At the end of the road

I am glad to say that we are almost done with potty training. Andre is doing very well and finally filled his 'poop' potty chart last week. The next thing is to transition him to a toilet, as he is using his little potty right now.One proud boy - everytime he poops there's a list of demands that come after. First he asks for an ice cream cone, when he is done with that he immediately demands a lollipop, and then a sticker. No where to put stickers now...

For his reward he wanted a guitar- so here he is 'rocking out'

Grandparents visit

Ann and Rich were able to come and visit us this past weekend. Rich had a conference in Las Vegas, and so they hopped on the plane after it was over and came to So Cal. Since they were here for just the weekend, we just hung out, played cards, observed our silly kids, went to the beach, etc. - we had a lot of fun. Needless to say that there were many presents involved - Harper's birthday last month and Andre's coming in June - and the kids were totally spoiled with a bunch of new toys and clothing.

Basketball

One of Harper's birthday presents was a basketball hoop. I didn't assemble it right away, as it required to put sand in the base for stabilization, and I obviously don't have a supply of available sand. I finally was able to go to Home Depot and get a bag of sand. Who knew they sell their sand in the moistened form, and since I didn't have anywhere to spread it out to dry it took me nearly an hour of shoving 30+ pounds of sand by handfulls into a 1-inch diameter hole. Once the hoop was assembled, the kids had a blast playing. Andre is quite good at shooting the ball. It's funny, but every time he makes a far shot, he exclaims: "Chalmers!" - and no, I didn't teach him that, he came up with it on his own.

Харпер получил баскетбольное кольцо в подарок на его день рождения. Для сборки требовалось 20 кг песка насыпанного в базу для стабилизации, и по скольку у меня его не было, я сразу кольцо и не сложила. Вчера у меня наконец-то нашлось время съездить с малыми в магазин за песком. Оказывается продают песок мокрым, поэтому сборка заняла почти часэ точнее засыпание песка горсточками в 2-х см дырочку.
Harper made a few baskets by walking right up to the hoop, stretching as far as he can and then dropping the ball in (he obviously did not do it for the camera :)

Check out the wrist follow through

Заметьте проводку кистью

Yet another trip to the beach

We had a busy Saturday - after Jeff and Andre returned from their campout, we packed up and went to the beach (Jeff also managed to squeeze in Kansas City Royals vs LA Angels baseball game, to which he went with his friend Jon - need I say that he was pooped the following day?)

Прошлая суббота у нас получилась очень насыщенная - после того как Джефф и Андрей вернулись с ночевки, мы поехали на пляж (Джефф также умудрился съездитьсо своим другом на профессиональную бейсбольную игру тем же вечером).

Digging Andre in

Зарыли...

And, only second later he is out

И за секунду разрылся

Harper was excited to reach the water

Харпер очень был доволер добраться до воды...

However as soon as he touched the cold water, he wasn't so fond of it

...но после того как он ее потрогал (она была прохладная) он решил что пора возвращаться к тепленькому песку

The retreat

We got a wakeboard at Costco and Jeff got to try it out, he had a lot of fun

Мы купили доску - бодибоард - и Джефф был летчиком-испытателем

On the wave

На волне

Jeff and Brad

Camping

These are the pictures from the campout Jeff and Andre went on this last Saturday. (Jeff is yet to write about it)

(Update 06/05/2009) Since Jeff is still yet to write about the trip, here is Andre's narration:
Andre and Papa go in the tent. Papa and Andre go on bol'shoi bridge, Papa and Andre go on malen'kiy bridge. We hear frog, it says 'ribbit, ribbit'. It was fun!

Фотографии с ночевки в палатке

Huntington Library and Gardens

This Thursday the kids and I got to go to the Huntington Library and Gardens in Pasadena. My friend Ashley and her little girl Violet came with us as well. I have never heard of the place before, I got the tickets from Michelle since she wasn't able to go (thanks Michelle). There is a free admission day each month, and the tickets get distributed online on the 1st of each month, click here to find out more.

The place was beautiful, it has many art galleries and beautifully landscaped grounds. We maybe saw 5% of the place since it was super hot (100 F) and I brought my side-by-side jogging stroller they wouldn't let into any gallery (they have a rule - you can use tandem double strollers inside, but not double-wide).

В этот четверг я с малыми и моей подружкой съездили в Хантингтон библиотеку, музей и ботанические сады. Хотя мы иного не увидели - было очень жарко (около 40 градусов) и из-за моей широкой коляски нас не пустили в галереи - на то что мы смогли посмотреть нас очень потрясло.

Ботанический сад очень красив и разделен тематически - японские сады, китайские сады, т.п. We spent most of out time in the Childrens' Garden, where the kids got to play with the water, which was a great way for them to cool off.

Практически все время мы провели в детских садах, так как там были фонтаны в которых малыши могли играть и охладиться.

The botanical gardens are absolutely gorgeous. I am definitely going to go there again, perhaps after our trip to Ukraine.

Нам там очень понравилось и мы уже планируем очередную поездку

Harper playing with the whirlpool.

Харпер играет в водовороте

Andre managed to slip and fall in the mud, so I took his shirt off, washed it and hung it to dry on the stroller - it only took about half an hour for it to be comletely dry. He loved playing in the water, and also drinking it- I got a few disapproving looks from the 'perfect' moms - hey, at least he is not hitting, pushing, or kicking your kids! (yep, that's right - he turned into a monster child. I still can't figure out what is all that talk about terrible twos is, since it's nothing compared to awful threes).

Андрей умудрисля упасть в грязь и мне пришлось снять и вымыть его рубашку, которая высохла всего за полчаса. А вот так он охлаждается - обливаясь и пья воду

Violet

Вайолет - дочка моей поруги

Harper was soaking wet. Look at the cute footsteps.

Мокрые следы

I love this picture of Andre

Моя любимая фотография с Андреем

Harper's Birthday Party

We had a fun party for Harper at the park. I think we had about 20 people, not incuding our family. We served lunch and then had cake and ice cream for dessert.

Here's the cake I made - it is a Baby Einstein caterpillar. Harper never cared much for the video itself, his favorite part has always been and still is is this caterpillar creeping across the screen in the opening credits.

Мы замечательно отпраздновали день рождения Харпера в парке. На празднование пришло где-то 20 людей не включая нашу семью. Мы кушали ланч а потом торт с мороженным.

Вот этот торт я сделала для Харпера - это гусенница и деских Эйнштейн мультиков. Харпер особо не смотрит эпизоды, а только любит эту гусеницу которая появляется только в самом начале.

This is Harper's personal smash cake

Персональный торт Харпера

The man of the hour

Именинник

We reserved a couple of tables inside a gated playground, which worked out great, as the parents didn't really have to keep a close eye on their kids and just enjoyed themselves.

Мы зарезервировали пару столиков внутри огражденной площадки, что бы родители особо не волновались и пристально не следили за своими детьми, так как они не могли уйти за пределы площадки.

As you can tell, Andre's favorite part was the party blowers.

Harper 'blowing out' the candle on the cake. Actually it was quite windy and we were not able to sustain the life of the flame for longer than a few seconds - should I just Photoshop it in?

Харпер задувает свечку. На самом деле было достаточно ветренно и свеча сама задувалась горя всего пару секунд.

Check out the concentration - he is ready for it!

Готов!

Wow, no time wasted - who needs to wait for the cake to be set on the tray?

Кто сказал мне не хватает терпения?

Dig in!

Зарылся

Mmmm...

Вкуснятина...

As if a huge cake wasn't enough - he licked the plate clean

Не хватило торта - пришлось облизывать тарелку

All gone!

Разделался!

Didn't think I could do it, did you?

Хаха - а вы думали я не справлюсь!

The after feast make-shift shower

Душ после пира

After a clothes change Harper was ready to explore the playground

Поел, переоделся, теперь можно и поиграть

The day was mostly overcast, so the thought of putting sunscreen on did not even cross our minds. Luckily the kids got their skin from me, so they just looked tanner the next day. Poor Jeff didn't fair as well, he is still getting over it (5 days later he is now in the peeling stage). Check out Harper's new PJs - aren't the cute?

День был облачный и мы не подумали намазаться солнцезащитным кремом. Детям повезло что они унаследовали мою кожу и на следующий день они были чуть загорелее. Джеффу так не повезло, и он до сих пор (5 дней спустя) облазит, бедняжка.
А Харпер на фотографии одет в новую пижамку он получил в подарок от Джеффа босса - симпатяжка!