My Nephew's 1st Birthday Party!

As I am passionate about nutrition, cooking and eating healthy, and as of late, food photography, I find myself spending more of my efforts in writing posts that contain recipes and nutritional information.  However, I don't want to forget that this blog is also about living and loving colorfully.  Ahem, refer to my tagline ;).  I blog because I am a girl who loves to cook and experiment in the kitchen.  I love to tweak recipes to make them healthier or come up with new ones.  I am a Master's student in nutrition and like to share my experience as well as useful information.  But that's not all.  Although my life is not over-the-top adventurous, glamorous, or exciting, it has its subtle, precious moments that I'd love to share with you.

This weekend was one of those moments.  One that I will cherish and remember for years to come.

If you've been following me, you've already met my precious nephew, Noah!  If not, he has been the highlight in many of my previous posts, and since you may not have time to go through all of them, how about checking out one that's titled Noah Invasion? 😉  Prepare to use your natural "awwww" reflex.

Well, this bundle of joy had his very 1st birthday party on Saturday!!  The party was at Ninfa's Mexican Restaurant where 40 invited + who knows how many unexpected guests (you know what I mean) came to celebrate this momentous occasion.

Noah hasn't been sick once since he was born (unbelievable!), but he decided Friday was the day to surprise his mommy and daddy with a runny nose.  It was madness up until the party trying to get everything together.  I knew it was going to be a long day when I realized that I didn't bring my mini-bundt cake pan for the party favors.  Tim's "that's my MJ" remark did not help any.   I ended up using a regular mini cake pan.  I was so disappointed...

It was a very long, chaotic day, but with our joint effort, we pulled it off.  Well, we could've arrived at the restaurant a bit earlier, but there was a baby involved.  That's always a good excuse, right? 😉  By 5:30pm, it was showtime!

The theme of the party - You are my sunshine 😉

Unfortunately this was not the ideal setting for pictures.  The walls were painted orange and the yellow glow from the halogen lights did not help the cause.  However, I tried my best.

Noah greeted all the guests one by one in his Korean traditional outfit.  He looked even more like a full Korean in it.

However, about 30 min into the party, all that was on Noah's mind was sleep.  He was not happy when we had to wake him up for the cake cutting.   Oh, Noah, I wish you were feeling well...

In our culture, the baby is supposed to pick up an item that's placed before him/her.  The items usually consist of money, pencil, chopstick, thread, and book.  The one chosen is believed to foretell the baby's future.  My sister, however, decided to get quite creative.  She had nearly 10 items some of which included soccer ball, computer mouse, golf club, stethoscope...so basically Noah's future would be bright regardless of what was chosen.  She's a sneaky one.  The crowd gathered around in anticipation to see what Noah would pick up.  We waited and  waited... wanting for him to grab something...anything.  His mom kept trying to put money in the most convenient location, but that didn't work either.  After contemplating for a long, long time (with a little lift from his daddy) he picked up the judge's gavel.

After that, he decided it was time to go back to la la land while the adults feasted and mingled.

With my mom, sister, and lil' bro.  Unfortunately our dad is in Korea and couldn't make it to the party.

Once everyone left, it was family picture time ;).

I can't believe that Noah is already 1 year old, walking, and now has molars growing in!  I am so proud of my sister and my brother-in-law for getting through one of the toughest years of their lives and doing such a marvelous job in raising their lil' angel.  Fighting, you guys!!