There will be a day that we don’t live in China anymore… really, honest.  Do you think we’ll still recognize and celebrate CNY even if we’re not in Asia.  Here’s the thing:  even though Maddie and Amelia are American, they have Chinese heritage.  They know the culture – they speak the language – it’s a part of them.  I am indeed curious about this and will wait to see if it hangs on when we leave Shanghai.  I suspect that it will…

Amelia headed to school this year to watch her sister up on stage… you should have seen the complete adoration AND jealousy in her eyes!

Happy Year of the Ox to you all!

We tried on Maddie’s traditional Chinese dress last Friday and quickly figured out that she had grown out of it again so we made our way to the fabric market and she picked out the fabric for her tailor made dress. I was delightfully gobsmacked that she chose blue. BLUE! “Jim” remembered us from the last two times we went to have a dress made and Maddie even remembered him so she conversed with him while he measured her for the dress. I may be a pinch biased, but I think she looked pretty darn cute in her dress! The girl is growing up so fast, but we’ll see if this lasts through the summer.

Her class performed on stage again this year and she did a great job! She wasn’t shy the least bit and even encouraged some of her friends onto the stage.

Gong Xi Fa Cai!!!