Two Playdates in One Day

     Yesterday, Marcus and I had TWO playdates!  At 9:30am we went and visited Whitney, a former co-worker of mine, and her two children, Holden and Dagen.  Holden is 3 months older than Marcus and Dagen is 2 weeks old.  Marcus brought in his tractor and Holden was automatically interested.  But luckily Marcus was interested in his bulldozers and construction trucks, so it was a nice swap.  They played outside on the porch for a while and enjoyed it when Whitney was blowing bubbles.  I enjoyed cuddling with her new bundle of joy and listening to all the sweet baby sounds she was making.  I had forgotten how infants sound, but it all came back to me as I held her.
     The boys got along great and even smiled for a photo opp, however it ended in pain for Holden as Marcus went in to hug him and knocked him completely over.  He's a good 8 pounds heavier so I felt terrible, but luckily Holden was tough as nails and was over it in no time.  After a few hours together, everyone was getting hungry so Marcus and I went home for lunch and left Whitney and her two babies alone again. 
     We had a brief lunch before Marcus went straight to bed.  He napped for two and a half hours before I woke him up for his 2nd playdate of the day.  This was an unintentional scheduling on my part, but I figured, "what could it hurt?"  We met up with Jennifer and Jackson Ward around 3pm at her house and played for a few minutes inside.  Jennifer comes to our church and Jackson is part of the nursery that I lead.  I had promised him gummies if he remembered and recited his scripture, Ephesians 6:1.  Since he did, and I couldn't find the rest of my gummies at church, I had to honor my promise and deliver.  After the gummies were devoured, we walked to Lake Louise, which was just down the road from their house and played for a good long time.  Jackson and Marcus played on the slides, enjoyed the swings, and especially liked looking at and talking to the ducks.  It was a LOVELY day weather-wise, and all parties involved had a good time (mamas included).
     Needless to say, Marcus slept well last night, and so did I.  A little Vitamin D is good for body and soul (yes Aunt Ran, :) he had on sunscreen).  I enjoyed talking to fellow mamas and Marcus liked the socialism with other kids.  All and all, it was an exhausting, but great day.

Playing on the porch

Wearing his rain boots - even though it was a sunny day.

Sweet baby Dagen & her precious leg warmers.

The bubbles were a big hit.

I LOVE both their faces in this one!

The boys enjoyed chasing the bubbles all over the porch.

Holden, Dagen, and Marcus

Bad to the bone

Swinging at the park

Anything Jackson did, Marcus followed right behind.

I TRIED to get him to hold still in front of these flowers - tried is the key word.

He was SUPER independent today, climbing up the stairs and going down the slide on his own.

Going down the slide by himself was no big deal for him!

Riding the turtle without my help.

Playing in the sandbox.

Whew!  Time for a water break!

Running across the moving bridge like it was nothing.

One more time on the slide.

18 Month Stats on Daddy's Birthday!

     Happy Birthday to the man I love more than anyone else on Earth.  To the man who faithfully serves God with every breath, who works diligently to be our awesome provider, and who is the most amazing father and husband anyone could ask for.  There is no one I respect more in life than you, Mark Schuurman. 

     Now, with that out of the way (which was important!), I wanted to briefly post Marcus' 18 month stats.  Today at his doctor's appointment he weighed in on the big boy scale (standing) at 28lbs 4oz which put him in the 75th percentile.  His head is 49 1/2 cm in circumference (90th percentile - water head) and he is 35 inches tall which obviously put him in the 97th percentile.  It's funny because the nurse measured him at 33 1/2 inches tall and the doctor was like, "I'm gonna measure him again, I bet he was wiggling too much."  And sure enough, he was right.
     He got 2 shots (his Hepatitis B and part 2 of his flu shot) and everything else looked great.  Dr. Love said his picky-ness about food is normal for this age but to keep trying new foods, but also take a children's multi-vitamin.  He recommended giving Marcus his own silverware and letting him feed himself (which I dread the mess, but oh well...) and said to keep brushing his teeth twice a day until our first dentist visit around the age of 2. 
     There ya have it, folks!  You're back in the loop of Marcus' life. 

Daddy kept Marcus busy reading books until Dr. Love came in.

A Visit with our Canadian family

     This week, we thoroughly enjoyed our time with the Canadian side of our family.  Mark's parents drove down on Tuesday, arriving around 3:30 and are leaving before the sun comes up tomorrow (Saturday).  We had a jam-packed, fun-filled time with them, visiting the Biltmore House, Grandma, Marcus, and I going shopping, and Grandpa helping Mark on the route for two days.  They were captivated with Marcus and it didn't take him long to attach right back to them. 
     Tonight, we went out to eat to celebrate Mark's upcoming birthday.  Normally when they're in town, we eat at Outback.  Tonight, however, Grandpa decided he wanted to finally try the (wait for it...) Waffle House!  As we were putting Marcus in his car seat to head that way, Marcus screamed for his papa (which is what he says instead of Grandpa).  The five of us enjoyed our breakfast-type foods while an older gentleman put a quarter in the jukebox and played the Star Spangled Banner.  it was actually quite funny, but the food was incredible!  After filling our tummies, it was still light outside, so we went to Lake Louise.  Grandpa and Marcus enjoyed the swings, slides, and ducks while the rest of us enjoyed watching them together.  We came back to the house for one more hour of just hanging out so Grandma and Grandpa could savor every last Marcus drop.
     We can't say enough about our Canadian family and how precious they are to us.  We not only pray for a safe arrival back home tomorrow, but we lovingly anticipate the next time we get to see them again. 

My dad drove to town and brought Mark's new string trimmer (aka-his birthday present from the 4 of us).

Our sweet little bulldog

Showing of his cuteness (and his UNCA shirt)

Grandpa and sweet Marcus

Marcus was giggling with pure JOY!

Walking by the lake, under the willow tree

Climbing like a big boy

The trees were in full bloom and were BEAUTIFUL

Grandma and her baby boy

A man, his son, and his father

Grandma enjoyed the cuddles.  Marcus enjoyed the book.

A Day at the Biltmore House

     We were so blessed to be able to go to the Biltmore House today!  The weather was impeccable and they weren't too terribly busy.  A neighbor of ours works there and gave us 3 tickets to enjoy, so all five of us went on the price of one ticket.  On top of that, it was free audio tours for everyone!  Mark's parents went around 10am and enjoyed the house on their own.  The three of us met them on the front lawn around noon and walked around for a little while, enjoying the HUGE yard to play catch in.  The tulips had bloomed, the grounds were perfectly manicured, and there was a slight, sweet breeze making it even more enjoyable. 
     When finished, we drove 2 miles past the house to get to the Anter Hill Farm, which is still on the grounds.  Marcus and I had been there before, but the rest of our crowd had not.  Yet again, he thoroughly enjoyed petting the chickens and goats and seeing the donkey and horses.  I think Grandpa might have had the best time because he got "in trouble" for chasing and picking up chickens and then for pretending to take Marcus for a ride in an old wheel barrow.  It may not have been funny to the staff lady who kept fussing at him, but we all were getting a good chuckle out of it.
     Upon leaving the farm part, we walked around the new Antler Hill Village.  Out of everything we saw, Marcus' favorite part was the digger and skid steer that he saw on the side, where they were clearing land for something else new.  Mark's parents stayed to tour the winery while we had one sleepy baby and one hungry mama who needed to go home.  Marcus fell asleep before we got to the main entrance/exit and after eating, Mark and I took a sweet nap ourselves.  It was a FUN day with FUN people and again, the weather made it that much better.

Can you see our sweet little Marcus?

I LOVED these tulips!

Marcus and I played catch while Daddy & Grandpa went to get the cars.

This little boy sure loves his tractors.

Petting a baby chick.

Fearless...again...petting EVERYTHING.