The Laura Blog

 Dear August,

Happy 9, my baby boy. My soft spot for you grows bigger every single year. To know you is to love you. Your goofiness, imagination, your inherent need for everyone around you to be happy, always the peacemaker and comedian.

You’re still a night owl and love to sleep in just a little bit more than either of your siblings. You're forever invested into whatever it is we’re reading to you at night, putting you at the top of your words read for your 3rd grade class. We joke and say your brain is 85% football facts, and your favorite game to play before bed to stretch the night just a little bit longer is to name a football player from every single NFL team. Your bedtime wishes to the universe are for the Steelers to find a decent quarterback this year. I often say goodnight and dim your lights, only to watch you finish out plays in a whisper with your football minifigures on your nightstand as I walk away.

You love a theme and an outfit, usually dressed head to toe in football or baseball gear. You got glasses this year and look impossibly cute when you wear them to watch TV or to see the whiteboard in class. We call you a golden retriever, always wanting to be outside.  You’re happiest when someone is throwing passes to you in the front yard and could do it forever.

You played travel soccer, flag football, and basketball this year, slowly growing more confident on the field. Your soccer team got pummeled playing a year up, but you always shrugged it off, especially if you were able to get the ball in the back of the net that game. You led your team in that. Your flag football season was your favorite and every time you made a catch or got in the endzone your celebration dances were the highlight of my month. In basketball you really came out of your shell and scored a layup during your semi-final game that made you the proudest and will remain a core memory for you. You just decided you wanted to try baseball this spring for the first time, joining a group of kids who have likely played since toddlerhood. Overall, I’m always so proud that you’re not scared to try. You never have to be the best at something to love it, and that’s something that I admire about you the most. 

3rd grade has been so good to you, folded under the wing of the most empathetic and caring teacher, surrounded by so many of your best friends in the same class. Math is still a challenge for you and something that we work really hard for you to master. Giving you all the credit where credit is due because you take your seat at our dining room table and study for hours with us the nights leading up to your tests. Sometimes it's not the natural talent, but the work ethic, that produce long term results and something makes me feel like this is a quality of yours that will really set you apart.

You love spaghetti, Nutella, and salami and could easily live on all 3. Forever a chocolate guy since you could talk.

We took a trip to the Dominican Republic for Oskar’s 10th birthday and you absolutely loved playing in the sand and sun. You’re already dreaming up where you want to go when you turn 10 next year, looking up 2026 football schedules and when the Vikings might play the Steelers. Something tells me we’re going to be heading to Minnesota as a family.

Recently we surprised you with a puppy, coming home on your birthday, and nobody needs a dog more than you. I know that your bond will be so special and he will love you more than anything. After all, who could be a better friend for a puppy than a boy who lives outside.

Your 9th birthday party will be the perfect one for you: a group of your best friends and a turf field with footballs to throw around and soccer balls to pass. We got you a 3D printer for your birthday so you can run off all of the fidget toys and gadgets to play with—a very August coded thing.

My biggest wish for you is to love yourself and to be confident in yourself. It’s not easy being in the shadow of a big brother and second in line to a still very needy little sister. With a laugh and a giggle that could change the world, there’s no reason to ever doubt yourself.

I will never forget the day you were born. How full of excitement we were, how easy the day went. You came into the world so quickly but so peacefully, and sitting there staring at your newborn face is etched into my brain forever. There’s no love greater than a love like the love I feel for you.

August, I love you forever. Happy 9.

Love,

Mama