My uncle Chris likes to call me nicknames like Ricco or Chicken, sometimes I wish he would call me by my real name but it does make me laugh. He likes to make me laugh.

I love my Uncle Chris because he is unique and funny. He loves to go places with us. When I look over at him doing something he’ll have a huge smile on his face because he is so happy, it brings joy to my heart and makes me happy too.

"I had been dating Dan, Chris’s brother, for a few months when he brought me home to meet his family. Until that day I had never met a person with Down syndrome. Dan didn’t tell me his brother had Down syndrome.

As the oldest of five, I’ve been blessed with three amazing sisters and a little brother. A couple years after Chris was born, I was playing in the Pony League World Series. So you can see that Chris and I are separated by many years, but that never mattered. I knew that Chris and I would have a bond.

Christopher has a nickname for everyone…Seems to be his thing. He calls his mom Frank and his dad John but at one point it was Uncle Dad. Haha! He calls me Miss Weenie, his brother Edwart (Daniel), one sister 210 (Katie), and another sister Bdawg (Breanne).

Chris and I were really close growing up. I delayed going to college for a couple years. I said it was because Chris wasn’t ready for me to leave, but really I wasn’t ready to leave Chris. I went to school in NYC. Came home for the first time that year for Christmas.

For a week leading up to my birthday my little brother Christopher would send me a ‘Happy Birthday Bdawg' text message. No matter how often I told him it was not my birthday yet, he continued to send them telling me that he sends them because ‘I love you sis.’

"The opportunity to describe Chris is enormous! There have been magical moments, blessed moments and just downright funny moments! The first ‘God moment’ came at his birth! Months before, I was praying and expressing my joy of 4 wonderful children.

My girlfriend and I took Chris to the park one day. He was five. I took a bat and ball. I tossed him the ball, he tried to hit it. I kept saying 'Christopher, keep your eye on the ball.' The next thing I know he put the bat down, walked over to me, took the ball from my hand and put it on his eye. He listened, literally

The most important thing I do everyday is make my bed and have fun with my dad. My favorite thing about myself is I'm a handsome guy, I'm funny, and I'm an uncle.