Jax Taylor Celebrates His Son Cruz’s Birthday, Calls Him His “Biggest Accomplishment”

Jax Taylor is putting his son first and celebrating a special milestone. On December 19, the Vanderpump Rules alum, 45, shared a heartwarming carousel of photos and videos on Instagram in honor of his son Cruz’s birthday. The photos featured the father-son duo smiling together, along with adorable clips of Cruz playing and jumping into a pool.

In an emotional caption, Jax wrote, “I’ve made a lot of mistakes but you are by far my biggest accomplishment son nothing in life makes me happier and want to be better person for you. You are the best thing that has ever happened to your mother and I. We love you to the moon Cruzy. 💟🦖.”

This celebration comes just months after Brittany Cartwright, 35, filed for divorce from Jax on August 27, after five years of marriage. In her filing, Brittany requested primary legal and physical custody of Cruz. Despite the split, both parents have expressed their commitment to co-parenting their son in a healthy way.

A source close to the situation shared with PEOPLE, “This step has been a long time coming and something Brittany knew she had to do for the best interest of herself and her son in order to move forward and put a stop to this tumultuous cycle they’ve been living in.”

While their co-parenting journey is still a work in progress, both Jax and Brittany remain dedicated to putting Cruz first. Speaking to PEOPLE in September, Brittany praised Jax’s parenting skills but acknowledged their challenges.

“He’s a great dad. Great dad, terrible husband,” she admitted, adding, “I’m not ever going to take Cruz away from him. We will always put Cruz first and we are going to work towards a healthy co-parenting relationship.”

Brittany added, “Still, things are very raw between us, but for the most part, I do know if I needed something, if Cruz needed something, I could call him and he would be there for us.”