Korean First Birthday (Dol or Dohl) Part II

Doljabi, the highlight of the dol, is a ritual where the child is placed in front of a table of foods and objects such as thread, books, brushes and money.  The child is then urged to pick up an object from the table.  Traditional belief is that the item selected will foretell the child's future.  For example, if Lucia sora picked up a pen, she is destined to be a scholar, while a brush means she will be an artist.  If she picks up money, she will be wealthy.  A thread represents long life, a stethoscope represents a medical career and a ruler predicts an engineering career.  Our girl seemed to thrive in the attention of others cheering her on.  What do you think our girl chose??????  Watch the video at the bottom to experience the actual excitement of the doljabi!  (turn up your volume to hear all of Younguk's funny comments)

 

Korean First Birthday (Dol or Dohl)

Dol or doljanchi is the traditional first birthday celebration in Korean culture.  Historically, a whole village would gather to share a meal and wish for long life and fortune for the baby.  Because the survival rate for infants was low, the first birthday was considered a very important milestone.  To celebrate, parents prepare a special dol table, where food is stacked high to symbolize a life of prosperity.  The table is set mainly with a rice cake of pretty rainbow layers, other rice cakes a variety of fruit.  The birthday babies wear a hanbok and a traditional hat.

Looking at my dol photos, Halmoni was inspired to re-create a similar one for our daughter.  We chose to host the party at Halabuhjee and Halmoni's house so all the relatives in the area could come, and of course it would be closer for most of Troy's family too.   We appreciated our friends coming as well, and ended up with a houseful of well-wishers.  Borrowing a folding screen from my aunt, we were able to simulate the  background scenery of my dol.  We decided to dress our daughter in the very same traditional-style hanbok I wore for mine to take initial pictures (although we had to purchase a hat since mine somehow got lost over the years). Then we changed her into her own pink, modern-style one that we bought in Korea.

We cooked a typical Korean dinner and served it buffet style.  Three different birthday cakes graced the dol sahng (table).  The traditional rice cake and the regular birthday cake created by a wonderful bakery that designed it using the colors of her traditional hanbok are seen on the dol sahng.  The bakery provided a cute smash cake also, which we used later for singing "happy birthday."  Most photos courtesy of Hyesoo.

Do you recognize these people?!

Youngin's dol sahng

Little Miss Muffett with her cute helpers!

Traditional-style hanbok

 Hanbok full length view

Old hanbok, new hat!

Dol sahng -- note the different fruit and cakes

Looking straight on -- two center plates are filled with rice cakes

Official dol photo!

Somehow the tie tasted great for most of the photos!

After switching into her new hanbok

we managed to all sit still

though somebody didn't like to keep her hat on.

Our family

Our precious one-year-old!

Cake to match the hanbok colors

Real black ribbon

Pretty fondant flowers

made specially for one girl

Mandatory rice cake

Smash cake

Eating record

For a baby who is NOT picky, who just doesn't eat a whole lot at a time, today's meal was a record.  She consumed 1/4 banana, 1/2 slice cheese, 1/2 slice bread, jar of sweet potato & chicken with rice cereal mixed in, and topped it off with 5 ounces of milk about 30 minutes later.  Finally savored the delight of having a kid who eats!

Super Dawg!

Chicago-style hot dogs

Field trip!

Our train trip from the suburbs to downtown Chicago was fun, just because the children were so excited.  Since the weather was questionable, it was a perfect activity.   The original plan was to simply ride down, have lunch at Union Station, and ride back.  However, the exploring bug infected us and we started meandering toward the lake, stopping at a tea shop.  Eventually, we even made it to Buckingham Fountain, and then back via Millennium Park.  The boys definitely enjoyed splashing in the water.

Cousins waiting for the Metra train

Finally off the train

Panoramic of Union Station

Observing the scene -- love this pensive look!

Trying to decide which direction to go

Our group

High-rise buildings

Buckingham Fountain panoramic

Fun in the water!

Millennium Park fountain

Grandparents

We thoroughly enjoyed our days in Chicagoland.  Our field trip to downtown Chicago via Metra train was exciting for the little ones, and the weather was perfect for sightseeing.  These pictures were taken at Union Station.

New china

I got some new china while Youngin was gone.

Shee-kah-go

Lucia and I arrived in the windy city this morning, which actually is the muggy, sticky, hot city right now.  We've enjoyed shopping, eating, friends and extended family already!  The cousins sure played happily together. We really miss Troy, though.   More photos and tales to come.

Bonding over apples

Funny moments

Last week, at the end of her nap when she cried, I walked into the room and she was sitting upright in bed as usual.  This time, looking right at my eyes, she pulled her pacifier out of her mouth and handed it over to me!  We've been trying to teach her that the pacifier is for sleeping only, and she clearly sent the message that she was done with her nap.

The other day, little girl crawled around to the outlet where the laptop cord was plugged in.  She pulled out the cord, reached up to the window sill for the outlet cover and tried to put in the cover ALL before I could open my mouth to tell her not to touch the socket. 

Yesterday, I encouraged her walking practice by having her push the laundry basket down the hall.  I stood behind and over her, helping her push.  A few steps later, she stopped, looked up at me, swatted my hand away, turned and started walking and pushing the laundry basket by herself.

Current reading list

Maaaaybe, my instincts could be good, and I miiiiight be a good mom, but more and more I'm realizing that parenting could be wayyyy more complicated than expected so I am trying to read as many parenting books as possible.  This list is just a start but the information has been interesting so far, though I want to be judicious in how I apply it all.   "Nurture Shock" revealed many studies that really did surprise me.  I'm definitely open to more suggestions, if anyone would like to email or comment.

Faster-than-delivery homemade pizza

We enjoy pizza at our house, and have tried different frozen pizzas (awful taste), pre-made grocery pizzas (slightly better than frozen), national-chain delivery pizzas (at least you know what to expect), local pizza shops (usually pay a premium for a similar taste), and homemade pizzas (often takes too long because we're already hungry by the time we figure out we want pizza).  All my recipes call for an hour for the dough to rise, but this last weekend, this pizza recipe was complete in under 30 minutes from pulling out the flour to eating the pizza, AND it passed the hubby taste test.

Pizza Crust:

1 cup warm water (110 degrees F)

1 TBSP active dry yeast

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

2 TBSP canola oil

1 ½ cup white flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

INSTRUCTIONS:  Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Dissolve yeast in warm water in large bowl.  Add all other ingredients.  Turn onto floured surface and knead for 5 minutes until dough is smooth.  Roll out dough and place on pizza stone, creating rolled edge.   Poke dough with fork.   Add toppings as desired.  Bake 12-14 minutes until crust is browned and cheese is melted.

 

Guess who loves pizza bones?

She ate TWO! but at least the crust was organic.