Happy 35th, Alex!!

It is my brother Alex's birthday today!! Yep, he was born on tax day. Here are 35 things about Alex.

1. He is the eldest child in our family. As such, he was an excellent leader in all our play, be it Star Wars, snow fort wars, hikes etc.


2. Alex has the thickest head of hair I have ever seen! Jeremy thinks he should become a professional hair farmer.


3. When Alex was a little tike he used to make up his own songs. His daughter Juniper has carried on that tradition.

4. Growing up, all of us younger Bates children were in awe of his genius. Alex isn't right or left brained...he is whole brained. He is good at drawing, pottery, photography and design, yet subjects like languages, math and physics come easy to him as well.

5. Alex is married to a New York Times best selling children’s book illustrator, Amy. She also happens to be very cute, and hilarious.



6. Alex has a calm, patient demeanor. We used to try SO hard to make him annoyed or angry with us. For example, on road trips when he was trying to read his book Emily and I would stick our bare feet over the seat in his face and on his book. We often heard the threat,”I’m going to hit you.” But amazingly, there was not one single instance when he hit any of his younger siblings. He's been nothing but supportive of us.


7. He was undoubtedly the peacemaker in our family. I can think of several times that he mediated brutal fights between myself and other siblings.

8. As a result of the above 2 traits, Alex is an amazing father. I feel certain that his 3 beautiful children will always feel grateful towards him for his gentle teaching, encouragement, and talking them through their problems or hurt.



9. Alex has a real relationship with the outdoors. I can remember him at a very young age taking off by himself, with just our dog for company, to hike up the mountain in front of our house.


10. Later he became an amazing rock climber. I used to drop my jaw watching him scale up a sheer cliff face, sticking to it like a spider, using the smallest of cracks to push and pull his weight up to the top--always gracefully, too.


11. I very recently have been touched by the depth of Alex’s love, care and concern for Jeremy and me. When recently I mentioned that my brother Michael was one of the most sensitive and compassionate men in the world, I now get to add that my brother Alex is the other.

12. Alex is an incredibly fast reader and has been since he started. He loves reading. When he was little he used to get in trouble at school for holding his book under his desk and reading on the sly.

13. He absolutely loves Japanese culture, food, people, literature, film, art, pottery, history etc and has made these things a huge part of his life through the career he has chosen.



14. He loves playing games. This is probably because he wins a great deal of the time.

15. Because our family moved so much, he attended a different school 7 years in a row.


16. Alex took me to my first ever rock concert, 10,000 Maniacs, for my birthday.

17. When Alex left for his mission, I felt the saddest I had ever felt in my 14 years. I missed him terribly.


18. Sadly I don’t have a copy, but my parents have a photo of Alex as a toddler, riding a tricycle naked, wearing his diaper as a hat. Apparently Alex liked to strip down fairly frequently.

19. Alex had quite the cone-head after he was born. My mom felt he was strange-looking but my dad was blind to it and proclaimed him the most beautiful baby in the world.

(Yes, that is a photo of my dad, not mom. He was a product of the 60s--other men would've died for that hair back then!)

20. Alex loves to eat, and he’s always been able to put away very large volumes. One of his favorite dinners growing up was roast beef with Yorkshire pudding.

21. Alex is glad to share advice when asked (but doesn’t unless asked), and it always turns out to be sound advice. I purchased my first new car using his tips and was able to save lots of money!

22. In Alex’s spare time (of which he may have an average of 15 minutes per month), he likes to watch movies with his wife.

23. It makes him very happy to share his love of the outdoors with his children. He has taken them skiing, caving, camping, hiking etc.



24. Alex’s eldest son, Evan, is SO like him—in the way he looks, the way he walks, his interests, his talents etc.


25. Alex does not shy away from housework like a lot of men. He is very helpful and supportive.

26. He is a genuinely kind person, and treats everyone with respect. And I mean everyone, even if they treat him poorly.

27. He greatly influenced my developing tastes in music when I hit my teen years.

28. Alex named our one and only family dog, Bruford.


29. Skiing is one of his great loves, and he is good at it.


30. He’s a night owl!

31. Alex is a tenure-track professor at Dickinson College, where he teaches and studies Japanese literature and culture. He sure didn’t have a hard time finding a job for being in such a specialized field!


32. He is very good at knowing how to do things with the computer and trouble shooting computer problems.

33. Last year Alex went to work one day with two different shoes on. Hey, he’s a busy dad!

34. I like it when Alex laughs. He doesn’t often make his emotions very apparent, but when he does, you know they are sincere.

35. Alex works very hard every day, at his job and at being a good father and husband. I get so excited for him if he and his wife ever get a break. I hope he has a wonderful, relaxing birthday and feels as loved as he is!