update on the past 4 + months

so, it's been a while since we have updated :) sorry about that! we have had quite a bit going on. on the beach trip with the family i last blogged about in september, nick and i found out we are expecting our second little munchkin. we have since learned that it is a very active little girl! we are pretty sure we are naming her anya nikolaevna (middle name is the traditional russian daughter of nikolai) and we are super excited as we anticipate her arrival around may 27th.

i've posted alot of pics in an attempt to fill you in on some highlights - i'll try to keep it brief. first are some pics from the family trip to portaransas - i had bought the big brother shirt a month or two before we got pregnant in a large size hoping we would be getting pregnant soon and wanting to let nick know by seeing how long it took him to notice alexei's shirt. it took a couple of hours - but he was excited when he did realize the significance. :)

alexei and daddy had a ball together - though here they both look pretty intense as they are focusing on molding perfect crab, shell and sea horse sand art. :)

digging to china- alexei was pretty amazed by this.

nick, alexei and i had a few days together before my parents and sister, kristin and brother-in-law, john joined us for the rest of the week. we really enjoyed our time together.

i am pretty sure the point of this tent is to keep alexei out of the sun. that didn't really happen as much. he had too much to do in the sand and water to stay put for long.

grandma and alexei hanging out.

all of the guys are in on digging to china now. :) alexei was so focused and a little intimidated by the hole. he was fine as long as he could keep a comfortable distance.

alexei was a monkey for halloween. it was his cousin daniel's outfit last year. he loved his costume. for weeks afterward, if he saw it laying in my room or if he found it in my closet, he would beg to put it on and wouldn't let me take it off until bedtime. even then he wasn't too happy about it. :) it was especially cute when he would bend over and look between his legs at his tail.

alexei still loves bubbles. he gives the best belly laughs ever if you catch him in the right mood when you are playing with him. the simple pleasures in life.

my "knights of spoonafoonia" - you'll have to ask nick about that one. :) another cheap form of entertainment - aluminum foil helmets.

such a guy - skateboarding in diapers - this is as we were about to head home from thanksgiving dinner at uncle jim and aunt judy's. he had a bit of an explosion earlier - thankfully it was warm enough outside:)

this is his first experience with getting to play aunt kristin's harp. he is totally fascinated by music - the harp, guitar, and piano especially.

as is the longstanding family tradition, we went out with my mom's side of the family to elgin tx the weekend after thanksgiving, to pick out a christmas tree at the elgin tree farm. the event includes petting random animals they have there, taking a hay ride to a section of trees where they drop you off to go find the perfect tree (or in our case a 9 ft. crooked tree that took 2 hours to put up in our living room, much modification to a tree stand, and a massive test of nick's patince - they sure look alot smaller out in the middle of a field when you are cold and are trying to hurry) and cut it down, drag it back and load it up on another trailer so you can tie it to the roof of your car. then comes the most important part of the tradition - eating at a BBQ place in elgin on the way home. you know, the kind of place where plates are frowned upon and only butcher paper is the acceptable eating surface ;) mmm so good. nick was a trooper as he ate his veggie burger that was packed for him and his fair share of beans, potato salad and coleslaw. ;)

alexei loves playing at the park. these particular shots are at the central market playground - it was so fun to remember bringing him here for one of his first outings in austin about a year and half ago! time sure does fly.

for christmas, nick built (actually is still building) an airplane for alexei. it started out as a rocker type of toy and then for those of you who know nick you won't be surprised that it had to become mechanized and now it can drive, has a parental control unit, a gas pedal, steering wheel, propeller that turns and trunk that opens. alexei loves driving it especially if other kids are around to admire. such a show off ;)

ooohhh power tools!!! complete dude.

alexei is completely into planes, rockets, balloons, space shuttles, anything that flies pretty much. where do you think he got that from? can we say nick's mini-me? ;)

oh yeh, and choochoos are next up in the coolness ranking.

i couldn't ask for two more fun guys to hang out with every day. i am truly blessed. i have no idea what it will be like adding another little one to the mix, but as interesting as our house stays, i am sure anya will be plenty entertained just watching her daddy and big brother explore, experiment and discover new and exciting things. as active as she is already, i have a feeling she is going to give alexei a run for his money. :)

ok, i am ready for bed. thanks for hanging in there and being patient with me. between morning sicknesstthe first trimester and ongoing occasional punyness (is that a word?) since then and alexei's continual string of sicknesses (we have had croup 2xs and strep once this month so far), i haven't been making blogging much of a priority. always feel free to call or e-mail if you want more regular updates on our lives. :)

blessings.