Happy CNY!

Gung Hay Fat Choy - may prosperity be with you!



It is time for Chinese New Year festivities and we decided we should participate more this year. The kids had Chinese New Year parties at school and I volunteered to help with the one in McKaden's class. It was really a lot of fun getting to do this and share some of the culture of our children's motherland. Wednesday evening we celebrated at home with a fun meal, homemade dragon decorations and lanterns. We talked about China and our love for the country and the people. When the evening was done I asked McKaden why we celebrate Chinese New Year when we did not live in China. After a moment to think, she said - "I have no idea." SO back to the drawing board I go.

My baby is 4

For two months now we have been saying that we have two 4 year olds - really, McKaden turned 4 in November BUT Max turned 4 on the 25th of January. We had a FIRST birthday party for Max and he loved it. He kept saying "this is ALL for me!" There were few dry eyes in the place when we sang Happy Birthday to this special little guy. How his life has changed in the last 10 months!!


And of course there were cousins! [can you tell that these three know how to pose?!]


This picture, while playing in the bounce house, looks as if he is thinking - "Boy, do I throw a great party or what"?!


McKaden enjoyed hanging out in the bounce house with 15 of her friends. One nice thing about "twins" is that they hang with the same crowd.


Many thanks to our friends and family who took time to celebrate Max. It was a nice afternoon to hang out at the gym [we had it at our local health club] and burn off some energy. We are taking a new approach to opening gifts and he is opening one a day for the next week or so. We have been able to talk a lot about being thankful, as well as talking about the person who gave the gift. For those of you with birthday's coming up, I highly recommend it!

Happy Birthday Max! You are very much loved. You are an amazing addition to our family. You bring so much laughter and joy to us. You are a very funny little guy and we are quite sure you will be the funny one in our family. You are very caring and are a great help to those in need. You love to be active and have a kind of super human strength - you amaze us! We are proud of you and are so happy that you are our son. God knew what he was doing when he added you to our family.

Takes after Nana

For her birthday my mom got McKaden her own Amaryllis bulb to plant. Mom and McKaden have a special bond over gardens and bugs - a passion that I don't share with them:) McKaden made a chart and recorded the progress of her plant, often calling Nana to let her know how it was doing.



This is how you do this - you take it out of the box.



You put on your Dora garden gloves and plant the bulb in the provided dirt. After you plant it you put it in a sunny spot and give it some water.



Every few days you write down on your chart how much it has grown - even when it is taller than you are!!



And when it breaks off the bulb, because it is SO big and heavy, you take a picture to send to Nana.




(and McKaden wants me to add the end of the story - "and then you throw it away".)

Happy New Year 4 year old style

We had a fun New Year's Eve Party over at a friends house last night. Since we were all rocking the pre-school crowd, we decided to end the party a little early. Around 1030pm we left to head for home ...



BUT we ended up chasing fireworks, looking at Christmas lights and having snacks.


So all that to say that we ALL - once again - made it to mid-night and the start of the NEW YEAR! So from our tired house to yours ... Happy New Year!