My Dear Alex, 

Happy 13th birthday, Alex. I cannot believe I am the mom of a teenager. You continue to make me proud every day. You are a diligent student, a  loyal friend, and an empathetic and loving son and brother. 

You continue to amaze me with your successes in school. You work hard each and every day and it shows in your grades. I love that you come home excited about what you are learning. You are also a talented artist. Your art projects are on display in the Middle School. This fall you joined the Cross Country team. I loved cheering you on and watching your confidence grow with each race as you beat your PR over and over again. I see great things in your future as a Gilman Greyhound both in the classroom and on the race course. 

You are such a great kid. You have a kind heart and you always put your family first. You have many friends, but your cousins are your best friends. You still enjoy family time, especially our beach days, movie nights, and making s’mores. 

You love listening to rap music, watching funny videos on You Tube, playing video games, hanging out with your buddies, shooting hoops, and jumping on the trampoline with Zachary and Izzy. 

If I’m being totally honest, I would rewind time if given the chance. I would go back and relive those sleepless nights and baby years all over. I would even go back to the days when you were a toddler who bit kids on the playground. I have enjoyed every day of being your mom. All of my best memories and most important moments of my life are because of you. You made me a mom, and I can never thank you enough for being such a joy. I am so blessed to spend each day watching you grow into a fine young man. 

Always know I am here for you as you navigate through these teenage years. Sometimes things will be tough and confusing, but you have a smart brain in your head and the biggest heart in your chest. Use them and trust them. Your moral compass is on point. Don’t let peer pressure sway you from doing what you know is right. And you have Dad and I in your corner, always. We are here for you,  no matter what! 

You will always be my #1. 

I love you all the love in the world - 

Mom 

Happy 10th Birthday

Happy 10th Birthday,  Isabella Grace. My sweet, perfect girl. My best girl. I love you so much. Your smile. Your laugh. Your love of life. You make me happy every single day. 

I am the luckiest mom in the world. I can honestly say that there hasn’t been a day that goes by in a whole decade that I don’t thank God for sending you to me. One of my three greatest gifts. My best girl. My only girl. My heart. We have a bond that is special. You may be daddy’s girl, but we have a mommy-daughter love that is so very special. I truly feel as if your heart speaks to mine. It is hard to explain this connection, but I feel it in my every heartbeat. 

Your smile and kind nature make me believe in the goodness that I know still exists in this world. It has to exist, because you are the epitome of goodness. I believe you will spend your life leading by example. You will do great things and others will see you and follow your lead. I’m so excited to see what this next decade has in store for you. I feel like in some ways it will have more changes than the first. And as your mom, I promise to be right here for you. Anything you need, anytime of the day or night, I will be there. You can trust me to be your biggest cheerleader in sports, school and life; your shoulder to cry on when you are sad and your sounding board when you have big decisions in life. And of course your shopping, sushi and pedicure partner, because our girl days are the highlight of my life. 

I love you all the love in the world. Remember to always be silly, be honest, be kind. 

Mommy

Happy 6th Birthday !

Dear Zachary, 

My six year old. My big kindergartner. My Mr. Independent. My stubborn boy. My sweet baby. You are all these things rolled into one boy. You continue to challenge me and amaze me every single day. 

You are a Momma’s Boy, and I love every second you want to snuggle! But you love your dad and there are some things only he can do right- tuck you in, make you s’mores, swim with you,  and tie your towel around your waist! 

You are learning to read in school and love when I read to you at night. You pick out the words you know. Your favorite books are joke books! You love learning new jokes and telling them to our family to make them laugh. You can add and subtract and come home everyday with stickers for good behavior or being helpful in class. You love when I volunteer in the classroom and in the cafeteria. It melts my heart to see your face light up when you see me at school. I feel like a celebrity!

Your personality and your smile can fill a room. No one has a brighter smile or a louder laugh. You make your presence known. You are quite the character. You may be the youngest, but you are the boss and the one who loves to start trouble.  You have not outgrown your refusal for compromise. You can’t help yourself. You want what you want. You are as stubborn as can be!! Alex and Izzy usually let you get away with your mischief. They love you so much. 

We had an amazing weekend celebrating your birthday. We had a play date with Grayson, went to the movies, had a family dinner, opened lots of presents, played basketball, and had a swimming party with your friends. Daddy bought you a dirt bike with all the gear and pads to go with it. You are so brave! You got right on and sped away! 

At six years old, you love yogurt, chocolate chip pancakes, pirate booty and Chick-fil-a. You love Spongebob, Imaginex toys, Superheroes and Minecraft. You love playing with your friends and your cousins, walking to Grayson’s house like a big kid, playing hide and seek and Uno, and jumping on the trampoline. You and I spend quite a lot of quality time putting together legos. You play soccer, basketball and lacrosse. 

I am still in shock that my baby is six.  But I am so excited to see what happens next!

I love you, my baby. 

Momma