Hoppy 8th Birthday!

Our oldest kid is EIGHT! 

I don't know Iver's current weight (he thinks he's 50 pounds or so), but he's too heavy to be carried. He's definitely grown in the last year and is at least 49 inches and is excited to graduate from the carseat booster stage (legally). He wears size 2-3 shoes and is partial to shorts and a six tee-shirt rotation. He has ditched his unicorn attire and pink leggings in favor of all things black/blue/green and "boy"-colored (and has a veritable "uniform" of a zip-up fleece and beanie). He sleeps well, usually from about 8 pm until 6 a.m., but is generally the first one awake in our house on weekends.  He's not the pickiest eater, but is somewhat resistant to new tastes as well as seafood (his favorite foods are sausages and burgers and he puts hot sauce on everything, just like his dad). He eats most fruits and a good variety of vegetables (more than the other kid). 

He attends Spanish-immersion second grade and is thriving in school, reading at a fourth grade level, writing extremely neatly including in cursive, and doing high-level math including double-digit multiplication.  He still loves art and drawing. He still likes being read to, and he likes humorous book series, mysteries, and nonfiction books about animals. He has an impeccable memory and is very detail-oriented. He’s extremely logical and can beat us all at chess, repeatedly! 

He loves older kids, teachers, and "big-kid" things (he thinks he should be able to watch R-rated movies and stay up until midnight every night and has a big fear of missing out!). He very much wants his own room.  He is much more open to new experiences and caregivers (i.e. babysitters) than he has been in the past, learning to be flexible and cope with uncertainty better and better every year, even as he prefers routines and control.

He's taken up sports including cross-country, soccer, and garage volleyball, and is a good athlete, with a very competitive spirit to boot! He loves water and has gotten stronger at swimming this year and still is a great hiker.  He practices piano for fifteen minutes a weekday to humor me, but resists a great deal; nevertheless, he has some musical talent and plays well when he puts energy into it and doesn't get frustrated.  He loves to snuggle with a blanket when the central heating goes on. He likes to rearrange furniture, decorate, and catch amphibians outdoors.  He is very much wanting his own creepy-crawly pet and has now has several accessories and tanks for the potential pet.

He's still quite the energetic and "spirited" and deeply-feeling child who has strong opinions about fairness and justice. We have continued to work on using respectful tone and attitude, working through frustration without meltdowns, respecting others' personal boundaries and space, and being kind, empathetic, and flexible.

After two years of COVID distancing, he wanted to have a birthday party this year, and we held it at the Flips for Kids gym on Saturday, which does a great job of letting kids have free play time and get their energy out, and then eat in a small party room. He invited his best buds from soccer, some friends from school, and included the kids of friends of ours who are around the same age(s).

(this is his usual "Saturday" outfit if it looks familiar!)

I wanted to prepare some food with a froggy "Hoppy birthday" theme, and found online a bunch of ideas for themed snacks, over which I slaved for most of Saturday.  I also made some finger foods for the kids including "cheeseburger meatballs," mac 'n cheese bites, and pigs in a blanket (dogs in a pocket per Kelvin) which were a hit.  I'm not used to "cooking" or preparing food for large groups of people, so I really had no concept of how much was required and was pretty stressed about pulling this off, but all went well. 

Ants on a log and pretzel butterflies

Beetle crackers with olives

Grape "caterpillar" skewers (I found out that "candy eyes" are a thing)

Ladybugs!

Apple and nutella froggies

Iver isn't a cake person and requested his favorite--Ultimate Frozen Yogurt--for dessert (Kelvin and  also opted for fro-yo instead of cake at our hot summer wedding!).  Kelvin got a bunch of his favorite toppings and the kids went to town.  

We tried to de-emphasize the gifting for his party as we do most years because of the proximity to Christmas, but families were generous with some fun crafts, books, pet accessories, and money.  Katherine sent him this microhabitat tank which we let him open early.  

Unfortunately, he has come down with some sort of non-COVID winter cold virus and was not feeling well for his actual birthday so he couldn't celebrate at school, but he enjoyed openings some more gifts from us and family as well as resting!  Thanks to all who sent treats, gifts, blessings, and well wishes--he did feel special!