Theo turns 1!

On February 5 our precious little boy turned one! And he had a first birthday party like none other!

It's been such a joy to watch him grow and develop over the last year. He's becoming such a little man... he's got a wonderful giggle, he has a signature toothy smile, he is such an active guy - moving around in his excersiser or just shaking his legs up and down - and he brings such joy to all of us. I am looking forward to so much this year... as he gets to know me as his auntie, being able to spoil him, watching him move from his commando crawl to walking in the next few months, the start of words. It's just going to be so much fun. I really think that coming from 2 nerdy parents (that I adore) he is going to turn out like his auntie as a social butterfly that is constantly watching what else is going on around!

The birthday party... one of the wonderful aspects of having a Korean sister in law is learning these wonderful traditions from the Korean culture. The first birthday is a big celebration in their culture - for a long time babies weren't making it so they had a party when they turned 1. It's called the Tol. Here shows a picture of Theo in his traditional silks (his Han bok) that represent health, wealth, love and happiness in the different colors along the arms. He was so good in wearing layers of silk! Eunice & Strat wore their silk outfits from their wedding. The ceremony is that you put items out that represent wishes for the child. For example: a very long string all tied up to represent a long life, fresh food for good health, money for good wealth and then they added engineering tools, a stethascope, a football and a few other things. When the parents say, the child then reaches out and whatever he/she picks up represents their life. Theo did so well with all these people around him and just about then started the meltdown! He did end up grabbing the long string.

Stratton's birthday is February 7 so we get to celebrate them together. The first picture is of Theo enjoying his first cupcake along with his Daddy! He LOVED that frosting... the pictures of him are just looking at the cupcake until he was able to eat it.

Happy Birthday little man... I love you very much.