The Big 1

I finally got the photos from Stella's 1st birthday party back. It was quite a formal occasion, much different to the kind of party we would have had in South Africa, but loads of fun none-the-less. And most importantly, Stella had a ball. She enjoyed all the fuss and wore her traditional Hanbok with pride ;)

The party table, decorated with traditional treats and trinkets...



The party room...

A few with family...

Adoring uncle Neungmyeong and grandpa

And proud Dad

The birthday girl...

Some of the guests ~

Dani (my friend from Rhodes)

One of the many cousins...

My Irish friend Ciara (from Suwon)

More cousins

My Philippine friend Annabeth and her family

Friend of the family

One of SY's oldest friends from work (we were at his wedding in 2010, and at his baby's 1st birthday party last weekend!)

My lot: Ciara, John, Dani and Jina

Aunty Jina

The party host - she was a wild one!

It's tradition at a Korean birthday party to play a game called Doljabi. The party girl or boy gets presented with a mic, a pencil, a bank note, a judge's hammer, and a stethoscope, and then picks one, and what ever she picks is a sign of what she will become one day! SY guessed that Stella would choose money, I said a pencil....but to everyones delight she picked the stethoscope!! So we might have a doctor in the family one day...

Blowing her candles

Enjoying one of her most favourite things at the moment - bubbles!

Thank you very much to Ilze Louw who came to take photos for us!

Buddah's birthday weekend

We had a nice 4-day weekend last weekend, thanks to Buddah! We didn't do anything too hectic, and yet every day was enjoyable.

It started on Friday with a picnic on Debu island with Bogyeong and her mom and friends. It's a muddy little island, so not very pretty but lots of fun! After lunch we trampled around in the mud looking for crabs and sea shells!

Some panoramic views of the beach...

Getting muddy...

Catching crabs...

Stella had the most fun washing up in the water afterwards, but it was a bit windy and as a result she now has a cold again :( I'm not sure if it's that or her teeth again (because she's drooling like crazy these days).

On Saturday, we made our way to Pyeongtaek for a friend's baby's first birthday party, and to spend the weekend with SY's family. Stella spent most of the party playing outside at the photo corner...

"I'm packing my bags and I'm outta here..."

"...Byeeeee!"

On Sunday we went up to Yeongin mountain. It's very beautiful and the air is clean and fresh. Unfortunately Stella was asleep when we got there, so we just took her for a little stroll. Sorry she missed it! We'll have to go back soon.

At home playing Go-Stop with uncle Neungmyeong.

Stella had a ball playing in the neighbour's garden. I love going spending the weekend here, because it feels like a little piece of home. We chased cats, caught some spiders and other insects, checked out all the veggies, and even found some strawberries!

Playing hide-and-seek with Dad

AND we got Stella some fish! I've been pushing for a hamster, but SY is dead against it...probably a good thing. So we'll settle for some fish :)