Happy Chinese New Year!

This past weekend our family drove up to spend a couple days with the Glass family to celebrate Chinese New Year. It was officially the new year yesterday, but we celebrated anyway on Sunday.

If you don't know much about the Chinese New Year, basically it's a holiday full of traditions--you eat certain foods to bring luck, wealth, and health; ceremonies are performed for ancestors to help them in the after-life and to honor them; and there are all kinds of rules/traditions that are supposed to bring luck. I have to be honest, I don't know most of them but here are a few I do know:

Wearing red is supposed to bring luck.

George's mom makes these little pink rice cakes that crack open at the top when you bake them. They are supposed to bring luck as well, or prosperity. It's bad if they don't crack open when you bake them, and you leave them out for several days after the new year to continue bringing luck.

You aren't supposed to cut your hair (i.e. shave) for 5 days after the new year because you are shaving off your luck/wealth. I think that goes for sweeping your house as well. You don't want to sweep away your good luck!

You give money to people on this day as well. Usually it's the younger generation that receives the money, but it's good luck to give as well as receive, so everyone benefits.

Families will gather at together, usually at the parent's house or the oldest living sibling, to honor their ancestors. They have offerings of food and will burn paper money--because whatever you burn here on earth for them, they receive in the after-life.

As for the food to eat, there are many different kinds of food and each one is supposed to help you in some way. 

It's neat to learn all these traditions and feel a part of such a rich heritage.

We drove to Maryland to have a fun dinner at an all-you-can-eat chinese buffet with as much of the family as could make it. In years past, the women of the family have carefully prepared all the special foods and such, but this year and last we have opted to have it at a restaurant. Much easier!

Bryce and Jude playing on the iPod.

Lance and Callie

George's cousin Wei-yu and his wife Tanganika.

Brothers! George, Allen and Nathan.

This place had a chocolate fountain, which made it alright in Jude's eyes.

Jude getting some help from Grandmom.

Bryce, Jude, Grandmom with George's Uncle and Aunt

George with his dad, Nathan and Allen.

Eric with little Alliyah (I know I spelled that wrong--sorry!). She belongs to George's cousin Pei.

George's cousin Pei and her husband A.J.

I look enormous here! 2 weeks to go!

 Lance with his chocolate cake and jello.

Jude hanging out with Aunt and Uncle. 

The Scholz family--Eric, Callie, Jen and Bryce.

The Glass family.

Jude showing off his awesome little vest with cousin Wei-yu.

The food was wonderful and the company even better. It was great to see the family and spend the holiday eating as much sushi and crab ragoons as we could. 

Happy Year of the Dragon!

The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog

How can you tell a story is a hit?

I think the pictures speak for themselves.

These books have become Lance and Jude's absolute favorites. They're a about a snarky pigeon that always wants to do something he's not supposed to, like stay up late or drive a bus (or, as in this book, share a hot dog). The boys can't get enough, especially when George reads them. I have to admit I laugh right alongside as I listen to George reading in his crazy pigeon voice.

Love it.

Roller blades, dentists and fish

The past couple weeks have been nice--no crazy schedules, no holiday planning, no long drives. Just living. And I love that. The older the kids get, the more I realize that cliche saying is true: there really is no place like home.

One day it was really warm (like 60 degrees!), so Lance broke out his new roller blades in our parking lot.

For a first real try, he did a pretty good job. He had been practicing in our hallway inside the apartment and it had paid off.

There was some of this...

...and a little bit of this.

But mostly this. He's still slow and wobbly, but with a little practice, he'll be just fine.

Jude had a good time riding his new bike. He's still trying to get the pedaling down and ended up going backwards most of the time.

Lance soon traded in his roller blades for his trusty bike and he and Killian whipped around our circle several times

Love the choice of shoes, Lance.

It is that time of year when Lance needs a dentist check, so we made an appointment for Jude, too.

Lance setting a good example. He did a good job--no cavities!

Jude was NOT too sure about sitting in the seat, though, and even laying on Daddy while watching "Thomas the Tank Engine" wasn't enough comfort to get through the appointment without some loud tears. Hopefully he wasn't too scarred and will be better in 6 months.

After our appointment, we went to the pet store so Lance could pick out some fish for his fish tank Santa brought him for Christmas.

This lady was VERY nice and helpful and Lance came home with a black molly, three zebra tetras and two shrimp.

He had picked out a couple albino cory cat fish a few days earlier at another pet store.

Here is his tank all set up in his room. It's actually red in real life and the black and white fish swimming around are beautiful. You can kind of see the black molly and the cory cat fish next to the lava rock. We've had a couple casualties since we introduced the fish to the tank (it can happen because the tank needs to "cycle" in the beginning, so you end up sacrificing a few fish here and there before it stabilizes), so we'll be headed to the store again to replace the fishies we lost.

And that's about the extent of our excitement these past couple weeks. Lance is spending this weekend up in Fairfax with his dad while the rest of us hang out here in Charlottesville and try to get some last-minute things done before this baby arrives. I'll be 37 weeks on Tuesday, so I guess he could come any day now, although I think I still have a bit to go. We'll see! I'm not sure I'm at the point yet where I'd prefer him out instead of in. Most days I'm just excited to meet him and anxiously await delivery day, but on those days when I flop into bed at night exhausted, I realize that while it would be much more comfortable to not be pregnant and it will be nice to get my pre-pregnancy body back, it's much easier for me that he's still inside instead of out. It's nice to have only one kid's diaper to change and to be able to sleep through the night (mostly) without getting up every 2-3 hours. I have to admit I'm also a little bit nervous about being outnumbered--2 adults to 3 children--but I think we'll be okay.

So, stay tuned for baby updates! (Oh, and if you have any good boy name suggestions, pass them along! We're pretty sure we like a certain name, but I'm still not 100% sold, so send those good names our way!)

Happy Birthday, Jude!

Jude turned 2 on January 2nd! I can't believe our little baby is already a "toddler". Here are a few milestones he's been reaching:

- He talks A LOT! Like whole sentences. His latest one is, "Mommy, I have question..." and then will just stare at me when I ask him what it is. Crazy kid!

- He has mastered climbing up ladders and almost mastered climbing back down. It's an important thing to learn because he is constantly trying to get up onto the top bunk of the bunk bed.

- We are slooowly transitioning to a "big boy" bed, emphasis on slow. Hopefully we'll get there before baby #3 need the big crib.

- He is quite the monkey. Jude loves to climb, probably because he sees Lance climbing and jumping off of everything. He has learned to climb out of any pack-n-play and even climbed out of his big crib!

- Jude is extremely cuddly. If he knows you and sees you across the room, he'll run up and give you a hug, or put his head in your lap and love on you for a minute before going back to his toys. This is basically how he greets all our friends and neighbors whenever he sees them.

- He loves to give a "hug and kiss", especially if he thinks you're sad. George will play a game with him and pretend to be sad. "Daddy sad!" Jude will counter with, "awww, Daddy sad!" and then give him a "hug and kiss" until George says, "Thanks, Jude! Daddy happy!" It's pretty hysterical.

- Jude wants to be a big kid like Lance. Anything Lance likes, Jude likes. Nerf guns, Bay-blades, or just hanging out with the big friends--Jude thinks these are all fabulous. Lance tries to be a good sport about it.


We celebrated Jude's Birthday on New Years Eve so most of our family could make it. Jude actually understood what was going on because while I was making his cupcakes the day before, he kept saying, "Happy Birthday me? Party! Party!" So funny!

This video is a little blurry (we're still trying to figure out how to use my new camera) but it gives you an idea of how excited Jude really was.

I saw a cute Hungry Caterpillar-themed Birthday party on Pinterest and thought it was perfect for Jude.

We had a simple lunch of pizza with snacks of apples, pears, strawberries, oranges and "plums" (they were actually blackberries because I couldn't find any plums).

The cake! Red velvet and french vanilla swirled cake with cream cheese frosting.

Jude getting some help with his orange from Pop Pop.

Mason, Callie and Bryce came and the kids had a great time playing while the adults ate lunch.

Then, it was time to party!

"Smile, Jude! Show me your teeth!"

"Now say 'Eeee!'" Perfect.

Daddy lighting the candles.

Singing... and waiting.

Getting help from big brother to blow out the candles.

I wonder what he wished for.

Yay!

Funny story--Jude saw Lance grab one of the candles and lick off the frosting, so he grabbed the other and tried to do the same, only he put the wrong end into his mouth! This picture was taken right after he realized what he did. I don't think he was hurt because he didn't cry, but when my mom turned it around so he could lick the end with the frosting, he was very hesitant.

Baby pillow pet!

Gum? For Me? Thanks, Lance!

Jason, Amy, Chad, and Pop Pop.

Laura and Mason, Grandma, Grandmom, Jason and Amy (with Callie and Bryce).

Laura and Mason.

Nice hat! Thanks, Grandma!

Why I'm almost never in any pictures...

What a haul!

We are so lucky to have so much family close!

And for the last gift...

A bike!

Thanks, Lance. What a helper!

Mason thought it was fun to push Jude around on the trike, too. He's a strong boy!

Enjoying some birthday cake.

Having a go on the bike again.

Afterwards, we all sat around while the kids wrestled with Uncle Tyler and had a good time. It was a great little party and Jude was super happy, exactly what we were hoping for.

Happy Birthday, Jude! It's been a wonderful two years and I can't wait to see what new things you learn and to watch you grow as the years go by. Thanks for being ours and bringing such joy to our lives!