Happy Birthday Grace and Gung Hei Fat Choy

Grace turned 9 on February 10. I am handling 9 just fine but when she hits double digits I may be a mess. Where did my baby go?!?

We combined celebrations this year - Chinese New Year and Grace's birthday. Chinese New Year started on February 7th this year and it is the year of the rat. My sister Nicki was born in the year of the rat. I won't tell you how old she will be in May but she isn't 12 or 24. The Explorium (Lexington Children's Museum) held a celebration on February 9 and 10 which included performances by a group from the Heilongjiang College of Performing Arts in Harbin China. On Grace's birthday we attended the performance which included songs, dances and even a little magic. Following the show we spent some time in the exhibits.

Magic by Liyan Wang

This is Weilin Sun dancing Lonesome Red Flower.

Dancing Colorful Dawn at the Sky Mountain.



Hannah did not want her picture taken this day so we were lucky to get her in this shot. Although I do not have any other pictures of her at the Explorium I think she had fun, but maybe not as much fun as Rachael had.

For dinner we were joined by Craig's parents. I made the birthday cake and although I am no cake decorator Grace really liked her cake so that is all that matters (just in case you can't tell this is a horse - not a cow.)

One of Grace's favorite gifts was a digital camera. I found a used one on E-Bay in good shape and it takes good pictures. It also has a video feature allowing the user to take up to 45 seconds of video at a time. The girls all love this feature and have used it to make many videos of themselves. They have acted out Dan and Nicki's wedding, done a session with Nana on how to cook green beans and several silly videos. Grace hasn't yet learned that she can't be in the video and be the camera person. You end up with a video that makes the viewer sea sick! The wedding of "Dan" and "Nicki" can not be shown as it never is still but the vows are great - "Do you claim this woman?"

My favorite video so far is attached to this blog (I hope).




For those that can't see the video it shows Grace filming and all of a sudden you hear several loud thuds as the video looks to be falling down. After the sound you have a very dark view of what I presume is the floor and you hear me in the background saying, "Was that the camera?!" and Grace says, "No." Not often you catch your kids on video! Even better than the eyes in the back of my head that I have almost convinced Grace I have. After a few hours Grace came and showed me the video and apologized. Guilt has it's place.

Grace had a small birthday party at the house on February 16. It was after her actual birthday to accommodate my brother's custody arrangement and it allowed us to go to the Explorium event on the 10th. On February 13th I came down with the flu. It was awful but the good news is no one else in the family ever got sick. After about 40 hours I was sure it was the true flu and was able to get a prescription for Tamiflu. That medicine was worth the $79.23 it cost to buy it! By Saturday morning I was able to throw together a party. It ended up being very low key but fun.

Aunt Nicki and Cousin Anna

My sister Nicki and my two year old niece Anna flew into Cincinnati for a long weekend visit on February 1.






We drove up to spend Saturday and Sunday with them. It was nice to have most of my side of the family together (we did miss my brother-in-law Dan.) The last time we saw Anna was in June 2007. Her hair is much longer, her vocabulary larger, she has picked up speed and her personality has developed. She is a smart firecracker. She is petite but only in stature. She clearly knows what she wants and what she doesn’t and is good at vocalizing it. When I asked her if she would do something (like give me a hug) she said “No” strongly and clearly. Dress-up and playdoh were a big hit. Rachael liked having someone younger to play with. She tried to boss Anna around but that didn't last long, Anna wouldn't have anything to do with it. Grace loved being motherly.

Nicki is a great mother – so calm. When Anna got hurt she handled it so well. To my great regret we never got all the cousins together in one picture but I did get several cute photos – mostly “action shots.” Anna is not happy about taking pictures (every one of my kids was the same way at two) so it was a bit of a challenge to even get her into a staged photo. Fortunately my three have gotten better at this so as they sit still with smiles plastered on their faces we kept trying to get Anna into the picture. It was very comical. We regretted leaving Sunday night but knew Rosa Parks Elementary, Southern Hills Montessori, The Jockey Club and the KY Economic Development Cabinet expected to see us bright and early Monday morning.

Ted E. Bear and the University of Kentucky Women’s Basketball

On January 25 Hannah came home from school with a small suitcase full of doll sized clothes and a journal as well as a stuffed bear named Ted E. Bear.

Hannah informed us that this was the class bear and everyone took turns taking Teddy home. During the time he was home, the child was instructed to write about what Teddy did in his journal. We didn’t want Teddy to be bored so we planned a fun weekend for him.

On Saturday we took Teddy to Hannah’s in-door soccer game on Saturday. She is in a league with teams comprised of all boys. This was the first game against a boy’s team and it wasn’t pretty. To Hannah’s credit she did not let the boy’s intimidate her and even when the rest of her team gave up and stopped trying Hannah put forth 100% effort and hustled until the last second of the game. Teddy had a good seat at the game and chose to wear and ensemble that included a Mickey Mouse baseball hat.

On January 27^th the University of Kentucky Women’s Basketball team played LSU at Rupp Arena. They had tickets for $1 each so we thought it was a great opportunity to take the girls and entertain our guest. In fact due to age Rachael and Teddy were free! We also let Grace invite her friend Shelby. Although the game was hard to watch as a UK fan, it was a fun outing. (Final score LSU 72 UK 46.) The highlight of the game was the opening introduction of the payers. We were surprised to have indoor fireworks! The couple sitting next to me at the game found the addition of Teddy amusing and they made every attempt to get Teddy on camera. Unfortunately they were not successful. I think Teddy is a little camera shy so he was fine not to be seen on the big screen. Overall I think the class bear had a good weekend with the Kelly family.

The below pictures were taken by my camera phone. Not the best but not bad.

Christmas 2007 Review

We had a great Christmas this year. Craig and I took vacation time in addition to our holidays so we had an extended break to spend with family. We split our time between Lexington and Cincinnati. For Christmas Eve the girls put on a holiday performance which included piano performances and a reenactment of the birth of Jesus. They worked hard for several weeks prior to the event without Craig or me ever knowing. Nana helped them make scenery, plan costumes, practice and even make programs. They were adorable.

Some of the the best gifts we received were made by my dad. For Craig and I he made a beautiful side table. I am thrilled to finally have a piece of his work! For the girls he made shadow boxes for a shell they found while on our beach vacation in June. He also made stilts for each of the girls. Mom painted them, making each unique. The girls love their stilts and spend a lot of time using them.

Coffee Table 1, Rachael 0

Friday night the girls were running around inside the house, yes literally running around, when Grace decided to throw a blanket over Rachael's head. Within seconds Rachael tripped on something she couldn't see and hit her face on the coffee table. Of course we had an appointment to take a picture for Christmas cards today (Sunday.) We are not making that appointment and can not get one before Christmas. I am putting my thinking cap on for Christmas cards but you may see Chinese New Year cards instead. Yes Rachael is going to be fine, (and fortunate for her so is Grace.) The attached pictures were taken two days after the initial accident. I did try my hand at covering the cut and bruises up with make-up but I never was skilled in that area.