I can't believe this little Charlie is now 8 years old! I mean, look at this face:
And now, 7 years later from his 1st birthday cake... look at THIS face!
What a cheeky boy Charlie has become! And he knows what he wants. Charlie has been asking for one of these light-up peg boards for the longest time. Thank you Grandma and Pop-pop for this pressie!
As for cake this year, Charlie wanted me to surprise him. So I decided to make a Chocolate Swiss roll. I have never made it before, so here goes:
I had to beat 6 eggs for about 15 minutes until it became nice and fluffy. I've never seen how eggs transform like that before!
Once all the other ingredients were folded in, the batter was spread into this thin pan and baked for only about 8-10 minutes. Then, sprinkle of cocoa and sugar combo. I didn't have a sifter so I used a noodle strainer. It actually worked really well!
And then, the instructions said to flip it over. Wait... flip it over???! I hope I don't mess this up. Phew!
And then, we roll it and let it cool. So far so good!
So while we are waiting for the cake to cool before icing it, we let Charlie open up another present. How many presents is this kid getting??!
Graham didn't want him to peek as I didn't get a chance to wrap his new watch:
Charlie is so happy about this new watch! Graham and Bobby both got fancy watches for their birthday so of course, we couldn't leave Charlie out. We bought a more kid-friendly one. You can play games on it, track the number of steps, take photos... how lucky are kids these days! What happened to watches that just tell time?!? Ha ha! I guess that is no longer enough:
Okay, cake is cool enough now. I decided to make a cream cheese and marshmallow fluff icing. The recipe called for 4 cups of confectionery sugar. 4 CUPS??! Are you kidding me??? I put it 2 cups and that was already plenty sweet! And then, I put some freshly cut strawberries. It almost looks like chopped bacon here in the photo. Maybe I need to try that next time. LOL!!!
Charlie's first reaction??!
Ha ha, he is constantly making all these funny faces now. I made him smile nicely for the camera this time. There... that's better!
After blowing out his 8 candles, Charlie proceeds to cut the biggest slice of cake just for himself. Little stinker! Ha ha!
Well, the day is not over yet. Daddy goes out and gets Charlie's favorite food from our favorite Chinese restaurant:
After dinner, it's time for more pressies! But first, Graham bought a card for Charlie. What a cute card!
I wonder what they are both looking at. Aren't they suppose to be looking at the camera? I thought it was funny how the neck of the giraffe lined up perfectly to Donald Duck's head on Graham's shirt!
Charlie had been pestering me for his "Very Own Name" book for the longest time. Graham's has one and it was a gift from my bridesmaid when he was born. Well, I finally had to get Charlie one. Definitely made him a happy boy :-)
Hmm.. I think maybe Charlie is just over-reacting for all photo opportunities??!
Bobby and I always like to buy the boys books for their birthdays. This one is such a cute "scribble" book. And funny enough, the author is also an Arizona State alumni. At the end of the book, there are stickers of eyes and mouths so you can draw up your own little "Emotional scribble":
Okay, one last present... a squishy ball lab! I was tempted to get the slime lab but I didn't want to have to deal with the clean up. This one seemed less messy??!
Well, nothing better to end the night than some red bean buns. YUM!!!
Ahhh... our little Charlie. Maybe not so little anymore! I wonder what he will grow up to be. He is such a character although I still struggle with him when it comes to getting through something he feels is difficult especially his school work and his music/piano. Hopefully this will be the age where he actually talks to me properly vs using that whiny voice??! AND... this kid still needs his naps!!! Yes, when that whiny voice shows up, I send him to his room and 50% of the time, he ends up falling asleep. LOL!!!
Happy Happy Birthday, Charlie! We love you!!!! XOX
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