Today is Wesley 1st Birthday! Although, with the time change being what it is, he celebrated his birthday yesterday. But around here - it's Happy Birthday Little Peanut!!! If you read the post below, you can probably guess that it's been a bit of a somber week around the Fuller home. I've been absolutely slammed at work (working until 9pm+ two nights in a row) which normally isn't good, but in a weird way it was OK since it kept my mind (somewhat) off of being sad and disappointed.
So, tonight. . . BULGOGI! We're going out to eat with my parents and some dear friends of ours to the Korean BBQ place that we tried about a month ago to celebrate. I had Brian buy some party hats today when he ran out for lunch. We're going to video tape parts of the evening so that someday when Wesley is older, he can see that we celebrated his special day even though he wasn't physically here with us.
In Korea, the 1st birthday is a HUGE deal. It is called a "Dol." Dol is a big milestone for a baby in Korea and is celebrated with a huge party called the doljabee. Food plays a big part in a child’s doljabee. Special dishes are served and the highlight of the festivities occurs when it’s time for the doljabee ritual. During this time a low table is brought out for the baby with several items on it which represent the path the child’s future life will take if she or he grabs it. Some of the following items are examples of what is used:
A pencil: Which means the child will be a scholarly academic.
Money: Which means the child will be wealthy.
A string: Which means the child will live a long life.
A bowl of rice: Which means the child will have food and shelter.
The child also wears the traditional Korean celebration outfit, the Hanbok which is very colorful. I thought of Wesley yesterday wondering what his foster mom had planned for him and hoping that she took lots of photos! What item did he choose? I bet he looked so cute in his little (or not-so-little) Hanbok.
Well, anyway - Happy, Happy 1st Birthday my Little Peanut! We love you and we'll be celebrating you and your life tonight :)
Happy Birthday Wesley! Praying that you will be together as a forever family soon!!!
ReplyDeleteBy the way Michelle - thanks so much for the recommendation - I just got "Parenting your Internationally Adopted Child" from the library today. I'm anxious to start reading it! :)
Happy Birthday, Wesley!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea to celebrate Wesley's birthday. It must be very hard to be separated on this special day. Stay strong!
ReplyDeleteHappy Belated 1st Birthday to your beautiful son! What a great idea to have your own special celebration for him. Sending positive thoughts for your EP & TC to come very soon.
ReplyDelete