HAPPY LATE BIRTHDAY, ALEC!

Alec turned 14 on the 18th. 14! How the heck did he get to be that old?! He's going to be in HIGH SCHOOL next year. I remember the day he was born! Let's go back to that day...

I had been begging my parents for a sister. Because I was only 5, I didn't realize that they really had no control over that. Anyway, I was really excited when I found out that my mom was going to the hospital to have a baby...just in case it was a girl. After Alec was born, my dad called his parents who were staying with us and told them to tell us. I vividly remember my grandma hanging up the phone and saying, "Robbie! Caroline! You have a new baby brother!" Me, being the dramatic little girl that I was, screamed, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" and I ran into my room and cried. I hated Alec and I hadn't even seen him yet. Well, my dad didn't let me stay home while everyone else went to the hospital. I was so upset. I thought for sure my parents would be nice enough to let their 5 year-old daughter stay home alone while everyone else went to the hospital to see the new baby. Haha. I was wrong. I had to go to the hospital. Well, I walked in and saw how cute he was and decided a new baby brother wasn't so bad after all.This is me holding little Alec on November 18, 1995. 14 years ago. Notice that my nails are painted red. My grandma painted them. We matched. It was precious.

In honor of Alec's 14th birthday, here are 14 things I love about him:

1. He's smarter than me. When I took Honors World History in high school, I had to do this assignment about WWII. Instead of looking up the answers, I just asked Alec. I went to school the next day and my teacher was very pleased with all the research I had done and how thorough my answers were (compared to the other students who had 1-2 sentence answers, I had paragraphs). I admitted to her that I hadn't done any research I had just asked my 11 year-old brother. She was shocked. Also, if you're ever taking a Wellness Assessment and you need to know what triglycerides are, just ask him. He knows.

2. HE LIKES TO RUN! Yeah, I was talking to him a couple of weeks ago and he told me that. It made my day. Alec, I love you!!!!

3. He's a budding chef. He can make Sour Cream Chicken. and it's GOOD.

4. He's pretty funny. My mom told me that on the morning of his birthday, he was talking like an old man and said, "It seems like only yesterday I was 13 years old." Haha. Alec, you crack me up.

5. He couldn't say my name when he was little, so he called me, "Kiki." I sorta miss that nickname. My mom still calls me that though. I love it.

6. For some reason, we used to call Alec "Big Cat" when he was little. One time, we saw The Cat in the Hat (like seeing Mickey Mouse at Disneyland) at the grocery store. Robbie said, "Look, Big Cat! It's a big cat!" Alec freaked out. It was so cute.

7. One of my all-time favorite Alec quotes: "Sometimes, I feel like I'm drowning in my fountain of knowledge."

8. I love when Alec thinks he can beat me up. Haha. You don't stand a chance, Tiny!

9. He's one good-looking guy. After all, we are related.

10. I love how he sets his Sleep Number Bed to 5, so when he sleeps in it, you can't see him because the mattress sinks so much.

11. "I got my cape and my fangs! I got my cape and my fangs!"

12. He has an excellent taste in t.v. shows. He thinks it's cool that I still watch Spongebob and he'll watch it with me. He also loves Burn Notice. Way to go, Alec.

13. One of my favorite memories of Alec is when my dad used to fly him around the house in these little red crates we had. We used them to keep books, toys, and other stuff in the family room. He was small enough that he could fit inside of them and so my dad used to pick up the crate and fly him around the house. I used to hide behind the couch with my friend, Julie, and everytime he flew by, we'd pop our heads up behind the couch and he'd yell in his squealy little voice, "Hi, Kiki!"

14. I love how much I miss this kid and can't wait to see him at Christmas and hang out with him for 4 FREAKING MONTHS!

So, here's to the birthday boy:

Oops. Here's to the birthday boy: