A Few Words About Our Chinese New Year Celebration...

The following post contains pictures of us celebrating Chinese New Year this past Saturday. We went to a wonderful party that was hosted by our local Chinese Cultural Center. Emma had a lot of fun and loved the Dragon Dance, she repeatedly asked if she could go on stage...I have no doubt that she would have joined in if we let her! :) Below is an over view of Chinese New Year that I found online. If you are interested it explains the holiday in simple terms. Or, if you choose you may go to the next post to see pictures of Emma! :)


CHINESE NEW YEAR
INFORMATION COURTESY OF: http://www.nickjr.com/parenting/parenting_features/chinese-new-year/about/chinese-ny-info.jhtml

Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival, is a very important time of the year in most of Asia. It is a time of renewal, and the traditions and festivities associated with the New Year are a way to celebrate a fresh, new beginning.The Chinese New Year falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice. In 2009, the New Year falls on January 26.

Preparations & Celebrations

The traditional Chinese New Year's greeting is "Gung ho fat choy!" which means, "may prosperity be with you!" Each day of the 15-day celebration has a significant meaning, and there are specific foods to be eaten and prayers to be said on each day. Many of the preparations Chinese families make for the New Year are done to bring good luck and prosperity in the coming year. Thoroughly cleaning the house before the New Year Getting a haircut and new clothes to begin the year fresh and clean Decorating house doors with red scrolls and banners for good luck Placing live, blooming plants around the house to symbolize renewal Handing out small red envelopes filled with money, called lai see hong bao, for good luck.

Traditional FoodsThis is a time of family reunions and gatherings and most Chinese families spend New Year's Eve together enjoying huge feasts where many traditional foods are prepared and eaten. Typical foods include: Oranges & tangerines (for good luck) Red dates (for prosperity) Melon seeds (for many babies) Nian gao (a special dish baked for the New Year--the higher it is, the better year it will be) The Tray of Togetherness (a candy tray filled with lichee nut, kumquat, and lotus seed candies, which symbolize good fortune)

The Signs of the Chinese ZodiacThe Chinese observe a 12-year cycle in which each year is named after a particular animal. According to legend, before his death the Buddha asked all the animals to meet him on the New Year. Twelve animals showed up, and as a reward, he named a year after each of them. It is said that people born in a specific animal's year will have characteristics similar to that animal. Find out more about signs of the Chinese Zodiac.

The Lantern Festival. The arrival of the full moon signals the end of the celebrations, which means it's time for the Lantern Festival. Elaborate lanterns are decorated and hung in temples and homes. On the full moon, the lanterns are carried to a moonlit parade where the dragon dance is performed and fireworks are lit to chase away evil spirits and bad luck. Make paper lanterns for your own festival.

Chinese New Year Celebration! (The Pictures)!

Changing Daddy's Diaper

Emma's VERY BEST friend right now is her Daddy! She loves to play with him and she thinks that everything that he does is just so funny. Greg is very good about playing with her and as you will see by the pictures below he will go along with just about anything. :)

Emma's favorite book right now is "My Mei Mei". (Mei Mei means "little sister" in Chinese). We bought it for her to help explain Sophie's adoption into our family. It is an adorable story with the cutest pictures! Last night she decided that it was time to reenact a page from the book and it involved Greg wearing a Pull Up! :P Poor Greg, Emma REALLY does need Sophie to come home so that she can change her little sister's diapers instead.

Whoo-Hoo!!! Our LOA is IN CHINA!!!!

As you can see by the bold print below our LOA is in BEIJING! I expect that it will be received by the CCAA tomorrow morning or afternoon! Yeahhhh!!! :)

Package Progress
Location
Date
Local Time
Description
*BEIJING,CN*
*01/16/2009*
*11:11 P.M.*
*IMPORT SCAN*
01/16/2009
11:10 P.M.
IMPORT SCAN
INCHEON,KR
01/16/2009
7:47 P.M.
DEPARTURE SCAN
01/16/2009
2:42 P.M.
THE PACKAGE WAS MISSORTED AT THE HUB. IT HAS BEEN REROUTED TO THE CORRECT DESTINATION SITE
01/16/2009
12:22 P.M.
ARRIVAL SCAN
ANCHORAGE,AK, US
01/15/2009
9:47 A.M.
DEPARTURE SCAN
01/15/2009
9:47 A.M.
DEPARTURE SCAN
01/15/2009
5:50 A.M.
ARRIVAL SCAN
ONTARIO,CA, US
01/15/2009
1:48 A.M.
DEPARTURE SCAN
ONTARIO,CA, US
01/14/2009
10:22 P.M.
ARRIVAL SCAN
SEATTLE,WA, US
01/14/2009
8:10 P.M.
DEPARTURE SCAN
BREMERTON,WA, US
01/14/2009
6:10 P.M.
ARRIVAL SCAN
PORT ANGELES,WA, US
01/14/2009
5:10 P.M.
DEPARTURE SCAN
01/14/2009
4:54 P.M.
ORIGIN SCAN
01/14/2009
4:43 P.M.
PICKUP SCAN
01/14/2009
4:34 P.M.
PICKUP SCAN
US
01/14/2009
10:07 P.M.
BILLING INFORMATION RECEIVED

Our LOA is Enroute Back to Beijing, China!

Our adoption agency mailed our signed LOA back to the CCAA yesterday. Courtesy of technology I can "follow" the package until it arrives in Beijing, China. Once it arrives at the CCAA then we can officially begin to wait for Travel Approval! It is not as if I have time to sit and follow the UPS website all day long....but, I will be checking it often! It is something new for me to be obsessive-compulsive about. ;)

Package Progress
Location
Date
Local Time
Description
ONTARIO,CA, US
01/15/2009
1:48 A.M.
DEPARTURE SCAN
ONTARIO,CA, US
01/14/2009
10:22 P.M.
ARRIVAL SCAN
SEATTLE,WA, US
01/14/2009
8:10 P.M.
DEPARTURE SCAN
BREMERTON,WA, US
01/14/2009
6:10 P.M.
ARRIVAL SCAN
PORT ANGELES,WA, US
01/14/2009
5:10 P.M.
DEPARTURE SCAN
01/14/2009
4:54 P.M.
ORIGIN SCAN
01/14/2009
4:43 P.M.
PICKUP SCAN
01/14/2009
4:34 P.M.
PICKUP SCAN
US
01/14/2009
10:07 P.M.
BILLING INFORMATION RECEIVED Tracking results provided by UPS: 01/15/2009 8:16 A.M. ET

Emma's First Trip to the Dentist!

This morning had her very first dental visit! While she has accompanied Greg and I to the dentist in the past for our teeth cleanings she has never had her very own appointment. We decided that it was time to change that. Our dental office has the nicest staff EVER-seriously! The hygienist was very calm and patient with Emma. She explained what all of the instruments were for in toddler terms and allowed Emma to sit on my lap facing me while she cleaned her teeth. :) Emma was nervous but she was also very brave! I was proud of her, this was a very big deal given Emma's sensory issues. By the time the dentist came by to check out Emma's teeth she was less than compliant and made it clear that she was finished with the visit. Oh well, maybe the next time we will have better luck! Emma has no cavities or decay...check out the pictures below to see her nice clean teeth!!

We Have LOA!

We received our LOA today after waiting for 89 days! For those of you who are adoption challenged; that means that we received our Letter of Approval to adopt Sophia Grace from the CCAA. (That is the Chinese Center of Adoption Affairs). Our adoption agency is overnighting it to us today and we will sign it tomorrow and overnight it back to them; then it is on it's way back to China! We should have Travel Approval from the CCAA in 3-4 weeks. Sometimes families receive it earlier than that, but with Chinese New Year starting on January 26 and running through February 9th nothing will be happening on China's end. I can't believe that I am typing this; we will be going to bring Sophie HOME soon! I am still sticking to my guesstimation that we will be traveling at the end of February. Three years ago we were saying the same thing about Emma, it is pretty neat that we are traveling at the same time to bring Sophie home. :)