And so this is Christmas... and what have we done?

First off; we made it to Aunty Nini in Green bay, Wisconsin in one piece with no delays or cancellations! Thank Jebus for that! We left Edinburgh very early Wednesday morning for our first leg to London Heathrow (which, when we got there looked more like a refugee camp than an international airport with people sleeping and eating on blankets in the departure hall). The first leg was trouble free and easy, however we were definitely a bit nervous about our long-haul flight getting cancelled due to the 'severe weather conditions' in the UK. We checked in, got through security and walked up to our gate where the newscast on the TV in the background told of another batch of snow hitting London in the next few hours! We boarded our flight and made it out just on time before the next snowstorm! Despite pink eye, a cold and an ear infection, Ethan was great throughout the whole long travel day and we finally arrived on time and got picked up by family dressed in elf hats! Go elfs!

Thursday was a day of rest and preparation for the Christmas food feast palooza and as expected, from the minute we stepped in through the door, we've been pampered, fed and well looked after. Some of the guys finished up their Christmas shopping (Shaena went to the mall and scored a pair of really nice brown leather work shoes for my new job!), prepping and wrapping on the Thursday and some of us (moi, Peter) saved it to the last minute on Christmas Eve. Nini and I went out on a mission to put together a 'Moving to Sweden Survival Kit' for Shaena and raided the bookstore and international food market for maps of Stockholm, Swedish phrase and grammar books, a things-to-do-when-you-are-bored kit and and some traditional Swedish Wasa crisp bread.I mean; what else do one need to make it as an expat in Sweden?

On Christmas Eve we were served fantastic foods and snacks throughout the day and the culinary crown jewel was of course the Turkey/roast ham dinner combo! Awesome! As tradition dictates, we also got to open our 1 selected Christmas pressie. Ethan got a 'Night-night Timmy' stuffed animal from us that we, minutes after he'd opened, started to regret ever buying! :) Night-night Timmy is snoring when he is laying down for sleeps and is baaing when he his sitting up for playtime. A lot, loudly and often! Ethan loves it though and that is all that matters.

Today, Christmas Day, started early with everyone waking up early in anticipation for the upcoming Christmas stocking and present opening session. Well that, and Ethan waking everyone up by banging repeatedly on a bedroom door handle that echoed throughout the whole house. "Time to wake up, everyone!"

The three of us got spoilt silly and showered in really nice Christmas presents! The list of awesome gifts could make up for a very long blog entry so I won't go there but luckily, one of the presents we got was a brand new hardcase suitcase that'll help us get all the loot home to the UK. Ethan however, probably gave us the coolest gift of all: Walking! This morning, he surprised us by starting to walk all by himself and he can even turn around and continue walking in the other direction!

Hope you are all having an absolutely fabulous Christmas and that Santa treated you well wherever you are!

Now... off to indulge in some more of yesterday's turkey leftovers!