FCC CNY

The mid-January through mid-February time frame ensures that there will be lots of Lunar New Year celebrations. We went to our first one of the season yesterday, hosted by our local FCC (Families with Children from China) group. There was a tasty lunch buffet down at a restaurant in Chinatown. After the children did some crafts, there was a raffle (once again, we came home empty-handed!), the dragon parade and a group picture. Whether it was because of the timing of everything (smack in the middle of nap-time), the fact that the Noodle decided she only wanted to eat a fortune cookie and some rice and so was hungry, or just that she was overwhelmed by all of the unknown people, someone was very clingy. She wanted NO PART of wearing the dragon mask, unlike last year--not so fond of the beard on it she informed me, was adamant about me joining the parade with her, and down-right refused to stand with the other kiddos during the group picture. The one hit was the larger-than-life Buddah--loved the bare toes (?!) and his big belly! Sooooooo, while we had a good time, she was certainly more stand-offish. Oh well, she'll have another opportunity in the not too distant future, I'm sure.

Our eyes are always bigger than our tummies!
Working on an art project.

So many tasty treats.
All the precious children (minus a stubborn one).

Let the parade begin!!

Holding onto her lantern from the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival with one hand and me with the other.
Come on...you know you want to rub it!!

Even this couldn't win her over.
Happy New Year!