maxwell turns one

Last Friday Maxwell turned one. To celebrate we threw him a small party with family. We kept things pretty simple. Platters of sushi and sashimi, some Korean and Filipino appetizers, and a homemade banana layer cake.

Mundoo, in honour of Maxwell's newborn nickname (Korean dumplings):

My mom made the Filipino lumpia (springrolls) and empanadas:

I baked the banana layer cake the night before. In the background are two go im towers (used to decorate the food table) that I made out of candy and beans. The one has Maxwell's Korean middle name written in Korean.

A platter of Korean rice cakes called tteok:

The highlight of a traditional Korean dol (first birthday celebration) is the future-predicting ceremony. Basically, a bunch of objects are placed in front of Maxwell and whatever one he reaches for first determines his future. A roll of string represents a long life, a pencil means he'll be a scholar, money equals wealth, a brush means he'll be an artist, and a bowl of food means he'll never go hungry. These days you can also add more objects, but we kept it simple. So what did he choose?

The food! 

I can't believe Maxwell is one already! He's crazy about food (surprise), walking up a storm, and turning into a pretty swell dude. I feel like I'm still learning the ropes at this parenting thing, but it's fun to watch him change and grow each month. 

just in case

These days I have to be even more organized when I go out. That means thinking about naps, feeds and diaper changes each time I plan on leaving the house. Pair that with hauling a bag filled with diapers, wipes, extra clothes, a portable change mat and anything else we may need when not at home. It was a pretty difficult adjustment at first, but now I feel like I have it down pat (most days). Something I put together recently was a little emergency kit that I carry in my bag at all times (note: not a diaper bag. I just can't do it). 

I bought a small toiletry bag from MEC and filled it with some things that I may need when I'm out and about. Included: Purell (I'm not totally sold that this stuff actually works, but it makes me feel better in a pinch—like on the subway), kleenex (snot, puke, you get it), Mustela cleansing cloths for babies (I use them instead of wet wipes), a bottle of water for emergency hand-washing in parks or when eating outdoors (I hate not being able to wash my hands before eating or feeding Maxwell), and snacks!!!

I grabbed all of these from MEC too. I'm not one for energy bars, but sometimes I have no time (or forget) to eat and I feel better knowing I have something I can scarf down fast if need be. Also, I was pretty intrigued by the selection of "energy chews". I'll let you know if they work!

foodstuffs

Some random food-related pics from this past week:

1. Trying out a new flavour of Pretz from Sanko. Supposedly black pepper chicken. Tasted like peppery chicken bouillon. Oh well. The melon cream(y) soda was pretty refreshing.

2. A new-ish addiction: milk chocolate covered toasted corn from Soma. Salty and sweet, I polished off this bag in no time.

3. The first scoops of the summer at The Big Chill. So many flavours! 

I settled on watermelon sherbert and pistachio kulfi. Can't believe I've never been here before.

4. Maxwell getting his first taste (ok, more like whiff) of an original steamer hot dog from The Little Dog (conveniently located beside The Big Chill).

It was a good week! 

100 days old

Over the weekend, Maxwell turned 100 days old. And because he's half Korean, we decided to throw him a baek-il party. You can read about this Korean tradition here, but basically it's a celebration of a baby surviving its first 100 days (back in the day a lot of babies didn't make it to 100 days, so it was a reason to celebrate). We weren't planning on marking this milestone, but then I thought about how great of a memory it would be for Maxwell, so we rushed around and got everything the day before. It was a sweet little party for three! 

The table included Korean Shingo pears and a baby watermelon (there's always fruit on a Korean celebration table), Asian snacks, sticky rice cakes, and the requisite baby photos.

The sweet Korean rice cakes (tteok)are a must. I like the really soft and chewy ones stuffed with red beans (the tan, white and brown ones). The shiny green, red and pink ones have a liquid honey centre. The cake-like multi-colour slices are much drier, not very sweet at all and even though they look mighty pretty, they're definitely my least favourite.

We also had a very non-traditional (but delicious) ice cream cake with two kinds of ice cream inside: cookies and cream and gold medal ribbon. 

The party continued the next day thanks to Maxwell's halmoni and halabujee (grandma and grandpa in Korean). They brought even more rice cakes, fruit, kimbap, and two cakes.

Halmoni made a traditional steamed rice cake that says "100 day celebration" in Korean lettering made out of dates.

We love you not-so-little Mundoo! You make us smile and laugh every day!

another year

Sometimes when Mundoo is crying, I say, “I understand. You’ve only been on this earth for two and a half months, everything must be terrifying! Can you believe I’ve been here for 33 years?” Well, let’s make that 34 now. Over the weekend, I celebrated a low-key birthday. I treated myself to a new iPhone (!!!) and spent the day with my two favourite boys. We capped off the evening with some cake and dirty Chinese food (you know, the deep-fried everything and red sauce-type of Chinese food). Sometimes it sooo hits the spot. 

to the market

Getting out of the house when it's winter and you have a new baby is tough. Like, really tough. But now that I'm more comfortable with my little Mundoo, I've been bundling him up, strapping him into the baby carrier, and trying to take him out on little adventures at least a couple of times a week. It's been great for both of us. Earlier this week we ventured out to Kensington Market. First stop, the new-to-the-market, Nu Bügel, for wood-fired, Montreal-style bagels. 

Then a quick perusal at Good Egg. Man, do I want this set of Falcon enamelware.

The market is always a fun place to walk around. It's a bit too busy for me on the weekends, so I appreciate being able to go on a weekday.

And finally, a visit to Hogtown Charcuterie. Cured meats, pâtes and terrines, and get this, a "fermentation station" lined with pickles! I grabbed a pair of their sausage rolls (really tasty) and can't wait to sample more of their goods.

Stay tuned for more of our little outings as the weather warms up!

checking in

It's been all about baby around these parts which means I've done next to no cooking or baking and definitely haven't been going out for any good meals lately. But who cares when you have a healthy, happy (for the most part), growing babe!

Luckily, for Valentine's Day/Joe's 35th birthday, my mom volunteered to babysit so that Joe and I could sneak away for a quick lunch down the street at Milagro. The appetizers were the most memorable part of the meal: a delicious ceviche of octopus, shrimp and crab, and a chunky guacamole served with crispy tortilla chips. 

We ended the day with a simple vanilla birthday cake from Dufflet and my two Valentines. 

oh baby!

On December 20 at 11:57 p.m. Joe and I welcomed our little Maxwell Dae-Won Park into the world. He made his due date by mere minutes with a fast and furious delivery! We couldn't be happier and can't believe how much we love this little dude already. Here's me and my 40-week belly the day before Maxwell was born (I already gave up on wearing makeup and straightening my hair at this point). 

And Maxwell just after entering the world:

He looked mega Korean when he was born and all the nurses kept saying how much he looked like Joe. He's changed so much already though. Here's our little Mundoo (this is our Korean nickname for Maxwell) at almost 3 weeks old:

what's really been cooking

Blogging has taken a bit of backseat here these last few weeks. But it's with good reason: in a matter of weeks (eek!) Joe and I will be welcoming our first baby into our little family. It's an exciting time, but also a stressful time. Luckily we are blessed with great friends and family which definitely makes things easier. I'm going to try my best to keep up with posting and I semi-promise that this won't become a baby blog (I may not be able to resist showing you some of the awesome prezzies I've been receiving for our baby dude), but if it goes quiet over here, at least now you know what's up. In the meantime, here are some shots from the baby shower that Adam and Davis threw me. They know that cured meats and cheese are the way to my heart.