Celebrating the Year of the Rabbit February 2011

On Saturday, we attend the local adoption group festivities full of crafts, ladies and kids doing the traditional dance. Saw many new faces, some old and new adoptees.

Ava doing her own little dance before the party

gift that she used with her lysee money

Happy Chinese New Year

more crafts

presenting her rabbit hat...ear

getting ready for the show

best of all the kids loved the poppers

celebrated with dinner at Red Robin ( so Chinese :)))

enjoyed some hardy milkshake

even got to go to Hollister with my BFF

Cousin Sera teaching Ava early:)

CNY Mommy & Me playgroup

We attended the Mommy & Me playgroup hosted by Kelly & her girls. Ava & I had so much fun getting to know couple of "new" mom's that came home with their little ones.

Kelly was so organized with the crafts and activities for the kids, we even got lunch at a delicious chinese restuarant.

coloring the head, tail & feet of the dragon.

the end result, Ava was so proud she did this all by herself ( except I cut 13 little hands ) to make the "dragon"

Listening to a story

all the kids loved this huge dragon book.

The kids all got a turn entertaining themselves with the dragon & drums

Katie & Ava loved Atari, the kitty

Ava even got a turn with the drums

all 12 kids & their dragon

in the end the kids all recieved lysee filled with chocolate coins.

Thanks again, Kelly for hosting this event!

Year of the Rabbit

The Chinese new year means the start of a lunar year. Families get together, celebriting the new year, wishing a whole new and good year.

My girls love CNY because they always get 'lysee'.

Thank you Yee Yee Amy & Uncle Doug for this wonderful gift.

Chinese dancing queens!

The girls each bought an umbrella when we were in China for Ava's adoption back in 2007-2008. They never seem to play with them until today, after we saw the 'ladies' at one of the Ethnic festival dancing with them the girls decided they are the chinese dancing rain girls.

CNY crafts

Ava trys helping Malia fold paper which should look like fans but little porky had something else in mind.....

she would rather get up on the chair to sing!

more singing...blah...blah...blah


but jie jie was able to sit still and make her CNY craft

Good Job, Malia.

Chinese New Year ~ Year of the Ox

All about Chinese New YearChinese New Year is a holiday that celebrates the beginning of a new year according to the lunar calendar. It is considered to be one of the most important holidays for Chinese families.
The holiday is celebrated with big family gatherings, gift giving, the eating of symbolic foods and display of festive decorations--all focused on bringing good luck for the new year and celebrating the coming of Spring.
When Is Chinese New Year?The start of Chinese New Year changes every year since it is dictated by the lunar calendar. The Gregorian or solar calendar--which is based on the Earth's movement around the sun and has a fixed number of 365 days a year (366 during a leap year)--is the most widely used calendar system in the world and has been the official calendar used in China since 1912.
But in China the lunar calendar is still used to determine traditional holidays like Chinese New Year. Since the lunar calendar is based on the phases of the moon-- which has a shorter cycle than the sun--Chinese New Year is never on the same day each year, but typically falls somewhere between January 21st and February 20th. For 2008, Chinese New Year falls on February 7th. In 2009 it falls on January 26th.
How Long Do Chinese New Year Celebrations Last?According to Daria Ng, Assistant Curator of Education at the Museum of Chinese in the Americas in New York City, celebrations can actually last up to a month, especially in China.
Originally the celebrations lasted for lengthy amounts of time because China was a very agriculture-based country so farmers took the whole month off to rest since crops couldn't be planted during the winter. Nowadays most families celebrate the New Year for about two week's time, says Ng, starting on the first day of the new year and end on the 15th.

CNY Celebration for Mommy & Me Playgroup

The girls and I went to a Mommy and Me playgroup for Chinese New Year Celebration, it was a lot of fun, Ms. Char (whom was our SW for Malia) was nice enough to host the event at her house. All the little girls wore their Chinese traditional outfits. All the kids looked adorable. Thanks to Kelly. She did a wonderful job getting pictures of each and every little girl with a stuffed dragon that Char had.

Storytelling for the girls about China and what CNY meant

sweet little Ella (Kelly's daughter)

Chow time, the girls loved there food

Malia playing with Katie and Ella

then there was the last dance for the girls

Ava enjoying the festivties but did not want to get down to play with the kids, she would rather have me hold her the entire time.