Helping mommy make cookies. This was the first time I had let her "help" me with cooking something, and she did a really good job! I was really impressed with my patience and with her enthusiasm!

This year I gave her her own tree. I decorated it with white, silver, and royal blue ornaments (I was told that's how trees are decorated in Russia). I also let her decorate it with handmade ornaments (also a Russian tradition) and I purchased a couple Russian Christmas ornaments from a Russian store online. Here she is putting the "Snowmaiden" ornament on the tree. The Snowmaiden travels with Father Christmas to distribute gifts.

She's getting in the Christmas spirit. She recognizes pictures of St. Nick. We are talking about St. Nick rather than Santa. She will recieve one gift from St. Nick, and next year we'll start talking about the story of St. Nick. We are also teaching her about Jesus' birthday. We've heard "Happy Birthday, Jesus" on the Moody radio station, and I try to sing it every once in a while.

The Christmas tree at the Brookfield zoo during Holiday Lights

Frosty gets a hug at Brookfield Zoo.

Well, it's been a while. I think I need to post more often! Grace has changed so fast! Since she started Playschool in the fall, she's learned all her colors. She's actually very good at it. I've also started letting her watch "Super Why" on channel 11. She actually loves watching it, and I've noticed that she can recognize about 20 of the letters. A,B,C,D,E,F,G,I,L,M,N,O,P,Q,S,T,U,V,W. Ok, so about 19. We actually aren't trying to teach her the letters. We have the refrigerator magnets with the Leapfrog thing she uses while I'm in the kitchen. She is also starting to get an interest in shapes and numbers. She knows circle, heart, and triangle-and she will point out the number two and say "number two". Her vocabulary is growing-but her speech and pronunciation are just a tad behind. We're not worried, however, because she is doing an amazing job catching up.

This year we will celebrate Christmas twice. We will celebrate on Dec. 25 with all our family and all. Also, on January 7 is when Russians celebrate Christmas. We will have a small celebration here at home. After Dec. 25, I will change the table linens to reflect Russian traditions. White table cloth to represent Jesus' swaddling clothes, a white candle to represent that Jesus is the Light of the World, some hay (although it won't be real) to represent the manger, and on Jan 7 bread to show that Jesus is the Bread of Life. Grace has her little tree in the family room that is decorated with Russian Christmas colors, and with a couple Russian ornaments I bought from an on-line Russian store (each year I'll add to the collection). She will have a couple gifts (not many) that she will open. I bought her two collector's dolls from the Russian store. One is a doll of the Snowmaiden and one is a doll in traditional Russian dress. Nothing really fancy-just a small celebration.

We are so looking forward to Christmas this year. She's going to be a lot more interested in opening gifts, and she's going to love being with our families. Also, since Christmas is over a weekend, we have a lot more time to spend with our families and won't be so rushed and crazy.

Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Everyone! I'll post pictures of Grace on Christmas later!