Gummersalls: Birthday: One

It is crazy to me to think that this day one year ago I was entering the hospital in labor and by lunch had a baby in my arms. The past year has been a whirl wind. I have learned a lot about patience, prioritization, and learning to be okay if I don't get things checked off my list due to a needy child. I remember the first few weeks of bringing Bennett home and being totally at a loss as to how I was ever going to function again as an individual and not just a baby feeder. By two months of age I finally felt like I was getting a hang of things. Bennett was sleeping through the night. Lance and I took turns feeding her (dreamy) and if we had another kid sooner than later I would be okay with it. Then teething happened and Bennett's desire to only fall asleep in our arms and my world was turned upside down again (funny time to find out I was pregnant again). How excited I was for Bennett to start moving and interacting with us, then around 6 months it happened and the busy child I thought I had became even busier. Baby proofing became our first priority. Around 10 months crying it out became our go-to and we got him back on track. At 11 months he kicked is bottle to the curb... no more formula hallelujah!!

For Bennett's birthday we celebrated BIG... twice! We had a gathering of friends and family come over to our home on Saturday for a potato bar ninja turtle party. We spent about 10 minutes and went through numerous ideas to try and get his candle lit. Just as Lance got it lit with the BBQ I rushed to get Bennett's birthday hat on and stick him in the high chair. My quickness however got the string of the hat to snap in his face which resulted in him crying and having the saddest smash cake ever! Mom Fail.

Kelsey made the most awesome cakes for Bennett's two birthday celebrations.

In Korean culture the first birthday is a BIG DEAL. History behind it I believe is that before modern medicine it was a celebration for a child to live until their first birthday because it meant that child would live and grow old. Part of the first birthday celebration is to wear Korean outfit that a Korean prince would wear. Another part of the birthday is to choose an object that represents your life's fortune.

A string represents a long life (that's what I chose), a ball means he will be athletic, a pen represents intelligence or will be gifted in school, money represents wealth, and cake represents that food will always be available, he will never go hungry.