A few more firsts

     Yesterday, before church, we decided that Marcus needed a little trim.  His hair was getting ratty on top and definitely hung over his ears.  While longer hair is cute on some children, we're just not that type of people.  We put Marcus in his high chair & gave him puffs to feed himself while Mark gave him his first haircut.  He snipped a little off of both sides and straightened up his front before Marcus even knew what was going on.  He's now cuter than ever.
     Marcus had another first today by taking a dip into a "pool" for the first time.  Yeah, yeah, I know it wasn't a real pool, but it's not like he knows the difference.  We plan on taking him to a real pool on Wednesday, but I was just trying out his ducky pool, his swimming trunks, and I was curious to see how well the swimming diapers worked (which was very well!).
     Finally, Marcus has been trying to crawl and move around on the floor for a while now, but he's not gone forward yet.  He can roll from side to side, all over the room, and can scoot backwards all day long.  Today was the first day that he actually went FORWARD!!!  I know it's not big news for the world, but in OUR world, it's huge.  He did it a few times, all in different ways.  He was on just his arms and toes once, doing a plank walk, then again he was doing more of an army crawl on his belly, before doing it the good ol' fashioned way another time.  It's the coolest thing to watch.  I put it in the video below, but I want to warn you, he's a big ol' cry baby because this was right before his afternoon nap and he was mad that I kept taking the paper away. Don't worry, he turned it off as soon as he reached the paper.
     Anyhow, enjoy the pics and video and thanks for celebrating these milestones with us! :)

Pre-haircut

Holding  still

All done!

Looks like we'll be lowering his crib this weekend...

A dip in the ducky pool

I took his pool shirt off so he could show off his muscles.

Since he started crawling today, his room is a wreck, but how cute is that little tushy?

Spoiled, A Brat, or In Pain?

     Our sweet baby boy has been getting a little clingy lately.  He cried for the first time the other day when I dropped him off at the gym, but I think (hope) it's because another child was crying as his mama dropped him off.  He didn't cry long, and when I returned the nursery worker said he had been, "just perfect," so it wasn't THAT bad.
     In another news, he's been the sweetest child during the day, laughing, cooing, and babbling.  But once 5pm hits, oh he's a different child.  He swats at us (especially when I try to wipe his face), throws his toys into the floor repeatedly (and doesn't think it's funny), and just cries or fusses for no reason.  He normally sits in his high chair and eats his puffs while Mark and I sit at the table and eat our supper.  Last night, Mark had to put him in his crib with toys for a "timeout from Mama and Daddy" time.  He cried, on and off, while we finished our supper, but it's exhausting trying to talk over him as he makes noise.  It did all of us good because Mark and I could carry on a conversation and he liked us more, once we went and got him.
     Then, for the past few nights, Marcus has cried big ol' crocodile tears when we put him to bed.  He'll be fine for the first 10 minutes or so, talking, rolling around, and playing in his crib.  But when he realizes we're not coming back, he SCREAMS.  If we go pick him up or give him a paci, he's fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine, so we were wondering...is he in pain (possibly his teeth?), or is he just spoiled rotten? :)
     There are plenty of books about this whole parenting thing, but in the end, it all boils down to how Mark and I are going to handle certain situations as we raise him.  Crying and being fussy because you're in pain are different than just being a brat.  But at this age, how can you tell which it is?  Oh well, we'll keep reading and working with him, but in the mean time, he's still just the cutest thing we've ever laid our eyes on...even when he is losing his mind.

This week Marcus and I were able to go hang out with Adelyn.  While she was taking a nap, Marcus tried out all her gear.

Deer in the headlights?

Look how long and pretty Adelyn's eyelashes are!

Trying to keep the two lovebirds apart. :)

I didn't know this but Bruegger's Bagels gives a free bagel to every child 2 and under so this week Marcus tried his first bagel.  He LOVED it!

He gnawed, sucked, chewed, and gummed this thing to death.

A view of the teeth

They've been in for a while, but they're finally visible to most people, especially when he laughs!

Graduation & A Tourists Game

     This past Saturday we went to the home school graduation of Duncan Dorris and two other young men.  I've never been to one where the students didn't go to an actual high school.  Let me tell ya, it was awesome.  The weather was perfect, there was food for miles, and the best part was the actual presentation of diplomas from the parents of all three fellas.  Their dads made specific references to their sons and more importantly gave guidance from the Bible.  I was in the back crying, thinking about how fast children grow up and how I'd be in that same position before I know it.  After the ceremony, I especially enjoyed chatting with the Cobbs, Rennards, and Dorris'.  They each have 5 or 6 children, each of their fathers are doctors of some sort, they all home school, and I babysat for each of their families in college.  It was a great time to catch up and reflect the past, as well as look to the future with each of them.
     On Sunday, we did our regular church-lunch-nap-church routine, but yesterday was different.  It was Education Day at McCormick Field and the Tourists played an 11 o'clock day game.  Kristen, a good friend from church, and I took Marcus to his first Tourists game.  Of course he had on his "Future Pro" jersey and Braves cap.  He was one of HUNDREDS of children in attendance.  He didn't take a morning nap, so he only lasted through half of the game, but seemed to enjoy looking around the best.  He stared and smiled at all the people and didn't quite know what to think of Mr. Moon, the new mascot.  Kristen helped me haul everything back to the car and Marcus was asleep before we hit the highway.  It was a fun time, even though it was short, and I look forward to when Mark and I both can take him to his next game.

Can you believe a 4 year old took this pic?

Chewing his shoes before church.

We just got to the game and he already showed signs of fatigue.

Gamers!

"What the heck is on my shoulder?"

Laughing now - about to meltdown, though

I know it's fuzzy, but I wanted to show him attacking my leg while I try to cook.

Forget going in circles, our little Bam-Bam just drags the table where he wants to go.

Another Great Week!

     Another week has gone by and our family continues to thrive in God's Word.  On the days I set my alarm and get up earlier than Marcus so I can read the Bible, it always goes a lot smoother (or at least I'm prepared to deal with it better).  Our sweet little man continues to show more personality each day and after hearing this week's, "Focus on the Family," I'm beginning to wonder if he's a strong willed child like his mama.  We will see...
     In other news, Marcus' Mt. Airy grandma came to visit for the day Thursday.  She tended to Marcus' every whimper while I got a LOT of housework and laundry done, not to mention stole an hour away to be by myself.  They had a grand ol' time together from the looks of it.  He particularly liked peek-a-boo with her and his sweet little chuckle filled our small home. 
     His newest adventures include destruction and adventure.  He's unhappy unless he's up and moving.  I moved his table walker into the kitchen, where it can roll better and he's almost RUNNING around in circles.  As you'll see below, he got into the drawers, so I had to quickly fill it with things that couldn't hurt him (towels and plastic measuring cups & utensils).  A mess is easy to clean up, but it's hard to deal with a hurting child, so as long as he had something to bang into the cabinets and throw across the kitchen floor, he was happy and safe. 
     Speaking of hurting, we think his teeth are hurting him more this week.  He's given a few deep belly, hurting cries out of nowhere, grabbing his mouth, so we've tried different chewing toys, wet washrags, and gave him some children's tylenol once this week, before he went to bed.  Since his two bottom teeth came in at once, maybe it's double pain?  Who knows, but I do know this: As much as my mama's heart hurts when he's in MINOR pain, I can't even begin to grasp the way our Lord felt when he sent Jesus to the cross.  I was thinking of that as I rocked Marcus last night.  It was and is an overwhelming feeling, yet one covered with gratitude.  I hope you have accepted Jesus so you, too can feel that gratitude for what He did for us all.

Laughing at Peek-A-Boo with Grandma.

Grandma and her only grandbaby (so far)

Sorry it's fuzzy, but I thought it was funny.  Marcus stayed in his jammies all day on Friday and took a 2 1/2 hour nap!  His hair was a MESS when he got up.

Marcus found a drawer just his height, so I stocked it with "baby friendly" items.

Our 8 Month Old Bruiser

     Our sweet baby boy is 8 months old today.  I call him a, "bruiser," because he's a BOY'S boy.  He's rough & tough, constantly dirty, and loves destruction.  He's between 21-22 lbs (unofficially), around 30 inches long (he wouldn't hold still long enough, so I'm not 100% sure), and he is quite mobile, although not yet crawling.  He loves his walker and can now go forward and backward in it and when on his belly, if he can't reach something, he'll roll until he gets there.  He likes to pull out our DVD's when he's on the floor, and if he's given ANYTHING, it goes straight to his mouth, whether it's edible or not.
     So far, Marcus has been great with us dropping him off in the nursery at church or at the gym, but as soon as Mark or I enter the room again, he wines until we pick him up.  He enjoys watching other children play and is calmed by singing songs, especially ones with hand signs.  He no longer likes wearing his sunglasses, but wears his Braves ball cap with ease (duh...it's the Braves).  We put his first pair of "real" shoes on him this week and he was less than impressed.  He maneuvered them off before I got to the gym so he could play with his feet, so I just let him keep them off.  His sweet little toes are still a toy he seems to enjoy and are sometimes a tool for him to chew.
     He has four 6oz bottles a day with fruits and vegetables following those bottles for the first three meals.  He still loves sweet potatoes best, but really seems to scarf down carrots and green beans.  He does NOT like mango or just plain apples.  I mixed blueberries with the last batch of apple baby food that I made and he LOVED that.  He can also feed himself the dissolving "puffs" and apple wagon wheels.  We offered him a sippy cup this week and he got some water out of it, but didn't totally understand to suck it.  He was biting it more than anything.  He got the gist of it eventually, but we'll just continue to offer him water in it after he eats his puffs.
     Finally, he's really showing more personality nowadays as well as almost reaching for us.  He raises his arms when we come to pick him up, but isn't reaching out towards us, yet.  He laughs with ease, likes to watch baseball in daddy's lap, and grunts to get our attention when we're not watching him enough.  He can be a real stinker sometimes, but gosh, what a good baby we are blessed with.  We not only love him, but we are infatuated in watching him grow and change each day.

Mama and Baby

Marcus had two play buddies this week.  They wore him out, but he LOVED watching their every move.

Attempting the sippy cup - Tilt it back, Son.

Up on all fours

Who doesn't love a handsome man and a naked baby?

He was actually fussing when I took this, but you'd never know it by this picture.

Hey Mama!

Ooooo, I LOVE paper!

Don't you see this same picture every month?

Love those sweet cheeks

New Sounds

Just Plain Fun

     As usual, we've been busy this week, but it was actually with FUN stuff.  On Tuesday Marcus and I met up with Whitney and Holden for an afternoon in the park. Holden will be one in June and is already up and running around.  It was amazing to see this child, who was physically smaller than Marcus, moving so well...and almost TALKING!  He's not only cute, but smart, too!
     On Thursday, Grandad Bolen came for a visit and spent most of the day with us.  Marcus didn't know what to think of this man with a deep voice at first, but quickly warmed up to him with giggles and grins.  They enjoyed each other so much that they hardly knew I was in the room (just kidding).  We ended the day at none other than the BBQ Inn.  The only sad part was that Marcus couldn't enjoy the good food like we did (he had his own mixture of different fruits - yum!).
     Finally, yesterday Marcus and I met up with our other good friends, the Creasmans.  Erin and sweet baby Adelyn took us to a local park in Brevard for a stroll while the weather was still nice.  Adelyn is almost 4 months younger than Marcus and just a doll!  The weather was PERFECT while we were there and only turned into nasty thunderstorms once Marcus and I were safe within the walls of our Buckshot Ridge home.
     As it was storming, I stood at the window with Marcus and watched the downpour.  His little eyes lit up with curiosity and excitement as the lightening struck and thunder boomed.  He never once seemed scared when he was with me, but was very intrigued with the whole thing.  It was a great reminder of how mighty and how STRONG our Lord is, yet how safe I feel when I'm in His arms.   No matter the storms surrounding your life, you can feel safe and secure when you know and trust Jesus as your Savior.

This is Marcus' 2nd time on a swing and he seemed to like it better than the first.

Our sweet boys, just a swingin'

This was the best picture I could get of the two of them since Holden was so active and Marcus wasn't really impressed with just sitting there, doing nothing.  Boys will be boys!

Now that he's sitting up in the tub, he seems to enjoy his bath toys.

"Gimme that fish."

Grandad playing airplane with Marcus.

Those are sleepy eyes.

Sweet smiles

Here's a picture of some of my favorite men.

Even though he can't crawl, he can still make quite the mess.

"Oh man!  I'm in trouble!"

Marcus already had a bath this day, but it was his 6pm fussies, so we put him in the sink to happily play.

Adelyn Eva and Marcus Paul

Here's our big boy, this morning, playing on the floor with a new found toy.