Eight is Great!!!

Tuesday, September 1st was Andrew’s 8th birthday. It is hard to believe it was only 8 short years ago that he was born in a small birthing center on the lower west side of Manhattan. He is a miracle to me….my Broadway baby….and such a blessing to his family. I despise that the moments of his childhood are speeding by so quickly, but I am truly grateful that I am able to share my life with him. I cherish dearly my sweet boy.

Andrew’s birthday landed on a school day, so Mom, Steve and I sought to make every moment count. Steve and I rose early to make Andrew’s favorite breakfast….chocolate-chip pancakes, with sweet syrup and sausage. With balloons, candles and voices ready, we sang happy birthday and surprised our young prince with a breakfast in bed. We all sat in is room, ate flap-jacks and shared the beginning of his special day.

At school we joined him for lunch…He sweetly escorted Grandma from the playground to the lunchroom and kept repeating, “This is the best birthday ever.”

Just before his class went home for the day, I passed out the strawberry cupcakes Andrew and I had made the previous night. Each of his classmates delighted in the yummy treats and were happy to share in Andrew’s birthday wishes.

After school we took a walk along the pier, watched some fisherman fillet some freshly caught halibut and looked for starfish on the rocky beach. We sauntered home and relaxed and then proceeded to whip up all the fixin’s for Taco Tuesday. We prepared a birthday brownie concoction that Andrew named “whale black.” The rich desert reminded him of a killer whale…dark chocolate brownie topped with white frosting and chocolate syrup.

We had a wonderful dinner, dessert and presents. It made my heart feel good to see Andrew so genuinely happy.
For his “only boys allowed” birthday party we waited until Friday. Friday is an early release day with the addition of “open gym” after school. The boys were able to play basketball and roller hockey. At Andrew’s requested, I packed Light Sabers and Nerf Guns, so when they were done with the inside games, they all went outside on the playground to reenact various scenes from Star Wars. We came back to the house for ice-cream cake and presents. It was definitely a boy’s party – lots of fun and lots of action! Proving, once again, that Eight is Great!