B is straight-up funny. It’s not just what he says, it’s his timing and his ability to read a room and play up things. He’s a natural entertainer. And let me tell you—given what the past couple of months have been like out in the world, I have needed his humor and spirit like never before.

The other thing that B is? The sweetest young man. He is constantly pointing out the beauty in the world. In the fall he’ll see a beautiful tree and he’ll tell me I should pull over so we can look at it and take a picture. He’ll notice the sunset is beautiful and have us all walk outside to see. He’ll tell me in a hushed tone about how cute a baby or puppy is. He takes pride in being a helper—before school was canceled his teacher would tell me how whenever he would come into class in the morning if the chairs were still on the tables he’d ask if he could help get them down for her.

He’s aware of what is going on in the world. We’ve been open with kids and told them they can ask us anything. One night recently he got out of bed and had tears in his eyes. He said that he was really worried about his friend’s mom, who he knew was a nurse. He had two concerns: he didn’t want her to get sick and he worried that maybe his friend wasn’t getting to see his mom as much because she was working so much. His sweet, empathetic nature is something that I will protect for as long as I can. His kindness and humor are my favorite things about him.

Some examples of his humor over the past year:

Asking him a question. Waiting for reply. Ask again. 

B: Out. Of. Order. 

Or the time he made an entrance at basketball practice.

Wears a capital one headband to basketball practice, walks in, and immediately starts asking friends, as soon as he sees them, “hey, what you think of my new look?!” 

Which reminds me of another time he was obsessed with his look:

Post haircut, daddy asks B if he likes his hair... dancing around, he says, “Yes, my friends at school are gonna say ‘oh snap! Your hair looks cool!’”

Whenever I ask B if he wants something and he doesn’t his response is:

“That’s so last year.”

The way he describes things makes me laugh—mainly because it’s so innocent and pure:

“I would like to see a high school basketball game. It’s just like the NBA but with high schoolers.”

How he wants to be just like daddy—well maybe a little bigger.

“I wanna be big so I’ll eat an apple. I wanna be as big as daddy. Actually I wanna be bigger, one inch bigger than daddy.”

His constant obsession with food:

“So many good food choices around. Taco Bell has everything you could want, even breakfast! And then Burger King with the Impossible Whopper! Wow!”

He also has a way with words.

“Wanna hear something that will have you minds blowing?”

and

Flash flood = Hash brown flood

and

Pre school = pretty school 

and

Kiddie cocktail = kittie poptail

When he sneezes and you don’t say “bless you” fast enough, this is how he asks you to say it:

“Bless you me”

And when he is able to turn me from being super annoyed to laughing with just two words:

After spending an insane amount of time arguing with me, I repeat my EXACT SAME statement for the third time & he responds with, totally serious, “Good point.”

Finally, my personal favorite description of his:

After learning about the middle finger and obsessing over the usage of it…

"So I wouldn't use it in a restaurant, right? I wouldn't say 'I want a cheeseburger & fries & then stick it up, right?"

While demonstrating. 

His sports obsession has only grown over the past year and last night as we watched the 2020 draft, B picked the first 7 picks correctly. Without hesitation or doubt. He also decided to troll me with his draft accessories.

Oh, my sweet B. Don’t let the tough world lessen your sweetness. You are a true gift and I’m so grateful for you every single day. Even when you are talking nonstop and I haven’t had coffee. Even then.

2020 Survey Answers:

• Age: 9

• Favorite Color: Black

• Best Friend: Luke, Gary, Jones, & Evan

• Favorite Snack/Treat: Madeline cookie

• What do you want to be when you grow up: Football player 

• Favorite Song: Rollercoaster by Jonas Brother

• Favorite TV Show: Anything on ESPN

• Favorite Movie: Horton Hears a Who

• Favorite thing to do with family: Play games

• Favorite Book: Books about sports (currently obsessed with Michael Jordan) & Catstronauts

• Favorite food for breakfast: Oatmeal

• Favorite food for lunch: Summer sausage  

• Favorite food for dinner: Spaghetti & meatballs

• Most important thing learned so far: Science

• Favorite Toy: Football helmets 

• Are you afraid of anything: Bees & wasps

• Favorite thing to do outside: Shoot basketball, play catch

• Favorite place to visit: Florida 

• Mom's favorite thing to do with you: See your LEGO creations, talk sports, and stop and appreciate the beauty in the world

• Dad's favorite thing to do with you: Play catch

• What is one thing you want for your birthday: Already got a new bike but really want a book about Michael Jordan!

• How are you celebrating your birthday this year: Spending time with family