Snow Day

     Last year when it snowed, I was sleepily pregnant, LOVING snow days since I could stay home from work, sleep in, and keep cozy in front of our small electric heater.  Nowadays, I still love snow days, they just have a different feel.  I don't sleep in because I have the cutest alarm clock in the world.  Mark described his morning smile best when he said, "It's like he's thinking, 'Yay! You're coming to get me!' "  He's super cute, but especially in the mornings, when he stretches and grunts like a little man.  And we still use the heater, we just keep it in Marcus' room so he doesn't get too cold when he sleeps.  We have a new cool-mist humidifier that makes it a little cooler in temperature in there, so the heater evens things out. 

     Last night was the first time Marcus slept without his swaddle-me.  He's been getting out of it and waking himself up in the early morning hours (between 3-5am), so we thought, "okay, time to go without it."  We put him in a sleep sack instead, so he'd keep warm.  It's just like a onesie, but without the feet...just like a sleeping bag.  This way, he can't kick the covers up on his head (which he's done before).  He fell asleep last night during his last feeding around 7:30 and was OUT for the count.  He woke up momentarily when we put him in the sack, but was fast asleep again before we were even out of his room.  As for Mark and I, we were lame, old people who went to bed at 8!  I couldn't think of the last time I did that, when I wasn't sick.  Is this what getting old is like? If so, count me in because all three of us felt GREAT this morning.  Well, Marcus was still a little croupy and has an icky cough, but he's not as stuffy as before.  One symptom goes away, then the other comes back.  The doctor said it'll be 7-10 days before he's back to normal, but that seems like forever when your baby boy is so little!

     Speaking of little, he's not THAT little, compared to his peers.  We go to the doctor again on the 20th for his 4 month appointment and shots :( .  My mom said that at my 4 month appointment, I was 12 pounds and 25 inches long.  Marcus isn't even 4 months old yet and he's closer to 16 pounds and almost 29 inches.  Holy cow, we have a big 'en!  We just hope he's not 7 feet tall when he grows up because life isn't easy on your body when it's that big.  At least we know Who's in control and how He knows what Marcus will grow up to be and do.  Our prayer is that whatever he decides to be, that he's first and foremost a servant of the Lord.

     Finally, Marcus has some definite likes and dislikes as he's now developing a real personality. Here are a few:

Likes:

• Daddy & Mama holding and cuddling him
• His glow worm
• Splashing in the bath
• Cuddling his cheek up against his love bunny (see picture below)
• Chewing and drooling all over his rubber giraffe from Aunt Audrey
• Gripping our fingers while we feed him
• Bouncing in his monkey chair
  

Dislikes:

• Being cold
• Waiting (when he's ready to eat...he's READY)
• Having his mouth and nose wiped
• Sitting in a dirty diaper too long (ie: too long means 5 minutes)
• Having his nails clipped or cleaned up (he squirms and grunts the whole time)

   

     We're thankful you're still reading the blog and hope you continue to enjoy it.  Please don't ever take it as a brag fest for ourselves, but an opportunity to share info and pictures of our little one with family that doesn't live in town with us.  My parents seem to check the blog multiple times a day to get their, "Marcus fix."  Who can blame them?  

     Keep warm, everyone.  It's blustery out there right now and they're calling for a "shoveler" on Monday. At least we have a new snow shovel if it does do that.  Mark is armed and not afraid to use it!

I bundled Marcus up yesterday so we could do some last minute errands before the snow came.

Here's our squeaky clean little ducky after a bath.

He was fussing last night & Mark just cuddled him up & he was fine.

We had 2 inches of snow this morning & it's super windy out there.

Cutie pie!

Smiley little fella

After he eats in the morning, he sits in his monkey seat & watches me unload the dishwasher.

Yawning (not sure how to fix the red-eye yet)

 

He has the cutest little sideways grin sometimes.

For naps, we give him his paci & love bunny.  He usually falls asleep on his own within 5 minutes.

Voice Video & Cold Update

On the first day of the year, Marcus "found his voice."  I know it sounds funny, because he's been cooing for a while now, but he almost talks to us sometimes.  I can even get him to make noise now when I rub my finger up and down on his mouth, making his lips flap.  He'll just say, "ahhhhh" and it's so cute because we'll both start laughing.  In this clip, he talks and smiles and I find a cartridge in his pants pocket.  Grandad and Granny gave him this outfit and Grandad put a cartridge in his pocket that was used to kill a deer on Thanksgiving (or around that time) when they gave it to us.  I keep forgetting to take it out of his pocket, but don't worry...after this video, I took it out and put it away.

In other news, Marcus has his first cold.  You'd think that after he was in this hospital at 8 weeks old that a good ol' common cold wouldn't be that bad, but I ache for him.  He felt icky yesterday and woke up today sounding terrible and snotting everywhere.  I took him in to the doctor's office, just to make sure, and they assured me that it was just a cold that had to work its way out.  (side note: The doctor also said he's not teething like we thought either...just slobbering his face off because that's what 3 1/2 month olds do)  The only thing I can do is run the humidifier, give him saline drops in his nose, and prop him up somewhat when sleeping.  To feel as crappy as he does, he's not been overly cranky.  It's just pitiful when he has a hard, horse cough and then cries out briefly in pain afterward.  I even cried once today with him.  It's so hard seeing our baby in discomfort, much less PAIN.  How did our Heavenly Father do it?  Maybe I'll ask Him in Heaven one day.  Naa, I'll probably be too busy praising Him to even worry about how I didn't understand it all while I was here on Earth.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, everyone! Did you stay awake? Here at the Schuurman household, we were peacefully sleeping when 2011 came. Yeah, I know it sounds lame, but it was actually nice, especially since Marcus slept in a little late this morning. It's been a whirlwind of a week, so it's good to stay home and rest (not to mention clean up...this place is a wreck!). On Christmas Eve, we drove to Mt. Airy and ate supper with my mom's side of the family, then spent the night at her house. We had breakfast with her the next morning, then went to see my grandmother in Virginia. We had lunch and supper with my dad before going back to stay the night at my mom's house since it was closer to the airport. It started snowing Christmas Day and there were probably 4 inches on the ground on Sunday morning as we ventured out to the airport in Greensboro. Our first flight left on time but we had a few hours of delays in D.C. before we arrived in Buffalo. We ate and exchanged gifts with Mark's parents and Greg, Lisa, and the kids. On Monday, we visited Mark's grandma, called Beppe (pronounced Bep-Uh), and hung out with family. Tuesday was great because Mark and I took advantage of our gifts from Greg and Lisa. Lisa watched Marcus while Mark dropped me off to use my giftcard and get my nails done in Waterdown and he shopped with his giftcard in a store called Rona (it's like Lowe's Hardware). After that, they also gave us a gift card to eat lunch together. It was such a nice and creative gift. Tuesday night was the big Schuurman family get together with all of Mark's dad's siblings and their families. He's one of 8 children, so it's usually quite the big crowd (especially since all the kids are having KIDS of our own!). Wednesday went by too fast as we made last minute trips to the greenhouses to see anyone we hadn't yet visited, then we had to head to the airport. We made it through the border in record time and actually arrived at our gate TWO HOURS before departure time. It was awesome. We had time to feed Marcus and get a meal of our own. Mark even played chess on the laptop before we borded our plane to Philly. Once there, something was wrong with our plane so it took 2 hours longer than anticipated. Luckily, they fixed the problem and we were back in North Carolina by midnight. I drove home so Mark could sleep since he would have to get up as soon as we got home. We got back here around 2:30, he slept for MAYBE an hour in our bed, then had to get up and work. Needless to say, it was a rough day, but we made it to the weekend and they are for resting, right? Speaking of rest, that's what Marcus is doing right now. He's so cute when he sleeps. He just started cuddling the blanket that he sleeps with and it's adorable. I measured him last night and he's unofficially 29 inches long and 16 pounds. Our sweet little man was a great traveler but I think that like us, he's glad to be back home, too. It was good to see family, but there's no place like home.

Papa was in a good mood and wanted to hold Marcus a lot. He was saying how heavy Marcus was in this picture.

Papa John was showing Marcus the bright lights. His eyes got big when he saw them.

My mom got Marcus a book that recorded her voice reading it. It's a really sweet idea and I've already "read" it to Marcus once (all I have to do is open the pages and it turns on).

Here's my dad and Marcus on Christmas Day.

Here's Sonya and Marcus in front of the festive background. Who needs stocking hangers when you have all these antlers to hang them on?

Mark got a rifle for Christmas, but not just any rifle, the one he's used the past 3 years to go hunting with. His name is even engraved on it. Can you imagine taking that big ol' gun into the jewelry shop for an engraving? Only in the South. :)

Our first family plane ride! Marcus did so well on all the planes.

Here's Uncle Greg and Emma taking good care of Marcus.

Can you tell which one is the real baby and which one is just a doll? Well, Marcus is both.

Emma got a fancy new winter cap.

Marcus loves his Aunt Lisa. She definitely knows how to hold and deal with babies. He was always content when she held him.

Marcus was like the kid in, "A Christmas Story" because when we put him in this snow suit, he couldn't hardly move his arms OR legs.

Beppe squealed with delight as we brought in her newest great-grandchild.

4 generations in this picture.

Sam was so great with Marcus that he shared his favorite "Cars" blanket and other various toys. Here, he's just kissing his head.

Like father, like son.

Getting ready for the big picture is a lot of work! Notice Lori Ann in the front. She's cutting freezy pops for the children. She obviously knows what would keep them still for a minute or two.

Here's the 2011 Schuurman Family Picture

Here's our sweet little family. :)

Here's Grandpa with all 3 of his grandkids.

Once back home and settled, I put Marcus back in his camo. Notice how well he's holding his head up nowadays!

3 Months Old!

Our sweet blessing is 3 months old today. I was reflecting over the past 3 months and realized God has taught me A LOT! I'd say the #1 thing I've learned is to chill out and enjoy "right now." Marcus is growing and changing so fast, I just love where we are, at the present. So much of my life, I've been the "hurry up and get there" girl, and once I'm "there," I'm in a hurry to finish up and get somewhere else. It's ridiculous, I know, but with this precious little boy, I'm enjoying each moment. I even found joy in consoling him last night, even though dog tired, because he smiled at me and gave a little coo before we each went back to our own beds. If all babies are as chilled out and easy as him, you might as well call us the Duggars (they have 19 kids for those non-TLC followers out there). I've also learned to have so much more patience and how to rely more on our Heavenly Father when scared, unsure, or concerned about something. His WORD gives great comfort in the midst of a storm or in calm waters. I catch myself comparing Marcus' progress with that of other babies near his age and when reading God's Word, listening to Christian radio, or discussing theology with Mark, I'm quickly brought back to center, realizing how foolish that is and how we're all created differently, yet still in HIS image. It's a wonderful thing to have a Godly mate to help keep me grounded, yet encourage me in all my endeavors. Sometimes, as a stay-at-home mom, Satan tries to creep in and make me feel like I could be making more of a difference in the lives of others if I still were a teacher. But in our family, Mark and I both agree that Marcus is our blessing and responsibility, so we love being able to be parents. Like right now, for instance, Mark has Marcus in the bathroom, standing up on the sink, looking at himself. I can hear him saying, "that's you!" and know that look that Marcus has when he sees himself. It's like, "well, hello handsome man!" It's little moments like this that we relish in, give thanks, and rejoice.

If we don't buckle Marcus into his chair, he can slide out and his feet hang over the edge. Sometimes, he kicks the buttons and turns on the vibrations or music on his own.

One day this week, my new mother's devotion talked about how so many moms are always kissing their children's little feet (and obviously I do that a ton) but how every time we kiss them, we should pray about where those little feet take him in life.


Yesterday my sister and Dad came into town just for the day to see Marcus. He turned on the charm, talked, and smiled to them all through the day. My dad even changed a poopy diaper (one of THREE on the day).


Grandad decided to join Marcus during Tummy Time.

Marcus' latest trick is standing, obviously while we hold him, but he really pushes with his legs and works hard to hold his head up and balance himself.

Even though we give him a pacifier from time to time, Marcus still enjoys chewing and slobbering all over his fists. It's a cute, yet messy, wet habit.

A few days of pictures

Here are pictures from Mark's day off.

Since Marcus is primarily bottle-fed nowadays, Daddy can share in the fun of feeding him.

Marcus is now eating at least 6 ounces at each feeding, sometimes as much as 8! We just moved up to a size 2 bottle top and the feedings go SO MUCH faster! He usually eats around 7:30, 10:30, 2:00, 5:00, and 8:00. For the most part, he sleeps from 9pm-7am each night. It's AWESOME!


Last night, Mark went out to the auto parts store to get a thermostat for my car and came back WITH A PIZZA! I was so happy that I didn't have to cook supper AND that I got to eat pizza. I was one happy mama! :)

New Blog

We've been using babyblogs since finding out we were expecting Marcus. Instead of paying for a new subscription, I think this will be our new FREE blog. Makes sense, right? I'm just kind of playing around with it to see how it turns out. We hope you like it!

Third attempt

This is my third attempt to post a new blog on blogger. We usually use babyblogs but since our subscription is almost expired, we decided to use a FREE blog. Hopefully this will work. I'm trying to post a picture or two on here as well. We'll see about videos. One thing at a time, right?