This Guy Is 10!

How is it possible that Oskar is ten years old?! 

While it feels like just yesterday he was a baby, then toddler, then younger child, Oskar really is growing up and growing into his own.  

To celebrate his birthday, he wanted to cook his own birthday dinner: no help, no input, no support from the parents or Alva.  He flipped through our cookbooks and selected the dishes he wanted to cook: a unique take on bolognese with homemade pasta for dinner and a fruit tart for dessert.  He made the shopping list and created a plan to have everything ready for Wednesday’s dinner.  

With a full day of school on his actual birthday, I encouraged him to at least make the sauce in advance to limit the chaos on the actual day. We therefore prepped the sauce on Monday (Memorial Day) which included a trip to Chinatown to buy Doubanjiang sauce for the Chinese bolognese and a full afternoon of chopping, mixing, sautéing and simmering.  I was 100% supportive of letting him do everything but was also 100% happy that he asked me to help. 

We opened presents in typical Breuer fashion Wednesday morning and I worked from home that day to ensure I was on standby to support him once again in the kitchen.  Martin and Alva headed to gymnastics after school and Oskar and I had the afternoon to make his birthday feast. We made homemade pie crust for dessert and homemade pasta dough for the pasta, we prepped the cucumber salad and pie filling, we preheated the oven and reheated the sauce.  

Oskar and I enjoyed breaks in the cooking frenzy by playing Dr Mario and Cruisin America on our old school Nintendo all while rocking out to his Spotify playlist. It was pure mother son bonding. 

My parents arrived around six and Alva and Martin came home shortly afterwards. And we somehow timed everything perfectly.  The noodles were run through the pasta maker, the fruit tart was cooling on the counter and we were ready to enjoy Oskar’s feast. 

The overall evening and experience will definitely be a core memory for me.  And while I have loved each phase of Oskar’s childhood, this one might be my favorite so far.