2 years and 2 months

There's too much technology in my life. I know I am to blame since I am the one who has either purchased it or logged on to it. Difficult though to opt out of it all. I need a computer. I also need an external hard drive, an mp3 player, digital camera, mobile phone, email accounts and I absolutely need to be able to download music I want to listen to. It takes up a lot of my time though, working with, organizing and maintaining this technology. How though can I live without it all.

Andrew loves looking at pictures of his buddy Benjamin Taylor on the computer. He loves to look at his Canadian grandma on the SKYPE video call and he loves to walk around with the cell phone pretending he is talking to someone. When I was a kid it was a dream to imagine a time when we could talk to someone on the phone and see them on a screen at the same time. I wonder what Andrew will dream about for his future?

This week the wee lad started kindergarten. It's one of the oldest kindergartens in Kiev. Masha attended it starting at 13 months. It's going to take time for him to get used to the fact that there are other kids in the world besides himself. And, that there are authorities other than mom, dad and grandma. He is the youngest in his group but the older boys have already taken a shine to him.

Andrew loves going to the dacha or summer home. This is where grandma works in her garden. Andrew has taken to removing his clothes and walking around naked most of the day. He stays in the shade, for those of you worried about UV rays, and puts clothes on when he goes to the garden to help grandma water.

The local entertainment at the dacha consists of clucking hens, cock-a-doodling roosters, barking dogs, a cow and a horse in the field. These things keep Andrew alert while spending time there. But the world lights up if we see the cow or horse pee or poop in the field. Let me tell you that when this happens we talk about it for weeks.

And that's the news from here.