Team Schuurman: Snow Day

Last year when it snowed, I was sleepily pregnant, LOVING snow days since I could stay home from work, sleep in, and keep cozy in front of our small electric heater. Nowadays, I still love snow days, they just have a different feel. I don't sleep in because I have the cutest alarm clock in the world. Mark described his morning smile best when he said, "It's like he's thinking, 'Yay! You're coming to get me!' " He's super cute, but especially in the mornings, when he stretches and grunts like a little man. And we still use the heater, we just keep it in Marcus' room so he doesn't get too cold when he sleeps. We have a new cool-mist humidifier that makes it a little cooler in temperature in there, so the heater evens things out.

Last night was the first time Marcus slept without his swaddle-me. He's been getting out of it and waking himself up in the early morning hours (between 3-5am), so we thought, "okay, time to go without it." We put him in a sleep sack instead, so he'd keep warm. It's just like a onesie, but without the feet...just like a sleeping bag. This way, he can't kick the covers up on his head (which he's done before). He fell asleep last night during his last feeding around 7:30 and was OUT for the count. He woke up momentarily when we put him in the sack, but was fast asleep again before we were even out of his room. As for Mark and I, we were lame, old people who went to bed at 8! I couldn't think of the last time I did that, when I wasn't sick. Is this what getting old is like? If so, count me in because all three of us felt GREAT this morning. Well, Marcus was still a little croupy and has an icky cough, but he's not as stuffy as before. One symptom goes away, then the other comes back. The doctor said it'll be 7-10 days before he's back to normal, but that seems like forever when your baby boy is so little!

Speaking of little, he's not THAT little, compared to his peers. We go to the doctor again on the 20th for his 4 month appointment and shots :( . My mom said that at my 4 month appointment, I was 12 pounds and 25 inches long. Marcus isn't even 4 months old yet and he's closer to 16 pounds and almost 29 inches. Holy cow, we have a big 'en! We just hope he's not 7 feet tall when he grows up because life isn't easy on your body when it's that big. At least we know Who's in control and how He knows what Marcus will grow up to be and do. Our prayer is that whatever he decides to be, that he's first and foremost a servant of the Lord.

Finally, Marcus has some definite likes and dislikes as he's now developing a real personality. Here are a few:

Likes:

Daddy & Mama holding and cuddling him
His glow worm
Splashing in the bath
Cuddling his cheek up against his love bunny (see picture below)
Chewing and drooling all over his rubber giraffe from Aunt Audrey
Gripping our fingers while we feed him
Bouncing in his monkey chair

Dislikes:

Being cold
Waiting (when he's ready to eat...he's READY)
Having his mouth and nose wiped
Sitting in a dirty diaper too long (ie: too long means 5 minutes)
Having his nails clipped or cleaned up (he squirms and grunts the whole time)

We're thankful you're still reading the blog and hope you continue to enjoy it. Please don't ever take it as a brag fest for ourselves, but an opportunity to share info and pictures of our little one with family that doesn't live in town with us. My parents seem to check the blog multiple times a day to get their, "Marcus fix." Who can blame them?

Keep warm, everyone. It's blustery out there right now and they're calling for a "shoveler" on Monday. At least we have a new snow shovel if it does do that. Mark is armed and not afraid to use it!