Happy 1st Birthday, Madelyn!

I cannot believe it, Mady is one! Where did the year go!

On Sunday, April 13th, the day before Mady's birthday, we were so excited to celebrate her first with a traditional Korean Dol. We were so grateful that so many family and friends, near and far, were able to join us. We held it at Seneca Lodge, a super cute venue conveniently located near our house, that totally went with our woodland theme. We could not have wished for a more beautiful day. After lots of planning and DIYs, it was exciting to see everything come together.

Because of the many long nights, and paper cuts, I have to post some pics of my craftiness- thanks, Pinterest for the ideas!

The main Dol table with all the traditional elements

Our Critter Corner, aka dessert table. Shout out to Uncle Mark and Aunt Josefina for helping us put it together so fantastically!

Yum... Georgetown cupcakes, personalized with "M"s and hearts for our sweet baby girl!

Mady's "smash cake". Big thanks to Whole Foods for making a vegan cupcake for Mady. The baker made the cupcakes that morning, specifically for Mady, baking them first to avoid any chance of cross contamination with nut products.

The entrance table and dol game, what do you think Mady chose?

And now for the main event! The doljabi! Like Aiden, Mady wore the necklace my parents gave my brother at his dol, our way of keeping my parents close to her, and us, on this special day. I know they both would have been so thrilled! To make the necklace even more special, gold rings given to Mady by her Grandparents and Great Aunt were placed on it as well. Needless to say, she was pretty blinged out!

We picked 7 seven items for Mady to choose from:

- Gavel- Law

- Ballet shoes- Dancer/Entertainment

-Stethoscope- Medicine

$2 Bill- Wealth

Book- Scholar

Basketball- Athlete/Basketball player (for Daddy)

String- Long life

Mady was pretty tentative about the process of picking, but like her brother before her, she really looked like she thought it through... glancing at each object before going for it!

She picked the money! Vic and I have decided that this means an early retirement for us. =)

A cute picture of Mady in her traditional Vietnamese dress hanging out with Uncle Brian!

Here are some sweet family pics before we sang Happy Birthday to the birthday girl!

Happy birthday, Mady! Family effort to blow out the candle.

Mady seemed to enjoy her first bites of cake!

To help entertain the kids, we invited back the same face painter and balloon twister that we had at Aiden's dol. She did an amazing job (let me know if anyone needs contact info)!.

Logan becoming Ironman!

Beautiful Mila!

She made Bryce a working bow and arrow!

I think all the kids really enjoyed her creations! She made Mady a huge stick horse, I wish I had taken a picture of it, it was amazing! She was able to make practically anything out of balloons! 

We felt so blessed to be surrounded by so much love that day! It was easy to see how many people love our little Mady and wanted to be there to wish her the happiest of birthdays. Vic and I have realized, more so over the past few years, how important it is to surround yourself with people you love and with those that love you. Our hearts were definitely overflowing that day!

Aunt Jen and sweet Kai! Such a big boy now!

Faye and beautiful Sienna!

My cousin's son Will

Jacqui with Mila and Alice

Daddy and our little Maddy- moo!

Grandma and the birthday girl!

Cammi and her handsome son Gabriel

Joong playing ball with Alice

Uncle Mark, Aunt Jen and Aunt Josie

My cousin Eric and his nephew Will

Sweet Jaden blowing bubbles on the deck

Grandpa and Aiden having fun with bubbles! Our little guy had a rough time with the party, I think he was a little jealous. But Grandpa can always cheer him up! So incredibly grateful for wonderful Grandparents!

Bubble blower Q!

David and his gorgeous new daughter Mia

Mila is too cute!

Isaac and Gabe sporting their super cool face paintings!

Bubble blowing on the deck!

Pretty Mila!!!

Mady hanging out with her friends Lorielle and Nathan! (Thasia and Jason too) =)

The party was so much fun, a truly memorable way to celebrate our little girl's first birthday.

Mady was pretty tired after the days festivities and after a nice long nap we opened presents! This girl is SO SPOILED!

Mady had such a fun time looking in all the gift bags...

And tearing off all the wrapping paper and ribbons!

She also made sure to read all the sweet messages everyone wrote...

And of course was beyond excited about all of her wonderful gifts!!!

I have to post a picture of my little Mady in this beautiful dress... doesn't she look dreamy? We started off the party in this dress and I can't believe I don't have a single picture of her in it at the party! Aunt Ellen got this dress for her while I was in London, such a sweet outfit for my little

sweetie!

I have to take a second and give some shootouts and thank yous:

- To Uncle Mark, Aunt Josefina, Uncle Rez and Aunt Jen: Thank you so much for helping us set up, cleanup and for everything in between! There is no way we would have been able to pull this off without your help! You already know how much we love and appreciate you all!

- To Uncle Brian: Thank you for running to Virginia and Bethesda the morning of the party so we wouldn't have to! It was a tremendous help and a huge time saver! Always nice to know we can count on you!

- To Grandma, Grandpa and Great Aunt: Thank you for cooking so much delicious food!! Home cooked food is always the best, especially when made with love! Thank you for genuinely loving our kids so much and helping us raise them in an extraordinary way!

- To Aunt Julliann and Aunt Elizabeth: Thank you so so much for helping us that morning and taking care of the kids! There's no way we would have been able to set up if we had to chase them all morning! It's always comforting to know we can leave them with their aunties who love them so much (and can do Mady's hair so well!).

- Aunt Ellen: Thank you for the beautiful dress and for the moral support during the planning process!!

- Uncle Joong and Aunt Sunmi: Thank you for staying late and helping us clean up! You guys are amazing friends!

- Jacqui and John: Thank you for watching Logan and Mila so we could have Mark and Josefina that morning! SO grateful!

- Krystal and Luther: Thank you for helping us clean up as well! You shouldn't have stayed so long after!! We appreciate it so much!

- Raheel: Thanks to Vic's buddy for taking these amazing pictures! I have tons more and will need to send them out! He's a pro, contact info available!

Our friends are the best!!!

Vic and I wanted to make sure that, aside from the party, we celebrated Mady's birthday with a fun family outing. For Aiden's first we went to the Baltimore Aquarium, for Mady's we went to DC to the Air and Space Museum!

Aiden enjoying the walk to the museum. It was a gorgeous day!

Mady got a ride with Daddy!

Aiden and I racing! He won of course!

Enjoying some of the exhibits at the museum

Happy Birthday, Mady!

Some fun Mady at 1 year facts:

Weight: 16 lbs, 3 oz (little peanut in the 4th percentile)

Height: 27.25 inches

Number of teeth: 0 (I'm still getting to enjoy her gummy smile)

Favorite Foods: Strawberries, goldfish crackers, graham crackers, cheerios, carrots, potatoes, french fries (this has to be her ABSOLUTE favorite- don't judge me)

Favorite things to do: DANCE! Mady loves music and bounces around whenever she hears a good beat! She loves to play peekaboo, loves sliding down slides (and trying to climb up them), and she loves books! Mady also enjoys putting anything and everything in her mouth!

What she can say: Dada, Baba (for Grandma), hi (and does the cutest wave), yeah, uh (as in uh oh) and has started to try to say mama (or at least that's what I keep telling myself. She's starting to say "nana" and looks at me, so I think that's close?)

What else does she love?: Mady loves being held and loves kisses and hugs. I just taught her how to kiss and one of my favorite things is when she grabs my face with both hands and kisses me- granted it's usually a wet, open mouthed one, but so so sweet! Mady also loves to eat! She's definitely going to be more adventurous than her brother Aiden, already loves to be tossed in the air and spun around. She very curious and almost ready to walk! She can stand independently and has taken 1-2 steps, but I think she realizes that she can get to her desired location faster by crawling, so often chooses to do that instead. 

My dear sweet Mady, I can't believe a year has already passed by. You have added so much happiness  into our lives and filled our hearts with so much love. Your strong and sweet personality makes me smile every day and I can't wait to see what the future holds for you. So many people say that you look like my mom, and I love that when I look into your eyes I can sometimes see her looking back at me. I hope that you will always be as sweet, loving, feisty, and determined as you are today. 

Always remember that you are so so loved.