In celebration of Ethan's 1st birthday, his paternal grandparents flew all the way over from Singapore to Houston to visit him. Really sweet of them! The celebration took place in a few parts.
Part 1: We had a steamboat buffet lunch at Kim Son Restaurant (a Vietnamese-Chinese restaurant that we often patronise) with Ethan's adult friends on 10 Oct. Good food, and lots of chatting about food in a round table setting... And I must add: Ethan looked really smart in his collared long-sleeved checkered shirt (his 1st time in one) and jeans that day.
Part 2: We had a kids' party held at Gymboree Central Houston (where Ethan takes gym classes) with his playgroup mates and their siblings on 13 Oct. We could tell that Ethan really enjoyed himself there. Despite arriving in a rather tired state (he had a poor morning nap) for the afternoon party, he rose up to the occasion and was thoroughly engaged by the gym setups, songs and activities guided by the Gymboree instructor. There was one cute thing that Ethan did that made everyone in the party burst out in laughter simultaneously. We were all seated in a circle, and the Gymboree instructor was asking in an animated, sing-song fashion, "How old is Ethan turning today? 50? 17? ..." And when she came to "Is Ethan turning 1 today?", my little boy had crawled into the center of the circle and raised his right index finger straight up into the air without anybody's prompting/help! We were so amused, thrilled and proud to see him respond this way!
So the babies and kids played for about an hour in the gym area - part on their own, part guided by the Gymboree instructor (the key group activities were maracas shake, leg bounce along with Noble Duke of York song, baby soccer, bounce down a giant air log that was set at an incline aka the birthday candle that day, bubbles and parachute time). Throughout the party, the Gymboree instructor would sporadically ask "Whose party is it?" and everyone yelled back, with fist punching into the air, "It's Ethan's party!" (Honestly, I was a little uncomfortable with this... it's like too much of an emphasis on the occasion?? Afterall, we all knew why we were there. But oh well... I didn't make a fuss over it.) At the end of the playtime, we were led into a party room which was set up in a Sesame Street theme. Elmo was highlighted a little more though, because that is Ethan's favourite character. (Evidence: He is thoroughly absorbed when we set him before the computer to watch Elmo's song being played over Hulu.com) We had Sesame Street plates and cups, Elmo balloons, party favours with Sesame Street book and Elmo figurine etc, and Ethan's birthday cake shows Elmo carrying a "1". As the lights were dimmed, the birthday song being sung and cake with lit candle set before him, Ethan looked around with a face of puzzlement, as if saying "What's going on?" And when all turned silent for Ethan to blow out the candle, he stared at the candle and... did nothing. A 1st-timer at a birthday celebration, so that's expected. Well, Lionel and I helped to blow out his 1st candle and we all started on the simple, but yummy party food (chicken nuggets, mini "pinwheels", red eggs (prepared by Ethan's grandma), juices, baby biscuits) By this time, Ethan was truly tired and was acting cranky (he took a taste of his birthday cake and rejected further attempts of being fed with it in screams and tears..) He must have been really thankful when the party ended and was comfortably nestled in his infant car seat. Anyway, I'm truly glad that we made this party happen for him, and added joy to so many mums and babies that day.
Part 3: On Oct 14, Ethan did the traditional Chinese practice for 1-year olds: picking items that is said to indicate his forte when he grows up. We placed 5 items on a tray for Ethan, and he took them in this order: abacus, book, red egg, red packet, calligraphy brush. Will Ethan be a businessman when he grows up? We'll see.
At night, we went out for a family dinner at a Turkish restaurant.
Part 4: The finale was opening presents, held on Oct 15!! As expected, he was more interested in the wrapping than the gifts themselves then. Most of the gifts turned out to be toys, which is great! I'm sure Ethan's going to have a lot of fun exploring each of them.
So there, a rather lengthy entry about Ethan's birthday celebration. Looking forward to more fun days ahead with him! And here's a shot with all 3 of us:
