"Gong xi fa cai!"

Happy Chinese New Year! This is the Year of the Ox (Ayla was born in the Year of the Rat). Like I have previously mentioned, my parents are in Taiwan right now...if they were home, we'd most likely celebrate the New Year with tons of great food made by my dad. However, since they are gone, I have settled with mac 'n' cheese. :)

It's customary to wear red on New Year's Day...the color red symbolizes luck. It's also tradition for children to receive "lucky money" in red envelopes. These red envelopes are kept underneath their pillows for a certain amount of time so luck will seep into them as they sleep. Ayla received her first red envelope from her Yeh-Yeh (Grandpa) and Nai-Nai (Grandma):

I put Ayla in one of her Chinese outfits...it's far too big for her right now, but I wanted to get some pictures of her in it. She wasn't exactly thrilled about the whole thing...the only reason she's smiling is because of Kody. She has taken a liking to him lately. She'll sit there with a smile on her face as she watches him walk around the room. He is so sweet and gentle with her...what a good dog.