Reese is EIGHT

And EIGHT is great!

I can't believe that this little girl who made me a mommy is eight years old today!

At eight Reese is:
-A great big sister! She is more of a little mommy to her brothers but I try to get her to stick to her big sister role instead. She loves to tell them what to do and organize things for them. She is always giving them directions and rules. She is a great encourager to them and loves to cheer them on.

-She is so brave! She will try pretty much anything. She loves roller coasters, big slides, and any other thrill seeking ride. We went to White Water last week and she rode on the Dragons Tail. She was a little timid at first but did it anyways and jumped off of there with a smile on her face. She even said she wanted to do it again but when we got back around to it, the line was super long.

-She is a super sweet friend. I told Lance the other day that I can't wait to see how her friendships grow. Once she makes a friend in someone, they are forever her friend. One of her best friends she met when she was three years old. They go to different schools, do different activities, but when they finally have time to spend together they want to spend days together. They play so well together. We have recently run in to another friend she had in two and three year old preschool at church. They picked right back up with each other and are so cute together. We ran in to them at CFA the other day and they gave each other a huge hug. She is really patient and kind with her friends and even people that she isn't necessarily friends with. Her teachers always tell me how kind she is to other students in class.

-She is a girly-girl. She loves to be pampered. She loves to have her hair done at the salon and loves manicures and pedicures. Her favorite part of having her hair cut is the hair wash. I recently took her to a new place and they gave her a hand massage after washing her hair and she loved it! She loves make-up and looking at herself in the mirror. She loves earrings and other jewelry.

-She does well in all sports that she tries. Her favorite is soccer right now and after watching the World Cup she is totally on board for soccer. However, this fall she is taking a break from fall soccer and trying out cheerleading. She got her uniform the other day and I have to say she looks SO cute in it. She has been asking for years to cheer but then will change her mind at the last minute to play soccer instead. This year she stuck with cheering and we are excited to see her give it a try. She is excited to get back in to soccer in the spring though. Who knows what we will do after that!?!

-She is so smart and has mixed emotions about school starting back soon. She loves summer but she loves school too. She is excited to see who her teacher is going to be and what friends she will have in her class. I know she is going to do great in third grade.

-She is a big help around the house when it is her idea. She loves to earn money for helping out.

-She absolutely has a strong personality. She is loud and loves to talk. She is very outgoing and is comfortable around adults. She seems to have pretty good manners with other adults too. Some times I think that she thinks my friends are her friends too. I love that she has other women in her life that she can look up to and hopefully trust them enough when she is older to use them as a sounding board when she doesn't want to talk to me.

Happy EIGHTH birthday, Reese! We love you so much and are so proud of you!