Easter egg painting

Easter is coming soon, so Benji's nursery again asked that children take in a painted egg as there will an egg beauty competition. I didn't mind that he is paiting an egg (in Hungary only girls do as per tradition and boys receive them if they sprinkle the girls with water) as at least he keeps some Easter tradition, plus he really enjoyed it. That much that we had to blow another egg as the two we did weren't enough. (we ate omlette for lunch that day as another 2 were broken in the blowing process)
We only have to teach him that you wash the brush out after each colour as in the end the eggs and all the paints looked the same goosepoo colour. Nevermind, we used some stickers and they were beautiful.

On the paper from the nursery it was specifically pointed out that they will appreciate more if they can see that the parent didn't help, and the paiting is age appropriate. I took this on of course, but I didn't even have the intention to do it instead of him as there wouldn't be a point. And who cares anyway whose is the nicest egg, I am sure every parent thinks that their child's is the best anyway.
Turns out that not all parents thought this way, which is a bit annoying as I now feel sorry for Benji. We forgot to take the egg in on Monday and on Tuesday morning he said he doesn't want to take the egg in, and didn't let us take it (despite all weekend and on Monday he was carrying it around as if it was a totem). When we dropped him off we saw some of the other eggs and were clear that some of them were not made by the children (that or my child is really rubbish at painting), there were little baskets with fluffy cotton balls, rabbit ears, chicken faces etc. No wonder he didn't want to take his egg in anymore.
Why do parents do this? Does it really matter who wins this egg competition?

(And if it is Easter, it is rabbit, lamb, chickens...Benji used managed to time it right and have a festive chicken pox....)

Those little moments

I found myself watching them quite often and just wonder how cute they are as they find themselves and they are starting to be brothers now rather than "Benji and the baby". And it is so good to see that Benji is looking at Robin more as a partner of crime rather than just someone who eats and sleeps.
Sometimes he just turns around and tells me: "Mummy I am playing with Robin" then he takes a toy to him and grins into his face from really close: "Roooobiiiiiin"
He also chats to him in the car and they exchange a knowing smile.
Or if Robin starts crying he runs there saying "Its ok Robin I am here now", and even despite he finished crying and happily looking down from my arms he still has to give him a "healing kiss".
This idill is usually only broken when Richard comes home as he wants Daddy only to himself (I am at home with him all day, I am not interesting....), if Richard "dares" to hold Robin or gives him a little attention, then when the "accidentally kicked him" or "sat on Robin's head" happen....Our poor little Second One, if your read this 18 years later you will realize you had a good training in your early days. Last week Benji even dropped you on the floor, I only run from the toilet because of the big knock on the floor and the loud cry, you are lying on the floor Benji next to you all innocent as he just wanted to lift you on the chair. I need to grow an extra pair of eyes....Although it is probably your fault being that heavy. 9.6kg at 7 months! (the health visitor came and measured you. More worrying that your head circumference is on the 99% percentile...all that brain...)
Benji is 16kg, he gave such a big tantrum all that because he had to stand on the scale..

It was also Mother's Day in England (lucky me, I can have another one soon), and got two nice cards from B, the right one from nursery and the left one stamping, drawing is with Daddy's help. Very nice, thank you!

The first warmer day

At last the sunshine arrived, so we could go out into the garden and get some vitamin D into the kids.
Benji helped us collecting rotten apples, stones and weed and copied Richard sawing some banches off the tree. Of course not with a real saw, but with a little stick he was bashing our bamboo bush :)
I managed to get them together for the sake of a photo as well. Very rare opportunity as usually he starts winging nowadays if we try to take picture of him/them ("I don't want cheeeese")
He is very timid nowadays, or I rather say scared of new situations, and starts winging if he doesn't like something (or worse case scenario he stars crying, screaming loudly).
I am little worried about it, as we have been in a birthday party of one his little friends yesterday,and there was everything a kid could want: bouncy castle, toys, balloons, little chairs, and little table full of sweets and treats. But instead he didn't move from our shadow and of course "I dont want jump jump, I dont want cake...etc" In the end Richard managed to persuade him to get into the bouncy castle with him, but only when noone else was inside, and he only approached the table when everyone else have stood up. He didn't really warm up for the 1.5 hour we have been there.
I feel sorry for him, but I don't want to push him something he doesn't want to do. I just hope it will change by school for his own sake and that it is not something serious.
Richard is probably right, that what should we expect when both of us were really quiet ones when we were little and this probably have just added up in Benji.

Our Little One has become 7 months on 1st of March as well.
He started pulling himself along on his arms like a little seal, reaches for everything, he is actually quite strong. I think he is not far from crawling, he is lifting his bottom up in the air, and rocking  himself back and forth.
He is very smiley, his whole face smiles whenever he spots me, his lips, eyes stretches for a big smile and his little ears go upwards. Very cute.
His sleeping is very rhapsodical  he started again waking up at 2am and 4-5ish as well. Although I hope this is only temporary because they both a little bit snotty and he can't breath at night and thats why he wakes up.
He is eating very well (carrots, potatoes  chestnuts, pears, mango, peach..etc, today ate his first little piece of chicken too), his drinking is the same as Benji was at this age, he only drinks a gulp of water, he rather has his formula still to drink.
Thursday the health visitor will come and I will ask how heavy he is, but I bet he is around 10kg now,..

They also started to get on better and better together. Benji finds Robin as a little partner now in games (they push cars together, or shows his books to him), he is rarely jealous, mostly only when Robin happens to find one of his cars or toys, and of course Benji wants that toy there and than, and can grab it really hard off Robin.
But I hear the sentence "Look Mummy I play with Robin" more and more, which really means that he lies or sits next to him and looks into Robin's face really really close.
But he kisses him quite often or tries ticking or stroking him, or making his clown moves to him which Robin loves and appreciates with big giggles, "Look Mummy, he likes this"