Four

Ian had a family birthday this year. It was a joint party with a relative. We made flower cupcakes from the Karen Tack cupcake book. They were a pain to make, but they turned out well despite a time crunch and lack of equipment.




I was going to make boxer dog cupcakes for Ian at my cousin's house because she and Ian share a birthday and she breeds boxers. Unfortunately, the logistics just didn't work out. So, we used the Famous Chocolate Wafers that I bought to be part of the dog architecture and Curt made the cream cake dessert as listed on the cookie box.

Eva's First Birthday Party

In Korea, the first birthday is like a wedding reception. We wanted to incorporate some Korean traditions, but not take out a second mortgage in the process so we just decided to do it at our house. We planned to keep it as a small, simple afternoon party. But neither of us really does small or simple very well. As we went back and forth on what we wanted to do, the time slipped away and we had to cram to get it together in less than a week.

The Invitations:


I cut off part of the invite for this post to remove personal details, but you get the idea. The missing part had a newborn picture of Eva. I did them on Pingg which is like Evite, but you can have paper versions mailed out as well (for a fee). I printed one for Eva's baby book. I wish they had more designs for using your own photos, but this one was fine. Pingg is free, but you can pay for access to more designs, to remove ads and to have paper versions printed. I used an online service because it cuts down on waste and it is just easier than trying to collect everyone's mailing address which is not as easy as the house number, street number and zipcode.

The Cake:

I decided to do cupcakes and borrowed Hello Cupcake: Irresistibly Playful Creations Anyone Can Make by Alan Richardson and Karen Tack from my friend. I do not have cake decorating experience or skill, but I do have vision. After looking through the book, my vision included 3-D chocolate butterflies. The first attempt was a disaster. I blame faulty equipment. The book says to use ziplock bags. My ziplock bags broke. To be fair, the book said to use freezer bags, but I only had regular ones. Just incase you are wondering, it does make a difference. Armed with stronger plastic bags, I made a second attempt which turned out much better than the first. I used Wilton's candy melts in cocoa and some Easter candy made of similar ingredients that I thought work work. The candy melts, melt quickly and set up quickly so they are easier to work with than real chocolate. The other candy didn't get quite liquid enough to make the design like in the book. But, the second attempt was much better. I think if I would have had the time and energy to do it three times, they would have been really good. Still, I was happy with the end result:





Sheet cake made with the unfortunate first batch. I got crumbs in the frosting and there was no fixing so I just went with it all over. Yes, I know it is sad.


The Decorations:


Photos from her first birthday shoot, tissue paper puffs from marthastewart.com, hand made party hat using a feather boa and fabric from some old pants that I got in LA years ago that always fall down, the infant carseat cover that I got for $3 at TJ Maxx on her high chair with another pink feather boa, the hanbok that the ladies from Curt's office chose for her, and a plastic table cloth from the PX (I wanted fabric but didn't have anything that worked and didn't have time to shop). The tissue pompoms were pretty easy to make. I didn't have sharp enough scissors to get a clean cut, but they still turned out well and had a lot of visual interest to the space.

Flowers from two different guests that coordinated perfectly:



Banner recycled from a good friend's daughter's first birthday:

You've got to love recycling! Anyone out there with a little girl turning one? I would be happy to pass it on!
The Food:
Curt did several kinds of chicken wings, had a cheese tray, fruit tray, veggie tray, shrimp platter. I made the ranch for the veggie tray and wings, a Mexican layer dip, and punch with an ice mold. The punch was made with cranberry juice, orange juice and pineapple juice. The ice mold had pineapple juice, pineapple chunks and mint leaves. I put champagne on the side to spike it up as desired. We also bought some pizza from the Navy Club. They cut it into appetizer sized pieces which really reduces the amount of waste and is an excellent idea for any party. As usual, Curt was afraid we wouldn't have enough food and as usual we had more than enough. We also had plenty of other beverages. We can have another party with the leftovers!

The Outfits:

Pink tafetta dress that I got on clearance from Hanna Andersson, Robeez that I picked up at the clothing swap the day before, party hat made by me, and "vintage" lace tights (my vintage that is, they were my tights when I was her age).
Hanbok:



The After Party Outfit (I couldn't find her sleeved bib so she got cake on her dress and had to change):


The Traditions and Traditional Gifts:
Curt's coworkers got her a 24K gold ring, which is a traditional gift.
It is very cool.
My friends, Mommy and Appa Cha, got her a gold necklace with her birth year sign, the Ox on it and her name engraved on the back in English and Korean.


Toljabee Ceremony
Items representing different professions or fortunes are set out and the item the child picks first is said to predict their future. We put out:
red thread=long life
bowl of rice=will be rich, will never be hungry
journal=scholarship
hard hat=engineering
Blackberry=management/technology
money=will be rich
paint brushes=artist


She sat for a long time without doing anything so we prompted her to pick something. Then, Mommy Cha said that Koreans aren't using rice anymore because it could mean laziness (After the party I found another source that said stupidity). As soon as she grabbed the rice:


The eating of the cake is the American tradition that everyone loves about the first birthday.



I had a strawberry stick holding up the #1. She delicately took it out of the cupcake and slowly, slooowly, ate it.

Then, she picked up the #1 and slowly, slooowly ate that:

Seriously, it was about 20 minutes. I kept leaving and coming back. She eventually did get into her cupcake and make a bit of a mess but, it was pretty mild.

We got her out, changed her and she went for her gifts, choosing the smallest one first and trying to open it with her mouth:


It was a wonderful day and we were so pleased with how everything went, except that I need to plan better next time and get invitations out a respectable distance ahead of the party!

Party photos by Chalica Pack. I'll post more shots (like the first picture) from Eva's official first birthday shoot with Chalica in another post.

Bowling Birthday Party

We finally had Ian's bowling birthday party today. He turned two a few weeks ago, but due to scheduling, we had to have it late. I was worried about how it would go because I invited five families with a total of seven kids. Everyone said yes until this week when two families with three kids backed out for various reasons. Two of the other families were traveling so I was worried they might not make it. Fortunately, I ran into someone on Wednesday that I had meant to invite but lost her contact info so I thought that at least two kids would be there for sure. I am happy to report that all four families who were supposed to come, came. Unfortunately, my friends from Singapore could not get on the base. Singapore is on a list of countries where you have to get pre-approval in advance to have citizens from there onto the base. I did not realize that. We felt terrible. I should have made sure that it was the same procedure. Luckily, we had the goody bags in the car so we were able to give Emma her goody bag at least. Too bad the cupcakes were already in the bowling alley.

The bowling went well. Ian didn't do very well with taking turns, but they bowled a lot. We took a break for pizza and there was only 15 minutes left of the 2 hours. There weren't any other parties after ours so we could stay at the tables as long as we wanted to but had to pay for more bowling time. We decided to do the cake and see how the kids felt. Jacob threw up. they just got back from traveling so they don't know whether it is motion sickness (that he gets) or illness. He was fine afterwards, though and everyone wanted to bowl more so they played again and had lots of fun.

I was very happy with the party. Two of Ian's friends, Jacob and Trinity, will turn two on Halloween and decided to do a joint birthday party. The cake turned out fairly well for not having my friend Heather to help and for both Curt and I having terrible headaches yesterday and part of today. The pizza was decent as well. I wasn't expecting much from bowling alley pizza. I ordered 3 pizzas originally and then changed the order to 5. We had two pizzas leftover, but at least everyone could eat freely and not worry about running out. The meat pizzas went first, followed by the cheese. The veggie pizzas were left. I put cupcakes in each box with the pizzas and sent the last two families home with them. We have lots of cake and fruit leftover, but the strawberries were a big hit as well.

So the cake:



We got the idea from here.


Bowling video. You can see the chocolate icing obscuring all the bruises he currently has on his face due to his crazy stunts (just in time for Monday's picture session):



Snacking on the lanes:



The wind in his hair:


We didn't open the presents until we got home. Easier and less trauma to the other kids. After opening presents and having another snack, I've been working on this blog post and Ian has just passed out on the floor.

Apart from my failure for my Singapore friends, it was a great day. It is also fortunate that at 2 years old kids really don;t have a great understanding of parties so her little girl was not disappointed and enjoyed playing with the bubbles when she got home.

Two Years of Ian

I became friends with my big belly over the course of Ian's growth. I loved how it looked. I loved being pregnant (after the horrible nausea part ended). We knew the sex very early and had his full name decided before he was born. But we didn't know him. We were not prepared to meet him. You can't be. All the hopes and expectations are blown away by the perfect creation with his own opinions and personality. It is amazing. An ordinary miracle. Ordinary because it happens so often, yet miraculous to everyone, every time. I don't think anything tops the first time, because you are so clueless with the first one, but subsequent babies, like the one currently under construction in my uterus, are still miraculous. Ian is 2 years old today.

In his second year of life, he learned to talk (and swear--see bad parent post here) and sing, to walk the balance beam, to jump off the diving board, to count some and say some letters, to throw a ball and much more! He does something new everyday. Today, he willingly lay on his back in the water (why else, to impress a girl). He helps--even when we don't want him to--by turning the a/c on and off, the dishwasher on and off, closing doors, finding (and losing) cell phones, keys, etc., presses buttons on the elevator, and walks the dog (with supervision). He has an incredible sense of direction (must be recessive genes), a short temper, and a curious mind. He wants to know more. He loves to learn vocabulary rather than listen to stories. He's tried peanut butter and strawberries, two of the last of the delayed foods. He has traveled to Jamaica, Hawaii and he now lives in Korea. Three world regions in two years, not bad!

Korea doesn't have many foreigners so he is fascinating to the locals. They love his blue eyes and take pictures of him where ever he goes. He has even gotten a few modeling gigs for catalog shoots. At the most recent one, he started following directions instead of just taking bribes. They asked him to kiss the little girl next to him and he did. Everyone clapped and asked him to do it again and again. The third time he got overexcited, stood up, took the little girls head in his hand like that famous kiss photo --and she fell down. He needs to work on his moves, as he should since he is only 2!

Today marked our two year anniversary as a breastfeeding pair. I think my milk went away a few weeks ago, but he still likes to nurse. I think he will wean before the baby comes. Some kids keep nursing throughout. If that is the case, it will at least be easier to cut him down to once or twice a day. I'm proud that we got to two years and overcame the early difficulties. Nursing has been an incredibly powerful experience.

Last year, Ian had a wonderful family birthday party followed by a playgroup birthday party. He fell asleep after both birthday lunches and missed his cake. He prefered pesto green beans to cake at that point anyway. Today, his sweet tooth (o.k. chocolate addiction) has developed but he still loves vegetables.

This year, we are going to have a belated bowling/pizza birthday party with a few toddler friends. With Curt's crazy schedule we couldn't get anything planned on time. So September 27 will be his big celebration. We had a great day at the pool today, but will do all the cake and singing on the 27. Today, we spent the day at the pool, Ian's favorite place.

By this time next year, we will be a family of 4 plus dog.