I don’t think I’ve baked so much since my cookie-swap days. Of course, Nikita’s school is partially responsible. For their annual Christkindlmarkt, I baked a chocolate pound cake and coconut meringue cookies, and made waffle batter. Then a week later, I made two pies (pecan and apple) for the students of one of my classes. When I made the pies, Nikita was sore that the pies were not for us, and I asked him, “Do you know how much I made for your school?”
The week before Christmas, we hosted Nikita’s class mascot, a stuffed seal named Robbie. Left to his own devices, Nikita would’ve been happy to let Robbie sleep in his room the whole time, but I reminded Nikita of his duties as host.
So, here is Robbie singing Thomas the Tank Engine songs:
And here he is admiring our gingerbread house:
Nikita also had his first winter concert. I’m not sure he actually sang, but he had fun ringing the bells:
We were supposed to go to New York for Christmas, but were plagued by illnesses. I came down with a terrible cold the day we were supposed to drive down. When we tried driving down a few days after Christmas, Nikita got carsick, and Ivan threw up in solidarity (I say so because Ivan then drank half a glass of milk).
Because New York was not meant to be, we stayed at home. So the boys got to play in the lovely snow we received a few days before Christmas. They sledded down the hill in our backyard:
Igor built a snowman.
I think this was Ivan’s first realization of snow, and he doesn’t like it falling on his face. And of course, all the clothes he has to wear made it difficult for him to remove the snow.
Because I was sick, Christmas dinner was simple: butterflied roast chicken with roasted potatoes and cauliflower. Galina’s birthday dinner was more elaborate: spinach lasagne (Cook’s Illustrated), and Bethany's lemon squares for dessert. Although I was better, preparing the birthday dinner wiped me out, so I was happy that I only had to make Napoleon filling for New Year’s; Galina and Igor made fried wild mushrooms (collected last August) and potatoes. Of course, all meals were rounded out with Russian salads: Galina’s beets with sour cream and salad Olivier (she could market these); Korean-style carrots, sauerkraut, pickles, and seaweed salad from the Russian store.
Santa was able to find us despite the change in plans. Nikita and I baked chocolate chip-pecan cookies for Santa, and he brought Nikita The Original Christmas Classics DVD and two airplanes. Ivan got a stuffed elephant, which aptly describes how Ivan sometimes walks. Santa even decorated Nikita’s Christmas branch with lights and Nikita’s drawings (including one of Thomas the tank engine, of course):
The boys also got nice presents from their godmother: Black & Decker construction “tools” (Nikita - talk about building brand loyalty) and a wooden train (Ivan).
Christmas continued this past weekend with the arrival of my parents. This meant more toys for the boys (trains and stuffed animals) and lots of food. Our neighbors, Karen and Abe, also dropped by for tea. So, again more toys! Ivan got a Fisher Price school play set and a huge box of Mega Blocks. Nikita got Lincoln Logs and two board games, Candyland and Chutes and Ladders. We’ve started playing the games while Nikita eats his snack after school. He’s killing me. Of course, Igor thinks I should be playing chess with Nikita instead.
This past weekend, Igor and I also made Napoleon from scratch, which was time-consuming, but delicious. We used the Cook’s Illustrated recipe for puff pastry, which didn’t turn out flaky because I think Igor worked the dough too much. But with a pound of butter, it was yummy and infinitely better than the baked layers we bought from the Russian store. The two fillings came from this recipe. Vanilla pudding and dulce de leche: how can you go wrong with those? Igor, however, thinks that there should be a little lemon flavoring. I guess we have to buy some Napoleons from the Russian store to confirm. Sigh.
In all, a good holiday, and it’s interesting how our traditions are evolving. Thanks to my godmother, the boys have lovely handknit Christmas stockings (we had to keep Ivan from trying them on). The tree decorations are changing with the addition of the 12 Days of Christmas ornaments (bought after Christmas last year from Winterthur, I think, but I can’t find the link!) and shrink film (Nikita made Thomas the Tank Engine and Bob the Builder). And after having had to use a metal fishtank stand last year, we have a real Christmas tree stand (my Christmas present). This year was also our first to assemble a gingerbread house; Trader Joe’s makes a great kit, and the frosting is not sickeningly sweet (just confectioner’s sugar; no corn syrup). Next year, I may try to make the house from scratch (I traced the TJ pieces), and save Halloween candy for decoration. I also would like to make a parol with Nikita, if only to try to incorporate some Filipino traditions. This site has a kit, which once it is modified, may be reusable.
But my recent preoccupation with preparing for next Christmas is finding an Advent calendar. I was all set to purchase a fabric Peace on Earth Advent calendar, but then became fascinated by the thought of making an Advent garland of socks. I found this pattern for absolutely adorable mini Christmas stockings (I’m going to add a snowflake pattern from here), and just purchased the yarn for it: Elann’s Sock It to Me in Brick, Deep Olive, and Cream. The colors match the ones of the boys’ Christmas stockings.
