Gong Xi Fa Cai!

This weekend we attended the BIG Chinese New Year party for the families connected through our adoption agency. The event is beautifully organized and decorated by several families that pull the whole thing together. The facility becomes transformed by large silk panels that hang floor to ceiling, an array of delicate paper parasols, Chinese lanterns, drums, and more. The Chinese food is always Delicious and there is a DJ, traditional dancers, Kung Fu demonstrations, arts and crafts, photo booths, vendors selling Chinese goods, and of course the fabulous Lion Dancers. We joined three other families from our travel group and enjoyed the opportunity to catch up and watch the children play together. There aren't many photos because it is simple waaaay to hard to get good shots given the large crowd, and very fast moving three year old.

This picture was of our cake for a CNY playdate we had this week.

Kai, our broccoli lover, was still snacking while watching the performers.

There were several tables with activities for the kids. Kai had his face painted....several times. He made two Dragon masks, painted a paper lantern and cut out his own lantern with rainbow velum. There were also tables with aromatherapy, jewelry making, origami, and fingernail painting.


The Lion Dancers were the grand finale. Kai is always mesmerized by the booming percussion instruments and the rhythmic dancing of the Lions. He LOVES watching them leap in time with the music and the acrobatic skills they perform. Kai really enjoyed this Year of the Dragon festival. We are eager to go back next year.

Happy Birthday, Kai!

Our little Monster turned the BIG #3 on January 14th. He had a Nonster Bash party; two actually. On Saturday, our families joined us for round one and then Kai's friends and our local friends helped us celebrate on Sunday. Unfortunately, between a boy that never held still for two minutes and a glitch in the camera setting, I got very few non-blurred pictures from either party.

The first photo was taken a day or two before his birthday. Kai decided to make his own cake with play-doh. I couldn't find the extra candles so a cut up straw did the job.









Kai got a big thrill, riding with his Daddy around the yard, on my snowmobile at a veeeeeery slooooow put, put pace last week.

In preparation for the Chinese New Year, Kai helped with making the traditional red decorations. We hung paper lanterns and paper dragons to celebrate the Year of the Dragon. Next weekend, we will join many of our travel group friends at the annual New Year party for families connected with our adoption agency. We are super excited to see everyone again and cannot wait to see the fabulous Lion Dance.

Hey, look at me!! I'm a regular blog poster this week!

It was a bit chilly, but Kai and I headed outdoors to give his new trike a run on the pavement today. Boy does that thing move fast. It is waaaay cooler than the one he had been using with plastic wheels; this thing really grips the road. He hasn't mastered the steering yet, given his increased speed, but we'll get there. Hey,since I'm chasing him, I'm getting a little exercise now, too.




When he isn't riding it in the house, it doubles as his buffet table. :)

When 3 year olds attack...

Our friend, Jessica, and her daughter, Delia, came over for a playdate this week. After we fed the kiddos, they scampered off into the living room to play with Kai's Christmas presents and the mommies to the opportunity to fix up our plates and have a bite to eat. We were listening to their happy play as we sat in the next room savoring our two minutes of uninterrupted conversation. They were out of sight 2-3 minutes tops before I decided to peek my head around the corner and check out what they were doing. Queu the shark attack music....Dah nah, daaaaah nah, dah nah, dah nah, dah nah.....



Yup. Markers. I wish I had gotten close up shots...they were QUITE a sight. Faces, hands, necks, inside of mouths, walls, the mirrors, the window, the art table, stools, and the red end table. We were singing Crayola's praises for having invented washable markers. Everything came clean. The kids helped with clean up and we eventually resumed our eating once the contraband had been collected. And that, folks, is why Kai cannot be entrusted with markers, paint or crayons without direct supervision. My bad; I totally forgot that they were left out.

Birthday Count Down!

Kai is approaching his THIRD birthday! We can hardly believe it and the preparations are already underway. One way we are hoping to make it special for Kai is to maila homemade card into Sprout to (hopefully) be featured during their daily birthday segment. Sprout is a channel, owned by PBS, that runs t.v. programming for preschoolers. This is a picture of the front/inside of Kai's card. I had to whip it up last night because it needs to be there at least two weeks in advance for it to have a chance to air. They read through the cards and sing a special version of "Happy Birthday" to the kids. Kai will be elated if his card is on t.v.

Last year, Kai had his 4th surgery on his birthday (sad, but he needed the procedure to move forward with his speech and that is what was available). We had a little family party for him the week prior, but with the craziness of Christmas and many loooong nights with a kid that still hadn't fully recovered from the surgery in September, it felt rushed. I hadn't the opportunity to really celebrate or reflect upon the significance of that date; it is a day that carries a lot of weight.

Sadly, many children from China do not have true knowledge of their actual birth date. Because there is no legal method of surrendering a child, parents or family members must find alternative means of leaving their child in the custody of the government. They are unable to leave contact information and fear the risks inherent with an unregistered pregnancy/birth. Children often come into the orphanages with no birth history and doctors are compelled to make up a birth date based on physical development.

In Kai's situation, he was found with a playing card tucked into his blankets. On it was written the date of his birth. It may seem trite to most, but given how little of his beginnings Kai will ever know, this piece of his birth story is priceless. We shall never know who wrote it, and it will remain one of the many unanswered questions of his past, but having record of this date will be a treasured gift, always.

I am forever grateful for the little boy we have with us today. Somewhere, in a land that feels at the same time distant and yet wholly familiar, a child was born into this world. Three years ago, on January 14th, the world changed for the better because Kai was a part of it. In science, the Butterfly Effect considers how one small change can alter the course of life for everything else in its path. The birth of a child has that same consequence. Kai has affected people on two continents. Kai is an integral part of the lives of his family and friends. As he ages, Kai will affect a still greater population. With each passing year, more people will be touched by the little boy I humbly and proudly have the privilege to call my SON.

Each evening at bedtime we read a few books before shutting off the light. One of Kai's favorites is titled, "On the Night You Were Born". It begins like this: On the night you were born, the moon smiled with such wonder that the stars peeked in to see you and the night wind whispered, "Life will never be the same." Because there had never been anyone like you...ever in the world.

Happy Birthday, Kai Kai. It may not be January 14th just yet, but it is never too early to celebrate the night YOU were born.

Merry Christmas!