Zach turns one!!

To celebrate the momentous occasion of Zach's first birthday, we decided to throw a party. We realized that there was no way Zach would remember this. In fact, there was a good chance he would sleep or cry through most of it. But really, this party was more for us than it was for him. It was a good excuse to have friends over and BBQ. There was some extensive party preparation (thanks, Sarah!).

Turning one year old is a huge deal in Korean culture, because historically speaking, if you made it to one, you've made it out of the dreaded infant mortality age, and can probably be counted on to be around for a while. Thusly, there are several traditions that accompany the one-year birthday. First, there is a birthday outfit. My mom being the packrat that she is, has kept the one-year birthday outfit that *I* celebrated in 30 years ago for just this occasion. She omitted the fur lined vest that I wore in January, and the shoes were also not a very good fit and wouldn't stay on, but the rest was fair game. There is also a tradition whereby Zach chooses his future. Several items representing several life outcomes and honorable professions are laid out in front of him for his perusal. Whichever item he chooses represents his future life path. In this case, there was a bowl of rice (representing wealth), a long thread (representing long life), a hundred dollar bill (representing monetary wealth?), a pen (scholarship), a stethoscope (medicine), and a computer mouse (representing technology). I'm forcing you to look at the album to see what he chose :-)

Meals also made two cakes, and my mom bought a third cake made out of dduk (rice cake). Meals *really* wanted to see Zach eat birthday cake, so we let him go at it. This was his first experience with cake or really any refined sugar. You really have to see the whole sequence to get the full experience, but suffice it to say, it was highly entertaining, and Zach performed quite admirably.

We had an awesome time, and we hope everyone else did, too! Thanks so much to everyone for the happy birthday wishes, for coming out to celebrate, and for being a part of Zach's life. Thanks especially to Hal-moni (Grandma Min) for helping us carry out the Korean traditions and supplying the dduk!

Andrew.

Link to the album: