My Alex is 9 years old today!
9 years old.
My goodness, it’s going by too fast.
I’ll never forget the second Alex was placed on my chest, he literally smiled. Here was this minutes old little baby and he gave me a little smile. I knew in that moment that THIS was going to be a happy little kid, always. 9 years later… the little guy still smiles all the time. He is full of joy and laughter and happiness. Ever since Alex was a baby, I’ve joked with Matt that his motto of life just seems to be, “I’m just happy to be here!”
Now our Alex… his birth story is a special one and if you’ve been reading my blog for some time now, you already know this about our Alex. My husband’s best friend Dimitri Gavriel passed away in November of 2004. He had enlisted in the Marines at the age of 29 years old… and truly became one of my heroes. We were in touch with him as much as we could be when he was stationed over in Fallujah, but we got the devastating news on the night before Matt’s 30th birthday that he has been killed. William was just over 2 months old at that point and it really rocked our world, especially my husband’s. Throughout the next month, I could tell Matt was having a hard time dealing with it all. I remember us talking about life and how you really need to grasp every moment and enjoy every single day. It was then, during that difficult time that Matt said to me, “Let’s celebrate life in honor of Dimi.” We thought having another baby would be the best way to honor and celebrate life. I found out I was pregnant on January 30th, 2005… I “knew” it was going to be a boy and it some funny way, I knew Dimi sent this baby to Matt to help him. Our Alexander Dimitri has continued to bring us the true definition of what it is to celebrate life every single day throughout the last 9 years!
Today on Alex’s birthday, I want to wish him 9 wishes for the next year ahead…
1. I wish him to always have that sense of true happiness in life. Alex finds the good and fun and happiness in everything. If there’s traffic… he’ll say, “Let’s all play a game till it’s over!” If it’s raining out… he’ll say, “Can we play in the rain?” He’s just a true happily-ever-after type guy.
2. I wish him to always be confident in a tuxedo. Alex wears tuxedos to school. He just loves it and has a ton of fun wearing one. I’ll never forget the first day he went off in one to school. I didn’t want ANYONE to say anything to him because… well, it would break my heart. I said to him, “If anyone says to you, just tell them you love what you’re wearing.” He looked at me and said, “Why would anyone say anything? I look awesome.” And that is my Alex. I pray he never loves that confidence in life with anything.
3. I wish him to find his passion. He wants to be a Ninja Warrior someday. He climbs, swings, pulls, scales and shimmies on everything and anything to practice. I love seeing the spark in his eyes when he does it because he’s having a BLAST.
4. I wish he always has the bond with his siblings that he has right now. This is probably one of my greatest wishes. Alex is the best brother in the world and is like papa-bear over everyone, even William. I love seeing how much he loves them.
5. I wish for him to always know that we just want the best for him. Nobody believes in Alex more than me and Matt. We want the world for him and I want him to always know that. We have Alex in swimming right now because it’s easier for all the boys to be in the same sport at this moment in our lives, but it might not be what Alex wants… and I’ll do whatever the little guy wants and make anything happen for him. I wish for him to know that now and forever in anything he does.
6. I wish for Alex to fall in love with reading more and more. This has been the first year where we picks up a book and gets lost for an hour. I love seeing that… I wish for the falling in love with words and books to grow deeper and deeper.
7. I wish for Alex to always know that snuggles and hugs and kisses are always there for him. Always. Morning. Noon and Night.
8. I wish for Alex endless wishes throughout the year. I wish for him to always see 11:11 on the clock and make a wish. I wish for him that he knows there’s always room for wishes and dreams and hopes… always, always, always. They never expire.
9. I wish for Alex… most importantly… to always know what it feels like to be loved. He’s loved by me and Matt leaps and bounds and mountains high and oceans deep. I want him to know the peace and safe and serenity in that kind of love by your parents.
And – one more lucky wish – I just wish for the Steelers to do well for him this year. 🙂
Happy Birthday to our Alex… the light in our life.
Happy 9th sweetheart!
Love, Mom
