It’s been a busy year to say the least. Between raising a 2.5-year-old and now a 1-year-old, taking my Girl of 10,000 Lakes partnership projects and freelance gigs full time, plus reopening the online shop for 123 Ice Fishing – we’ve got our hands full. I’m long overdue for a blog post! But I finally have a moment and am in disbelief that our little Juniper is already 1-years-old.
Juni was born was February 3, 2021. She came ten days early! Since then, she’s flown to Florida twice, gone camping across Minnesota, went swimming at several pools and waterparks, been ice fishing and ice camping multiple weekends in a row, and has shown us she is the most adaptive, chill, fun little girl we could ever ask for.
In traditional Korean fashion, we celebrated her first birthday with a ‘dol’ celebration. Dol or doljanchi is a Korean tradition celebrating the first birthday of a child.
The table was set with different varieties of colorful rice cakes, fruits, a smash cake from our favorite cake shop, Cafe Latte, and signs that say “Juniper Hayoung” (her first and middle name) and “chuk dol” which translates to “first birthday celebration.” My dad who owns 10,000 Woodworks created the laser-engraved wooden signs last-minute and they turned out perfect!
Juni wore her colorful, traditional dress called “hanbok.” She’ll wear it again when we celebrate Korean New Year. I’m hoping to find a hanbok for myself as well so I can match the kiddos during these types of festivities.
One of the traditional “games” is the “doljabi.” It’s where we place various objects in front of the 1-year (i.e. a soccer ball, gavel, pencil, paint brush, computer mouse, stethoscope, musical instrument and spatula) and have them pick one of the random objects. Whatever object the child chooses predicts their future interests. It’s just a fun way of celebrating the child’s future, nothing we take too seriously. Juniper was hesitant at first and was mostly in tears when we presented the objects in front of her. There’s a lot of pressure when 16 family members are cheering you on. In the end, she chose the gavel. We may have a Judge Juni or a lawyer in our midst. 🙂
It was a wonderful few days of reminiscing about when Juni was just a wee little infant and listing all the traits we love about her. For one, she is the best sleeper and has been since she was 3-weeks-old. We love that she is a great hugger and leans in for a snuggle or wraps her arms around our necks when she wants some lovin’. Juni is also bold and isn’t afraid to try new things. She climbs all sorts of stairs and furniture every chance she gets. And she has the biggest smile when she sees mama catch a fish (and isn’t afraid to give it a nice pet).
I hope the coming year brings much more adventure, growth and learning for our sweet 1-year-old.
