7 weeks!

hey, gang!

sorry it's been a couple of weeks since i've posted. i'm slackin on the job! :)

i am going to make this brief as i need to try to catch a nap while alexei is down for his. the short of it is that we are doing great! at 6 weeks alexei started to sleep in his own bed for daddy's sake. alexei makes lots of noises and grunts when he sleeps, so it's not the best for a light sleeper like nick is to have him right next to our bed. so it was a bittersweet moment - i think it would have been alot harder for me, but nick came up with this really awesome idea of hooking up his infrared russian military device and mounting it to the wall which illuminates the crib which has a web cam suspended above it. the camera is connected to a computer next to his crib which nick set up so that with a computer in our room, we can log on to see alexei while he's sleeping, (or not sleeping). it's sweet because we now have visual and audio on him with the baby monitor. since then nick has made some modifications and is using a different infrared source, but you'll have to ask him for more details - that's about all i've got on that:) but apparently we were the ones keeping alexei up, because since that night we moved him to his room, he has slept for on average 6 hours at a time at night except for two nights! we are thrilled and feel like we are starting to come out of the fog a little bit.

over the last couple of days, alexei has also started to pay attention to toys or objects around him more. for the first time he is appreciating his little baby gym with the suspended toys and is paying attention to the mobile on his swing. he is laughing and smiling more and is taking in all of the scenery. he recognizes mom and dad now and is experimenting with blowing bubbles. :) it is such a fun stage of his babyhood. :) we are so blessed and are falling more in love with him daily, if that is possible.

here are some pics from the last couple of weeks.

our "baby genius";)

dad and alexei hanging out in the office testing another cool daddy project. it's still being modified, but the basic concept is that nick made a solenoid that he hooked up to alexei's bouncy chair (which he loves) and it gently bounces him up and down like we do with our foot usually. we'll see if we can get the kinks worked out, but i thought it was really cool so thought i'd share the picks. :)

nick put the jogging stroller together - it's a bummer that we have to wait until he is 4 months old to use it, because it is by far one of our favorite toys. the steering wheel and gears make some really cool noises that we are getting a kick out of. they make these things for the parents, not the kids. :)alexei's first encounter with a computer and his first game of battlefield 1942 - at 7 weeks old he has got to be the world record holder for the youngest gamer ever. and no we are not going to be making it a habit to have our infant play computer games. although i am sure he will surpass me in computer smarts in just a couple of years with his daddy's genes in him.uncle john and alexei are chillin' at grandma katy's birthday dinner. we love uncle john...and aunt kristin. ;)our cutie pie.tummy time! :)alexei discovering the fun of the baby gym for the first time! he stared and giggled at the toys for a good 20 minutes.our dear friends patrick, kim, and moyer stayed with us for a couple of weeks while they were visiting austin and we had so much fun with them! we'll forgive them for being aggies as is obvious by the apparel. moyer is now 4 months and it is crazy to see how far along he is and to realize we'll be there in just a couple of more months! that is wild how fast time flies! alexei and his first buddy, moyer on a walk/ride together. :)mommy and alexei hanging out at the oasis last night. we went out there for our friend, lauren's birthday and had a great time. nick and i got to try out their free salsa lesson while grandma katy watched with alexei from the table.