Dear Russell,

Oh you are such a sweet baby. I have been having so much fun with you. You spent the first weeks of your life sleeping and being a very easy baby. The last week has been a little more challenging. You are awake all day long and you will not go to sleep unless I am holding you. I don't mind that at all but there were a few times this week I simply could not hold you and that made for a very long afternoon because you were cranky about it.

You are still sleeping well through the night. Every few nights we get a five to six hour stretch but then you spend the next couple nights waking up every three hours. You just eat and fall right back asleep so it isn't a big deal when you wake up that frequently. I actually enjoy our nights together a lot. It's quiet and peaceful and I can focus only on you.

You like to sleep on mommy. I like it too. I am not sure which of us sleeps better. The other night I wanted to sleep and I was going to put you in the crib. That lasted all of five minutes and I couldn't handle it. I had to pick you back up.

You do not like binkeys at all. You spit them out in disgust. Literally, you have a look of pure disgust on your face when you spit it out. Yesterday you started giving in and taking it a little bit more. You want to suck on something until you fall asleep, but the problem is that if I give you a bottle every time you want to suck on something you eat too much and your tummy hurts and then you can't sleep because your tummy is bothering you. I am going to go to the store today and get a bigger binky and give that a try, but if you don't like that any better we are probably going to just tough it out.

We bought you a few new toys. A zebra that hangs from your little play mat. You are mildly amused by it. You like the color pattern I think. We also got you some bugs that hang on your car seat. You like those better because they make neater noises. You still like the swing, and you still do not like the vibrating jungle chair. I am going to just put the jungle chair away. You never sit in it for more than 30 seconds and last night I stubbed my toe on it and ruined my brand new pedicure. That was enough for me to say it is a goner. You will be relieved that I quit trying to get you to like it.

We went to make a pie at Gramma Darrlyn's a few days ago. You fell asleep and I wanted to lay you down so I could help with the pie. The only thing we could come up with where you wouldn't roll off of something was a laundry basket. It was the cutest thing in the world. I didn't help with the pie because I kept taking pictures of you and watching you sleep.

You have been smiling a lot! All the time you smile. I absolutely love it. You have the cutest smile. Your whole face just lights up. I could look at that smile all day long.

I love you buddy! I can't believe it's already been close to seven weeks! Thank you for being such a wonderful blessing to our family!

Love,

Mommy