a child size table that's covered with little toys and trinkets.
"This is amazing" I sigh staring at the room, "when the hell did you have time to do all this?"
"It's not just been me" he smiles and wraps his arms around me. "We're going to be spending a lot of time in here".
"Yeah" I nod remembering how it was when Gary was a baby.
"I just thought let's at least make it an enjoyable living space" he jokes and I hit him slightly.
"Thank you" I close my eyes and take this moment in.
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Thank you so much for going through this journey with me!
