It's a Party!

Sorry for the long wait in the birthday party photos. Things have been quite busy around here

The twins' birthday party was a blast! I feel like it all happened so fast but we managed to get some great pictures and video to help relive the whole event. As I touched on in an earlier post, the 1st birthday in Korean culture is a pretty big deal. Thank goodness for Young's mom and sister!! They made sure the kid's table was set up correctly, the food was fantastic and the decorations were festive! I'll try to walk you through the party with the photos and hope you can get a glimpse of the madness we all celebrated!
We started the morning by giving the kids their birthday presents from Mommy and Daddy! They love their little cars...and just want to sit on them even when they aren't being pushed. Young got the giant monkeys...need I say more??
Aunt Katie and cousin Sena made a huge birthday sign for them and hung all the decorations. Young's mom made some extra special side dishes to go with all the Korean food and did an amazing job getting everything ready.

After playing a bit and eating, it was time for a wardrobe change the start the Korean ceremonies.


Grandma and I headed back to dress the kids while Aunt Katie and Young set up their table.

The table is set up with a variety of colorful rice cakes and fruit of the season. Traditionally the table is a sign of the family's wealth and status in the community. Now days you can improvise on the rice cake towers by using colorful cookies. (If you have time, google Korean 1st birthday images and see how elaborate these table can get!)
Pictures with Mommy and Daddy and Grandma and Grandpa

Now comes the picking part. Four objects are laid before the baby, each one has it's own meaning. The object the baby picks determines his/her future. The objects are: a bowl of rice meaning they always will have food to eat, never going hungry. A book/pencil meaning they will be scholars/smart. The string means a long life and money means they will have wealth.
After laboring a bit, Timothy went for the rice...and Cameron immediately grabbed the money! So I guess Timothy will always be eating and Cameron will always be shopping...I'm so proud..sniff, sniff!

Anyway, after changing again, it was time for cake and the kids were getting a little restless waiting on mommy to light the candle...

Of course, putting a cake with a lite candle in front of a baby isn't the smartest thing I've ever done. Daddy was taking pictures and I didn't have time to blow out the candles on both cakes before Cameron tried to touch the flame...ouch! Sorry baby...
I think the kids were a bit overwhelmed by all the attention, neither really took to their cakes. Timothy enjoyed a little of the frosting but then his hat fell off and the elastic pinched his neck...ouch!

All in all we had a great day! We are so blessed to have so many friends come share the day and so blessed to have Young's family here to celebrate as well. Timothy and Cameron had such a special day with all their friends! Thank you to everyone!!