Canadian Cousins in Town

     Thursday night, we were blessed to be able to host Mark's cousins for a night.  Darren, Brianna, Jordan (their cousin from their mom's side), and Darren's girlfriend, Rosanna all showed up right before 6pm.  We briefly visited then headed for (drumroll please....) the BBQ Inn!  As always, they didn't disappoint and we had a great Southern meal including BBQ, hush puppies, slaw, baked beans, fries, and Darren and Jordan tried their first pork rind.  Don't you just love Canadians?!  I think it's obvious that I DO! 
     After supper we came home and visited for a little while then we all went to bed.  They still had another 12 hour drive on their way to Florida and Mark had to get up early for his Friday route as well.  The girls slept in the newly finished bedroom in our basement and the boys set up air mattresses on the other side.  Since they had never had biscuits, I made eggs and homemade biscuits for breakfast, then sent them on their way to sunny Florida. 
     In other news, Marcus has GOT TO BE teething.  If not, I'm loosing my marbles.  We took him to a restaurant last night and we had supper with one of our mentors from church.  He was TERRIBLE!  He fussed and squirmed the whole time and not even the paci made him happy.  The best (not really) part of the whole evening is when he grabbed my drink (which I thought was farther away than it was), turned it over onto my lap, then slung the glass onto the floor where it busted into a million loud pieces.  So there I was, wet crotch, hollaring baby, and glass all over the place....and all eyes were on us.  Even after everything was cleaned up, Marcus was still VERY fussy. 
     When we got home, he had a low-grade fever of 99.8 so we're HOPING it's because he's teething and not because he's either getting sick or just having a case of "turd-itis."  He's his normal wonderful self this morning, no fever, and the drool is falling out of his mouth at a rapid rate.  Again, I could be fooled, but good grief!  Wouldn't you think the same???
     Finally, in a few hours, we're on our way to see Aunt Liv and her softball team in Hickory.  They have a 2 hour break in between games and we are going for a quick visit.  And yes, he's in one of his many baseball jerseys for the occasion.

Brianna took this picture of her food.  Isn't it beautiful???

Left to Right: Rosanna, Brianna, Marcus, Mark, Leah, Darren, & Jordan (far right side of the picture)

How cute is Brianna?

Getting ready for bed.

We call this room, "Hotel Hoozer" for when Matt & Mary Clark come stay with us.

Now that I'm LESS Type-A, Mark's taken on those personality traits, making sure everything was measured perfectly.

Here's Mr. Smiley, practicing sitting up.

Mt. Airy Grandparents in Town

     On Saturday, Marcus' Mt. Airy grandparents came for a visit and boy did they bless us!  They arrived right after Marcus woke up from his morning nap and was eating.  The two of them ooed and ahhed at him for a few minutes, then Daddy and Papa John went to work on the basement.  They had the whole thing trimmed and painted in NO TIME!  It was awesome!
     As they were painting, Grandma and I were cooking and playing with Marcus.  He was his charming self and put on quite the cute show.  He thought Papa John was HILARIOUS and just laughed and laughed at him when we went downstairs to check on their progress.  It was adorable.  Speaking of adorable.... we tried on his tuxedo that they gave him at Christmas.  It's his Easter outfit, but we took it upon ourselves to see if it fit and he's almost the perfect size for it.  It should be exactly right by Easter. 
     When he took his afternoon nap, Grandma and I finished the mac-n-cheese (favorite food of all time) and chicken pot pie.  She also brought sausage balls and lemon pound cake, so needless to say, we ate well this weekend.  After he woke up, the three of us went to Wal-Mart and got Marcus his first walker.  I'm not sure if there's a huge difference between a walker and exersaucer other than one moves and one doesn't, but we went ahead and got him a walker.  His legs don't quite touch the ground yet, but we've put him in it a few times and he seems to like it.  He likes sitting up more and more, but hasn't mastered it yet.  He can sit up when tilted back, but once vertical, he face plants and heads for his toes.  So he's working on it...just not there yet.  And there's no hurry because I know that once that starts, everything else will happen faster, too. 
     It was a good visit and we were thankful for all they brought, did, cooked, and bought.  We look forward to seeing more family this week as Mark's cousins are coming down Thursday night and there's a possibility we may see more family afterward, too.  Until then, have a great last week in February!  Spring is JUST AROUND THE CORNER!  (By the way, there's just over a month until baseball begins!!!!!!!!!!!)

Grandma got a chance to feed Marcus and he grabbed her fingers as he ate.

I was cracking up during this whole photo shoot.  He had a ball and we did, too.

Mark and I laugh at his picture because my mom read the directions the whole time and John was always a step or two ahead of her, putting it together on his own, not listening to the directions at all.

Ignore the crazy mama in this video.  She's loco for her boys (and it shows).

5 Months Old

     Where have the past 5 months gone!?!?  Good grief it's fast, and I know I say this every time, but wow.  Time sure does fly when you're having fun.  Marcus is officially 5 months old, so here are a few things to catch you up to speed about this little man:

• He's wearing mostly 6-9 month old clothes.
• He started (just this week) rolling over with no problem.  As soon as I put him on his back, he rolls to his left, onto his belly.  He's not quite mastered the rolling back onto his back yet.
• He chews on everything he can get his hands on (including his hands) and drools like a faucet.
• He is infatuated with his feet and they are a good 10 minute entertainer.
• He loves a warm bath and splashes around with both feet and arms. (He even takes an occasional shower with Daddy and loves that, too)
• He may grow up to be vain, but he loves looking at himself in the mirror.
• He's becoming quite the attention hog, making noise until we look at him, then he smiles like, "Gotcha!"
• He's been eating rice cereal for a few weeks, but just this week we started him on green beans.
• He weighs around 17 pounds and as soon as we finish this current pack of diapers, he'll wear size 3.
• He loves being outside.  Most any time he's fussy and the weather isn't bad, I can take him outside and get immediate calmness.  We try to take a walk outside whenever possible.  Bev & and I call it, "airing the children." 
• Finally, he has his Mama and Daddy's hearts.  We are infatuated with this little boy and look forward to the blessing and challenge of raising him to know and follow Jesus.

     We appreciate your continued prayers for our sweet family and would consider it an honor to pray for you and yours.  Just e-mail me at leahistall@yahoo.com and we're on it!

He's working on sitting up, but hasn't quite mastered it yet.  He was on his way down in his picture.

Told ya he chewed on EVERYTHING.

When I took the paper away, he was less than impressed.  Isn't that pitiful?!?!

 

 

 

 

Love

     Well, as most of you know, today is Valentine's Day.  Here at the Schuurman household, Mark and I do not celebrate this holiday with chocolates, cards, or dates.  He told me way back when we were dating how stupid of a holiday he thought it was and how we wouldn't celebrate it.  And just for the record, let me say that I'm soooooooo fine with that because he really knows how to LOVE me the rest of the year.  Now, many of you may be saying, "booooo!" in your minds, but I didn't say MARCUS doesn't celebrate it. :)  Sneaky, huh?  Below, you 'll see a short video of Cupid, I mean, Marcus playing with some heart lights as well as a few still shots.  He had a great time in just his diaper, playing with the lights and extra hearts.  I never knew, when I bought them in high school, that they'd be used like this.
     As for love, there's no way to truly know how to love unless you know the One who IS love... Jesus Christ.  1 John 4:19 says, "We love because He first loved us."  Think of that...before He created this world, He LOVED me, sinner, Leah and He loves you the same!  Being a new mother, I am overflowing with love for my husband and our son, however, the love that our Heavenly Father has for us FAR outweighs what I'm feeling here on Earth.  Isn't that INCREDIBLE???
     So no, we don't celebrate Valentine's Day.  But it's a good time to reflect the Love of Jesus and how we can better show our love to Him. 

     Happy Valentine's Day, Everyone!!!

1 Samuel 1:27

"I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of Him."

*1 Samuel 1:27*

     Our sweet Marcus Paul continues to grow each day and do new, "tricks" as we call them.  His "tricks" today include spitting up more than normal, while in public, all over his mama, and then when we got home and I KNEW he was tired, he cried uncontrollably for over half an hour.  It could be teething...it could be that his belly isn't quite right since he had a little stomach bug Tuesday... or it could be that he's just HUMAN and having an "off" day.  Either way, when I look into his deep blue eyes and see that sparkle when he smiles, all my frustration melts away.  He definitely has captured the hearts of both his parents, all grandparents, aunts/uncles, and numerous church family.  I never really hear other mom's talk about the "not-so-easy" times of motherhood (or at least the mom's I hang around don't talk about it), but they are there...that's life.  But with Marcus, his sweet times far outweigh his not-so-sweet ones, so we'll take 'em all! 
     He's now making all sorts of babbling noises and spitting.  He makes the /b/ and /p/ sounds just to name a few of his new ones.  His squeals of glee increase in volume and he understands that making noise usually gets a response of those around him.  He's quite the people-person and flirt when he's around the ladies.  I think he's beginning to transition into 2 naps instead of 3.  Most babies have already made that transition by now, but I think he's just like his mama and needs extra sleep (unlike Daddy who hardly ever gets enough sleep, but keeps on truckin!).  He has a smile that lights up a room and his little cackles are the sweetest sound to Mark and I. 
     So there ya have it!  An update about the sweetest almost-five month old around.  I hope to do two extra blogs this week (Valentine's Day & his 5 month old birthday) just to share some fun pictures I hope to take.  And one more thing for good measure... if you've not been in God's Word today...DO IT!  What are you waiting for?  "For the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword."  ~Hebrews 4:12.

Yes, I know it's another mirror shot, but he LOVES looking at himself.

The boppy helps him sit up but he'd rather lay down and play with his feet.

Speaking of feet...that's his foot that he has up to his mouth.  He's an official toe-chewer.

Here are his cute little fat feet all stretched out.

I know the color of this picture isn't that great, but I thought his jersey was the cutest.  It says, "Daddy's Home Run Hero."  By the way he jumps out of my arms when his daddy comes home, his daddy is his hero.

Hooray for Chick-Fil-A

     We don't have any, "real" reason to post today, other than to share this cute video of Marcus getting excited about his Chick-Fil-A cow.  A sweet old man gave it to us a few weeks ago, when we were eating there and he's enjoyed it ever since.  I've used it as incentive for him to roll over when I put it above his head, just to the right or left, enough to where he can barely see it and has to work to see it again.  I don't know if it's the colors, textures, or what, but he sure likes it.  You'll see in the video below how he starts kicking and moving his arms in an attempt to get to it.  Then it's straight to his mouth (like all things nowadays). 

Ok, I confess. I put the cow there for the picture.  But he's still cute, huh?

Simple Pleasures

     Have you ever been around a child that would play more with the box a toy came in than the actual toy?  Well, we are hoping Marcus will be one of those children who is easy to please, and so far, he's showing signs that he's heading that way.  Recently, if he's been fussy, we can do one of three things to get a smile on his face and calm him down, pretty quickly (but to begin with, he's not been "losing his mind fussy" in a long time).  We can either a) put him in front of the mirror and let him smile and babble at himself  b) give him a bath and let him splash until he gets tired (mostly kicking)  or c) take off his pants and socks and let him play with his bare feet. 
     Right now, as I write this, he's in his bouncy chair.  I gave him a colorful toy he could shake or chew on but he keeps dropping it in an effort to get to his feet.  The toy will entertain him for a minute or two, then he sees his feet again and heads for them.  When I change his diaper in the morning, I'd better let him play with his feet first or changing him is a challenge as he fights against me to get to those precious tootsies.  I've been reciting Proverbs 4:26-27 ("Ponder the path of your feet...") to him while moving his feet around.  He giggles as I move them from the right to left and then up and down.  Hopefully, he'll have it memorized by the time he starts talking. :) 
     In other news, he rolled over TWICE this week from his back to his belly, all by himself!  The first time his arms were stuck down by his side and he looked like a beached whale.  The second time (Friday) I left him alone longer and he figured out how to get them up!  I started squealing and jumping around like a fool and he had the sweetest look of pride as we celebrated together. 
     So much to my dismay, time is passing all too quickly, but what a joy it is being parents.  Mark and I were talking about it the other night.  We knew we wanted to be parents and that we'd love it, but we had no idea it'd be this great.  I know there are those nay-sayers out there who say, "wait until your next one..." but we'll enjoy sweet Marcus for now and not worry if the next one will be a terror or not.  And if/when the Lord blesses us with another child, we'll welcome that one into our family with just as much joy and love and we have for Marcus now. 

Last Sunday, Marcus helped me make an announcement at church so he dressed up a little bit.

When I stand above him then act like I'm going to jump on him, he absolutely cracks up.

Marcus and Adelyn had another date this week.  Don't worry, they kept it clean.

"Are you trying to hold my hand?  I think I like that."

This was the first day I put Marcus in these overalls and they're already too short.  But for this picture, he was just pulling them so he could better see his feet.

Marcus is just starting to try to sit on his own.  Putting him in the sink so he could see himself helped him focus. :)

Marcus' camo cap finally fits and he wore it yesterday when we went out.

Playing with Daddy last night before bed.

Stretching and waking up while Daddy cooks french toast.