Alex's First Birthday and Second Baby Shower

Alex's first birthday was, perhaps surprisingly, a wonderful, fun, and happy day. I say "surprisingly" because missing the first birthday is often difficult for families waiting to bring home their children. I believe I was well prepared for this from the very beginning of our journey. I knew we would likely miss his first birthday, and we did, but it did not go uncelebrated!

First, I slept in til noon. Yep, noon. I decided it was the perfect day to take advantage of my dwindling days of getting enough (or more than enough) sleep. I also may or may not have been out celebrating St. Patrick's Day with friends the night before. Again, taking advantage. I'm not a parent yet!

In the afternoon, Ryan and I went to Dave and Buster's (adult Chuck-e-Cheese) with my mom. We had a late lunch and played our favorite game - the one where you shoot the coins and try to make the other coins fall so you get tons of tickets. We were good. I mean, real good...

We also played some rounds of a Wheel of Fortune Game. We pretty much rocked that one too. We were going to spend the tickets on something really cool for Alex, but the prizes were kind of lame. Or they cost too many tickets. So my mom got a Beatle's Monopoly game (she's a fanatic), and we got a little toy basketball hoop and ball for Alex. It's not quality or anything, but it might provide at least a few hours minutes of fun!

Next, we headed over to my aunt's house for Alex's first birthday party and second baby shower which included members from my side of the family! It was really, really cool. We started out with a couple games. First, my sister had us play a baby version of Scattergories. It was a bit chaotic (what you would expect from my family), but that's what made it fun. Then we played the Dice Game, a family tradition. The hot items for this round were paint brushes and the sticky roller thingies that pick up cat hair (I desperately needed these but my dice rolling technique must've been a bit off because I did not win them). Oh, and I think the duct tape got stolen a few times too. LOL. 

Then, my aunt surprised us with a traditional Tol celebration! "Tol" is the term used for a child's first birthday in Korea. In the past, the death rate of babies in Korea was very high. After the child turned one, the rate of survival increased greatly. Although conditions have vastly improved in Korea today, the first birthday remains the most important birthday in Korean culture. In a way, I'm really glad Alex got to spend his first birthday in Korea... and I'm also hoping that we get some great pictures of his Tol celebration! My sister worked her photoshop magic to provide us with a slightly humorous photo of Alex in a traditional outfit called a "Hanbok" for the purposes of his first birthday with us:

Isn't he cuuute? 

The Tol is also a time when an aspect of the child's future is determined by what he chooses from a table of items. This is called the Toljabee Event. Each item represents something significant. Here are some examples:

• Bow and arrow: the child will become a warrior
• Needle and thread: the child will live a long life (this is the item that Alex's foster brother chose at his Tol celebration)
• Jujube: the child will have many descendants
• Book, pencil, or related items: the child will become a successful scholar
• Rice or rice cake: the child will become rich
• Ruler, needle, scissors: the child will be good with his hands
• Knife: the child will be a good cook

In Alex's absence, Ryan chose two items for Alex. He chose the bow and arrow (actually an action figure) and a pencil (we totally cheated with this one because we knew what it meant)! 

I'm really excited to hear what Alex chose for himself! 

In addition to the Toljabee Event, my mother did a traditional prayer, and we set the table with traditional food items, each with its own significance. In the end, it was a very moving and special event. One that will be long remembered. 

After this event, we opened presents. I don't have pictures of the gift-opening, but stay tuned for a future post in which we "test out" one of these special gifts! I'll just say this... our poor, poor cats. LOL! Thanks to everyone for such lovely gifts. I know Alex will love them! 

To end the evening, Alex's cousin, Sophie, did the honors of blowing our Alex's first birthday candle. What a sweet girl!

Thank you Patty and Tiffany for putting together such a wonderful and memorable evening!