I have an 8 (18?) year old.

Anderson turned 8 and we celebrated with a party at the park near our house. They recently finished a huge turf field and he has been excited about having his party there since they started construction. I booked it about 6 weeks in advance just hoping the weather would cooperate. I know it is January, but the average high on that date is around 47 degrees, so I figured it would be fine. 

It was in the lower 20's and felt like 16 with the windchill, so it was FREEZING! 

I am so grateful to all of the mamas who brought their kids out in the arctic air to celebrate my boy. 

There was actually football playing, of course. 

I brought hot chocolate. This carafe thing is amazing!

I got very few pics because it was so cold that I could not feel my fingers to use my phone, but I did snag one of Max. 

Kids eating pizza. 

Nicole's kids were smart and sat in the heated car. 

Anderson requested this cake: 2 beakers pouring liquid that spelled Anderson. He was also SO excited about this cookie cake. We have always done cupcakes from Sam's and he has been asking for this for a year and was thrilled with the result. 

The day before his birthday, Lily threw a surprise party for him and she did such a great job! She made a cookie cake and S'mores cupcakes for him FROM SCRATCH. She had a banner and a game and was so on top of things. 

They LOVE the scavenger hunt for presents. I always buy random little things and they don't even really care about what they get because the real thrill is in the hunt. 

Well, the junk box is always a hit, of course. 

We went to eat lunch at Blaze and Levi treated Anderson to a birthday gift of peek-a-boo. 

We had to do lunch because he had a football game  and basketball practice. I brought brownies and drinks to practice and the kids all sang to him; it was super cute. 

He got an Army helmet from Noni & was so excited. 

Uncle Curtis went really far with his wrapping design! 

 I love this kid. 

Anderson at 8:

-curious, confident, logical, physical, intense, loud, consistent, sarcastic, only wears Nike clothes, picky eater (but getting better,) does not need sleep, competitive, smart, snuggly, sweet (at times) and OBSESSED WITH FOOTBALL. 

I swear he has not changed since he was born. This kid is just a taller version of every past year. I love him so much and beyond lucky to be his mom.

I did a horrible job with the picture taking this year, but I did snag this one of the 2 of us eating leftover cookie cake for dinner at 8:30pm on his birthday. Real life wins every time.