Wednesday, July 27, 2022

Xander's Stinky 11th Birthday

 Alexander Blaise turned eleven yesterday!  Eleven years since my *almost* 9 pounder came barrelling out into this world and then had to bake under the lights for five days in the hospital because of his jaundice.  Those were some rough days, but he pulled through and became the most hysterical boy ever, and his siblings all adored him.  He lived for being the center of attention:

 

   And recharged by sucking his thumb while pressing a tag of some sort to his upper lip...even if the tag was on a bag of garlic:


There, that's better.

 

Alexander is also the most quoted child on this blog.  I can still remember when Xander was a toddler, Eamon said "We would be nothing without Xander" and we still feel that way.

The boy brings a lot of laughter to our family.  Just the other day, I was telling one of my sisters that Brendan seemed talented in art.  I said "When I see all of the Kindergartners pictures hung on the wall, I can always tell which one is his." Xander quipped, "Because his name's on it."  He loves jokes, and has hundreds memorized ready to pull out at a moment's notice.  The kids gave him cards and small gifts (candy) and Xander said "All of my birthday cards have jokes.  It's like they get me."

Eamon (age 15) drew him this...complete with a "A quote for 11 year olds: Being eleven stinks because you have to use your toes to show how old you are".  I couldn't stop laughing at that, hence the title of this post.


Andrew (age 17) took Brendan (age 5) to the store to pick out a card and this is what they settled on:



Xander usually complains that nobody ever knows it's his birthday, since it falls during the summer and not during the school year, but this week he had sailing camp, so we picked up some munchkins for his group to share which made him a happy camper indeed. 


For dinner he chose Nick's meatball pizza and a homemade macaroon torte which was as delicious as it was ugly:


Xander didn't ask for anything specific for his birthday because he likes to be surprised and not disappointed (his words) and he was very not disappointed to receive the following gifts...





(this was supposed to be a joke gift, as his chore is to vacuum the stairs, but he actually was so glad to get it!)




We love you so much Xander B.  You amaze us with your quick wit, brilliant mind, piano-playing prowess, emotional heart, and ambitious ways.  Never stop being true to yourself because you're exactly who God intended you to be.  You are one of a kind and we are lucky to have you as part of our family.

P.S. Fifth children rock!!

13 comments:

  1. Happy Birthday Xander! I hope you love those books! They are amazing. I've read them over 400 times each!

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    1. Wow, that's a lot! He is just finishing the last book now :)

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  2. Happy Birthday to your little guy! Dang, these kids grow up quickly!

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    1. So so quick and I miss those toddler years!

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  3. Happy birthday Xander! I love love love that he was actually excited about the vacuum. And the stinky part, because I admit, I was curious what made the day stinky. I am relieved it's the toe and not a crisis sewage issue or something!

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    1. Well now you know that all birthdays from age 11-20 are stinky because you have to use your toes ;)

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  4. This was so fun to read.
    1. 9 POUNDS! Wow!
    2. This: "likes to be surprised and not disappointed (his words)" is too perfect for words. I love this. I feel the same way. I really do love to be surprised...but not disappointed. And it can be hard for others to get that right (if only my husband could read my subconscious of what I really want for my birthday/Christmas).
    3. A dustbuster and Harry Potter books sounds like the best birthday ever. I use my hand vacuum every day and would honestly love a new one this Christmas!

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    1. He actually wanted to stop opening presents and go use the vacuum right away - ha! You two are kindred spirits ;)

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  5. Happy birthday to Xander! I love that he was excited about the dustbuster. I also think it's cute how he wants to be surprised by his gifts and not disappointed. What a cutie!

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  6. Oh, I love his sense of humor. He's a treasure. Glad he was so excited by his dust buster. He reminds me of my Tank - our funny guy. Tank was over 10 lbs, so they have so much in common. The secret admirer card is a hoot. Are you sure that was the Chicken Dance, or was it the Xander Hour? His prayers and his beat box are so sweet/funny. Happy, happy birthday to Xander.

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  7. I thought you got busy and quit blogging for awhile. But then I came to your site and discovered I haven't been receiving any notifications since the end of July! Do you know why? I wonder if I should unsubscribe then resubscribe.

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    1. Sorry Aileen - I have no idea why that's happening!!

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    2. I better leave it as is! I don't see a signup button here. I'll just have to remember to check back and maybe I'll get notified again.

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