More cuteness

Not puppies, this time. Kids.

Ksenia is Luda and Valerie's youngest. She gets her almond eyes, freckles and mischief from her father, her boundless energy from her mother and Aunt Tanya and her leadership and determination from her Aunt Tanya. She is 7 years old, 16 years younger than her brother, and will start Grade 1 this fall. (Kindergarten is part of daycare not the education system but she can read and write and do math at what we would consider a grade one level. Highschool finishes at Grade 11).

Ksenia lives to draw, dance and sing. She was lead dancer at the Kindergarten Graduation Exercises, which was the day before we arrived but we watched the video. A couple years ago she said to her grandpa "If you are alive in spring, will you buy me a bicycle?" He was and he did. She disappears in the morning and appears only to eat and go to bed.

Uliana is 4 years old, with a 4-year-old's energy. She is the granddaugher of Tanya's late brother Sasha. As she has no grandparents at all now, Luda and Valerie (mostly Luda) have become surrogate grandparents. Uliana comes after kindergarten until her folks get off work.