New day. New week.

#Facts

"Let's draw a pumpkin patch."

Drawing with my birthday girl 🎃

Today, my sweet Amelia Louise turns 9 years old. Her last year before double digits. She has been mentally preparing us for her birthday since the month of October began.

Amelia, you are my human sunshine 🌞 everything about your personality exudes a golden glow. You shimmer baby girl. You smile and the room lights up, you laugh and those around you laugh right along with you. It's not always easy to find joy, but Amelia you don't just find it, you create it. You are joy.

Thank you for being an incredible daughter. For keeping me on my toes, making me stop and think about my words and for showing me what it looks like to assert and stand up for yourself. You're young in age, but wise in spirit and you have taught me so much.

Amelia you are so funny, sometimes things come out of your mouth and I just have to shake my head and laugh. You have an incredible imagination AND the ability to share your vision in your artwork and animations. You spend hours on your graphics and finding ways to set them to music, I've seen you capture 100s of screens to put them into a single movie in TikTok. I have no idea how you do it. You amaze me.

You feel things so deeply. Like an empath, you walk into a room and you feel the energy. Sometimes that makes life hard for you, it is overwhelming, but I hope you see how many people your sensitivity has touched and helped. Don't lose your gift my love.

On this day, and through this life, I hope you see how much you are loved by your family. The world became a better place when you were born. I love you, how much? THIS much! AND oh so very much more!

#AmeliaLouise

Today is a hard day. Two years since receiving that phone call, I never had a chance to say goodbye before losing my grandpa. But whie he's gone physical, he's not gone in any other way. I still feel him nearby, I trust he's with me and the kids always. Grsndpop, you are our legacy, our legand, our hero and we will always love you.

Today is PBS dance day, and yes, she's holding a fork. She was eating pancakes and then wanted to see what Bekka was doing outside. #NoFocus #AmeliaLouise

Iron Hill Harvest Festival

Remember this dear, if you play small, you stay small.

#PlayBig #DreamBig

This is 18.

Love you, Brae, always and forever.

Happy birthday 🎂

I knew this day would come. Obviously some day my baby would legally be an adult.

When you were little we were inseparable. I took you everywhere. You went to concerts with me, you jammed to The Wiggles as a toddler but we also went to see the Spin Doctors, Ben Folds Five, even Shaggy and John Mayer hahaha. You loved dancing, you danced all the time, even in your car seat and especially when Matt and Kim or The Killers came on! Your Gram would dance with you during the day and I would dance with you at night. Singing and dancing is how you fell asleep best, it calmed me, too.

As you got older you went from dancing to playing music. You're a talented drummer and not top bad to guitar either. Sometimes you share new songs with me, I treasure the moments that you choose to include me while you listen.

You loved ice cream, you'd stop dead in your tracks when you heard the ice cream truck, even if it was still miles away. You loved helping your Pop Pop in the garden. You loved watching movies with me, Mona the Vampire and Alvin and the Chipmunks (the old school ones) were fast favorites, but really anything I suggested you would happily sit and watch. You were by buddy. My little dude who had 12 different pair of sunglasses and just as many hats. Always stylin'.

Happy 18th birthday, Braeden. I've been with you every step of the way, leading you until you began leading me, following when you took off or by your side to support you as needed. At times you have made being your mom shockingly easy, other times you have made it incredibly challenging but together we've learned, we've grown, we've lived.

So today, on your 18th birthday, I hope you know that even as you grow older, you'll always be my baby, my Brae, my heart, my Valentine.