Some Birthday Boys are Classixx

This is a bloggy birthday shout-out to my nephew, Tyler Blake, who is half of the duo known to the electronica/indie/club music world as Classixx. He is also one-third of my sister's intelligent and artistic children, one-half of her good-looking and talented sons, and someone of whom this aunt is very proud. (The cute young woman pictured with him, by the way, is my delightful and dynamic niece!)

My favorite things about Tyler are:

1. his love and loyalty for family and friends; (especially admirable when they are being annoying...not that I ever am, of course)

2. his compassion and understanding; (not infrequently extended in cases where it isn't so richly deserved)

3. his need to express himself creatively; (not just limited to music, by the way)

3a. the pure talent that makes his creative expression so enjoyable for others; (coupled with his relative willingness to sing at family weddings)

4. his unique insight and perception that he is pretty willing to share; (for a guy) (when he's in the mood)

5. his thoughtfulness; (including but not limited to when he was at Berklee College of Music and went up to James Taylor [my favorite artist], told him how much I loved his music, and got me an autograph addressed to "Aunt Sue")

6. his quirkiness; (after going to all the trouble to get the autograph from James Taylor, promptly losing it) =)

7. his sense of humor; (definitely a cut above)

8. his signature absent-mindedness; (taking attention deficit to a whole new level)

9. his enjoyment of Christmas at my house; (even though I push the whole thing way over the top and then some)

10. his killer smile; (see above photo).

Happy birthday, Tyler. I'm happy and proud to be your favorite aunt.

(Now don't get all up in arms, all you other "aunts of Tyler" out there,
because I meant to say, "self-proclaimed" favorite aunt!)

Self-proclaimed and rarely wrong, that is. ;)