Ee-Baek-Il

It is a Korean tradition stemming back from the days when it was common for children to die in infancy to celebrate a baby's first 100 days of life (Baek-Il), believing that if a baby survived the first one hundred days they had a good chance of survival into adulthood. Truman was a bit too small to celebrate that one... so we figured the next hundred days (which was 100 days from his due date) would be a more appropriate time to celebrate. So, today we celebrated Truman's Ee-Baek-Il (or "200 Days"). As you'll see, Truman is wearing the traditional Korean clothing (hanbok). We celebrated with a cake and with an activity that is used to foretell the future of the child. In this activity, several items (each with a special meaning) are placed before the child on a table and whichever he chooses is said to tell what his life will be like or what qualities he will possess. We chose to place the following items before Truman: ruler (obedience), paintbrush (artistry), rattle (musical ability), coin (wealth), Bible (religiosity), spoon (cooking skills), calculator (logical thinking), and thread (long life). What did Truman choose? Well... I guess you'll have to check out the pictures!!

My first hanbok! The design of the dress belonged to a little prince in Cho Sun Dynasty (1392-1910).

Hm... there's a lot riding on this...

Can't wait to choose! (Drum roll, please.)

The spoon!

I see delicious meals in the world's future.

The family celebrates my Ee-Baek-Il!

Thanks for writing on my cake, Apba!

Proud father and adoring son.

Mom and the birthday boy.

I can even have tummy time in my hanbok!

Here's the back.

I'm practicing sitting up.

Whew! So glad to loosen up those fancy clothes and relax here with Mr. Ribbit!

Mom looks happy, but I might be a little tired of pictures.

Goodnight Ee-Baek-Il.