Happy New Year and Merry (Ukrainian) Christmas!

Last week we celebrated Christmas in Indianapolis. We greatly enjoyed the time with the family and delicious meals provided at the Cislaks Inn and of course, Christmas dinner at GG's and GGPa's, and Meridian Hills CC with Grandmother Boyd. We're so blessed to have you, guys.
Aaron was so excited to reunite with his little cousin Sarah that he still mentions her as we came back home. When I ask him, "What did Sarah do?" he puts his little hands on his face and pretends to cry:) When I ask him if he misses his Grammommy and Granddaddy, he blows kisses. And every time I mentioned Grandmommy and Grandaddy he always adds "Chloe!"
I posted 200 some pictures in his 1+5 photoalbum. I just did not have time to go through each of them, edit and select. I am sure you'll enjoy them anyways:) They're all good.
Aaron's language development amazes us every day. He already talks real 2-3 word sentences, adding more and more new words to his vocabulary every day. He's also often using proper endings of Russian cases and genders which I am very pleased about. He's almost completely potty trained. I put a diaper on him only for his sleep time and when we're out for a long time. But even then it's often times dry as I take it off.
Yesterday I took him to Barnes and Noble bookstore in hopes to find a book with creative recipes for picky toddlers which I did not find. But anyways, there was a big table with railroads and Thomas and Friends trains. Aaron loves Thomas now:) He played at the table alongside other toddlers and did not want to leave. This is what I observed while he played, a story I will love telling as his mother:
Aaron had 2 trains, one in each hand. An older boy jumped up to Aaron, grabbed one train out of his hand and yelled "Mine!". Aaron looked at the boy, then at his other train, and handed the boy the other train with his "Nah!" which tranlsates from Russian as "Here, take this one too". It touched me deeply and I thanked God for instilling this generousity in Aaron. Not that we have done anything different than other parents trying to teach him to share. It appears to have come to him naturally.
On January 7th Ukraine will be celebrating Christmas (Orthodox Calendar). Merry Christmas to all Ukrainians!:) Thinking about doing something special on this day.
We'd also like to thank everyone for their generousity and presents.
Happy New Year!

God is with us!

...the Lord appeared to him (Joseph) in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins"-Matthew 1:20-21

This Christmas we are thankful for this beautiful promise that God gave his people a long time ago. Without Christ there would be no Christmas, no hope and no help. We wish that everyone who reads this blog comes to know Christ as the only way to God, the only name to be saved by from the sins that this world is sinking in, the only name to give credit to for all we are and all we have.

December 20, 2003 was a sunny crisp winter day in Indianapolis, IN with some snow still laying on the ground, just like it is today in Alexandria VA (except that we have way more snow on the ground now). This day, by the grace of God, I was given in marriage to my wonderful husband Cliff.

These were wonderful six years and I thank the Lord for all He had put us through together and for blessing our marriage. I am thankful to Christ for giving us the gift of parenthood and for blessing us and Aaron with life and health. I am thankful for our wonderful parents who have been beside us all along the way and have been such good role models for our marriage and our parenthood. And of course we are very thankful for the love and care of our siblings, speaking of which, Seriy and Jules will be celebrating their 6th anniversary in just a week! Congratulations!

The new year promises to bring about some changes for our family. Aaron will be starting a Russian pre-school part-time at the beginning of February, and I will be joining the workforce as a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit nurse in a hospital in DC. Since the pre-school is in Maryland, we're most likely to be moving at the beginning of the year. My mom will be coming over to help us during this transition period. I am so thankful for my parents who have helped us so much by always being there for us when we needed them. I know it takes a lot of sacrifice on my dad's part to be away from my mom when she comes to the States, but I am sure Cliff would do the same for Aaron if he needed our help. Would you consider praying for us as we transition through these changes, please? We're excited about it but at the same time we have our concerns.

Love,

Cliff, Anna and Aaron

Oh, these teeth!

Aaron got his first tooth when he was 8.5 months old. And back then I thought: "No biggie. They'll all come at once and we'll be done with those sleepless nights in a matter of days"...yeah...They're coming in spurts, but it's not like all in one week. He has 8 that are fully grown and 4 more that are coming through. Just a half way to go!:) He does not sleep at night and is having a hard time going down for a nap and staying asleep for longer than 1.5 hours. On top of his already bad appetite, he's eating even worse. In spite of his bad eating habits he somehow manages to maintain his weight in around 85%. He's about 29 lb right now.
He loves to play with cars and watch Russian cartoons. He still likes books.
Here he's reading a book "Dick and Jane" with Daddy on a rainy day:)


Some changes are coming our way, we will keep you posted.

Learning Colors (Video in Russian)

PA trip and Babushka's and Dedushka's Visit

The month has been very busy. Last week we visited Uncle Seriy, Aunt Julie, cousin Nikolai and the newest cousin Vitalik in Evans City where we also got to see Babushka and Dedushka and spend Thanksgiving with. Then we brought Babushka and Dedushka back to Alexandria and spent several days with them here. We wish they stayed longer! More pictures in Aaron's latest web album.