Budapest Christmas Market and More Christmas Stuff

This past weekend we went to the Budapest Christmas Market. They have Christmas markets all over Europe this time of year and we've been to some in Budapest and Vienna. I love the one in Budapest because most of the goods are handmade and the crowds are not too overwhelming.We got Bop all cozy in her stroller muff and set out looking for some good food and some crafty Christmas stuff.

I got some Christmas ornaments from this booth - some handsewn cardinal ornaments. Our tree is all red and gold and is covered in cardinals, my favorite bird. I need to take some better pictures of our little tree. What it lacks in size, it makes up for in sparkles!

They sell all sorts of yummy treats at the markets... like roasted chestnuts...

... and delicious hot chocolate. Russell was in the process of buying some hot apple cider, but then he got into a little tiff with the cider guy. Apparently Russell asked "apple cider?" to the guy and the guy replied, in English, "I'll give you some apple cider when you say 'May I please have an apple cider?'" We're accustomed to most people not speaking English, so we usually point, grunt and say "kérem" (please) to get the things we'd like. Russell was so taken aback by this guy that he stormed off with no apple cider. He may have also told the guy off before huffing away. The chimney cake guy was much nicer. Chimney cakes are a cinnamon bread that is hot and toasted over open flame. They are delish!Bop pretty much just licks all the cinnamon off. The main Budapest market is held at Vorosmarty Ter, so of course we rode the lions, Claudia's favorite thing to do in Budapest. And look who was also there! Sweet Emily in her Santa hat!Later that day we made snow globes, one with a dinosaur, one with a palm tree. The dinosaur came loose and is now floating at the top of the snow globe. This didn't seem to bother Claudia, so we'll just let him be. Other than that, we've just been baking and eating sweets. Claudia mostly licks the bowls and eats sprinkles straight from the jar. We haven't talked much about Santa (recall she ran from him at her one Santa sighting) and we just got around to making a list for Santa. This is what Claudia asked me to write. Apparently she wants (1) a blue bunny, (2) a light saber, and (3) a cape like Darth Vader wears. She has never seen star wars, but has seen a youtube video of the Star Wars song, the Imperial March. She now marches around the house singing the song. Now will come the fun part of finding out whether Santa's workshop in Budapest is stocked with these items! I guess it would have been smarter to quiz her about this a little earlier. =)

Little Feet, Little Hands, Little Baby

I had a doctor's appointment this week and got to see little man's sweet face.

It's his side profile and he's got his hands pulled up around his face. I can't tell for sure, but it looks like he has a decent set of eyelashes too. I think he looks like Russell. Just seven more weeks and he will be here! We are so thankful for this sweet baby and cannot wait to see his little face in person.

St. Nicholas Day and Other Festivities

Today is St. Nicholas (or Szent Mikulás) day in Hungary. It's the day when Hungarian children wake up to find goodies (oranges, apples, peanuts, chocolates) left for them by Bishop Mikulás. The night before he comes, all children are supposed to polish up their finest boots and leave them on a window sill or doorstep for Mikulás. If you've been good, you receive the aforementioned goodies. If you've been naughty, you get golden twigs or a wooden spoon. Most kids get both as no one is really all good or all bad. Claudia woke up bright and early to see what Szent Mikulás left for her.

Jackpot!

Claudia: "What's thiiiis?" Me: "Your golden twig. Sometimes you can be a little naughty." She didn't dispute this.

She was pretty pleased to get her chocolate Szent Mikulás and chocolate boot.

Bop doesn't really have any fine boots, so she scrubbed her Lightening McQueen Crocs the night before. Besides, if you ask her, they are her very finest pair of shoes.

This week CC has been busy re-decorating the tree. She takes these painted ornaments I keep in a bowl (a favorite Christmas gift from my dear Avery) and she hangs them on the bottom of the tree. She then takes them off and then rehangs them onto the tree. Repeat, repeat, repeat.

They're not breakable and she loves to decorate, so this is a pretty fun activity.

Bop admiring her handiwork.

So on Saturday we went to our first Danish birthday party. Folks from Denmark do things a little different...

This is a traditional Danish birthday cake. It's in the shape of a man. After the birthday song is song, you slice the man's head off while all the children shriek with delight! Claudia and her pal Emilie (Dutch/American) quietly observed in confused anticipation. I guess you can take a Viking out of Denmark, but you can't take the Viking out of a Dane. The cake was delicious, by the way... similar to a king cake. Mmmmm....

Claudia ate the licorice hair off the decapitated Danish man-cake.

Claudia and the birthday girl, sweet Emily. Don't they look happy to have their picture taken?

We followed the party with more desserts at the Intercontinental, where we were hoping to get a glimpse of Santa.

We didn't get much Santa face time in (not even a picture!), which Claudia seemed fine with, but we did get to visit with some sweet friends. This is how it goes taking pictures these days... kids run crazy while you try to sit and smile. FYI, Claudia was dumping a chocolate sundae down her dress while this photo was taken.

Brazilian-German Baby Shower in Hungary

Last weekend, my sweet friends Maria (Brazil) and Sandra (Germany) threw a shower for me and my dear friend Tanya (Carsten's mommy). We were initially worried about having a baby here, because we're far from family, but having such kind friends has been a great comfort!

As the title suggests, the party had a Brazilian flair to it. Per Brazilian baby shower custom, Tanya and I had to guess the contents of each package. For each present we got wrong, we had to put on a piece of flair. Maria said in Brazil you can also wind up getting your belly decorated if you get enough wrong. Thankfully, for us and the guests, we were pretty good guessers. Claudia also got presents at the shower, but she went ahead claimed two gifts given to the little man: one stuffed pony and a "My First Passport" holder. She told us "He doesn't even have a passport." By the end of the game, Tanya and I closely resembled Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. Tanya got a little heart on her cheek for cheating and peeking into one of the presents before guessing.

Tanya and me, after we shed our get ups... one more month for Tanya and two for me. Getting close!

Thankful Turkey and a Solar Powered Christmas

After we arrived home to Budapest, we slowed down to think about all the things we are thankful for. So we made a thankful turkey. Here's Claudia doing her "presentation of turkey". She reenacts the "presentation of Simba" (Lion King) scene with just about every inanimate object in the house. When I asked Claudia what she is thankful for, I got an interesting response. In this order, it went: (1) Oatmeal - her teddy; (2) Carsten - her best pal; (3) Mommy & Daddy - maybe we'll crack top two next year; (4) food; (5) seeds - we've been reading the lost Suess book, the Bippolo Seed; (6) elephants - not sure where this came from; and (7) toys & goodies.

Thankful turkey's feet were made by tracing Claudia's hand. She loves having her hand traced. She also signed her name. See that line?

Claudia is starting the grasp the concept of being thankful. It was a great time to sit down, thank God for everything we've been given, appreciate each other and give thanks to all those around us who love us and do so much for us.

I am thankful for my family. I am thankful for their health. I am thankful to be adding another little person to our family. I am thankful that, although we are away from our family and friends in the US, we have made friends here and that it really feels like home. Bop looks pretty mischevious in this picture. I'm thankful that I didn't know what she was up to at that moment.

I took this photo right before we went to Houston. It was definitely fall... leaves on the tree, changing colors and football in full swing. Mandi, Claudia loves her LSU dress... it took a while for the wee one to fit into it, but it was worth the wait! She calls it her "LSU gown." The leaves were all changing colors and it was beautiful to watch. This is the window outside my kitchen. When we got home, all the leaves had fallen off. Its just a boring old wall now.

Now that turkey day is over, it's time to start getting ready for Christmas. The first line of business was to get a tree and some lights. They don't chop down trees here. No, they sell them, roots and all, so that you can plant the tree in your yard after Christmas or resell them back to the nursery. I opted to get a fake tree (its about 5 feet tall and was one of the biggest I could find), but wasn't spared any of this eco-friendly-Christmas nonsense. Here is what I found when I opened the box of Christmas lights (minus one Lego man).

What's that you ask? It's a solar panel. You stake it out in your yard during the day and then connect it to a battery pack in the evening. Apparently a lot of people (not me) chose to power their tree lights with the energy of the sun. A lot of people (not me) think this is just a great idea. It took two trips to the hardware store before I finally found a somewhat normal strand of lights that uses good old fashioned electricity.

After we got all that light nonsense out of the way, Claudia had a real hoot decorating. And look how big my tree looks... when my toddler stands next to it!!

Over the Ocean and Down Interstate, to Gram's House We Go

We're over here in Budapest, getting all set to watch the LSU - Arkansas game... which has got me somewhat nervous, as Arkansas has, in the past, gotten the best of the tigers in this last game of the season. We're also getting back into the swing of things, after a pathetically short trip home for the holidays. We had to jump on our one opportunity to fly home before the baby is here... which unfortunately meant cutting short our time with our dear Budapest guests, Rachel and Ryan!

We were so excited to have these two cherished friends come see us. It was fun showing them the sights of Budapest and getting some quality time with my precious Rachie. Claudia is especially in love with Rachie and Ryan and can't wait to visit them in Chicago one day. We had to leave Budapest before they did, to maximize our last minute trip to the states, so that part kind of stunk!When we left Budapest, it was below freezing. When we arrived in Houston, it was 85 degrees. I was not prepared for that, but I certainly appreciated the brief break from the cold. Claudia capitalized on the opportunity to plant flowers with Pawpaw.

Then we drove on to Louisiana... where it turned out to be freezing! Claudia got to ride on Paps' fine red tractor, which made her day. Pap's also gave Claudia lots of lessons on life in the country, e.g., how to crack pecans, where corn comes from and how to feed horses. Paps and Mama Kate even got Claudia her own little, red Case tractor. She was very pleased. We also visited the McLendons in Oak Ridge and the Morris family in Bastrop. It was a busy, but very fun trip.

We stopped in Shreveport to spend some quality time with Memaw and even got a special visit from the Mann family who were in town on a weekday... what luck!! Memaw made us lots of country cooking and gave Claudia a piano lesson too. I think this is Claudia's favorite activity with Memaw.

Back in Houston, we had a couple of Thanksgiving dinners, including one at Aunt Debbie and Uncle Matthew's house. We also celebrated Aunt Debbie and Mandi's birthdays. Claudia always manages to blow out everyone's birthday candles. She's collected about twenty different person's birthday wishes this year. Mine's coming up in December; I bet she gets that one too!It was also a treat to see all our friends in Houston. It was pretty funny to get Claudia, Audrey and Max together again. They grow up so fast, but they manage to remember each other and pick up where they left off. Daddy, CC and Paps in Mer RougeClaudia with Daddy and her hair twin, Uncle Otis Lee, in Bastrop

Claudia and Daddy with Greatgrandma and Greatgrandpa McLendon in Oak RidgeCC with Gram and Grandpa in Houston

And finally, our flight home to Budapest.

We managed to squeeze in visits to a bunch of relatives spread out over five cities, the farthest being about seven hours apart, over seven days. It was exhausting, but fun. There were so many more friends and family we wanted to see, but we will just have to wait until next Spring... when we bring our newest McLendon to visit!!

Tutu Time

Claudia started taking ballet last month.

Every Wednesday, for thirty minutes, she gives Miss Rachel her full attention.

The girls reach and stretch...

... they wiggle and hop...

... flex...

... and point.
I have as much fun watching as she does dancing. =)