I want to give a special shout-out to tgdfamily_fan on Instagram for helping me with some of the Lunar New Year traditions.

Melendez came home from work to find his wife and daughter seated on the floor, surrounded by boxes. Lim was animatedly discussing everything they would be doing for Lunar New Year to Mei-Li, "We're going to decorate the house with red and gold banners and lanterns, we'll clean the house to rid it of bad luck, and we'll also go shopping for new clothes so we can start off the new year with good luck," explained Lim, "This year is the year of the ox, but since oxen can bring bad luck, we'll place some dragon decorations around the house instead, since dragons represent Chinese culture," she smiled, handing a plastic one to Mei-Li. The infant promptly stuck it in her mouth.

Melendez sat down on the floor next to his two girls while Lim snatched the dragon from Mei-Li to keep her from choking, "And not only are we going to do everything that Mommy described, but we'll also have a big dinner on New Year's Eve and we'll see a special parade in San Francisco. We'll also see a big dragon in the parade."

Mei-Li toddled towards Lim before giving up halfway through and crawling the rest of the way; she wasn't proficient in walking unassisted yet. Lim scooped her daughter into her arms and said, "I can't believe it, Neil. This is her last first holiday before her first birthday. She's been through her first Easter, her first Independence Day, her first Halloween, her first Día de los Muertos, her first Thanksgiving, her first Christmas, her first New Year's, and now, her first Lunar New Year. She's growing up so fast."

"Now, Audrey, no need to get all sentimental," Melendez teased.

"Like you haven't been feeling the same way with every milestone," she joked.

Melendez sighed, but nodded in honesty, "Well, it's time to start getting ready for bed, mija. The next several days will be long, but exciting."

The two parents prepared Mei-Li for bedtime before Lim sat down in the glider with Mei-Li on her lap, "How about a bedtime story before you go night night?" as Lim read Mei-Li My First Chinese New Year, she pointed out all of the different symbols and described the different traditions to her daughter, "Back when I lived in Taiwan, Lunar New Year was the biggest holiday. We'd have a big dinner with everyone in the family on New Year's Eve and there would be big parades and celebrations at the night markets. There would also be lots of fireworks. And we'll be doing a lot of things over the next few days, sweetheart, and it'll be a lot of fun."

Melendez came into the room and took Mei-Li from Lim, "If you haven't already noticed, mija, Halloween and Lunar New Year are Mommy's two favorite holidays."

"Ha ha," said Lim sarcastically, "Like you weren't excited to introduce her to your culture and traditions."

Melendez laid Mei-Li in her crib and whispered, "Buenas noches, mija."

"Sleep tight," Lim softly spoke in Mandarin.

They left the room and Melendez quietly closed the door behind him before they went back downstairs to unwind. Lim sat down on the couch, while Melendez poured them a few glasses of bourbon before joining her, "So what's the exact plan for the next several days?"

"Clean and decorate the house tomorrow, do our shopping in Chinatown on Sunday where we can buy what we need for the reunion dinner, plus we can find Mei-Li a little qipao dress to wear to the dinner," Melendez chuckled a little and Lim asked, "What?"

"Just remember when we were dating that you swore you weren't going to make your future daughter wear traditional clothing like you were forced to wear growing up, and now, you're talking about how you're going to buy our daughter a little qipao dress," Melendez reminded Lim in amusement.

"But she'll look so cute, just like she did in her Fourth of July dress, her Yoda costume, her Día de los Muertos onesie, and her Christmas outfit," Lim gushed happily.

Melendez rolled his eyes playfully. For a woman who wasn't much into clothes or shopping—and also someone who hadn't been thrilled about initially shopping for baby clothes—Lim had fully embraced making sure Mei-Li was in proper festive attire for every occasion. He swore that Lim had spent more time searching for the perfect dress for Mei-Li to wear to their wedding than her own bridal gown. Melendez decided to placate Lim, so he responded, "Well, I'm sure she'll be the cutest little girl everyone's ever seen."

Lim laughed and snuggled next to her husband, "I never thought I'd be able to embrace being a girl mom, but I think I'm doing a pretty good job."

"Just don't change who you are," said Melendez.

"Oh God no. If I start wearing high heels and dresses on a regular basis or give up my other baby, you know something is officially wrong with me."

Melendez knew that Mei-Li was number one in Lim's life, but he wasn't always sure whether it was him or the Ducati in the number two slot. He supposed it bounced back and forth depending on whether she was pissed at him or not, "Good, because I fell in love with Audrey Lim, daredevil tomboy, and I don't want to be married to anyone else."

"Don't worry; you won't lose her," said Lim.

Melendez and Lim spent their entire Saturday thoroughly cleaning the house, Mei-Li happily observing the action from her playpen. They hung red lanterns and banners with greetings wishing everyone good health and fortune along with placing some dragons around the house, "Now, red is a very important color in mainland China, Taiwan, and many other Asian countries, which is why most Lunar New Year decorations are red," Lim explained to Mei-Li, showing her a few of the banners, "The color symbolizes luck, joy, happiness, and good fortune. That's why my wedding dress was also red and why we had a lot of red decorations at our wedding. And every year has a different animal zodiac associated with that year, and this year is the year of the ox. You were born during the year of the rat, which according to the personality traits of people born in the year of the rat, you'll be quick-witted, resourceful, versatile, and kind. Daddy and I were both born in the year of the dog, so that means we're valiant, loyal, and responsible, but also a bit stubborn. Or at least Daddy is."

"My hearing is excellent Lim, and we get along well for a reason," Melendez called from the kitchen.

Mei-Li began to fuss and Lim said some soothing words to her before she said, "I'm going to put her down for her nap."

"Okay," Melendez gave Mei-Li a kiss on the cheek. Lim went upstairs to put Mei-Li down for a nap while Melendez put away some of the cleaning supplies. The couple collapsed onto the couch once Lim came back downstairs again, "I am so tired, I don't want to move for the rest of the day."

"And just think; we have a full day of shopping tomorrow," said Lim.

"This holiday is as exhausting as Christmas," Melendez commented.

"That it is," Lim agreed.

Over the next few days, the Lim-Melendez family gathered the foods they'd need and bought some new clothes—Lim bought Mei-Li a little qipao dress and Melendez bought a Tang suit for himself along with Lim buying a new one as well. They prepared dinner together along with Laura. On New Year's Eve, the couple picked up Mei-Li from Melendez's parents' house and brought her home after work. Lim grabbed her car keys and said, "I'm going to go pick up Josh from the airport. Laura and Everly should be over around seven if I'm not back by then."

"Okay, I love you," Melendez kissed her.

"I love you too," answered Lim, "We're going to have some fun tonight, baby girl," she kissed Mei-Li goodbye.

Lim drove to the airport and waited for Josh on the other side of security and baggage claim. She smiled when she saw her brother, "Hi Josh," she hugged him.

"Happy New Year's Eve, Audrey," he embraced her back.

"It's so good to see you," she said.

"Same. We used to be inseparable until I moved to Dallas," said Josh, "So how are my brother-in-law and my niece?"

"Neil's doing well. Life has been hectic with an infant. Can you believe Mei-Li will be a year old next month?"

"Gosh, it seems like just yesterday you were calling me and telling me you were pregnant," said Josh.

"I know," said Lim, "Well, plans are the usual. Laura and her daughter, Everly, are coming over to our house for dinner. Tomorrow, we'll continue our gathering with everyone. I've been teaching Neil how to play mahjong," said Lim.

"And how has that been going?" asked Josh in amusement.

"We'll see tomorrow," said Lim. They pulled into the driveway and Lim opened the front door, "Neil, we're here!" she called.

Melendez came over with Mei-Li, both dressed in their traditional outfits, and Melendez smiled, "Good to see you again, Josh."

"Good to see you too," said Josh, "And how is my favorite niece?" he cooed at Mei-Li.

"She's your only niece," Lim said.

"And that makes her my favorite by default," said Josh.

"I'm going to go change; I'll be right back," said Lim.

"Okay," said Melendez.

Soon, Laura and Everly arrived, and they were both in traditional clothing as well, "Look at you. Someone who swore she'd never force her daughter into a qipao has forced her daughter into a qipao," said Laura jokingly.

"Happy New Year to you too," said Lim sarcastically.

Laura and Lim crouched down to the children's level and Laura handed Everly a red envelope, "Would you give like to give that to Mei-Li?"

Everly walked over to Mei-Li and held out the envelope. Mei-Li, not entirely aware of what was going on, looked over at Lim, who helped her take it from Everly, "This is called hóngbāo, which is money in red envelopes, and it's what we give each other during Lunar New Year. Can you say xiè xiè?" the two young girls hugged each other, causing both women's hearts to melt, before Mei-Li stuck the envelope in her mouth, "Mei-Li, no," Lim pulled the envelope out of her mouth, "I'm sorry, she chews on everything," said Lim.

"You don't have to remind me of that stage," Laura laughed.

"Well, dinner is ready. Neil and I have set everything up," said Lim.

Mei-Li and Everly were placed in their high chairs and Lim placed some mashed dumplings, rice balls, and noodles in front of Mei-Li before filling her own plate, "Try not to get food all over you like the cake at our wedding and the mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving, mija," Melendez teased Mei-Li.

"Are the dumplings still Ama's recipe?" asked Josh.

"Who else would I trust to make great dumplings?" asked Lim.

"Well, Mei-Li seems to be enjoying them," Melendez smiled at her as Me-Li attempted to feed herself, though lots of it was ending up on her face instead of in her mouth. They ate and conversed before Laura and Everly went home. Lim drove Josh to his hotel, and when she arrived back home, Melendez was still up with Mei-Li.

Lim took her daughter into her arms and the family sat down in front of a small altar in the living room, "I know we normally do this before the reunion dinner, but Daddy and I wanted to tell you about this aspect of Lunar New Year by ourselves. This is the altar we set up for Ama and Ah Gong. It's similar to the ofrenda we created for Día de los Muertos. We offer food and tea to our deceased ancestors so they can join in the meal," Mei-Li started yawning and snuggled against Lim's chest, so the parents knew she was ready for bed, "Looks like someone is ready for bed."

"Well, we better get her ready. We have another big day tomorrow," said Melendez.

The next day, everyone gathered together again. They spent the day eating, laughing, and playing games, to which Melendez managed to beat everyone at mahjong, much to Lim's surprise later that evening, "I can't believe you won," she told him in disbelief.

"I'm a man of many talents," said Melendez, flopping onto the bed.

"Two weeks ago, you were terrible. Today, you won," Lim stated again as she crawled underneath the covers.

"I had a good teacher," Melendez cuddled next to her and said, "Guess you can't win at everything in life."

"You'll never let me live it down that you broke my win streak, will you?" asked Lim.

"Nope," Melendez answered honestly.

The last activity the family did was the Lunar New Year celebration in Chinatown. They visited the markets and the fortune cookie factory before having lunch and staking out their spot for the parade. As the floats rolled by, Mei-Li was attracted by all of the bright colors and was fascinated by the 200 foot dragon. Lim turned to Melendez and said, "Well, I think our daughter enjoyed another successful first holiday."

"I do too," Melendez affirmed as he looked down at his daughter in his arms, gazing at all the activity around her.

"Well, I guess all that's left is first birthday," said Lim.

"Yeah," said Melendez, "I can't believe it'll have been a whole year next month."

"Now look at who's getting all sentimental," chuckled Lim. She kissed him and said, "Happy Lunar New Year, Neil."

"Happy Lunar New Year, Audrey."