Red Egg Party

In Chinese culture there is a 1-month celebration for a new baby called a red egg and ginger party. We had one of these for Lily at her Uncle Gabe's house in New Jersey right around her 1-month birthday. This time around we decided to have the party in our neck of the woods instead. The decision to do it this way was made before Quinn was born based on the fact that we'd have two kids this time and didn't really know how my MG would be post-partum on prednisone instead of imuran. Turns out my health wasn't an issue, but given Quinn's complete hatred of the car we were SO glad we asked everyone to come to us instead. I can't imagine what driving 6 hours to South Jersey would have been like with two sleep deprived parents, a screaming infant and a stressed-out toddler.

The party was held a little after the one-month mark since Quinn was early and arrangements were made before his birth. Gordon's parents and Goo Ma (his aunt) came up along with Gabe, Que and the girls. Our condo was quite full for the weekend! Hopefully I'll get to post a little about the fun family visit we had too.

Another benefit of having the party in Boston is that we got to invite my side of the family as well. After some taste-testing with friends we found a venue in Chinatown that was convenient, had parking and of course offered yummy food. We had about 25 people there to celebrate Quinn's arrival: our New Jersey family as well as my parents, brother and a number of my Mom's cousins (they are really like aunts and 1st cousins to me). My family enjoyed the novelty of the Chinese traditions and everyone was very happy to meet Q and welcome him to the family.

Gordon and the kids - all dressed for the occasion

Liza, me and Eric

Ma Ma and the Guest of Honor

Q's yummy Chinatown cake

Quinn and his first hong bao

A true MasterWong family picture

Side note - a funny story from the day.
Also: why I love Somerville
Also: why my poor daughter is sort of in trouble with me as a Mom

Gordon's Mom had agreed to take care of outfits for both Quinn and Lily. So in prepping for the event I had totally crossed clothing off my list of things to worry about. When Ma Ma arrived she showed me the outfits that she got for them and they were perfect (of course). I thanked her and forgot about the clothes again. The morning of the party I was in the shower and feeling slightly stressed about getting the four adults and four children in our condo out the door on time. Suddenly I realized that Lily had a single pair of summer shoes - these. And while GREAT for playing outside at the playground, they were not going to look super with her fancy outfit.

So - I panicked - searched the closet to see if *maybe* I bought a pair of cute sandals on a whim one day (umm... no). Then I called my neighbor Deborah thinking that her daughter Ivy - who is only 5 months older that Lily and better dressed - might have an old pair of cute sandals. Sadly Lily's feet are much smaller than Ivy's, so that didn't work. The Deborah offers, well sort of insists, to drive to Target and buy Lily some dressy shoes. Five minutes before we were ready to go, she shows up at my door with the PERFECT pair of shoes for the occasion.

Clearly we have the best neighbors ever and I need to get my act together regarding this whole fashion thing!