Team Schuurman: 7 Months Old

Our sweet little baby boy is now 7 months old. Well, he's not that little, really. Today, we took him back to the doctor's office for his post-ear infection visit. He weighed a whopping 20 pounds and 1.5 ounces. I think the 1.5 ounces was the little turd that he left on the scale that I didn't know was there...whoops! But still, twenty pounds? No wonder Mark and I have big biceps :).
They don't do the regular measurements and checking everything out when it's just a check up, but it's always good to her Dr. Love say he looks great. He did mention the amount of drool coming out of Marcus' mouth was like a drool bucket, so teething may be happening now or on it's way. He is after all, 7 months old now. Here are some of his latest feats and talents:

Marcus is now wearing 9-12 month clothes. He doesn't wear shoes very often because he loves his feet. There have been a few times when we were in the car and he threw or lost his paci. All I had to do was take off his socks and he played with his feet until we could get to our destination. If he's not strapped into his car seat, he can chew and suck on his toes for a long time. And by the way, they're still adorable little fat feet.
He now eats baby food three times a day, along with his bottle as well. He still likes vegetables better than fruits (sweet potatoes and butternut squash seem to be his favorites), but ever since I made pears and mixed it with the apples, he doesn't mind the apples too bad. I hope it was just a tart batch of apples that made him keep spitting it out those few times.
Marcus is working on sitting up every day, but still needs me to be within reach or he needs a pillow for support. Last night he was playing with a nursery worker at church and fell back hitting his head right on the floor. It made the most horrible sound and he cried as if he were dying, but it only took a few minutes to calm him down to where I could check him out. He was fine, and just for reassurance, Dr. Love said everything was ok as well.
Rolling over has been easy for Marcus for a number of months now, but he still rolls to his left and rarely goes right. Once on his tummy, he quickly rotates like the hands on a clock and can go all the way around. He can push backwards with ease, and just tonight pulled forward one little bit. He was up against the couch, so he used it to push off of. While on his stomach, he loves playing with the tags on toys or chewing on his daddy's feet (yes, I know it's gross, but he tries to do it all the time).
Finally, Marcus is really turning into a little PERSON! He notices when we leave him alone too long or when I drop him off in the nursery, but luckily he only whimpers and isn't all out wailing yet. He loves peek-a-boo and enjoys when Mark and I sing to him. He laughs at almost anything we do (even when I hurt myself last night - he thought it was the funniest thing he'd ever seen), and makes an effort to communicate his wants to us. When he's done with his bottle, he slaps it away like, "no more!" He grunts and growls at me when I wipe his face after eating baby food, and squeals in dismay as I change his diaper when he'd rather play with his daddy.

All and all, our little boy is growing up, showing new personality traits daily, and is still just an absolute joy. We find it to be the most important privilege and responsibility we've ever been given, to be his parents and point him to Jesus. Today, leaving the gym, a big black crow was really close to where we were walking. He stared at it intently as I whispered into his ear, "Marcus, look! That's a crow. God made the crows and He made YOU, too!" He cooed and started kicking his legs (that's a sign that he's excited) and the crow flew away. He may not understand what I'm saying now, but before we know it, he'll understand our words, and he'll begin to ponder all these truths that we're showing and telling him about our Creator. I don't want him to grow up too quickly, but I do look forward to those days that his inquisitive little mind asks questions about God, trying to figure it out for himself.