Meo's 10th Birthday (Star Wars Beach Party)

Meo is TEN!! Hard to believe we have already been parents for 10 years. Some fun facts about Meo at this age:

• He wants to be an astronaut when he grows up and his favorite subject to learn about is science.
• He loves to draw, and prefers to make comic books over writing stories. He is an excellent and imaginitve story teller.
• We are really into Star Wars right now. We have been rewatching all the movies in chronological orders and watching the shows which we had never seen before and are enjoying how much more depth they bring to the Star Wars universe. He loves to role play as star wars characters with Link, play with Star Wars toys, has designed his own Star Wars board game, read Star Wars books, and design Star Wars weapons, costumes, and LEGO scenes.
• He has been enjoying playing Zelda Breath of the Wild with Link, and loves to play Among Us, Mario Kart, and Animal Crossing with his friends while they video chat online weekly.
• He is enjoying learning how to scooter at the skate park, and we got him a skate board so he can start experimenting with that too.
• He is still enjoying playing violin and working towards graduating from book 3 Suzuki sometime soonish. He was accepted into the youth orchestra at USM and is looking forward to making music with other kids this fall in addition to his private lessons.
• He and I have both earned our brown belts in martial arts. This past year we have been training together at home and have taken classes over zoom. We are looking forward to completing our training at this dojo and testing for our black belt next summer together.
• He is a very empathetic kid with a big heart and lots emotions that he is especially learning to navigate now that he is transitioning into a tween. 
• He has a great sense of humor and loves to goof around with Link and his buddies.
• He loves animals and exploring out in nature, whether it be playing, hiking, biking, swimming, or just going for our daily dog walk in the woods.
• His favorite foods are fruit salad, crepes, hard boiled eggs, pie, and donuts.

Now for some photos of birthday party prep. Meo hurt his leg at soccer camp, so on the last day he stayed home with me and helped me to make Star Wars cookies, and 6 batches of Star Wars donuts. He and Link helped me paint some rocks so that we would have something to hold the tablecloth down at his beach party.

A lot of his birthday presents this year were Star Wars themed. Some shoes in the next size up for him to grow into that I couldn't resist getting when I saw them half off. A LEGO kit featuring his favorite Star Wars character, Ashoka. A big loth cat plushy to snuggle; he named it Fang. A storm trooper costume. A little back pack of his own so that he can carry his own snacks, water, novel, and sketch book (and stop bugging me for snacks every 5 minutes when we go out). A skate board with a cheetah on it (his favorite animal). And some chalk art books by an artist we love, David Zinn, that I also had signed for him. He was so happy with all his gifts.

Having one of his favorite meals for breakfast on his birthday.

Meo's idea for his 10th birthday was to have a Star Wars beach party. Since things are still iffy with the COVID-19 pandemic, I loved the idea of doing something outside so that we could celebrate this huge milestone (double digits), in a safe way. We tried to keep the guest list small, but somehow it added up rather quickly. But I think it worked out! Meo was so happy to be surrounded by his family and lots of his best friends, swimming and eating donuts to his hearts content.

At one point I called everyone over so that we could all sing happy birthday to Meo. No cake and candles this year, but it meant so much to him to have everyone sing for him.

All of his gifts were so thoughtful and perfect for him. He has already been enjoying them immensely! Thank you everyone!

Just wanted to say one more huge THANK YOU to all the people who came to celebrate with him, and to all the wonterful people who sent him birthday wishes on his special day. He really had an amazing day, and we all couldn't be more grateful for your love and kindness.