Happy (Belated) VN New Year

We traveled to Winston Salem today to celebrate the Vietnamese New Year with other adoptive families from NC.  It was the first time we had joined this group.  There were 15 or so families present--most with multiple kids--so it was a room full of energy!  The highlight was a troupe of Chinese dragon dancers.  They had three dragon customes (the kind typically seen in parades).  They were very colorful and ornately decorated.  The mouths, eyes, and even ears moved.  I wanted to get a picture of C with the costumes but he wouldn't do it.  We did video their performance--including one of the dragons going eye-to-eye with C.  C was as far back in his chair as he could go to avoid being eaten by the dragon.  And as soon as the dragon moved on, he ran over to Mommy and hung onto her leg for the rest of the performance.  Most of the kids had a similar reaction--holding onto their parents for dear life!  If the dragons didn't scare them, the loud drums did.  M spent the performance with her hands over her eyes--but peeking through them--as she did at the circus last week (I'm now realizing we never posted about that...so I'll get to it below).  I'd never seen such a performance and thought it was a lot of fun.

Then we had lunch.  Most of the dishes were VN recipes.  Unfortunately, I didn't see the high chairs before M had made her food mess (sitting on my lap) because jumping around and playing with food is better than eating it.  After she was done, I then went back for my food; there wasn't much left at that point, but I was able to fill my plate with the few items that were left and they were all very good.  After lunch all the kids chased each other around and around and around.  The room had a stage and of course being on stage was especially exciting.

Last Sunday afternoon, we went to the Barnum and Bailey circus.  Lots of, well, everything:  lights, sounds, animals, contortionists, people in the air, people on vehicles, and of course plenty of clowns!  We got C his popcorn as soon as we arrived to preempt hours of nagging.  M did pretty well sitting on my lap, though did want to get up to move around from time to time.  We were sitting next to an aisle so she would get frustrated that I wouldn't let her play on the stairs or hang from the railings.  Some of the other people on the aisle found her at least as entertaining as the circus as they would immediately watch her, laugh, and wave at her when she got loose. 

Big week for me too.  "How the Gov Got in Your Backyard" came out on Wed.  The complete, revised manuscript of the never-ending magnum opus was submitted to the University of Michigan Press on Thursday (still have the copy editing and page proof stages to go before that one finally ends!), and the Democratic National Committee announced it will be in Charlotte in 2012.  So developing ways to take advantage of the convention for the university apparently will be my next big project.

T goes back to work on Monday, so she and little E will be in for big change.  And so will I, especially if little E refuses to drink from a bottle.  Let the fun begin!