Andre's Birthday

Andre turned 4 on the 29th!!! I can't believe he is 4!!! He is such a cute and smart little boy. He talks non-stop, loves to play pretend, loves his brother, loves to draw and color, he is getting really good at dribbling basketball, there are so many more things that my sweet little boy can do.

Ever since last year's party, Andre decided that his next one was going to be Jack Skellington-themed. For a couple of months right before this birthday he switched to Peter Pan, but ultimately stayed with hi original choice of a year ago. And so as he wanted, I made him a Jack Skellington cake.
I loved seeing Andre's face the first time he saw the cake. He grinned, turned to me and said: "I love you" and gave me a big hug and a kiss. That definitely made it worth the lack of sleep.
The cake had a chocolate ganache frosting, and there was a bit leftover. So first thing in the morning Harper found the bowl and licked it clean. He loves chocolate just like his Mama. :-)

We had quite a few friends show up at the party and I think Andre had a blast.

Pinata (no injuries to report :-)

Kids going crazy with the candy

Blowing out candles

Yum!

Too many presents

Harper’s Birthday Party

It’s hard to believe that my baby is 2 already! Harper is such a happy little guy. He loves to give hugs and kisses, but he can also fight off anyone who tries to take a toy away from him.

Harper likes playing with cars. And though he is not obsessed with the Disney movie “Cars” (he likes it), I thought it was a good theme for his birthday party. With a power nap short of 2 hours in the late evening, I pulled an all-nighter to make this cake. I often kick myself for taking on crazy projects and stressing out about them, but it is all worth it at the end (not so much in the process though). The cake was chocolate with a whipped chocolate ganache layer and chocolate buttercream frosting. It was a hit. Harper with Alexis – his favorite babysitter at the gym. Everyday when I pick Harper and Andre up at the gym’s kids’ club, Harper won’t leave without giving Alexis a hug and a kiss.We had quite a turnout of friends. There was a mound of presents which I failed to take a picture of. Thank you everyone for making this day special for our little guy!And there goes the cake… The fruit of my labors…Now that’s a happy boy!  Denys with her nieceJulie and JackSuzy liked the cake

Harper liked the cake so much, that he came back for seconds and thirds

Topanga Canyon Hike

This Saturday we decided the boys needed a nature outing. We picked Topanga Canyon. After driving on winding roads and finally finding a trail we set off on our hike.

Before we even started on the trail, Andre located a stick and it immediately became a sword.

 

Harper is always copying everything Andre does, no matter how dangerous it is. They were really cute marching on the trail together. (Notice – I did not dress Harper, if I did – socks would not have been a part of his outfit :)

   Who knew taking a picture of two boys would be this hard. While both Jeff and I yelling out: “Andre – smile!”, “Harper – look at Mommy!”, “Andre – look up!” – this is the best we managed.

Take 3

Take 10

And on about take 15 – this is the best I could come up with.

 

I am really proud of my boys. The hike was about 2 miles in all, and they walked and half the time ran all on their own! My tough little men.

We enjoyed listening to the frog croaking, birds singing, crickets chirping; observing a caterpillar (which apparently was on Andre’s neck before it landed on the ground. Andre was very excited about it and was also very concerned that no one would step on it, since it was returning home to his Mommy after work); watching the ants; and smelling all the beautiful flowers.