Saengil Chukha Hamnida, Joel!

Our sweet little boy turned one on Saturday! We had a great day together as a family getting ready for Joel's Tol and taking some beautiful photos outside (look for those in a future post!). In Korea, the first birthday is a huge deal. In ancient Korea, many babies didn't live past 12 months, so when they did it was really something to celebrate! Since Joel's culture is so important to us, we incorporated many Korean traditions into his party, as well as some American ones. About thirty friends and family members joined us to celebrate, and although it was crowded we had a great time! We started with a yummy dinner including Italian beef and mostaccoli, salad, kimchi, and some rice cookies. Then Joel changed into his hanbok, which is the traditional Korean dress. He wasn't too sure about the hat, but we were sure of how precious he looked!

Joel then performed the Toljabee. This is a Korean custom done on the first birthday that is meant to predict the child's future interests or profession. A number of items are laid out on a table, and the child picks what attracts him or her. We also had the guests guess on a display board what they thought Joel would pick, which was fun, too. The items we had were:

needle and thread: Joel will live a long life.
Bible: Joel will be interested in ministry.

paintbrush: Joel will be creative.

rice cake: Joel will be wealthy.

recorder (as in the musical instrument): Joel will have musical talent.

pencil: Joel will be a successful scholar.

knife: Joel will be a chef.

Some of these are traditional, and some we added based on the interests of our family. Joel went for the recorder right away, which is what got the most votes from our guests! He then tried to grab the pencil, but it fell to the ground, so he scooped up the paintbrush and the knife together. So Joel will be a man of many talents. :)

It was then present time! Joel received some really cute toys and clothes, and a beautiful knitted blanket from Grandma.

Finally, it was cake time. Here is my "first birthday cake" story. As many of you know, I'm very particular about what Joel eats. He eats about 98% organic, and no red meat at all. And nothing with a lot of sugar or additives. So, I thought it would be a great idea to make a birthday cake for him, while we all enjoyed a delicious fattening sugar filled chocolate cake with buttercream frosting. I labored over a zucchini cake with raisins, honey, and cream cheese frosting. No sugar in sight! Here's how it turned out, and doesn't it just look delicious? ;)

What I didn't know is that the bakery gave us a free smash cake for Joel. And it looked like this:

How could I give him the dry, rather tasteless, unappetizing looking cake? I couldn't. So he got the unhealthy trans fat frosting sugar filled cake instead. As it turns out, about two bites actually made it into his mouth, so it wasn't a big deal. I was okay with it--really. And the pictures are priceless.

We also honored Joel's birth mother and foster mother with a little display and a candle lit for each of them.

We handed out rice cakes which are meant to give the child a long life and happiness as favors for the adults, and Korean cookies, candy, and chopsticks for the kids.

We had a wonderful time celebrating our son. Joel is our sunshine, our joy, our love. Happy Birthday, our Joel Allen Hwan!