I’ve never lived with my brother (we have different mothers), and I wish I knew him a lot better than I actually do. Growing up, he lived in Florida when I lived in New Jersey and Tennessee, then he lived in Mexico when I lived in Maryland, then he finally moved to Maryland and I went off to college in California. We’ve never lived anywhere close to the other, but we’d manage to spend most summers together.

What I do know of Alex is this:

• He’s honest. He can’t really tell a lie.
• He wears his heart on his sleeve.
• He’s the best gamer I’ve ever met.
• He’s handsome. And, my Dad will try to take the credit for that, but we all know it’s his sisters!
• He’s freaking 22 today! When did that happen?? I remember him like this (that’s him being held by Amanda as a baby):
• He’s probably the smartest kid I know.
• He’s so smart that he gets bored easily.
• He’s so smart that he has so many options available to him.
• He’s thoughtful. He bought me a poster of stamps of Alfred Hitchcock when he was like 10 because he knew how much I would appreciate that incredible filmmaker. I still have them.
• He’s funny. I don’t know the full extent of his humor, but the few times I’ve seen it come out, it made me proud. Every gal likes a man who can make her laugh.
• When we hung out in LA a few years back, he surprised me with how worldly he’d become. I half-expected him to shrivel in social situations (only because I had never seen him outside of our family circle), but he was more ballsy than I, and could carry a conversation with the best of the LA schmoozers. I took him to a pool party in Beverly Hills (snuck him in, I should say, since he was still underage). He acted as calm as a cucumber. Made me proud.
• He’s a Lopez, and he acts like one. Take that how you wish. We Lopez’ know what it means.
• And, finally, I know that I don’t know the half of him. And, I look forward to one day finding that other half (or maybe closer to three quarters) of him out.

Happy Birthday youngest Lopez! Make it a good one!