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. 

picnic time

My long weekend was filled with overdue cleaning, errands and catching up on sleep. Not super exciting, but we did make sure to spend one sunny afternoon at the park having a relaxing picnic. Once we laid out the blanket, I brought out the yummy eats: devilled eggs, a fat muffuletta sandwich (influenced from when Seema blogged about the deliciousness that is the muffuletta) and some rice krispie treats.

For the muffuletta, I loosely followed this recipe. What resulted was a mega-flavourful sandwich explosion! 

Layers of meat (sweet soppresata salami, capicola and mortadela), cheese (provolone) and a sweet/salty/spicy mixture made of giardiniera, olives, roasted peppers and capers. It's a serious sandwich that's for sure. I'll definitely be making this bad boy again.

Instead of regular rice krispie treats, I made a white chocolate cake batter version—basically a cake mix infused rice krispie treat. They were a sweet addition to a great summer picnic.

white chocolate cake batter rice krispie treats

5 tbsp butter
6 C rice krispie cereal
5 C marshmallows (more or less depending on how gooey you want them)
1/2 C dry cake mix (I used rainbow chip)
1 1/2 C white chocolate, chopped
rainbow sprinkles

1. Melt the butter and add the marshmallows, stirring constantly until melted. Stir in cake mix.

2. Add in the cereal and stir until evenly coated.

3. Press into a baking pan (8 x 11) and set aside.

4. Melt the white chocolate in a double boiler. Spread over the treats. Scatter sprinkles over the top and let cool.

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!

an afternoon in parkdale

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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. 

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. 

hitting the road

Things have been too busy these days, which accounts for my very sporadic posting the last few weeks. So I’m really excited to be heading out on a week-long road trip adventure to Quebec Maritime this weekend. I think this is going to be a pretty relaxing trip (for me anyways…Joe will be in charge of all the driving) and I hear the scenery around the Gulf of St. Lawrence is supposed to be amazing. Can’t wait to breath in the fresh air, visit lots of National Parks, sample some local seafood and maybe even catch a glimpse of a whale. Lots of photos will be shared when I’m back! 

*photos courtesy of Le Quebec Maritime