Happy 1st Birthday!

We had a wonderful weekend in Indy celebrating Crew's 1st Birthday! His mom and dad did a beautiful job of incorporating Korean and American traditions. Check out Tara's blog at www.kajok-vanderwoude.blogspot.com for more pictures and Tara's perspective on this special day.
A child's first birthday in Korea is a very significant event as in the past the infant mortality rate was so high that to reach the age of 1 year was quite a feat. The display in the above picture was Crew's dol sang - his birthday table, in preparation for his doljabee ceremony. Several items are placed on the table representing different occupations and future skills. Tradition says that whatever the child reaches for first will predict what he'll be or do when he's grown. Crew reached for the calculator (represented the engineering profession) and a ruler (he'll be skilled with his hands).


The food for the party was also a delicious combination of Korean & American. Tara's friends Donghee & Youngyoon did an amazing job of preparing traditional Korean dishes and were very patient with the rest of us as we helped them. It involved several hours of preparation!

Tara had cards by each of the dishes with the name of the dish, it's pronunciation, ingredients, etc. Chopsticks were optional!

At first Crew wasn't too sure about the chocolate cake and that bright thing on top!

But once his daddy gave him his first ever taste of sugary cake he loved it! Back to veggies, fruit and tofu after this but he made the most of every bite!
What a special day for this family! Tara and Mark were very mindful of what Crew Seonju's birth mom must be feeling this day too. Crew will be brought up with a knowledge and appreciation for his birth country. Thank you, Lord, for bringing this special little boy into all of our lives!