What/Who I Love Most Today is Reece...

Today is Reece's Birthday.  We brought him home on Thanksgiving Day.  Reece is our third child and second son.  Do you see that belly?  Man, was it big!  Reece was about 8lbs, 1oz and four days early.  I remember him as a baby.  He was pleasant and pretty calm.  He's a great boy.  It's been fun to look back on his life so far.  This is a journal about Reece on his birthday...Happy Birthday Reece, we love you so much.

R eally energetic

E nthusiastic about life....to say the least

E nergetic, really

C an't stop moving

E ats brussel sprouts as his favorite food

Did you notice a theme here?  Reece is full of energy, and I mean full of it.  But, he is also sweet, caring and a chatter box.

The adoring love for a new baby is felt so instantly, it's a miracle.   I remember feeling a lot more relaxed as a mother with Reece.  I had had a few babies by now and I had some experience and "tools" to draw upon. What a nice feeling.

There's nothing like seeing the big people loving the little people.  So precious.

It's so funny how some pictures bring back such distinct memories and some don't.  I remember this picture like it was yesterday.  And Reece is smiling but I also remember him looking nervous about these "two" in his bed.

I love this picture.

This is across the Golden Gate Bridge overlooking San Francisco, we visit the city pretty frequently.  This trip we paid a visit to the city with Kerri, Kaitlyn, Scott, Susan and Lily.

Great pictures of Reece, so happy.  He has always been really happy.

This is on the same trip.  He is hugging his favorite cousin Kaitlyn Foster, Kerri's daughter.

Two brothers.

Out of all my children I would have to say that Reece and Gwyneth have always shared a special bond.  Here they are together as they frequently are.  She loved to ride him on the back of this tricycle.  

Together again.  They always find each other.  This was at Tahoe on the traditional spot of grass that we take pictures on after church.

This is one of my favorite pictures of the children together.  Of course there are two more now, but this is such a gem.  Precious.

So cute.  I love this boy.

The three of them together, goofing around, which is very common.  I say the three of them because, they are the first three.  I have three more now, so they are the first group, they're leading the pack.  

In some ways being a mom to Reece has felt a lot different than being a mom to the first two.  When more come a long in a big family, they seem to gain independence faster.  I guess from watching and being with older siblings.  I find myself wanting to hold Reece back from his independence.  But how?  Maybe by being with him alone to read, scratching his back at night, having (forcing) him sit on my lap in Sacrament meeting in church, or having him roll meat balls with me in the kitchen.  No, this probably won't keep him from his independence. But I hope these times with his mother will remain distinct in his memory and that with these memories he will feel the individual, special, sweet love I have for him.

This is a great shot.  I love these two boys.

Reece with his new baby sister, Summer.

Reece is a school boy now.  He does very well.  He is almost a fluent reader.  He's on the verge of crossing the line of "readers" into chapter books that have adventure, excitement and intrigue.

This is a writing test he had to do recently (for the charter school we school through).  It's a compare and contrast essay.  He chose to compare and contrast cats and dogs.  Reece is a lover of animals so I'm not surprised by his choice of topic.  He had to do this on his own, no help from me.  I love how he spelled the word also, olso and hold, hld.  So sweet.

This is Reece today.  Looking spiffy and grown up in his church attire.  These days Reece looooooves Snowboarding, Tennis and Taekwondo.  He likes to ride bikes, rip stick and scooter with his brothers and sisters.  His favorite things to read about are animals.  His hero is Rafael Nadal. Nadal is ranked number two in the world for Tennis.  Reece only has eyes for Nadal.  I love Roger Federer.  This bugs Reece.  If Federer beats Nadal (which he did recently) Reece will say, "mom Nadal could have beat Federer, he just didn't want to."  Hahahaha, right buddy.  :)

I never thought Reece looked a lot like Kirk, his Dad, but there's definitely a resemblance here.

This is their favorite game of all time.  Stratego is the name of this game and it's a star wars theme.   Oh how they look so peaceful playing this game.  At times this game will bring the fury out in both of them. I've threatened to throw it away a few times.

Something I admire about Reece is his thought for others, even when they aren't present.  If we go anywhere  where he might get something that the other kids won't, he's likely to decline from getting it altogether.  He's done this a few times.  He wants things to be fair.  He's always been this way.  He's also great at math, sports, and did I mention he's really energetic.....?  What I Love Most Today is Reece...Happy Birthday!!!!