Well, our baby turned one year old today! What a thrill for us to celebrate this special day with Benjamin. He’s been a part of our lives for just three months now…we can’t imagine what it would be like if we didn’t have him! - His birthmother has been on our minds today as we remember her and the precious gift she has given to our family. We wish her peace on this day and hope she knows in her heart that he is with a wonderful family that loves him to pieces.
Yesterday we invited our family and friends to Benjamin’s Tol, his first birthday party. Tol is an important celebration in the Korean culture. He did so well!! It is so nice to see how comfortable he is around our family and friends now. He no longer does the “stranger stare” with them and actually works the room. - We tried to incorporate Benjamin’s Korean culture into his birthday celebration. We began with a lunch catered by a local Chinese restaurant (Vince’s Asian Bistro). The owners, Vince and Anna did such a wonderful job. We enjoyed a delicious meal that included a mix of Korean and Chinese food. Anna made rice cakes especially for the party as they are a traditional “sweet” eaten at a Tol. She also sent along other Korean treats as well as beautiful oranges to create a lovely fruit display, also a Korean tradition.
After lunch, we dressed Benjamin in his hanbok which was given to him by his foster parents, Mr. and Mrs. Hong. (Check out our photo page to see pictures.) Once he was dressed, we began the Toljabee. This is a traditional event in the Korean culture during a Tol celebration. Various items were placed around a table in order to attact Ben’s attention. The first three items he picked are said to predict his future. Each item we placed on the table was of personal importance to us…the music CD was given to Benjamin by a family named the Kelly’s (special friends of ours from New Orleans); the money was given to Benjamin by Brad’s MawMaw and PawPaw; the book was one we bought while we were in Korea; the needle and thread came from my mother’s sewing kit; the ruler was from my scrapbooking supplies; the digital camera is Allyson’s, placed on the table to honor the talent of Benjamin’s birthmother as a photographer. Ok, the rice came from the local grocery store so I guess there’s no personal importance placed on that one;-). Brad led Benjamin to the Toljabee table…we all waited with anticipation to see what he’d pick first. Right away, he picked up the CD (a music lover like his daddy) which means he’ll be musical. Next, he picked up the bag of rice (smart boy)…that means he’ll be a rich man some day (hopefully rich in many aspects of his life). Finally, it appeared as though he was going for the money, but it only stuck to his hand. No, he wanted the digital camera (kind of neat since his birthmother is a photographer). - It was really fun to see what he’d grab. Only time will tell if these predictions hold true.
Benjamin then opened his many gifts with the help of his daddy. The Hong’s gave Brad and I a gold ring as a gift for Benjamin’s Tol. It is an absolutely beautiful ring, and we were thrilled to show this special gift to our family and friends. We are certain Benjamin will treasure it when he is older.
Finally, we ate cake! Of course the “monkey man” needed a monkey cake! He loved it! We sliced off one of the monkey ears and put it on his tray. He poked at it at first but then dug right in! Cake and icing were smeared all over his face and his highchair!
We were so happy to celebrate this day with our son and so thankful to have such wonderful family and friends join us.
Happy Birthday little guy!!!
