Easter

We had a fun Easter. The weekend before the Easter kids were able to participate in a fun egg hunt. We also enjoyed a nice brunch at that party as well. Nap-less Andre decided to be a pain in the rear and refused to do the egg hunt with the rest of the kids. When he finally came around to wanting to do it, there were no easy eggs to find. Luckily I was the one who hid the eggs, so I was able to help him find some in the tricky places no one happen to look.   The boys checking out the goods I thought this was a funny expression on Andre’s face On Easter day the bunny came and filled the boys’ baskets. Unlike previous years, I decided to skip egg hunt in the house (was too lazy and plus the kids already participated in one the week before)

  

Happy boys. Needless to say the candy was gone quick! 

A couple of days back, Andre refused to buckle up in the car. Jeff proceded to tell him that if he didn't buckle up, he (Jeff) will be in trouble and the police would come and take Papa (that's what the kids call Jeff) away. Jeff then said: "And then you will not see Papa or have a Papa". To which Andre in a matter-of-fact manner replied: "Heavenly Father will be my Papa."

Instigator

Recently Andre has been getting his little brother in a lot of trouble (and himself). He tells Harper to do things that are naughty, and without hesitation follows his orders/suggestions. For example, he will 'whisper' to Harper: "Harper, go hit Mommy" and the next second I am being clubbed by Harper's heavy fists. Andre also never hesitates to demonstrate to Harper what exactly he wants him to do. The other day I was cleaning up in the kitchen, they took advantage of that, found crayons, and drew all over the walls. (And I thought that wall coloring stage was done and over with). When I saw the new mural, I asked Andre who did it. Without any hesitation, he was quick to blame it on Harper. When I looked closely at the 'masterpiece', there were 2 distinct styles - Harper's scribbles and a few gigantic A's. Good going Andre, I am sure your not quite 2-year old brother was able to write a letter, that is coincidentally the first letter of your name.
These two are definitely kicking my behind. Maybe one day they will mellow out... At least I can daydream about it.

Our cold winter

I don't mean to brag here or make you all long for summer, but this is what we did last Wednesday. All I have to say is that I love Southern California for its beautiful weather.

Catching up

I guess all the extra picture taking during the holidays made me take a break from it for a while. These two pictures are literally the only pictures I have taken in over a month. Plus, we haven't done anything exciting worth documenting lately.

За посдедний месяц я практически не фотографировала детей. Эти две фотографии все что у меня есть.

Andre decided that he was finally ready to learn how to write his letters. Of course he started with letter A for Andre (notice the horizontal letter A - Andre told me he drew it that way because it is sleeping). In less than a week he went from only knowing how to write A to writing the other 4 letters in his name. He likes to add a couple of extra lines to E sometimes to be silly, or to turn it into a flag.

He also attempted to draw himself, which was a circle with eyes and 2 legs coming out of it. When I told Andre that he did a good job and that he should show it to Jeff, Andre said: "Look Papa, I draw Andre - octopus Andre."

Андрей наконец-то решил что он хочет научиться писать буквы (я уже его пару месяцев пыталась научить, но он не хотел). Он начал с буквы А (на фотографии одна из буков написана горизонтально - по словам Андрея он ее так написал потому что она спит). Всего за неделю он научился писать остальные 4-е буквы (английские) в его имени. Теперь только надо выучить порядок.

На этой неделе он также попытался нарисовать себя - что в основе был круг с глазами, и две палочки-ножки. Я его похвалила и сказала что бы он показал картинку папе. Он на нее еще раз посмотрел и сказал - "Папа, смотри, я нарисовал Андрея, Андрея-осминога."

Little Harper follows his brother in everything he does. His new very often-used word is "Mine!" He is quite a climber and physically attempts to do everything Andre does, which sometimes can be a little scary.

Харпер как всегда ходит по пятам своего старшего брата. Его новое и очень часто-употребляемое слово - "Моё!".