Happy Lunar New Year

Grace and I were fortunate enough to enjoy five New Year celebrations this year with family and friends. 

The first one we spent with our neighbours.  Grace loves visiting Dan and Erna, an elderly couple who live next door to us.  Why, I don't really understand, there's really nothing to do there except tear around the kitchen with Erna's walker and hide behind the dining room drapes!!!LOL  Ok, so maybe I understand why she has such a good time!  I picked up Chinese take-out and we headed over there with decorations and red envelopes.

The next celebration was hosted by friends Julia and Danny and their girls.  Grace and I are so lucky to have friends that include us in their cultural celebrations, it will be so important as she develops her own identity as she grows up.  Julia always makes a great effort for the kids with crafts and lion and dragon parades.  Grace is still not very fond of the parade (we had to hide out in the basement while it was going on!) but one day maybe.  I forgot my camera, the weather was terrible and we were late arriving and hours getting home but a great time none the less!

The following weekend, Grace and I hosted a Chinese inspired dinner for our own family.  Here she is setting the table.  Some people got three forks, some got none!  It's ok, we all share in our family!

 

 

 

 

Putting up the decorations.  We had to put the lion decoration in a non-obvious space.  She was not having that thing anywhere near her!!!  She did warm up to it eventually and actually enjoyed looking at it when we took it down a couple days later.




Posing as goats maybe???  Not sure what is going on here!

Everyone enjoying their meal

Grace practically lives to hand out her red envelopes!! 

So then the fun started.  It was the coldest night of the year so far.  I had bought some Wish Lanterns from the party store and thought it would be nice to set them off in the dark. We did it a couple of years ago with great success.  Just saying...
It took a lot of convincing to get people to bundle up and go outside in those frigid temperatures.  In fact, Grace never did!  She stayed inside with Grandma and watched from the window. 
Here's my dad, my brother, my nephew and brother in law, all guys who have good knowledge of fire, blow torches, safety and are just generally smart men.  What could possibly go wrong you may wonder???

Here's what could possibly go wrong!

As Jerry Lee Lewis would say, "Great Balls of Fire!!!"

Yes, that would be the lantern on fire in the tree.  Not so good!

On the actual day of New Year I made dumplings and noodles for Grace to share with her friends at daycare.  She cared more about handing out chocolate in the red envelopes of course!!!  We also had a little mini celebration with Chinese take out with Grandma and Grandpa. 

The following weekend we attended another New Year celebration with some other families who also have children adopted from China.  It was great to see Grace interacting so confidently with the other girls.  She's so social these days!

The girls doing crafts.  Grace made a lantern with a little help from Mommy