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!
Explaining erabitori and the items
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).
Go Mirei, go!
Walking towards the items…
What will she choose?
Surveying her choices…
Touching the calculator at first…
…but then picking up the bell.
She was really into the bell!
A family picture after Mirei’s erabitori. Still holding that bell! 😛
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!
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!
First year poster for Mirei
Birthday cake for Mirei… intended to be smashed later in the party.
A tower of birthday cupcakes
Dan and I made these cake toppers — both the “one” atop the cupcakes and the one with her name on the smashcake.
hydrangea cupcakes
The items for erabitori
Cookies to be taken home as party favors.
lollipop party favors
First birthday sugar cookies
Don’t look too closely… it was my first time using gold dusting powder on sugar cookies!
Special thanks to Miwa, Hyo, and Elisa who all helped with getting the party decorations up!
Everyone crowding around the birthday girl!
The adorable kids arriving
The aunties
Cutiepies Mirei and Cara
So glad Nancy and her girls could make it! Welcome back to the States!
The birthday girl walking around
Pat and I with our baby girls. Thanks so much for coming! ♥
Mio with her aunties, posing for our makeshift photobooth.
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!
Happy first birthday! I woke up this morning to you smiling up at me and I held you close, thinking of all the ways you’ve brought so much joy into our lives in the past year. We have watched you grow for the last twelve months, and we couldn’t be more proud to call your ours. How quickly you have gone from a tiny bundle of helpless newborn to a toddler who scurries around the house, sneakily grabs things from tabletops, and eagerly imitates our every gesture and sound. You are a sweet, bright little girl with an infectious smile, wide eyes that seem to take in everything (and not miss anything!), and a stubborn streak a mile long. You have such boundless energy and curiosity, and seem fearless in wanting to touch and grab anything and everything you can.
While pregnant with you, I had spent so many nights dreaming of you, wondering what you would look like, worrying about whether you would be healthy and happy… if you would be as perfect as I had imagined time and time again. I was afraid about whether I had enough room left in my heart to love another baby after investing so much love and care into our first. All of those worries and fears melted away on a Saturday morning exactly a year ago when they placed you in my arms and I knew that everything was just as it was meant to be.
Your first few months seemed a blur of constant breastfeeding and pumping, trying to balance caring for both you and your sister, sleeping (or attempting to sleep), and just making sure we were all surviving. This first year with you has flown by seemingly faster than our first year with Mio, but there are definite milestones that stick out, that I know I’ll always remember — your first smiles, your first time rolling over, your first time eating solids, your first attempts at crawling, and your first steps… and of course, memories of firsts as a family of four — our first summer with you, first family trip, first Halloween, first Thanksgiving, first Christmas, and first New Years with you — all made so much more special because you were now a part of it. You’ve enriched our lives so much more by becoming part of our family, and it really so much more complete.
My love for you is immeasurable. Every time I see you and every time I hear your voice, I fall more in love with you and driven to be a better, stronger, and kinder mother. I feel so grateful to be able to love you and your sister in this life. Just knowing you, my life is complete. Thank you for being ours, and for reminding me every day of the extreme blessings I’ve been showered with. For drawing me even closer to the other people I love. For showing me that this is how life is meant to be lived — full of color, emotion, challenges, and messes. I will always love you and be here to support you and listen. That when you are 5 or 16 or 50, you will know that my arms will always be ready to embrace you and that you are loved as you are -– nothing more or less.
We can’t wait for the gift of this next year with you, to see where the road to two will take us next.
Mirei’s friend Lily turns one on Christmas Day, but her parents celebrated her birthday early this month with a Frozen-themed first birthday party in Alexandria. I’ve known Lily’s mom since we were kids ourselves as we went to Japanese Saturday school together growing up, and we reconnected this year after finding out that we have baby girls born only a month apart (to the day!). We were so happy to get to be a part of Lily’s very special birthday celebration!
Dan & Mirei at Lily’s Frozen-themed birthday party. So appropriate for the season!
The birthday girl! Loved her outfit!
She’s such a sweetheart.
The kids got to romp around in the soft playroom for an hour.
Mio, being the wild and active girl that she is, thoroughly enjoyed the playroom.
Mirei joining in the fun
Lily and her mama Moe-chan
Mirei & Lily together
Mio being interesting…
M&M in the ball pit together
Mirei being rocked by Daddy
Video clips that Dan captured of the kids playing in the playroom. They had a blast!
Afterwards, we went back to the party room to have some birthday cake!
Look at this gorgeous birthday cake!
Frozen-themed treats!
Cupcakes looked amazing, too!
Lily smashing her birthday cupcake.
…and of course, Mio was happy to enjoy one, too!
Happy early birthday, Lily! Thank you for inviting us and letting us be a part of all the birthday fun. ♥ Let’s play again soon!
For Mio’s first birthday party, we wanted to incorporate a Japanese traditional element into the celebration, and decided to have her carry issho mochi, followed by erabitori. Here’s a little background information on these two customs…
ISSHO MOCHI (一å‡é¤…)
A common Japanese first birthday custom is to have the toddler carry piggyback a large mochi (rice cake) weighing 1 sho. The word for the volume unit issho (一å‡), roughly equivalent to 1.8 liters, is a homophone for issho (一生) meaning “a whole lifetime,†and the issho mochi (一å‡é¤…) symbolizes the parents’ hope that the child will never go hungry throughout her lifetime.
The discomfort brought on by the sudden yoking of the child to the rice cakes can also be said to signify an introduction to the future challenges which lay in store for the child as she grows older. It’s like saying, “this is what life is like, kiddo!â€
When the child falls down on her backside after having stood for a second or two, it is said that the child’s impurities are washed away. The heavy weight making it difficult for the child to stand has another significance as well — it is an expression of the parents’ desire that their child not grow up too fast.
ERABITORI (é¸ã³å–ã‚Š)
Another part of a Japanese first birthday tradition is an event known as erabitori (é¸ã³å–ã‚Š), the literal translation being “to pick and keep an item.” The following objects were set before Mio. 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 calculation MONEY: Blessed with an abundance of wealth, property, and other material goods SCISSORS: Skillful hands / Fashion MEASURING RULER: Methodical / Own a big house CHOPSTICKS: Chef / Never go hungry DICTIONARY: Scholar / Academic Excellence BALL: Athlete / Outstanding motor reflexes
How did Mio fare with these birthday activities? You can see a play-by-play with the following photos further down, or just watch the video:
Mio in her Japanese hakama.
"Are you ready?"
Setting up the erabitori items.
Explaining what each item means.
Mio carrying the issho mochi on her back.
At first, she plunked down and refused to move forward.
Dan looks stressed... lol.
Will she make it?!
Mio starts walking with the issho mochi.
Go Mio, Go!
Making her way across the room.
Reaching Mama
Stumbling as she reaches her goal.
Untying the mochi from Mio's back.
What will she pick?
She picked the scissors!
The scissors mean she will be skilled with her hands, or have a career in fashion.
Not letting go of the scissors.
She's got a death grip on it.
Good job, Mio!
Scissors in her mouth...
We're so proud of you, Mio!
Mio successfully carried the issho mochi, and we got a peek at Mio’s destiny when she picked the scissors during erabitori. We’re excited about the possibility that she will be crafty, like both of her parents!
(Special thanks to Megumi for the video footage and some of the photos taken on her phone that we used in this post!)
We have yet to post about the finale activity of Mio’s birthday party, so keep an eye out for Part III! 🙂
