Jordan's Tol Celebration

This past Saturday we had another birthday party for Jordan. In Korea a child's first birthday is called the Tol and is marked with a lot of celebration. Before the time of adequate medical care, if a child made it to his first birthday it was likely that he would survive to adulthood. We decided to honor Jordan's heritage by incorporating many of the Korean traditions at his party. One of the traditions is the wearing of traditional Korean clothing called a hanbok. Jordan's foster mother had purchased this hanbok for Jordan. Although it was a beautiful piece of clothing Jordan did NOT like wearing it at all! He wore it for maybe 20 minutes before we changed him back into his regular clothing. Here is a rare moment when Jordan actually smiled while wearing his hanbok. I think a lot of people behind the camera were making funny faces in order to get him to smile!

Here is our happy family!

Another element of the Tol celebration is the Toljabee table. Several items were put on display on a table for Jordan to choose from. The item he chose represents his destiny. After much studying and deliberating Jordan choose rice which means that he will become wealthy. Way to go, Jordan! Unfortunately we didn't take any pictures of this part of the party as we were too busy trying to videotape it.

Here is Jordan meeting my cousin's new baby girl. She was born on Jordan's first birthday!

Jordan approached this cake much more cautiously than the cake he had on his birthday...

...however, it wasn't long before he dove right in and managed to smear the frosting everywhere!

Visiting Minnesota

After only 3 1/2 weeks home, Jordan boarded another plane! Thankfully this trip wasn't as long as our journey from Korea! We weren't planning on traveling with him so quickly, but are so thankful now that he had this opportunity to meet his aunts, uncles, and cousins. We packed a lot into the 4 days that we were there, and Jordan handed all the excitement fabulously. The only issue was sleeping as he had a very difficult time sleeping in a different bed. When we came home on Sunday he actually fell asleep in the high chair during dinner because he was so tired! Jordan loved this little tugboat in Grandpa and Grandma's basement. He was so busy exploring their house, but when he sat in this little boat he stayed put for a few minutes and gave the adults a short break from chasing him!

Here is Jordan with Daddy and two of his cousins. The boys were so excited to meet Jordan and followed him everywhere!

We think Jordan would have tried to stuff this entire sushi roll into his mouth if Luke had let him!
Here is Jordan at the Mall of America. He didn't seem too impressed with it so we didn't stay long.

Jordan met another little one year old at the funeral. Doesn't it look like they are engrossed in a serious conversation?

Jordan with all of his cousins (minus Brett). It was really tough to get a picture with everyone looking at the camera, so this was the best we could do!

Happy Birthday Jordan!!

Today is Jordan's birthday! We are so happy that he made it home in time for us to celebrate this special day with him! He's only been home for 2 1/2 weeks, but we have already fallen completely in love with his quick smile, his contagious laugh, and his fun-loving personality. Because he has only been home such a short time we planned a very small party with just Luke and myself and my parents. I am hoping to throw a larger traditional Korean birthday celebration for him once he has been home for a few more weeks. I'm thinking he will enjoy another party as he already seems to thrive on being the center of attention! Before we even had time to finish singing "Happy Birthday" he was already reaching for the cake!

Jordan doesn't disappoint! He was full of smiles and laughs as he eagerly dove into his first piece of cake. We laughed until we were crying as he continously smiled at us with chocolate-covered teeth while thoroughly enjoying his birthday cake.

What else has Jordan been up to? A lot! He has gone from taking a few tentative steps to walking all the way down the front hallway without assistance. Although Jordan is very proud of his accomplishments all this walking does make for one tired Mommy! It's like he has discovered his first taste of independence and now can't get enough of walking everywhere, climbing on everything, and getting into as much stuff as possible.

Jordan is starting to enjoy listening to books. He used to immediately grab the book and start chewing it or throwing it when I would try to read to him. After many attempts, he is now able to listen to one book before he's ready to be on the move again.

Jordan has discovered that he can open the kitchen cabinets! He was pretty happy with himself when he learned how to open and close the doors and proceeded to pull everything he could lift out of the cabinet.

He is beginning to enjoy the backyard. When he first came home I sat him down in the grass and he immediately started to scream. He has gone from being terrified of the grass to sitting in it and even taking a few cautious steps. Here he is enjoying a ride in the swing.

Jordan has been such a delightful member of our family and we can't wait to see what new things he will learn and discover in the next year!