Birthday Cont...

I have not posted in awhile and have so many things to post! Sorry about the delay. I had a big work thing last night that I spent most/all nap times working on this week; so it just didn't leave me a lot of time to do much else.

First a little about Liv's first birthday. We wanted to try to infuse some Korean tradition in there. It was hard for me to not be at home because I felt limited in what I could do, but we did our best for living in our tiny place and having the party at a park shelter. And thanks Erin, I copied all this from your blog and used your info as a source for what we did :). So here's some info about the First Birthday, Korean style :).

Celebrating the Dol
In the past in Korea the death rate for children was very high. Many babies died before their birthday for a multitude of reasons (namely illness and lack of medical information or care), so it became a custom to have a celebration for the child's 100-Day birthday (baek-il) and an even bigger, even more celebratory party for the child's 1st birthday (chut-dol).

Traditional Dol Celebration
There are four major components to the traditional dol celebration:
1) Praying and giving thanks
2) Making/wearing the birthday clothes
3) Preparing the table and performing the Doljabee
4) Sharing the food with guests and neighbors

In the modern dol celebration: the child's parents greet the guests, light candles on the birthday cake, the child performs the Doljabee, parents share a toast with guests, and take many pictures (!). After the table (dol-sang) was prepared, the child's mother or grandmother would pray. She would ask for the child's longevity, wish luck, and give thanks for the child's life.

---So out of these 4 things, I was able to pray for the meal and a blessing for Liv. We did leave her birthday clothes at home. I don't know that it would've worked where we were at for her to wear her lovely, silk hongbak (long, colorful, traditional Korean dress). We didn't have a traditional Korean table set, but we did have a lot of food :). We did perform the Doljabee - see below. And we did share food with our guests.

Doljabee Event
The birthday child goes around the doljabee table and picks up items that attract her. The child's future is predicted by the first two items that she grabs. After placing the child in front of the table, the child's father becomes the guide for the child to go around the table and pick her items. Parents may try placing their favorite items in front of the baby in hopes that the baby will grab them first.
Key to doljabee item meanings (different sources list different meanings):

Needle: longevity/good at sewing
Pencil: successful scholar/writer
Money: wealth
Knife: good chef
Calligraphy pen: writer/scholar
Paintbrush: artist
Date/jujube: many descendants/long life
Skein of thread: long life
Book: scholar

We did have all these items laid out on the picnic table (except for the date - couldn't find them at Wal-Mart...). I was surprised at how every one got into Liv picking her items.

And what did she pick??? First the thread, which surprised me cause it wasn't the most colorful or flashy item. And next she picked the calligraphy pen. So we'll see who she turns out to be :).

So that's a little more about Liv's birthday that I had wanted to post.

She has continued to blossom since we've been here. She's just become so social. She's getting more confident on her feet - scooting around furniture REALLY well. And a couple days ago I stuck my hands out, and she stood up, put her hands on mine, and started walking toward me. She's done that numerous times and hardly puts any pressure on us to balance. And tonight as we were in a meeting, she actually took 4 to 5 steps in a row. So, slowly she's getting her confidence. She'll give us a kiss "on demand." If I ask her for a kiss she'll open her mouth an lean toward you :). And I was playing with her the other day and we started passing a toy back and forth. I'd ask her for it, and she'd give it to me. I'd sign and say thank you and give it back and put her hand in the motion to say thank you. So she's really catching on to some things.

So this is a start, more posts that need to come so I can "catch up." Our love to you all!