Happy Chinese New Year

Lydia and Ezra playing with their baby dolls. :) I took the girls to my friend Rachel's house to play with her three kids.

Elli photo shoot... again. This is Elli's default look. She wears it often.

But when she can get some eye contact her cheeks fill up with smiles.

Go Braves! Ashleigh gave this Braves outfit to Lydia. And now we have two mini Braves fans. :)

Mom and Karen, Elli is already working on her Queen Elizabeth wave. She will be ready for the pontoon boat in no time. :)

We met up with some friends at the mall to play... and so I could get a hair cut. By the way there is no such thing as a trim here. I have now tried to get a "trim" three times. And each time I walk out saying "This is the shortest my hair has ever been." And each time it has been true. At least I am not pregnant and hormonal this time. It's just hair. :)

My dear friend Darlene!

Did you notice Lydia is not in the picture above with all the other kiddos? She thought running away sounded more fun.

And of course... there were little driving toys beckoning her attention.

You can see a glimpse of the red lanterns behind Lydia. The malls are completely decorated for Chinese New Year. We hear the Chinese New Year song over and over everywhere we go. It's nice, because I still don't understand what they are saying. I like trying to pin point words as the jingle repeats itself time and time again. And I don't know any form of Chinese, so as you can imagine this challenge is not easily attainable.

Chinese New Year falls on February 14th this year, Valentine's Day. And you can't go wrong with red. Red is a significant color for both Chinese New Year and Valentine's Day. Many of our friends will go home for 1 to 2 weeks to celebrate Chinese New Year with their extended families. This holiday is significant in Chinese culture. The traditions tied to Chinese New Year are quite numerous. I have barely scratched the surface in my understanding them.