Hi folks, your friend UltraGirl here with a quick visual update on the progress of everybody’s favorite 1 year old, Lincoln Arthur McDonald the 1 year old extraordinaire who turned one and became a 1 year old on April 26th of this year, his 1st birthday.
His first birthday cake is shaped like the number one. I love this cake. We also had a different kind of cake to share with everyone. Too bad Linc couldn’t try very much.
Did you know lots of babies who turned one year old have to try to carry a mochi (rice cake) that weighs about 1.8 kg in Japan? Sounds horrible huh? Well, this is a tradition to wish his or her life be fulfilling and they have no trouble getting food. Linc doesn’t know yet in this photo how heavy the mochi will be. Actually had no clue what was going on…
This is “After”. Most babies aren’t able to carry that much on their back at the age, and actually it is even better if your baby falls down in some areas since that means your child will get so much food and wealth that he can’t carry it all.
This is the mochi he had on his little back. Wow that was heavy.
We had special kind of sushi, pizza, my mother’s salad, and fruits. Linc had his own style of food.
Kampai (cheers)!
Yey! Thank you everyone. I’m a very happy boy. Oh, and he claps now. He claps a lot.
Three of us went out for dinner on Linc’s actual birthday. The party was held the day before.
On my (ultragirl) birthday, we all visited Saitama where Motoji (my dad) is from. His brother maintains his yard really neatly.
Another photo of Linc in the yard with his J-grandma.
In the same yard, but he wanted to stand up.
Family photo in front of the Kabuto (samurai helmet)
May 5th is Japanese Children’s day. Display Kabuto if you have a boy to wish for him to be strong. This is such a nice one, don’t you think?
Just a photo I took in a restaurant the other day. These guys are so cute.
UltraDad and I just returned home from a whirwind 5-6 days, which included some 6 hour drives to and from Boise, some flights of varying length to and from Nashville and a very exciting graduation from the prestigious and picturesque Vanderbilt School of Law. If I wasn’t buried in homework that I didn’t complete in Nashville, despite good intentions, I would write at length, and plan to do just that in a week or so. What I will tell you now was that all travel plans and sleeping arrangements worked out, more or less. Johnny’s Law School graduation, occurred at the odd (anyway, it seemed to me an odd time to schedule a college graduation) hour of 10:30 A.M. on a Friday. Attending from (way) out of state were Aunt Debi (Panther) Ryder from Emmett, Idaho; James P. McDonald from Salt Lake City, Utah; Ultramom from Carlin, Nevada, and UltraDad from Ruby Valley, Nevada. The girls had a motel room downtown, while the guys slept on various blow-up beds and the recliner (Jim) in Johnny’s appartment. Besides the headliner graduation, events included a tour of Vanderbilt Law Building and grounds, a trip to the bookstore so UltraMom could obtain her own Vanderbilt sweatshirt and bumper sticker and replacement Vanderbilt frisbee (cause Rowdy broke her other one; just ask Jim), bowling, and 45 holes of miniature golf. We spent a good half day at the Country Music Hall of Fame, and several hours at The Hermitage, former home of former president Andrew Jackson. We took a lovely drive on the Natchez Trace and had some fantastic BBQ and some not too bad Cajun Pepperoni Pizza. Oh, and of course we saw the Parthenon.
I know I had a great time, though Jim maintained that trying to keep track of me, Panther and UltraDad was like trying to herd 300 cats. I must admit, I did try to follow the wrong group of people on the way to the graduation, but only once or twice. On the whole, I think the cat analogy a faulty one.
After the ‘herdable cats’ left, Jim and his soon-to-be-attorney brother loaded up a pull-behind-Johnny’s-Taurus trailor with the motorcycle and the rest of Johnny’s earthly belongings. Tomorrow Jim flies home and Johnny starts his long drive back to Boise where he will begin his 2-year stint of working for an Idaho Supreme Court Judge. Tomorrow UltraDad heads back to work, and UltraMom heads back to work and school.
But today, Johnny, you should take a few minutes to bask in the pride of your great accomplishment. That’s what I’m doing, anyway. I’m so proud of you, honey. Drive safely.
UltraMom
Ready to get that law school diploma. As the graduates walked by, I heard a little girl give voice to what all of us were secretly thinking: “Their hats look like mushrooms.”
Johnny with two of his friends and fellow graduates:Mark Webster, his housemate, and Chris Jaeger (sp?). Johnny had already ditched his hot, uncomfortable graduation regalia.
The family. Don’t the guys look spiffy?
Johnny with one of his very favorite aunts, and his very favorite mom.
The bombastic Moot Court team of John McDonald and Scott Goldman. Also pictured is Scott’s wife (name escapes me), who graduated from Vanderbilt Medical School on the same day her husband graduated with a law degree, and from what I hear was the star member of the group’s trivia team. The team had a cool name, but it too is no longer in memory cell retrieval range.
The proof is in the pudding....er the diploma.
Congratulations Johnny! Very proud of you uncle John, says Linc....
Congratulations Johnny! We’re proud of you too. We look forward to seeing you in our neck of the woods. I look forward to seeing all of my (ok, my judge’s) decisions heartily affirmed by your keyboard strokes.
I’m pretty sure the JD caps are going to be the next fashion rage. They’re just so universally flattering.
Congratulations Johnny. We are very proud of you, and wish you the best of luck as you move into actually utilizing that hard-won education of yours.
Also, Vanderbilt has some really nice lawns…
Congratulations Johnny!!! The hat did look like a mushroom.
Congratulations Johnny! Very proud of you. Wish we could have been there.
Happy birthday, Linc! Happy birthday, UltraGirl!
Love the photos. Thanks for sharing!
Wow! I’m so glad I checked the website when I got home tonight after taking a lab final in A & P! Great pix, UltraGirl. You and Linc are adorable and that husband of yours is kinda cute himself. So sorry I missed your birthday. Maybe we can have a joint celebration when you are here this summer!
Awww! He’s such a big boy now!
I love hearing all the traditions! Love the pics!
Happy Late birthday Ultragirl. Love the pictures! Can’t wait to see you guys in July!
Happy birthday Linc!! I loved seeing all the pictures!