A Venture

I decided to use my craftiness and see if I can earn a little extra cash. So here is the product - Snuggle Tuggers - a tag security blanket. It measures 12'' x 12'' excluding the ribbons. There are 5 coordinating ribbon combinations per side, looped in various ways, some doubled, curly cues, etc., the ribbons have different textures and are triple stitched for security. Material used: front - designer 100% cotton, back - minky that is so soft to the touch.
This would be a great babyshower gift! I made one for Harper and he loves it - I am sure any baby would get hours of entertainment out of it.
Here's the kind I have made so far, it is unisex, the minky can be orange instead of blue. The price is $16 plus shipping, which I cannot imagine would be more than $2.50. I am in the process of setting up an Etsy account and a new blog account, until then, if you wish to order, contact me at masha_gul@hotmail.com.

Our Andre boy

I decided to post some things that Andre does, as I am likely to forget them a couple of months down the road. One of Andre's talents that impresses both of us is his incredible memory. Example: yesterday we took a family stroll down Santa Monica 3rd Street Promenade, while walking through one block of it Andre exclaimed: "Thomas, choo choo train". At first we couldn't figure out why he said it, but then while looking around we noticed clear on the other side of the street there was a toy store (it's not huge, and doesn't have flashy big signs like Toys'R'Us, the whole store front is about 3 door widths) which we previously visited at least a month ago where Andre got to play with Thomas toys. Only seeing it once before he was able to recall where it was and what he did there. Pretty impressive if you ask me.I don't know why, but Andre likes to line his toys - whether it be cars, animals or crayons - up in perfect order. Here, whe he saw me getting ready to take the picture of him, he had to make sure that all cars were 'looking' at me.
Andre loves his brother Harper, sometimes a little too much. He loves to make him laugh, and he is good at it.
He immitates us - this is how Andre came out a couple of nights ago. He decided he was done with his bath, so he climbed out of the tub on his own, reached the towel and wrapped it around his waist - just like his Daddy! What a silly guy!

Harper is 4 months old!

I cannot believe how quick Harper is growing! He had his well baby check-up this week. He weighed in at 15 lbs 4 oz (6.9 kg) which puts him into the 56th percentile for weight and he was 26 inches long (66 cm) which is the 84th percentile. (He is longer and heavier than Andre was at 4 months.) He is a good baby, but quite demanding as he wans to be held most of the time. He doesn't fall asleep unless he's in the car, or if I hold him upright and outward and bounce with him anywhere between 15 minutes to an hour and a half until he zonks out (hence I visit the chiropractor :). He doesn't sleep through the night yet, but I have been working on him a.k.a. plugging him up with the binkie all night - he seems to be coming around. He is a smiley baby and loves his brother Andre. He loves to watch Andre do silly things and laugh at him. (If I try to copy whatever it is Andre is doing, he generally gives me a courtesy laugh or doesn't laugh at all.) As of 2 days ago he learned to roll over from back to front, and now does it all the time. He doesn't seem to hate tummy time anymore thanks to my persistence.

We love our little Harper and are always excited for the new things he does each day. What a blessing he is to our family!

My boys

I know I have posted a ton lately, and I am finally catching up (a couple of more posts, and I will be up-to-date). These are just some cute pictures of my boys.

Pancakes

On Sunday Andre saw me pull out the batter mix with pancakes pictured on the front and he said "Pancakes, helping Mommy." So he got to put all of the ingredients in the bowl and mix it- he had a lot of fun with it and had a much better appetite - eating two whole pancakes. What a sweet little boy!

Disneyland Season has started

We were not able to go to Disneyland all summer, since it was blacked out for the pass owners, plus I don't think anyone would want to be there due to huge crowds. Last week was the first week it was open, and as a spur of the moments decision, I decided to take the kids there. I am not sure if I want to do that again, meaning going on my own without a friend as it was pretty hard. Though Andre had a lot of fun and wants to go there again. We will probably go in a couple of weeks.We actually went to California Adventures park, as there are a lot less people there.
Most of our time was spent in the Bugs Life part of the park, where they have water playgrounds and a lot of rides for little kids that I could take Harper on.
Andre as always was loving the water
Fascinated with the bug
Andre loves Monsters, Inc. Hence we went on the ride 4 times!
Anre with Goofy (he would not get out of the stroller - he was afraid)
Poor little Harper learned to sleep through almost anything

We stayed to watch the Pixar Parade and went home

Idaho Falls

After Island Park we got to spend a couple of days in Idaho Falls. Andre loved playing with his cousin Cole and it was sure nice to meet cutie Brooke. I got to hang out with Diantha (my sister-in-law) which was a lot of fun.

Di and Brooke

Harper is the same size as Brooke, though she is almost 4 months older than him (I know, my kid is going to be huge)

I never thought taking a picture of 4 kids would be this hard. Believe it or not - this was the best picture of the bunch - (sorry Cole for the cut-off face)

Andre and Cole loved playing swordfight with foam swords

We also got to see some of our friends from high school/college days. It sure makes you realize how fast the time flies, as most of us saw each other last when we were newly married, and now we are all parents.

Jack Avondet is climbing up the slide, while Lindsey Brown is pulling her daughter Annabelle off to avoid an accident
Some of the gang

Jeff and Harper are socializing with Jeff and Jane Parry
Andre decided that all unused plastic utensils and cups belonged on the ground. And yes - one spoon just isn't enough
Jaime and I - we decided to take a picture together, since we were the ones walking around with cameras and documenting the reunion
Mike Brown was like a carnival ride for the kids and they just kept coming back for more

Our canoe trip

I think the highlight of our vacation was a canoe trip down Snake river we took with Andre and Jeff's brother Ryan who graciously came with us despite not feeling too well. (Thanks Ryan!)Here's Andre getting ready to get into the canoe. I tried to hurry and take the picture, and forgot to zip up the camera bag, so while leaning over to get a good angle, our digital camcorder flew out of the bag right into the water! :( Obviously, it stopped functioning right away. I did have a prompting while we were getting ready to go to leave the camcorder at the cabin, but I didn't listen - next time I will know better.
ANdre switched off between being happy and cranky, partially because we were doing it during his nap time. Here Andre wanter to help me row, which he did a pretty good job of... that is not splashing anyone or losing the oar :)
It's always fun to see all the river wild life. Since Ryan was in the middle with Andre he took mpst of the pictures. Thanks again!
For almost 6 years now I have been trying to spot a moose in Idaho. But they would not come out for me, it came down to the ridiculous, when the groups that would go down the river right before or right after me would see a moose, and not just one... Well after a long wait it finally happened! I saw moose! Actually two of them - a mama and a baby moose.
Ryan, Jeff and Andre with moose inthe background

I was a designated "getter-outer of shallow waters" person
Here's me hard at work pulling the canoe with three guys in it - it was a great workout
Here's Andre 'comfortably' taking a nap - it was actually nice to enjoy the sounds of nature

Yellowstone National Park

One of the days of our vacation we spent visiting Yellowstone National Park. Jeff's youngest brother Jesse and his wife Karen came along for the ride (I am sure they regretted their decision later - it's not all that fun when you have two little kids in the car who switch off crying :). Though it wasn't my first time there, I was once again fascinated with the strange processes that happen in nature. It was also fun to watch the Old Faithful blast up into the air, see a bunch of elk roaming freely and even a moose.

One of the elk peacefully resting
Andre woke up from his nap that was cut short and was quite cranky
The water in this hole was a stunning clear blue color

After giving them a piece of reality of having two kids, I think Karen and Jesse will postpone parenthood for quite a few years :)
Jeff and Andre walking to the geyser... ...which Andre decided he was afraid of
More elk