13! Coke, Jesus, and basketball are his favorites! Reese loves his family and his dogs in no particular order. The boy loves Basketball 🏀… I’ve NEVER seen anyone with such dedication to a sport. If he’s not on a team he’s in a camp or training. If he’s not in a camp or training he’s in the driveway working on his game. This boy lives for basketball… like year round! He’s passionate about life -he gives his all to fun living! He has taught me so much about making fun out of all situations… Basically, where there’s a Reese there’s a way to experience fun! Reese has a caring heart for the poor. If we see anyone in need he wants to make sure we offer help. I can honestly say he is a joy to parent and easy to love. Reese is wise. He often overhears adult conversations and offers advice that’s uncannily brilliant… He makes me smile everyday.
 I’ll never forget the day he was born and I looked into newborn baby Reese’s eyes… (sounds sweet so far but wait for it) I saw something in those eyes I wasn’t quite prepared for… I looked up at Kyle and concerned I said, “look at his eyes” hesitantly I continued – “he looks so wild!” I truly wasn’t kidding… Reese had some wild eyes. The first years to follow that first impression Reese didn’t let me down-he WAS a handful! Wild, free-spirited, but oh so fun… a handful! Our “little firecracker” is what we called him and that he was. 
I guess If I could go back to that day in the hospital I’d tell myself: “Don’t worry- the wildness only lasts a little while… take a hug when he has time to stop and give one, let him play in the mud, it’s ok if he skins his knees every week or day, he’s a boy he’s supposed to get dirty, who cares how many legos you pierce your feet with it’s fun for him to build, let him leave his light sabers all over the place you don’t need a clean house, humor him by not letting the cream cheese on his bagel fill the middle hole, also, let him have an occasional coke… etc. 
The good news is we made it through those wild eyed years and sometimes… quite often actually I miss those wild days of keeping him “occupied” and out of trouble and even piercing my feet on legos… 
Today when I look into his eyes the wildness has simmered and he’s calm and mature, loving and kind, and I think to myself wow we did a good job! He’s turning into a fine young man. Then I look back to what I thought were the hard days and realize it wasn’t so bad after all. Now I can look back on my wild eyed firecracker baby not as a moment of hesitation and concern for how he’d be as a toddler or a boy but as a moment of how his character would be molded into who he is today! Reese you make me proud!