Alex Turns FIFTEEN!

This kid! This young man! Alex turned FIFTEEN this year! 

I know I am his mom and therefore love Alex unconditionally, but seriously, Alex is a wonderful son and an amazing young man. For his birthday, I took Alex out to our favorite place--Diced, a place to get awesome salads (and Alex is a big fan of salads!).

This is from my social media post--a better collection of pictures of Alex throughout the years. 

We did allow Alex to celebrate his birthday with friends this year--just a couple of days before his actual birthday. Alex usually loves big pool parties with as many friends as can come but this year we needed to keep the numbers down. In fact, most of the party activities were outside at the park--it was a fun Scavanger hunt prepared by Katya. Then everyone came back to our house for dinner which was Chinese. 

Alex did wish for a traditional ice cream and cake, so that’s what he got. 

And here are a few pictures with his friends. Alex and Kyla. 

Alex and Emma.

Alex and Alora (who gave him this rowing shirt:))

Alex and Graydon.

Alex and Kai (who gave him this ball of yarn and Alex had to unravel it to get to the present itself:)).

And Alex and Remi. 

We didn’t get a picture with Alex and Miles and he had to leave early!

On his actual birthday, Alex requested some waffles with whip cream and Nutella (don’t believe it was leftover from Katya’s birthday;)). 

And for dinner, Alex wanted to go to Mi Cancun for some easy Mexican. 

Birthday boy with Katya and Mark.

Free chips and salsa before dinner gotta be their favorite part. 

And then we got home to open a few gifts! 

Toblerone, microphone, slides and a massage gift certificate were just a few of the things that Alex got. In fact, he is just always grateful for whatever he receives, which is such a nice quality to have! 

Alex is an example of why I have hope and faith in our future generation. He works hard at school, helps around the house a lot, possesses great social skills and confidence, stays organized and is a great friend to many. His creativity in piano playing and singing is inspiring and refreshing--we love listening to him play at home or perform on the street. Although lately, watching YouTube videos at lunchtime replaced his usual reading books at lunchtime, he still loves reading and likes to relax that way. Alex has a lot to look forward to in the future but knows he has to work hard to get it--but his optimistic outlook at life will, hopefully, help him. We are grateful every day that we have a great son like Alex.

Last but not least, annual "check up":

Height: 6' 2''
Favorite sport to watch: basketball
Favorite sport to play: rowing
Favorite book: Boys in the boat
Favorite movie: Stardust

Hobbies: piano, singing, basketball
Future profession: president (!)

Happy birthday, Alex!!!