Elise's 1st Birthday

Elise's 1st birthday was last Tuesday, December 28. We decided to do a traditional Chinese birthday party, so we invited all our friends to join us for lunch at a restaurant where we reserved a big room. Jessica helped me order lots of food, so the giant lazy susan was completely full. There were 18 people around the table.

We dressed Elise up in a new dress she got from her Grandma Carpenter for Christmas. Sophia wore the same dress so they were matching. Elise wore a bow on the top of her head with a little bit of hair sticking up. All the Chinese people thought it was SO adorable. They got a big kick out of it! Also, Jessica really loved the idea of the bows and matching dresses. You know, they don't do that here in China because everyone only has one child. I told her that in the summer I would buy matching outfits for Sophia, Elise, and her daughter RuiRui and even with matching bows. She's excited!

The Chinese have a fun custom of laying out several items in front of the one-year-old baby. The baby then touches an item, and whatever the baby touches signifies something about the baby's future. We thought it would be fun to do this with Elise. I chose four items: Book = learner, reader. Ball = active, athletic. Phone = friendly, social. Paint brush & paint = creative. At the last moment, Jessica threw down a 100 Yuan bill to signify that she would be rich, and another friend threw down a piece of candy to represent a sweet life. So can you guess what item Elise picked up? The candy! I'm sure she will have a sweet life!

Adam first prayed and then we did the Chinese custom of toasting as the way of starting the meal. After eating we brought out the cake. It was pink with flowers. I also bought a small purple cake with fruit on top just so Elise could dig her hands in it. That of course is an American tradition. At first she was hesitant to touch it, but after Adam gave her a taste of the frosting, She went at the cake with both hands! Thankfully, the frosting on Chinese cakes is like Cool Whip, so it's not too sweet.

Elise received the tradition Chinese gift of a "red bag" which is a red envelope with money inside. She also received a pants and jacket set and a set of long underware (much needed!). Before everyone left we got a group photo. Our camera has broken now for a while, but hopefully we're getting a new one next week! Thankfully, Jesse was our photographer so I have photos to post! But unfortunately, I was having trouble posting the photos and I was only able to get two posted. If I can, I'll try to post more later.

We are so thankful for Elise. She is so much fun, always making us laugh. She's such a good baby, or "hen guai" as all our Chinese friends say. Everyone is impressed with her good temperment, friendly smiles, and the fact that she rarely cries.