"Oh, you little nugget. Do you want to play stacking blocks with mommy?" I fondly spoke.

"Does Mason want to play? Look who's got his favorite toys. Come here, little buddy." Theo adds while Mason cooed like he knew what we were talking about as he started to crawl excitedly when he saw me placing his favorite small stacking blocks on the thick plush rug.

Ever since he came into our world he just became a new light in the family, our ray of sunshine. I remember the moment like it was just yesterday; going into labor, I was for sure spitting out profanities like a pro. Matheo held my hand throughout the whole time, encouraging me for support because pushing the baby out for like 2 hours was just not that delightful. I felt like I was about to die from the excruciating pain until I heard a cry came out and before I knew it, I already had this little precious bundle in my arms. We named him Mason Cole, our first baby boy.

All the process and pain, the whirlwind of events that led up to my birth, it was worth it. The second I laid my eyes on my baby boy, I was by far the happiest I have ever been. I just immediately started crying tears of joy, Matheo had a look of relief on his face as he was smiling adoringly at the sight before him and to see our baby with so much love, it was just this indescribable feeling. He laid in my arms while I held him close to my chest as he fell asleep and his miniature fingers grasped mine like somehow he knew, that he was right here with his family. I just wanted to look at him, study every feature and memorize his details, knowing I will love him with all of my heart and I would never let anything happen to him.

Mason came out exactly looking like Matheo because the more he grew, the more he bears a strong facial resemblance to his father. His eyes are the darkest rich brown, his thick eyelashes were very much noticeable, his brows are growing as well and not to mention his pouty lips and his adorable smile, I could just stare at him all day.

The process may not have been easy from all of the sleepless nights, the worries and problems. But too see him growing up, the times spent well as a family, the thought gave me a warm smile on my face, loving the experience as a mother. Now, Mason is currently 8 months old, he's a little menace and adorable as ever. We mostly spend our time on the living room setting up a little playground area while Matheo and I still plan to add up another room for him in the household. After all, he's growing up so fast.

"Mason, look at mommy." I spoke softly while he babbles for a response, too busy playing with his toys.

"Can you say mama Mason?" I said and it seemed to take his attention, as he turns around and faces me.

"I don't think he will, not yet." Theo mutters, a mischievous smile plastered on his face.

"Oh, he will. Just wait till you see!" I laughed, rolling my eyes as he was taunting me obviously.

Ever since Mason started to baby talk, we were very much eager and determined to make him utter mama and dada. We even made a bet to see which of the two will be the first he'll speak out. I was confident that I'll be the first, given I'm the mother of course, we obviously have a special bond. As expected, Theo was cocky getting all too delirious that I'll lose. I know the bet or just the idea of it, is unreasonable. But the fact we see ourselves going at it, it was such a fun experience. Until the most awaited word came and I could not even believe it. Unfortunately, it was dada who came first.

"You wanna speak mama Mason? Okay, here it goes." I utter while the idiot had to hold back a laughter, thinking it's funny to see me desperate.

"Ma-ma." I enunciate, delighted that I got his attention taking the time to really teach him this time around.

He babbles with wonder in his eyes while I continue to enunciate the words hoping he'd get it right and call me Mama that will freaking make my day great.

"Ma-ma."

Then I looked closely as his tiny lips was about to speak and with a heart full of anticipation, thinking this was the moment.

"Dada." He babbles and he flaps his arms in a playful manner and squeals in what felt like an excitement.

Theo busted out laughing as soon as the word came out, feeling victorious while I dramatically groaned knowing it gave him the ultimate satisfaction. These two were just like two peas in a pod, they were both enjoying as Theo was giving Mason a tickle while he attempts to make some farting noises which made our little baby laugh so joyously. My mouth contorted in a delighted grin, genuinely happy to see them both having the time of their lives as I see myself laughing delightedly along with them.

"You little goof." I spoke, planting kisses all over Mason's face while he wiggled and cooed happily.

"I can't believe he's growing up so fast." I mutter, reminiscing some memories.

"Yeah, time flies by so quick." He responds, smiling to himself whilst he was staring at Mason.

"You know we can make another one." He teasingly said while I kept my mouth shut just to make him explain further as I see where the conversation is going.

"I mean, it is never too early for sex."

"I knew it, please keep it in your pants." I said with a giggle, smacking him lightly in the chest.

"Just wait until I have you begging and screaming for more tonight." He whispered in my ear, smiling slyly and causing shivers to race down my spine.

"Fucking tease." I murmur and he softly laughs knowing well he got the reaction he wanted out of me.

Speaking of sex, it's been pretty fucking awesome. I gained weight, my body went through change but it never hindered me to be on track, be productive and staying well to be at my best and it did worked wonders. I admit thinking I was going to end up dry as the Mexican desert right after my pregnancy and maybe it was from the fact I've been reading a lot of articles about wives complaining from the lack of affection. But Matheo, he just kept on showering me with compliments and surprises, I loved every moment of it.

If you know what I mean.

"You're doing great, babe." He stated and his lips curved upwards as he reached out for me, gently stroking my cheek.

I find myself grinning uncontrollably as I got a warm feeling, thinking how lucky I am to have him in my life and how he makes me happy in a way no one else can. I leaned in, planting a light kiss on his lips, thinking how far we've come and we are still going strong over time.

"I love you."

"I love you more, Cleo." He said, wrapping his arms around me and with a satisfied feeling, we took our time watching Mason play happily around at the moment.

Looking back, life's full of unexpected surprises. It's for sure inconsistent, with a whole new level of life-altering changes to surprise you and when you happen to be the least expecting, doing your casual shit, too sure of yourself that nothing can happen. Life just happens to throw a fucking ton of bricks on your face to remind you on a rude awakening that shit happens and if there's one huge thing I've learned from my experiences up to this present, I learned that you will never be ready as to what life will give you.

When we least expect it, life will set a challenge for us to take that will definitely test our courage and willingness. Remembering my past, I used to fool around and be reckless to the point where I went through a lot of challenges and I got too confident on life's challenges. That when Matheo came right in, I was clueless that I was just about to actually learn and embark on the biggest challenge of my life. Falling in love with your step-brother and getting pregnant at 19 was basically not the brightest of ideas; and I admit, I was scared and unprepared, but one thing I learned was to continue and along the way I developed, changed and got a better perspective of life.

Who would have thought that years from now on, we successfully got the lives we wanted. From a small apartment to getting our dream house, baby Mason, marriage, Theo starting a career over to taking a top promotion in their company, from being a full time mom to pursuing a bachelor's degree in interior design and comes our parents back into our lives as we rekindle our relationship. Because despite the fear, we fought for our choices, we held ourselves accountable and we definitely chose to deal with the problem and go through the pain.

The point is, there are no shortcuts in life. Though we would tend to look for one and it might somehow ease the struggle but it will never take away this feeling of absence and the inevitable void of truth. The truth; that progress takes time, healing takes time, proving something that is worthy takes time because life is a process, we struggle and learn. There are no shortage of struggles, unfortunately, but I would rather deal with the pain of going through the progress of something worthwhile than deal with disappointment of taking the other way around.

My decisions have proven me right, because now I get to enjoy being an amazing mother and wife and there's nothing better than to feel at home sipping cool lemonade with the love of my life and our little bundle on the porch laid-back on a Sunday. I couldn't be more happier; because literally, we made it.

"We fucking made it." I mutter as I can't help but to speak it out, feeling good as I was smiling from ear to ear.

After all these years.

"Heck yeah, we did." He responds, smiling back brightly reaching out for my hand as we just started to laugh, filled with so much joy and appreciation in our hearts.

Because we knew and as promised;