The Lees
The hairdoodads were a big hit with the older ladies.

Can you stand how cute she is?

Papa and Grandma with Piper and Connor

Dragon Parade

Happy Chinese New Year!!!! Best Wishes in the year of the Pig. We had a great time at the Midwest Buddist Association celebration. Great food and tons of fun kids stuff. Piper liked the dragon parade, mostly because she was part of it!!!. They got lucky red envelopes from the oldest person in the room. Connor bowed so low the lady laughed and laughed. We meet lots of people and visited with old friends. Can't wait to go again next year.

I found this Chinese horoscope that tells what Cormac's personality traits are for his sign. He and Donald are both Sign of the Dog. This sounds like Donald!!! I've been waiting for a cooperative child!!!

This child will be friendly, happy and well-balanced. Cheerful and harmonious, he expects little of others and can accept his parents and friends as they are. Open, confident and loyal, he will perceive other people's viewpoints with amazing clarity while still maintaining his own convictions and dignity. He will never allow himself to be bullied and in all probability will put up a hefty fight with the neighborhood tyrant and win the respect of his peers.
Sensible and fairly consistent, the Dog will get his schoolwork done without too much trouble. He will be reasonable when asked to help around the house and will be protective toward younger family members.

Playful and outgoing, he will insist on a certain degree of independence. But the faithful Dog will never stray too far from home. This child will be known and liked for his sense of humor, warmth and candid ways. When offended, the Dog child can turn rebellious, mean and hypercritical. His anger flares and subsides relatively quickly and he will return to his normal equilibrium. He will not keep a grudge for long and can forget and forgive readily.
When he is negative, the Dog is pugnacious, argumentative, caustic and unbendingly opinionated. He is only liberal and fair-minded if not pushed too far. When he feels he has been taken undue advantage of, the Dog will retaliate bitterly and without any compassion. Once he starts to fight, the Dog will not be open to discussion or negotiations anymore. It is better never to challenge this tolerant child to the point of no return. The unassuming Dog can erupt like a volcano.

If the Dog child is rejected or unappreciated, he could be lethargic, insensitive, cynical or plain indifferent to the wishes of his parents. Compliment and encourage him and this child will reciprocate lavishly. Basically, he is cooperative, so there should be no need to cajole or threaten him in any way. Efficient and diplomatic, the Dog will exhibit a lack of prejudice, or at least he will make it a point never to show it. He is inclined to avoid scenes rather than create them.
It will be safe to give him responsibilities or take him into your confidence even at an early age. The trustworthy Dog will not like to be accused of having a loose tongue. He will guard a secret like a sacred trust

To sum it up, the Dog will always defend what is his. He will have a high sense of values and to him home and family will come first.

Because of Chinese New Year, we will not be getting an update this month about Cormac. Bummer!!!!!!!!!!!! We are attending the Minnesota Buddist Association CNY celebration this Sun. My mom and dad are going to be here this weekend are excited to join us. We are meeting all the families in MN that are also adopting from Taiwan. Can't wait!


Chinese New Year starts with the New Moon on the first day of the new year and ends on the full moon 15 days later. The 15th day of the new year is called the Lantern Festival, which is celebrated at night with lantern displays and children carrying lanterns in a parade.

The Chinese calendar is based on a combination of lunar and solar movements. The lunar cycle is about 29.5 days. In order to "catch up" with the solar calendar the Chinese insert an extra month once every few years (seven years out of a 19-yearcycle). This is the same as adding an extra day on leap year. This is why, according to the solar calendar, the Chinese New Year falls on a different date each year.

New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are celebrated as a family affair, a time of reunion and thanksgiving. The celebration was traditionally highlighted with a religious ceremony given in honor of Heaven and Earth, the gods of the household and the family ancestors.
The sacrifice to the ancestors, the most vital of all the rituals, united the living members with those who had passed away. Departed relatives are remembered with great respect because they were responsible for laying the foundations for the fortune and glory of the family.
The presence of the ancestors is acknowledged on New Year's Eve with a dinner arranged for them at the family banquet table. The spirits of the ancestors, together with the living, celebrate the onset of the New Year as one great community. The communal feast called "surrounding the stove" or weilu. It symbolizes family unity and honors the past and present generations.

Such a big girl!!!! This was Piper's first night in her big girl bed.











Connor of course has to get into the act. They love to snuggle together.




Where has the time gone? I can't believe we don't have a crib up in this house anymore. (Not to worry, it will be back!!!!;) She did awesome in her new bed. We are borrowing it from our awesome friends Sally, Greg and Max Min. I brought it home and told her it was for her. She started jumping up and down saying "me me me me" I was worried she would fall out, but it hasn't happened yet. She's only slept in it twice, but I think it going to be fine. I've ordered fabric to make her some flat sheets and pillow cases. (o.k., really my mom is going to make them!), but I bought the fabric. (o.k., I bought them with the credit card that Donald pays), but I searched for hours on-line for the fabric. The beautiful quilt was made by my talented Aunt Nancy. She has made quilts for both of the kids. She had already started on another girl quilt and has had to do some fancy work to change it into another boy quilt. Can't wait to see it.

We had a super fun time in Alexandria this past weekend. No pictures as we were having too much fun to take any. We swam in the mornings and them jumped and slid down the giant inflatable slides at night. For the first time ever, Connor fell asleep during dinner. One min he is chewing and talking and the next min, snoresville.

No new news on the little one. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks we will get an update. I need some sizing so I can send the next care package.