To the boys who made me a mama on your 8th birthday,

First and foremost, you will always be my babies and I don’t care how embarrassing it is… I will always hug and kiss you in public. Ok glad we established that. Watching you two grow has been a journey beyond my wildest dreams. From first steps and first words to reading and writing and maturing from babies to toddlers to preschoolers and now these amazing little(ish) boys. When the doctors handed me two babies at 26 years old, I had zero idea what I was doing but I knew just as much as I was overwhelmed with fear, I was also overwhelmed with love, adoration, and the commitment to providing you with the absolute best life possible.

Braylon,

Oh my wild, rambunctious Braylon Cole. Life is a constant adventure with you. You push limits by every definition. Physically you think you are invincible most of the time which is why you’ve already had 3 sets of stitches and a broken collar bone. You give persistence a whole new meaning. When you wanted to learn to ride a bike, you went out and did it yourself. Every time you fell, you got up and did it again until you didn’t fall anymore. When you were learning to read, you took a chapter book to bed with you every night to practice. You taught yourself to pour your own cereal and make your own sandwiches because you were too impatient to wait for someone else (you get that from your mama). You always want to be the best at everything. You will argue your point for days if that’s how long it takes to convince someone to agree with you. You never give up on anything. You still love to give hugs, hold hands and cuddle and have been that way from the very beginning. I love the sensitive side of you because you feel so very big. No matter what the emotion is, you feel it truly and whole heartedly. Don’t ever lose that. Your ambition, athleticism, persistence and drive is going to take you places sweet boy. Never lose your individuality. Because you are truly one of a kind.

Braxton,

My sweet Braxy Cal. So much of your daddy is in you and you’re lucky for that. You have a huge, compassionate heart and a mind that is always racing. You ask question after question and are always listening intently to the answers, eager to learn more. You have found a love in science and outer space. Your ornery smile, beautiful dimple and sun kissed brown skin could light up any room. Adults have always migrated to you because you speak well beyond your years and your self awareness is shockingly astute for your age. You aren’t much one for affection, but still let me snuggle you if you’re sleepy or not feeling well. You embarrass and scare easily and I love that about you because it shows your vulnerability and genuine heart. I have known from the moment you could talk how smart you were going to be and I was not wrong. You are wonderful with Landon. He idolizes you so much. You could drink nothing but chocolate milk for the rest of your life… but it has to be the right kind of chocolate milk or it is unacceptable. This is the only thing chocolate you enjoy, which I always thought was odd because I’ve never known a child to have less of a sweet tooth than you. But you’ve always marched to the beat of your own drum. Stay incredible my amazing, intelligent little boy. You are going to set people’s hearts on fire and move mountains one day.

Love you forever and always,

Mommy

☝🏼

Even though you’ve both recently dropped the “-my” off the end and started calling me mom most of the time, I’ll always be your mommy.