A Week of Recovery

     Although last weekend was so fun, it took all of us almost the full week to recover (especially since we got up at 4:30 and left at 5:30 Sunday morning to drive back).  Mark worked hard and was pretty tired all week, I got plenty of sleep this week but still felt sluggish, and Marcus is working on a new nap schedule himself.  Since he's now sleeping until 8 or 8:30 some days, he's refusing two naps and most days this week, he only had one.  It's amazing how babies can wean themselves and communicate, even though they can't talk.  There are still some days where he may have 2 naps, but for now, he gets up and eats around 8am and again at 12, but then goes down for a nap between 1 and 2 in the afternoon, sleeping for an hour and a half to two hours.  He eats again at 4 and then has a bottle between 7 and 8, but he's normally in bed by 8, sleeping a solid 12 hours.  He's a GREAT sleeper, and we're so thankful for that. 
     In the midst of our "recovery" this week, I cooked A LOT and tried some new recipes.  They were all really good, so we were at least well-fed this week.  I also took Marcus to the park and we played for a while yesterday.  He LOVES the swing, so I'm on the lookout for a good used one now.  Anybody have one they're finished with? 
     And finally, I know I've probably said this before, but Marcus is literally into EVERYTHING.  He opens cabinet doors, drawers, opens and closes doors, and cruises around furniture like it's his job.  He loves to clear things off the coffee tables by throwing them as far as he can.  And speaking of throwing, his new favorite game is to throw balls or rings across the floor then crawl as fast as he can to go get them.  Once he's there, he throws them back in the original direction and the cycle continues.  It's adorable.  I just wish it lasted longer than 3 minutes.  He can, however, throw a ball to Mark or I for hours.  He loves that (and appears to be a lefty! - we'll see).
     Alright, he's currently standing up behind me, pulling on my shirt, so I'd better get off of the computer and show this baby some attention.  Happy Saturday, all! :)

Crawling under our kitchen table.

Pulled up, playing on the bench.

Daddy was making him laugh - LOVE IT!

Swinging at the park.  Braves cap, UNCA shirt and shorts. :)

He's just too much of a big boy in this picture for me!

Due to lack of space, I fold up his walker when it's not in use.  He crawled over to it, stood up, and put his right leg into it without any help.  At least he gets the concept of how it works, right?

Sippy Cup Saga

     Today we introduced a new type of sippy cup to Marcus.  He drinks water from another one, so this one is drip-proof and has handles.  I was thinking that would help, but as you can tell . . . it did not.

I started by making his bottle, then pouring it into his sippy cup.  I helped him at first...

Then he wanted it (but he was just chewing on it at this point).

Then this is what he did until I put the formula back into his regular bottle.

And he's happy again.  We'll try again another day.

Our time in Georgia

     This past weekend in Big Canoe, Georgia was a blast.  We went to Mario and Ashley's rehearsal dinner Friday night and the food was great.  They had some amazing BBQ and we needed that since our favorite restaurant, The BBQ Inn, closed. :(  Anyhow, it started at 7 and Marcus lasted until 9, but that's a good hour later than he normally lasts.  He didn't even give the first whimper as we put him to sleep.
     Saturday morning, he slept in until 8:30 and even then, I had to go wake him up!  Mark and TJ were adventurous and went on a run, while Mom cooked breakfast and Olivia and I played with Marcus.  He "walked" outside with her, then "walked" in his walker inside, and was just overall having fun exploring a new space.  After Marcus took his morning nap, all 7 of us (John, Mom,  TJ, Olivia, Mark, Marcus, and I) went to one of the pools on the property.  They had a precious baby pool that only went down a foot in the deepest part, but it was more shallow in others.  It had fountains, sprinklers, and other fun water toys.  Marcus really seemed to enjoy it.  We took turns playing with him in it while the rest of the adults went into the big salt water pool.  It, too, was amazing.
     After a long day at the pool, Marcus napped while we all got ready for the wedding.  When he woke up, we put on his tux (the best we could...he was definitely growing out of it), and headed to the wedding.  It was a gorgeous outdoor setting, overlooking the lake.  Mario and his groomsmen were dashing and Ashley looked stunning!  I loved her choice of blue bridesmaids dresses and how they were different styles.  It was definitely a classy affair.  We had the plan of feeding Marcus his bottle DURING the wedding, but I started right at the beginning of the wedding and he sucked it down before Ashely had even got to the end of the isle!  Luckily puffs were our next best friend, and we paced him by giving him only 2 at a time.  A good ol' fashioned water bottle was the last trick that made him happy and refreshed.  So he made very little sound during the wedding and I was RELIEVED about that!
     After the ceremony, we took pictures with Mario and Ashley, then headed to the reception.  It was one of the most beautifully decorated places I've even visited.  They had these enormous centerpieces that were just breathtaking.  I marveled over and over at how pretty they were.  This location was very accommodating to people with children, so they had a high chair for Marcus.  He happily ate his supper and then fed himself (what seemed like) a whole roll.  We broke it into pieces for him and he chowed down.  He and I danced a little bit, on the side, but just like the night before, it was getting late for him.  We took a large group picture of all the people who drove down from North Carolina, said our congratulations to the bride and groom, then headed home. 
     Yet again, Marcus went to sleep without a sound, and slept well.  We left Sunday morning at 5:30, arrived at church at 9:30, and when it was over, we all had a long family nap.  It's taken us a day to clean up, do laundry, and get back into our regular routine, but we are now.  We had a wonderful time in Georgia, but we're definitely glad to be home again, too.

Heading to the rehearsal dinner Friday night.

Walking with Aunt Liv Saturday morning.

Since we don't have stairs for him to climb at home, he had his first chance of doing that here.  He climbed all the way up to the top loft, all by himself (I was behind him of course) and thought it was GREAT up there!

Crawling around in the pool.

He LOVED the fountains and tried to catch them.

Daddy took Marcus for a dip in the saltwater pool with Uncle TJ, Aunt Liv, and Grandma.

Here's the beautiful bride with her new husband and the rest of her family.

Here's our sweet family.

Papa John, Grandma, Marcus, Daddy, Mama, Aunt Liv, and Uncle TJ.

Being a cutie at the reception.

He did this over and over because it made us laugh so much.  It's like he's saying, "where'd it go?" or "what's that?"  He would do it, we'd laugh, then he'd smile.  Priceless!

Georgia here we come!

     My dear cousin Ashley is getting MARRIED on Saturday and we're driving down to Big Canoe, Georgia tomorrow.  Since we'll be BUSY between now and then, I thought I'd put a few pictures to hold you over until Monday. :)  Please pray for good weather, since it's an outside wedding, safety for all traveling there, and for Ashley and Mario's future marriage.  Thanks blog followers!

"You mean I'm supposed to EAT these green things???"

"Just kidding - they're pretty good!

Last Saturday, we had a great time at the Creasman's cookout.

Handsome Daddy and his big boy.

Marcus' new favorite toy - his John Deere tractor.

Here is our sweet Meme!  Sheila came in from Alpharetta and made time to visit with the 3 of us.  What a BLESSING she is in our lives!

10 months old

     Marcus is 10 months old today and cuter than ever, I might add.  He's currently destroying and chewing on a book in the floor.  We just spent the past five minutes playing ball and he just giggles with glee when I throw or roll it back.  He "threw" it back with both hands, but mostly his left.  I just saw dollar signs as he threw with his left, but that's another story...
     Since he's now sleeping until 8 or 8:30am each morning, I've kind of been thrown off with how to readjust his nap schedule, but we'll make it work.  I'm just psyched that he's sleeping that long in the A.M. .  He's so busy crawling and "cruising" around on the furniture nowadays, that he's sleeeeeeeeeeeeepy when it's time for bed.  Some people say he'll walk by the time he's one, some say he'll be there in 2 weeks.  Time will tell, I guess, but he did have another "first" last night.  He walked without adult assistance, on this walker that was in the church nursery last night.  It had just enough resistance to where he could push it and not fall down until he  had taken five or so steps.  I almost cried right then and there. :)  All this work must be a real calorie burner because he's down to 21 pounds, and at a time, he was 22 or 23 I thought.
     One other new thing he's done was eating MEAT.  Now, if you know me, you know I'm a meat-a-terian, however, I've only fed Marcus fruits and veggies thus far.  As we were eating Mexican food yesterday, Marcus was coming unglued to get to my plate, even though he already had a bottle AND baby food.  I cut up some grilled chicken into small pieces and he absolutely HOUSED it.  For a kid who never had meat, I thought he'd spit it out due to the texture, but he loved it.  That's my boy! 

Anyhow, here are a few pics of our big 10 month old bruiser. :)

Eating cauliflower for the first time.

Yeah, it's getting harder and harder to take pictures with this card.

He stillllll eats it.

He sent a message (all numbers) to someone on facebook...seriously.

He's bipolar...he was crying at one second, laughing the next.

There's a real smile.

Standing on the promises of God

     This week, Marcus has TAKEN OFF with standing on his own and now pulls up on EVERYTHING.  I think it was Monday morning when I was putting clean dishes away in the kitchen that I heard him pulling the glass coasters off our coffee table.  I now have to clear the end tables of everything but the lamps, otherwise he gets a hold of it, and it's over.  He pulled himself up to the window for the first time, unassisted, this week and made all kinds of sweet noises as he stared outside.  He LOVES being outside, but especially when our neighbor's dog, Max, is on his porch. 
     There are down sides to this whole standing phenomenon as well.  When we put him down for a nap, and he's not quite ready (at least not ready in his own mind), he stands and cries until we lay him back down. He hasn't quite mastered the how-to-get-down part of standing, but a few times when he's fallen back on his bottom, in our living room, he'll  look at me all stunned, and I'll clap and say good job.  So I'm trying to show him that it's good to just plop backwards if you have no other way to get down.  We'll see how that goes.  But back to the nap thing, we've gone toe-to-toe a few times of letting him cry for long phases in hopes that he gets so tired, his legs will give out and he'll get back down to his crib, and fall asleep.  So far, this hasn't happened.  The most successful we've been so far is putting him down, setting the timer for 10 minutes, and letting him get good and tired of crying and standing.  After it goes off, we go in, lay him back down, and leave the room.  So far, it worked well with his past 2 naps. 
     Speaking of sleeping, we had a BREAKTHROUGH this week.  Marcus had been waking up between 6-7am daily, no matter how late we put him to bed.  We bought the black-out blinds for his room, and they helped, but it was still quite bright in there by 6.  Well, earlier this week I covered his window with a thick afghan that we have and then (get ready...) used blue painters tape to seal the edges where little shards of light shine in.  The next morning he slept until 8.  Every other day this week, he's slept until 8 or 8:30!!!  Even though it looks terrible, we're quite excited about his new sleeping in habits.  And so far, it's made for a happier baby and mama.  I have time to shower and read God's Word in the morning - Marcus is well rested and wakes up cuter than ever.
     But about standing...if we're not standing, hypothetically, on God's Word, we're just in sinking sand, aren't we?  Here in the Schuurman household, Jesus is the ROCK in which we stand, so when things get hairy or don't go the way we'd like, we cling to His Word and His promises.  Without it, we'd just be barely getting along, just trying to survive.  Instead, we thrive, knowing we're children of the most high God.  Here's a clip I play often and sing along with:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJ9ZJPIDkis

Enjoy! :)

"I'm awake!  Come get me!"

Yes, I realize this outfit is now too small, but I wanted him to wear it one last time before I put it away.

Splashing himself at the pool.

Even in the water, he curls his sweet little toes.

Standing up, first thing in the morning.

This was the first time he pulled himself up to the window, unassisted.

All sweetness.

Couldn't you just SQUEEZE HIM???

Marcus found a new "play place" this week.

"Hey Ma!  Can I get some more water here?"

Cow Appreciation Day!

     Yesterday was Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-Fil-A and if you dressed like a cow, they'd give you free food. Well, now that I don't have a paycheck coming in, I try to do more to save money.  If it's Mark's job to make it, it's my job to save it!  So while Marcus was taking his morning nap, I got our cow outfits together.  When he woke up, we went to one Chick-Fil-A to get a meal for Mark, then met my friend, Meghan, and her two sweet babies at the mall Chick-Fil-A.  At each location I got an adult meal and kids meal (since Marcus was dressed up, too) all free.  I gave the one kids meal away to a mom who had kids that weren't dressed up and saved the other for Mark's supper.  But when Mark actually got home, he decided to dress up and get a HOT supper.  Marcus was still in his cow outfit, so I got Mark all cow'ed up and we headed back to the mall.  I was so impressed with his willingness to dress up like a cow and be silly with us.  He wasn't too cool or too big for the idea, but really embraced and enjoyed it.  The three of us ate supper with my former co-worker Katie, and her two baby girls.  It was a fun day of dressing up and free food.

His shirt said, "Eat mor chikin"

Everybody say, "Mooooo!"

Marcus, Talyn, and Reece - sweet little cows!

Have you ever seen two cuter cows in your life?

Yes, they even had cow tails.

Daddy wore the cow snout for added flare.

These sweet little calves were STOKED to get some chicken.