A Celebration for Karis' 1st Year of Life

We had a party with our friends and family to celebrate Karis' 1st birthday. There were lots of people which made things a bit hectic, but it was great to be surrounded by so many people who support and love our family. We had so much fun and we hope our guests did too!

We started the festivities with a Korean custom. It is a time when the child symbolically foretells her own future. For this ritual, the child is dressed in traditional Korean clothes and seated before a table of various foods and objects.

The objects we had in front of her were noodles, a pencil, rice, a ruler, money, and a Bible. The child is encouraged to pick up an object from the table, as it is believed the one selected first will foretell the child's future. The noodle symbolizes long life, a pencil means wisdom, rice is prosperity, ruler is good with hands, money symbolizes wealth, and we set out a Bible for ministry. Karis picked the rice. She stuck her hand in the little bowl and didn't pull it out for quite awhile. I don't know if it was because she was hungry or because it was fun to play with.

The theme of the party was "puppies" -- one of Karis' favorite things.

A few of our friends brought their pups so that Karis could play with them. She loved it since most of the time she just admires them from afar or through a glass pane.

We had Italian food for lunch and I baked plenty of stuff for dessert.

I even made Karis her own little smash cake.

It took her a little while to figure out what to do with her cake, but she eventually got it.

For our guests, we sent them home with some shortbread cookies. We even had some raw hide bones for our four-legged friends.

We have had a great year with this precious gift of ours. We are so thankful for her good health, her spirit, and the joy she brings to us and others. We look forward to another great year!