I never could have imagined eight years ago I would have an 8 year old as amazing as Adam.
Let’s start off with a trip down memory lane.
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Now onto lists, because the only thing I love more than a photo throwback are lists. I love a million things about Adam, but for his 8th birthday I’ll share some of my favorite 8.
1. He is at a sweet age where he is starting to become aware of societal norms and pressures from his friends but still has the capacity to retain his child inhibitions. I know this is something that will end soon and I appreciate every say that it lasts. He still sleeps with his stuffed animals, he still loves to cuddle us, he still lays in bed with us while we read picture books (even though he is reading Captain Underpants most days), he likes clothes for the colors and designs and not for what they are worth.
2. He LOVES to read. He reads every second of every day. We have to pry books out of his hands when it’s time for dinner.
3. He is a loyal friend and loves spending time with his friends. Much like his mom, he hates to end a party and wants to stay with his friends forever. I think college dorm life will suit him.
4. He is super duper neat. This is of course something I really get. He wants his room to be neat and set up just as he wants, he has specific clothes he wants to wear and won’t wear them if they are dirty. He recently got new white sneakers for school and was so upset when they got dirty. Thankfully we were able to clean them.
5. He is so quick witted, that at 8 it is impossible for me to win an argument. As frustrating as this is, I also understand it means his brain is working overtime in there. He is destined to be a litigator, although he has his heart set on paleontology.
6. He loves food and will try anything, and I mean anything. He even tried crickets at a Chinese restaurant! He loves edamame and crispy kale, steak, fish, curry. The only things he actively dislikes are tomatoes, except in sauce form, because ironically after 5 years of only eating plain pasta he finally realized plain pasta is not good.
7. He loves to talk and share and be together with his family. He is comfy at home and wants to be in the room where we are, come with us when we go out and stay close. If we let him he would sleep in our bed every night. I know this will change as he gets older so I am going to enjoy it while I can.
8. Adam is a kind soul. He loves his siblings and is kind to everyone he meets. He treats people kindly and is empathetic, often thinking about how his actions will make others feel.
First thing we did when we woke up was make special pancakes!
We had work and school but were able to open a few presents in the morning. Soccer shirts from the Jordans and soccer goalie gloves from Malcolm and Miral. Both were a big hit!
That night we went to dinner. In the Ali home the birthday boy or girl gets to pick the restaurant for dinner. Adam chose something fancy with steak and grownups. So we found the nicest steak restaurant in Kyiv, dressed up and headed over.
Adam even tried some caviar (he really does try everything) and he liked it! When in Ukraine…
That weekend we had a party at one of the malls in Kyiv that has aa awesome amusement park. We had only been here a few weeks but a lot of Adam’s classmates and Embassy friends came. Can you guess from his presents what his theme was…..SOCCER of course! He’s been playing it every day at school and it was the perfect party for him. Luckily Miral was around to help with the setup…or maybe just trying to abscond with all the party favors.
She also managed to eat the A and D off of the ADAM on his cake…but we just fed her the other letters and he never knew it was missing (shhh)
Apparently it is tradition in Ukraine to stuff your face into your cake on your birthday. So when in Ukraine!
Needless to say some of us were a bit shocked!
After the party we headed home to open presents. One more thing to note about my amazing 8 year old, every single presents he opens gets the biggest smile. It is pretty wonderful to see. He really appreciates all of his presents. A trait I hope he keeps for the long haul.
One last interesting cultural difference. Almost all the presents were in a bag with no card. So I had no way of knowing who gave what presents, which meant no thank you cards. I felt a bit weird not having Adam help me write thank yous, but when in Ukraine.
And after a long birthday post, for those of you still with me, I will share one last picture for your viewing pleasure. Here is what Miral wanted to wear to the party until I convinced her to wear a dress.
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