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The Dragon Dance {Sunday Snapshot}

Sunday, February 6, 2011
We have made it a point to celebrate Chinese New Year ever since Kate joined our family.  We all really enjoy it. I have made a banner and decorated our home and the kids all have traditional Chinese clothes to wear.  Some years we cook (like last year and I never posted about it), some years we have ordered out and had friends over.  This year, I wiggled our way into a restaurant with Chinese Dragon dancing at the last minute.  Apparently, this place books up a month in advance but I was able to talk our way in on Friday evening.  I was so excited!!


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This was in the entry of the restaurant and Kate was FREEZING cold-- so it was a quick (blown-out) shot:)


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We were in a rush and Harry was at a friend's house so he did not have his Chinese clothes on.
Dinner was great but we had to stretch out some time before the dragon dancing began.  

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We saw them setting up and then we heard the drums.  Kate does not like loud noises.  I was a little concerned but thought maybe she would just cover her ears.

But as soon as she saw the dragons...she buried her head in Harry's lap and would not come up.  She was terrified!!!

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Harry was the SWEETEST big brother ever.  He and Dave just rubbed Kate's back and tried to soothe her.  The dragons came around to all the tables and we were kind of trapped so we could not leave.

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Will "feeding" the dragon a red envelope.

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The show was great but Kate was so scared.  I felt awful.  I never would have thought she would be so terrified.  On the way out, the dancers were out front and we showed her the people and the costumes.  The next day, we accidentally walked into another dragon dance in town with little kids and she was not afraid of that.  It was adorable to see tiny little kids (like 4-5 years old) in the dragon costumes. So maybe we'll try again next year?

I realized as I was doing this post that I never posted about CNY last year....so I wanted to include a few snapshots.....

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Dave bought us a Wok for Christmas a few months before CNY and had worked on seasoning it and perfecting some Chinese recipes.  Harry is allergic to soy and you cannot really find a Chinese restaurant that will cook without soy! (the restuarant above was Vietnamese and they made him plain rice and grilled shrimp:)  It was so funny..... when we informed our waiter of Harry's food allergies (wheat, gluten, dairy and soy), he said, "Oh everything here was MSG, soy and gluten in it!"  We laughed.  Luckily, a manager came and helped us out.

So, these are the photos of the dinner Dave cooked for us last year (Chinese New Year 2010)...

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He made a  noodle dish with chicken and a rice dish with shrimp...but I only photographed this one.

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It looks like Kate was in princess attire and I never got photos of her or Will.  I have no clue how I dropped the ball on posting about this or even taking good photos last year.

I am going in to Kate's Pre-K class this week to teach them about Chinese New Year.  I am going to read books, do a craft, hand out red envelopes and bring dumplings!  I will admit that I feel silly doing this since I am certainly not an expert but she is the only Chinese person in her class this year.

Sorry for such a long "snapshot."




Ni Hao Yall

25 comments:

  1. We live in Tulsa, and even though Jack is Korean we go to the Lunar New Year event and I think what your family does is fabulous! My older two bio children do not have Hanboks of their own. And Jack long ago grew out of the one he came home in, so we borrowed one this year from our agency. We are pretty lame compared to your family! Our parade this year was led by a very un-scary rabbit and no scary noises. Maybe KAte would have liked that!

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  2. Kim,

    It looks amazing. Too bad Kate was so afraid. Hope the food was good!

    And, love, love, love, your banner! did you make it?

    Lea
    xo

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  3. That looks like so much fun!! No restaurants around here do anything special for CNY. We went to chinese for lunch and I asked the waiter if he was even doing anything special and he said he even forgot it was CNY until some customers mentioned it. It made me kind of sad. Maybe I could do some research and try to find some other families to celebrate with next year if we are not having a blizzard like this year!

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  4. you are so funny! there is no such thing as a "long" snapshot - it is what it is!! And I LOVE it! I totally should have made a banner when I borrowed my neighbor's Cricut :) Maybe next year!

    We have not yet had a chance to celebrate since Mya has been sick - and she is NEVER sick! Uggh!

    However, she is "Star of the Week" at her preschool next week and I get to go in and read a book and take a snack (potstickers and egg rolls!) I hope the kids have fun! I am also going to take in some tea and teach the kids a word in Chinese (probably Ni Hao) - Mya is the only Chinese kiddo in her class too and I think everyone enjoys learning more about other cultures. I am not an expert either - but its fun anyways....

    Glad you made it in to the restaurant - sorry Kate Emerson was scared :( Maybe next year she'll enjoy it more!

    Blessings,
    Sara

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  5. Hi Kim,
    One thing that you can do for Kate's class is to roll out bubble wrap on the floor for the kids to do their own CNY parade. The popping of the bubble wrap will sound like fire crackers. Be sure to get the large bubbles, as they are easier and louder for popping when the kids step on them. The kids in my Lily's class thought this was SO much fun.

    Just an idea.

    Candis

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  6. You will do a great job teaching about the CNY! I am so excited that our little one will finally be home for the next one! The only time we've ever been to a dragon dance most of the little ones reacted in much the same way as Kate!

    Any chance Dave is willing to share his recipe? It looks fabulous?

    If you have time please stop by my blog to see our new daughter. PS, we are Catholic and in no way was I offended by any of your comments. You are an excellent writer and your blog is a place to share your thoughts and impressions.

    Laurie

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  7. I love that you celebrate this. I just can never get over how cute your kids are!

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  8. I love this idea! I am sorry Kate was so scared, but I adore how she leaned into Harry for safety. Be still my beating heart! Precious!

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  9. THat dragon dance looks great. I'm pretty sure Wesleigh would be terrified. I bet Kate's not scared next year. I would love to find somewhere here that does that. So fun!!

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  10. Happy CNY! Looks like a fun night although I am sorry Kate was so scared. Lucy doesn't like loud noises either and I suspect those dragons would have scared both she and Kit. The girls brought their favorite "Chinese book" to school on Friday - Orange Peels Pockets. Their teachers read it and explained all about CNY. The kids enjoyed some fortune cookies as well. Hope you guys are thawing out!

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  11. What wonderful, protective brothers. Sorry Kate didn't enjoy it, but it looked like fun.
    Wow! Those are some massive allergies your son has. It must be difficult...soy is in everything. One of my best friends has a son that seems to be allergic to EVERYTHING (soy, dairy and wheat I think).
    I just finished tracing and cutting out 55 dragons for our schools first grade class projects as well as making homemade confetti. My arms and fingers are sore now. Who would have thought cutting paper would be such a good work out for the arms?

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  12. I put together all kinds of CNY stuff for the girls' teachers and the funny thing is that they both have other Chinese students in their class and those students have Chinese parents! Oh well. I'm happy to do it.

    Sorry Miss Kate was scared of the lion.

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  13. Fun! Except for the scared part.
    Love your banner too!!

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  14. oh poor little Kate burying her head...i bet the drums being sooo loud really added to it. I love watching the dragon dance and missed being able to see it this year, but we had fun. I love Kate's turquoise dress...I think the turquoise one I bought is a 10 or 12...so a few years down the road :)

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  15. Sounds like you guys had a great time-- and I agree with Kate-- those dragons are kind of scary!!

    Thanks for all your nice comments of support on our blog. Things are going well and the support of all my old blogging friends (and by that I only friends that have been around since the beginning of the adoptions-- LOL!)

    Christy :)

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  16. It looks like you had a wonderful time celebrating this year! So glad you were able to get reservations!!

    Kate looks gorgeous in that color....so pretty and Dave's food from last year.....YUMMM!! Yes, any chance you could post those recipes for us?

    Have fun at Pre-K with Kate. I bet the kids will LOVE the CNY celebration.

    xo,

    Lisa

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  17. Hi KIm, my son can't stand loud noises either. Fireworks, smoke detectors, you name it. He gets so anxious , I feel so bad for him. Kate looks gorgeous in her lavender attire. I went public today.Please stop over when you get a minute:)
    http//mylistbecomeshislist,blogspot,com/

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  18. There's a little guy in the Tongginator's class who is Chinese-Canadian-American. His mom was born in Anhui, but her English is not strong enough to teach a class of unruly first graders. So guess who got nominated? Don't feel silly - you know more than they do. It'll be enough.

    (What books are you bringing?)

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  19. Sweet photos! Happy Chinese New Year!

    I'm lucky that Emma's teacher knows all about Chinese New Year and celebrates it more authentically than I ever could. She teaches me a lot! She's not Chinese but her husband is and her in-laws live with them so she has a lot of share with us.

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  20. I'm just enjoying the pics of CNY of my favorite blogs. It is so refreshing to see how different cultures celebrate not to mention VERY educational.

    Also, I love how you and Dave incorporate CNY in your own household. Very inspiring!

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  21. Could you please list the books you'll be reading to Kate's class? I'd love to check them out....Heather

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  22. There is a cooking show on the cooking network. Not sure if you get it. It is called Chinese Food Made Easy. She makes healthy chinese food here is the link if you are interested http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/chinese-food-made-easy/index.html .
    Thanks for sharing all your recipes.
    Kathleen

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  23. What a great time, despite Kate's initial fear, that picture of her with her hands on face is SO funny!! Or maybe adorable is a better word. :) (I'm glad her fear didn't carry into the next day though :)
    "Wiggled" shmiggled....I'm sure you CHARMED your way into that restaurant!! :)
    Happy CNY!
    xoxo

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  24. Beautiful and packed with fun! I love the banner!

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  25. hi, i'm a chinese girl from malaysia n has been following ur journey of love to kate for quite sometime. it truly shows wat love is capable of in our lives.
    anyway, i'd just like to clarify something. actually, d ones in ur 7th pic where two persons are hidden under d clth is called "lion dance" instead of dragon dance. dragon dance is d one in ur 8th pic where it involves many people holding poles under d dragon n they'll be "chasing" after another person who holds a pole with a ball-like thing in front of the dragon.
    hope this little bit of info helps u. God bless!! ^_^

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Thank you for your kindness.