Conor's 8th Birthday

On Tuesday, our little guy went to bed as a 7-year-old and on Wednesday, he woke up as an 8-year-old. Actually, if you ask him, he was still 7 when he woke up because it was before 6:13, which is the time he was born. (OK then, Mr. Specific!)

 A couple of weeks before his birthday, Conor decided that he wanted to bring lemon meringue pie cookies to school for his classroom celebration. (I can't imagine too many 2nd grade birthdays have involved lemon curd and a kitchen torched meringue! You do you, kiddo! Love your culinary prowess!) He also chose pasta carbonara for dinner and grasshopper pie for dessert. (Cousin Robert is very proud of Conor for these choices!)

The birthday celebrations started last weekend when we went up to Whidbey to celebrate the Bestefar, Eric, and Conor's birthdays. This is an annual tradition and one we always look forward to. Eric's sister and brother-in-law were supposed to join us there, but the pass got hammered with snow, making it unsafe for them to make the trek from Eastern WA. 

Conor had a great day at school and as soon as he got home, asked if he could open presents. Ummm.... not so much, buddy. AFTER dinner, we had our family celebration, which included his grasshopper pie (Auntie Suzanne's amazing recipe) and presents. It was yet another reminder of how generous and creative our family members are. (Thank you note will be mailed soon, but in the mean time... THANK YOU!)

Conor's 8-year-old Interview

Favorite TV show: Wild Kratts

Favorite thing about school: PE

Thing you do best: Running

Favorite color: Tangerine

Favorite toy: Spot 1 (DUH)

Future career goal: Professional racer (runner)

Favorite toys to take to bed at night: Spot 1, Spot 2, Spot 3, Spot 4, Hug-a-Bear

Favorite book: The Book with No Pictures

Favorite song: The Leader

Favorite cereal: Cap'n Crunch Oops All Berries

Favorite movie: Star Wars the Force Awakens

Favorite season of the year: Spring

Favorite food: Carbonara

Favorite animal: Ocelot

Favorite ice cream flavor: Mint chocolate chip

Favorite sport: Foot racing

Best friend: Theodore Jack Thomas

Favorite holiday: Easter

Dream vacation spot: Hawaii

If you had $1000 to spend: I'd buy a house made of Pokémon cards

If you had a wish: I'd take care of my family well

What do you like to do with your friends: Play pretend

What do you want to do before your next birthday: Play with my new catapult game

Favorite thing done as a 7-year-old: First Communion

We have an 8-year-old little girl

My apologies, dear readers and birthday girl, the month of August has apparently gone into turbo mode and we are nearing its end and I have yet to write up a blog post about our sweet girl turning 8 years old.

The night before her birthday, Annika was CONVINCED that she'd be too excited to sleep. Fortunately, she was incorrect and had no problems resting up for her big day. She rested up so much that Eric and I didn't see her until after we got home from work... it was so odd not to see her the morning of her birthday, but it seemed cruel to wake her up early just so we could say happy birthday. 

The evening of her birthday, we had a little "Olson Four" celebration for her, which included Annika's chosen dinner (chicken pot pie) and dessert (grasshopper pie) ... notice a theme?? Our dining portion of the festivities were followed by the much-anticipated give portion of the evening. Conor gave her an over-sized stuffed unicorn that Annika named "Sparkle Horn" and quickly placed in the center of her stuffed animal affections. Eric and I gave her a Dash robot, which is a robot toy that helps kids learn a few programming basics. She is enamored with robots these days, so the gift was a hit. She can program it to follow paths that she sets up, make noises, change colors, etc. 

Because Annika's birthday fell on a Thursday this week, we held off on having a party that included more than the four of us for a couple of days. The Saturday after her birthday, we invited the local extended family over for a BBQ lunch to celebrate Annika's birthday. 

It was a lovely day filled with lots of laughter, wonderful company (Eric's parents, my mom, Uncle Troy, Auntie Staci, Ian, Kat, and Uncle Dave), and more food than we could possibly eat.  Our little girl was showered with love and gifts ... truly a very good day in her eyes. She received safety equipment from Eric's mom/dad, a cook book and apron from my mom, a Pete the Cat book from my brother and his family, and best of all... big cousin Ian gave her all of his old Pokemon cards (130 in all). Without a doubt, the Pokemon cards was the best of the bunch in her eyes; before bed that night, she spent about an hour and a half organizing her new cards in her binder and taking the time to ohh and ahh over each card. 

Our nephew Ian put a spin on the antipasto plate by
adding little protesters... he never fails to amuse!

The top of Annika's requested bunny cake

Side view - Didn't Eric do an amazing job???
(My contribution: The inside is a white cake with pink, purple, and teal polka dots)

Cook book from Nana

Book from the Nelsons

Cousin Ian and goofy Conor

Annika and her hand-me-down Pokemon cards

Blowing out the candles (did I mention they were trick candles??)

Modeling her new apron and safety equipment

Thank you to everyone for making Annika's celebration so special. We are so grateful for the community that has rallied around us from the minute we told them that we were embarking on the roller coaster ride that is parenthood.

Happy 8th birthday, sweet Annika! We love you to the ends of the universe ... and back.