Our oldest son is 8? When did that happen?

I did a post on Levi and now it is time for Bruce. I am going to do his a little differently though, and start from age 2.

I was a single mother who worked full time and had my mom babysit. I started to work at Ryan's buffet when he was 1.5 and we had just moved into our own place after living with my best friend (we moved in next door to her, actually attached to her place). I had to work full-time to take care of both of us and I was the sole care giver and provider. I met my husband when Bruce was 18 months old and every since the first time they met I knew they had a connection. A few short months after we started dating Bruce started calling him daddy. It was all on his own, no prompting from either of us, but it was the first time he truly felt he had a daddy in his life and he felt comfortably and loved. Matt and I put on Bruce's second birthday party together and we spent that whole year that he was 2 dating and getting to all know each other better. For his 3rd birthday, we took him to Chuck-E-Cheese and it was just the 3 of us. A few months later Matt and I got engaged after I was away for the weekend with his mom and sister. He watched Bruce while I was gone and when I got home he said that he wanted to take us out to dinner and I should get ready. While I was getting ready Bruce came into the bathroom with a box and asked me if I would marry his dad! I said yes of course, and then it became official that Matt, Bruce and I were a family! We got married 6 weeks later and of course have been together ever since. Bruce doesn't remember a time that we weren't together, and to be honest, I hardly even remember a time without him in our lives either.

Bruce became a big brother 2 weeks after he turned 4 and we moved that same year as well. 2 weeks before his 5th birthday, Matt deployed to Haiti. A few months after he turned 6, his dad deployed to Iraq and right before he was 7 he came home! He has had a lot of changes and he has been through a lot at 8.5, including surgery at 7 weeks old, an adoption and move at 4, 2 deployments and multiple times away from his dad when he had training and field time. He is the best friend to Levi, the bubba to us all and the kid who started ready at 4 like his momma. He was the first one in his kindergarten class who could tie his shoes, he makes his own lunch and Levi's too and he reads very well among other things.

Without Bruce, nothing would have been the same. Not only have I loved him when he was born, but his dad love more than words too. Our charming oldest son (who is a pain at times now) will forever be OUR first child.