Hyakunichimairi - Celebrating 100 Days of Life

On October 12th, Leyna turned 100 days old. In Japan, like many other Asian cultures, a baby's 100th day since birth is celebrated. Traditions include the baby, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother dressing in their finest clothes and visiting the family temple, followed by a feast at home with family and friends. A ceremony called Okuizome symbolizes the first formal meal of the baby. They prepare special dishes (consisting of foods like Miso soup, a whole fish often eaten on days of good fortune, red bean rice, and a smooth white rock symbolizing healthy teeth) and present them to the baby. Of course a baby cannot actually eat the meal yet, but family members participate in the pretend eating ritual in hopes that their child will never suffer from lack of food throughout their life. These days parents also take their baby to a studio to take photos, so they have 100th day packages to cater to this milestone.

Of course we didn't do the shrine visit nor do the eating tradition, but we did at least take her to a photo studio to capture a bit of the Japanese spirit! They dressed up Leyna in mini kimonos and other costumes of our choice, and we received prints and a nice framed photo with her footprints. It was a fun experience! We weren't sure how long she would last...5 costume changes, trying to keep her sitting still, and getting her to look at the camera with toys and funny noises. Well she made it through wonderfully and we're happy to have this assortment of adorable photos of her...

Outfit 1: Okinawan Kimono. Started off great. It was challenge to keep her hands from disappearing...
Outfit 2: Japanese Kimono. She got a bit upset in this one...maybe just too much commotion trying to make her smile. But we got a shot!
Outfit 3: She absolutely loved the Hawaiian outfit, it was hard to narrow down the pics. Looks like she's about to hula...
Outfit 4 & 5: Since we wouldn't dress her like this on any normal day, we had to get her in something super girly with ruffles and everything! As you can see, she worked it with a softer, sweet face. haha