Christmas

I'm finally posting our Christmas pictures! We've all been sick (again!). Anneka is on her fourth cold since October. Our apartment is so cold, I think it makes our immune systems weaker. Anyways, blogging has not been at the top of the list, but hopefully things will pick up soon as we get better.



Anneka awoke to her cold, saying "Christmas is sick". But she soon forgot her woes as she found baby Jesus in "Bethlehem" (the nativity set), and we opened our stockings. The girls had these fun headbands inside.



After our traditional Swedish pancake breakfast and talking with grandparents on skype, we opened gifts.



As you can see, Ella was very interested in watching her sister!



We got a strawberry shortcake house and dolls in the States last summer, and Anneka was delighted to open it. It's hard to find wrapping paper here, so we used some plastic bags, too... but nobody minded.




We got this little chair for Ella. It has suction cups on the bottom, so I can bathe her while she sits without her sliding around. It's also nice because I can set her in front of a box of toys and she happily plays. She's pretty good at sitting on her own, but she still needs a little help.



In the evening we went to the Wickers for Christmas dinner. After a wonderful feast we acted out the Christmas story. Anneka was Mary and Ella was Jesus. Anneka LOVED this and still wants to do it days later at home. She remembers a lot of the details, too (like what the angel says). It's pretty amazing.



We had to show a picture of Ella playing with her tongue. She did this as a tiny baby and has recently had a renewed interest in playing with her mouth. She loves drinking out of an adult glass, too. It's pretty cute.



The Wickers gave Anneka these traditional Russian "puff balls" for her hair. All little Russian girls wear them. I love them.



This lone present was frozen to our window. It's a present that Anneka picked out and wrapped for Matty. She has such joy in giving... I love that about her. She likes to give gifts to others. We got the gift down after blowing it with my new hair dryer. =)

Now we're preparing for Russian Christmas! Tomorrow we will go to a performance that some of our friends are in at the church. This evening Leif and I are making little gift packages for neighbors and store workers of cookies, calendars, and testimonies, the gospel of Luke, and the story of Christmas. We hope to pass those out tomorrow- "Christmas Eve".

Merry Christmas!