Happy 9th Birthday to the Kid Who Started It All

Last night, as I tucked my son into bed I whispered, 'When you wake up tomorrow, you'll be nine years old.' He smiled sweetly for moment, rolled around with his eyes wide with excitement, and then settled down under his covers. I walked out of the room to finish packing lunch boxes ( a 'pretend' lunch for B, so his dad could surprise him by showing up at school with a special birthday lunch), and then sat down to make homemade Beyblade party decor.

'Why are you doing all this for his party?' my husband asked. Every year, I tell my hubby that I won't go all out for a birthday party and wind up doing it anyway. 'I love him. He's my boy,' I replied. Simple as that. Why else would I be making paper plate Beyblade decor at 9 pm on a Thursday?

B and his G. G. (my grandmother) on their shared birthday. My Gram passed away in December of 2016. She called B her greatest birthday gift ever.

You see, B is the reason that Mommy's Block Party even exists. He made me a mom nine years ago. Sure, I had a blog before he came along, but it wasn't mom or family-focused. When I became a mom, my child became my whole world, and my focus immediately shifted. I was a week overdue when I finally went into labor with B. I was actually scheduled to be induced the day he was born. I labored for hours and pushed for a long time with no progress. B actually became stuck and I wound up having an emergency C-Section. It was all very sudden and to be honest, pretty scary. I realized later that we both could have died in that situation, and if it hadn't been for modern tech and medicine, we would have. But alas, God is good, and today, I have a very happy and healthy boy.

As with most parents, I want to give my kids the world, and because B was an only child until he was five and a half years old, we created an incredibly special and close bond. I love my boy, and he embodies me and my personality in so many ways.

B doesn't even realize that he's the reason why we have what we have. He changed our family in the best possible way, and I'm the kind of mom I am because of him. I owe more to him than he will ever know. We have a beautiful daughter today because we desperately wanted him to have a sibling and friend to grow up with. He's the most amazing student- impresses me over and over again. He's ridiculously smart and inquisitive. He's so kind and loving. He cares about others- especially his friends, family, and is insanely protective of his little sister.

On a normal night at bedtime, I tuck him in and whisper, 'I love you, and I'm proud of you every day.'

I sing the song I made up for him when he was just a tiny baby-

Say goodnight

Close your eyes

It's time to go to sleep

Close your eyes

Close them tight

So you can have sweet dreams

Say goodnight and close those eyes

Say goodnight and close them tight

Say goodnight and dream of the stars

Mommy loves you, you're mommy's star