Life is sweet for Ciara.
End of story right there, perhaps, but the mother of two has been through enough in her life to truly appreciate the simpler pleasures of family and togetherness.
A few days after celebrating her daughter Sienna Princess Wilson's first birthday, the Grammy-nominated singer described the past year of her life as nothing short of an "amazing, incredible adventure" while talking with E! News Tuesday at Pandora Jewelry's Mother's Day Brunch at the The London hotel celebrating the new Pandora Mother's Day Collection.
"It's been full of so much life and love," she said, marveling over family life with Sienna, son Future and her husband of a year and a half, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson.
While her son will be turning 4 on May 19 ("Tauruses are crazy!" the mom exclaimed, smiling, noting both of her children fall under the sign of the bull), having a daughter presented a whole new array of excitement and concerns for Ciara.
"I didn't know what to expect and I'm such a tomboy that I was honestly kind of a little worried or curious about how I would do with a little girl," she admitted. But "what I really think is so awesome," Ciara said, recalling a recent moment where she was watching her kids playing and thought, "there's just something sweet in the air. There's something really sweet about how they are, they're so delicate but she's so tough at the same time. So that's been really amazing to see and experience—it is a difference you know. It's hard to describe, but you feel it. It's been really fun."
The other day, while getting Future up for school, Ciara says she put Sienna in the 3 1/2-year-old's little jeep-shaped bed with him and he was sweetly doting on her, cooing "watch your head."
"And I thought that as so sweet," the singer said. "He had such natural instincts, he's seen us do it enough and now he knows—and it was just awesome, it was so touching."
Sienna was born on April 29, 2017, the first child for Wilson, who last summer called having a baby "the greatest blessing in the world" and talked about how becoming a dad had even filtered into his approach to football.
"More than anything, when you have your own family and it continues to grow, it's a special thing," Wilson told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. "I don't just play for my family that I've had before, but also my new family. Just playing for the little ones, playing for Ciara too and playing for my teammates and trying to do everything that I can to be the best that I possibly can be. I'm truly grateful every day to get to come home and it puts a smile on my face every time."
Wilson's bond with Future was pretty immediate after he started dating Ciara in 2015. The couple made their red carpet debut almost exactly three years ago at the White House Correspondents Dinner, followed by date night at a state dinner hosted by the Obamas. The once-divorced athlete and the Jackie artist, who had weathered a nasty breakup and custody battle with Future's dad, found a kindred spirit in the other, bonding over faith and shared values—and, naturally, their respective hotness.
"Funny thing is, I told somebody that that's the girl I wanted to be with before I ever met her," Wilson divulged during a talk at the Rock Church when they were first dating. "Before I met her, I was like, 'I'm probably going to end up with Ciara.' True story."
The couple married on July 6 (and legally wed on July 9), 2016, in a fairy-tale ceremony at a castle in Cheshire, England. They announced they were expecting that October.
"He's been such an incredible father since day one," Ciara told E! News. "He's so loving and very patient. He also likes to have fun—he's very spontaneous and we just have a good time as a family."
Asked if Wilson, who as one of the super-star quarterbacks in the NFL is known for his determination and discipline, took it down a notch in the off-season, Ciara scoffed at the idea.
"Russell relax? That doesn't even go into the same sentence," she said, laughing. "He inspires me, he's so driven and very ambitious, and he's always working hard whether he's on the field or off the field. He's always trying to make an impact in any way that he can. It's really inspiring to watch and to have a partner that has that kind of ambition. I'm also a very ambitious person, I'm very driven...it really just flows."
Aside from doting on their own kids, another important part of their lives that they share is their commitment to giving back. The couple, who preside over the Why Not You Foundation to benefit programs that deal with education, children's health and lifting families up out of poverty, regularly visit Seattle Children's Hospital and before brunch yesterday Ciara had been hanging out with fellow moms at Children's Bureau, a child abuse treatment and prevention center, in Los Angeles. She gifted them with family-friendly books and pieces from Pandora's Mother's Day Collection and sang songs with the kids.
"It has been a blessing to go on the mission with Russell for the Why Not You Foundation," Ciara said. Spending times with the families of children in the hospital, in particular, "has been very humbling. It just reminds you of why you do what you do. It puts things in perspective and it's a beautiful thing. We both really enjoy that and I think there's no greater feeling than knowing that you're actually making a difference in someone's life."
As for teaming with Pandora at Children's Bureau, Ciara, who became a brand ambassador for the jeweler earlier this year, said, "I think for anyone it feels good to be celebrated and to know that someone's thinking about you...Just to know that we're coming together to actually help and support these families to have the means that they need to simply survive, and for their kids to have a place to develop and grow, is really special and important. It's a blessing."
The kids she met yesterday "were full of so much personality," Ciara smiled. "I always say that where you come from doesn't determine how far you'll go in life, and I saw many stars in that classroom—they were just shining so bright."
As for her own upcoming Mother's Day, Ciara said she had no idea yet what her husband had planned, but she looked thrilled just thinking about spending the holiday with her family.
"All I really want to do is just wake up to the love. Being surrounded by the love from him and Future and Sienna, that's all I need," she said. (It doesn't hurt that Wilson's a bit of a teddy bear, who last year wrote to his wife, "Nothing better than spending time with you. You are an amazing mom & I'm so grateful I get to spend the rest of my life with you & raising our kids.")
Lately Ciara and Wilson are mainly using the Trace Me app to keep fans updated on their careers and family life, and she actually didn't share any pictures of Sienna on social media till this past February.
"It's just honestly about what feels good to you and feels right," Ciara explained their approach to private vs. public in this oft-over-sharing world of ours. "The moment that we shared Sienna's photo actually felt right to us. That's just how you have to do things when it comes to social media." She said that both she and her husband love having the connection with their fans that the app and Instagram, et al., provide, but ultimately "it's about balance and we just kind of go with what feels good to us."
However, she added, "I don't know if our kids will have an Instagram for a long time."
And while Ciara is so busy these days that she has to schedule me-time on the calendar, she makes sure to bask in the moments where she's surrounded by all the love that has made life truly come alive for her these last few years.
Looking at Russell with the kids, for instance, "it's just really sweet to see him," she says. "Sometimes I just sit back and I smile, and he's looking at me like, 'What are you smiling for?' 'Oh, for so many reasons.'"