Toljabee

And then...the time came for the big event of the day...the Toljabee. This is where the child selects an item (or a few) from a set of objects placed before him/her to predict their future. The first item is the most important, followed by the second and third. Baby D cooperated very nicely...and even left his Hanbok hat on the whole time...I'm still shocked by that. I guess there was enough other things to keep him busy.

These are the items we had on the Tol table for the Toljabee and what they symbolize:
Hammer - Strength
Pencil - Scholar
Won (Korean $) - Wealth
Ball - Athletic
Stethoscope - Physician
Microphone - Musician
Thread - Long Life

Here we are strapping him into his high chair for the Toljabee. Traditionally he should be seated on some high cushions behind a low table, facing everyone...but I knew if he was not strapped in he would get right on top of the Tol table and grab everything or knock everything on the floor. He's just a tad on the active side. So...what did he choose?

His first choice: Ball (you can see him lunging ahead in the first photo...he was lunging right for that ball with all his might...no hesitation at all). Here he is holding the ball (a basketball) in his right hand.
His second choice: Thread (which I'm holding above)
His third choice: Microphone (which he is tasting above)
We drew winners from the vote bowls for each of his three choices and gave people small prizes - things we brought back from Korea.

Checking out his choices.

Then...he grabbed that hammer. I'm thinking he wants a "re-do" and would choose the hammer for sure on his second attempt. He wouldn't let that thing down for quite a long time. I had to pry it out of his hands later (for cake). I think the hammer and the ball got the most votes from our guests. I can see why.

We sure love our little one-year-old boy. Who...based on his Toljabee...will be an athletic musician who lives a very long time. Sounds good to me.