I was going through baby stuff to get rid of, and came across this gem (which Mio wore here). Naturally we had to turn Mirei into Olaf for the afternoon! 😉
Snowman Mirei
baby
Do You Want to Build a Snowman?
We have been getting a lot of snow lately! Here are some photos from Sunday, February 21, when we went outside and played in the snow! This was Mirei’s first time being in the snow, and she seemed kind of stunned and fascinated by it.
A video I took of the girls playing in the snow:
Mirei’s First Birthday Party: Part III ~ Smash Cake!
Picking up from Part I and Part II of Mirei’s birthday party posts, the smash cake was the finale of her first birthday celebration! Mirei got a whole cake all to herself, to smash and lick to her heart’s content! The smash cake has become a common first birthday tradition where the child is encouraged to attack the cake with her fingers, fists, or face — no utensils required! It typically makes a huge mess but it’s very entertaining, as it was when we made one for Mio on her first birthday. I usually expect the birthday baby to have a similar method to Mio, where they just go at the cake full force, but I’ve seen other cases where the child only takes a little lick here and there, or just doesn’t want to touch the frosting at all because they don’t want to get their hands dirty! It’s always very interesting to see the differences in personalities and approaches to the smash cake, and we were really curious to see how Mirei would react to her own smash cake!
You can watch Mirei with her smash cake in the following two videos:
We were surprised to find that Mirei’s approach to the smash cake was much more tame than Mio’s, and that she did a lot less damage! (In fact, it was so intact that we were able to reuse the cake for her first birthday photos we posted earlier!) So interesting how siblings can be so different, even though they share the same DNA!
A heartfelt thank you to all of our guests who braved the wintry weather to to celebrate Mirei’s first birthday with us! It is a sweet memory that we will keep with us for years to come, and Mirei is so lucky to have so many people that love her so much. Our first year as parents of two has been challenging at times, but we really can’t imagine a life without our sweet Mirei now, and we look forward to making many more wonderful memories as a family!
Mirei’s First Birthday Party: Part II ~ Erabitori
Just as we did with her older sister, we wanted to observe the Japanese first birthday tradition of erabitori at Mirei’s first birthday party. (We opted not to do the issho mochi tradition this time with Mirei, because it was a little heartbreaking when we observed it with Mio.) For those who aren’t familiar with erabitori, here’s a brief explanation.
ERABITORI (é¸ã³å–ã‚Š)
The literal translation for erabitori (é¸ã³å–ã‚Š) is “to pick and keep an item.” The following objects were set before Mirei. It is said that the first object that the baby selects will show her calling, or a tendency towards a specific career field.
WRITING BRUSH: Artist / Writer
CALCULATOR: Merchant / Good with business
BELL: Music / Performing Arts
SCISSORS: Skillful hands / Fashion or Crafting
STETHOSCOPE: Doctor or Nurse (Medicine)
CHOPSTICKS: Chef / Culinary Arts, Never go hungry
DICTIONARY: Scholar / Academic Excellence
BALL: Athlete / Career in Sports
So what did Mirei choose? Watch the videos and see the photos below!
Mio kind of caused a scene with a potty emergency while I was explaining the items… ::sigh::
…back to the main attraction! Here is Mirei choosing her item(s).
It was fun to get a peek at Mirei’s possible future calling! Will she excel in business and/or mathematics? Or pursue a career in music and the performing arts? We’ll have to see! She might just be very busy, trying out various fields throughout her life!
Stay tuned for Part III, in which Mirei gets to enjoy her first birthday smashcake!
Mirei’s First Birthday Party: Part I
The day before Mirei’s actual birthday, we threw a small, intimate birthday party to celebrate the milestone of her turning one! We were admittedly feeling a little overwhelmed (and a little lazy) about doing a big celebration, but we kept the guest list short and decided we’d just do what we could and that helped ease the pressure and stress on us parents. 😉 My brother Ted and his wife Elisa were gracious enough to reserve the party room at their condo for the celebration. Unfortunately, it snowed the morning of the party and some of our guests couldn’t make it because of the weather, but we still had fun with those who were able to make it, and we stayed warm and cozy as the flurries swirled outside!
We had set up our own little “photobooth” with an iPad app, and the kids had so much fun with it! It was really fun to see the collection of pictures at the end of the party:
We felt so blessed to be able to celebrate Mirei’s first birthday with such loving family and friends, and are so thankful that she is such a happy and healthy one year old! More posts to follow with the first birthday activities from the party — stay tuned!