Woohoo! We have made it through the first year of parenthood! First birthday is a very special milestone and the celebration is way more elaborate in Vietnamese culture.Traditionally, the Vietnamese only observe a child's one-month and one year birthdays. Anything after is not really celebrated. For us busy working parents, we wanted to keep things simple but still maintain some traditional elements. We made food offerings to the fairy godmother and had the little bear started out wearing the traditional Vietnamese outfit. It was a gift and we appreciate the thought but the outfit was falling apart every time the little bear moves around. It was funny because I had to hurry to get just a few photos of him in it before it was completely torn.

We hosted a lunch party at Kenji Fusion for the family. I had the little bear wear a red sweater and pull on straight jeans to achieve a distinguished yet playful look. We ordered Georgetown cupcakes for the big kids. We also ordered a small individual bear chocolate cake for our little bear to dig his claws in and play with it. 

For the fortune telling ritual, we had a sandwich, a globe, a laptop, a book, a stethoscope and chocolate gold coins. Our little bear's first pick was the sandwich. He held on to it for just a second then proceeded for the book. Then he grabbed onto a gold coin and put it in his mouth and started chewing on it. We will leave it up to you for interpretation.

We ended the celebration by letting the little bear have his first bite of ice cream cake for dinner. 

Until the next party, thank you, fairy godmother!