Chinese New Year

We all enjoyed Chinese New Year this year at the CCAI celebration! We arrived early, had a great seat and enjoyed the company of those seated around us. The food was good and the entertainment was a lot of fun, Makana enjoyed feeding the Lion, which she insists is a dragon. Makana and I made wontons in Chinese class earlier in the month and they were delicious. We also performed in the JCC festival for New Year, well we walked around the stage while Makana hid behind me and I sang, but maybe that counts! I tried making my own wontons at home later, they were good, but not as good as we had in class. Makana has been enjoying watching Ni Hao Kai Lan on Nickelodean, it is good for her to hear the Chinese we are learning in school elsewhere and to have fun with it. We also bought a dragon and a book on Chinese New Year that she loves. I hope we can keep her as close to her heritage as possible!

Makana's birthday

We discussed a party for Makana, but it would have had to be a week after her birthday as I did not get any invitations done before Christmas break and we did not go back to school until the 6th of January, a day after her birthday. So I finally decided to have Kathy and Zach meet us for lunch at Chick-fil-et and where we had cake and the kids played after lunch. We then drove to the Disney store and let the kids pick out some gifts. The sale was incredible, so Makana got a lot! We had a great day together, then on Gil's day off later in the week they also had a special day together.

Very late post about Christmas

We moved into our new home on the 22 of December in a lot of snow! Since we were in no way moved in yet we spent Christmas eve at Kathy and Jeff's house and then came home on Christmas day in the afternoon. This picture shows Makana in her Christmas dress trying out her new tricycle.

Thanksgiving

We spent the day with friends Kathy and Jeff and their 7 year old, Zach. Makana thinks Zach is the best and we love spending time with Kathy and Jeff, so it was a good day! Cody came with us and we all ate and laughed a lot. Kathy took some photos to use for our Christmas cards and we took some of the kids too. Cody stayed over until Friday night and it was good to just hang around with her again.

On Sunday when Gil was off work we needed a little late lunch before I cooked dinner. We stopped at a Sonic and Makana said she wanted a corn dog, when we got home and she was eating it and singing "dip, dip, dip" as she dipped into the ketchup she announced, "I don't like the skin!" I look over and she is peeling the corn part off the hotdog. I told her that was what makes it a corn dog and if she did not like it she did not have to eat it, but that she should just get a hot dog next time. She did not say anything, but after eating the hot dog she went back and ate the "skin" by itself! Crazy girl!

She often sings when we are shopping, (well any time really) at the top of her lungs she will sing her ABC's, Twinkle Twinkle, some of her Chinese songs or just that she "is a princess" or "we are happy". Then she acts totally shocked and shy when strangers look at her and tell her she is cute. Of course this is really funny when she is wearing her ladybug sunglasses upside down on her forehead and carrying her green lame purse that Carol gave her!

No Halloween trick or treating

This picture is from the last day this week that Makana felt good enough to go to school. She has had a fever and a cough all week so mom did not get anything done! 3 costumes and no trick or treating. We stayed home and carved a pumpkin, made caramel apples and hoped trick or treaters would come to us. None did. We are still in the apartment and I guess that most of the kids go to neighborhoods to trick or treat. I am glad I did not buy very much candy as I seem to be the one eating it! We were told this week that our house will be ready in December instead of January. So 3 days before Christmas we will be moving! I am excited and worried too of course. So much to do!

almost Halloween for a funny girl!

Here is what is new with my funny girl in the last couple of weeks, she keeps me laughing:

Knock knock jokes:

dd: Knock knock

mom: who's there?

dd: me

mom: me who?

dd: Makana

drinking apple juice in car seat, arms behind head, straw in mouth, cup precariously balanced on the bottom latch of her car seat!

When she thinks I am upset with her she asks, "Mommy are you funny? I like you funny."

She has been enjoying playing in her costumes, I don't know which one she will actually wear for Halloween. She wears them, dances around the house and sings "Twinkle twinkle"

I got a new camera this week, so I should post more often as I have more pictures to share!

Baby Ballerina

Makana got this for her birthday in January, but she was having so much fun today I had to take pictures! She was posing and dancing around and doing jumping turns saying "tip toe, tip toe"! I wish I could post the video! These were taken with my camera phone as my digital camera is not working properly, so I apologize if the quality is not great.

We are enjoying Chinese schools on Saturdays, she was singing herself to sleep the other day with her Chinese songs and making up the words that she did not know yet. She does a good job in class of repeating things for her teacher. She won't always repeat for me, but she sure does for her teacher.

Today I came home from work and Gil reports to me that he heard Makana repeating a choice swear word. It is not something we say and we try to shield her from that type of language, so Gil asked her where she heard it and she said, "Chinese school," now I am with her in this class and I know she did not hear it there, but it could have been her preschool. It could also be that she is trying to say a Chinese word and it sounded like a swear word. We will have to wait and see, hopefully she won't say it again!