The Big One

Dear Marcus,

Happy Birthday!  I cannot believe you are one.  This past year has gone by so fast and I just want to stop time.  But I'm glad that I can't, because I would have stopped it a year ago and missed out on the special little boy that you are.  Every stage of this past year has been wonderful.  You were a pretty easy baby, but even when things haven't been easy (the spit-up days, the "don't-leave-me-alone" days)...well, your sweet spirit just makes everything better.

You are the  perfect bend of sweet and wild.  You are patient and kind and gentle.  And yet, you are the first one to start a wrestling match or climb up on the couch and fall on your head.  (Thankfully, you've learned not to fall on your head, so that makes life easier!)  You are smart and silly and love to be with people.

You are not as much of a snuggler as Jordan is in the morning, but you make up for it throughout the day.  If someone is holding you, within a few minutes you will just lay your head on their shoulder.  Even if it is the briefest moment, that little gesture just makes my heart want to explode.  And you are sweet to just about everyone who will hold you.  You love people.

Your two favorite people: Your Dad and your brother.  Both of those guys just make your day.  When Dad comes home, he can't walk  by you without picking you up or you will follow him crying.  You will stay in his arms all day if he would let you.  You can't get enough of him.  And Jordan makes you giggle and laugh and all you want to do all day is follow him around and play with him.  He doesn't always enjoy that part of being a brother, but he loves you.  Your Dad and I get so much joy from seeing you two love each other.  A couple of days ago, while we were on a walk, Jordan reached over and held your hand.  It is such a wonderful thing to see you two grow closer.

You are a precious gift from God and I hope you always realize that.  You are miraculous, not just in how you came into this world, but the way you've made it a better place, even in just one year!  You are loved by so many and most importantly, you are loved by Him.  He created you just the way you are...and I am so thankful to have you as my son.  I wish I could find better words to let you know just how loved you are!

I love you, buddy.  Welcome to year #2!

Mom

 

You love your birthday presents!!

 

Walker

Dear Marcus,

You had been taking a few steps here and there, but it's like a switch has flipped and all of the sudden you are walking more than crawling.  It's funny, though.  First thing in the morning you crawl. It's as if you've forgotten that you can walk.  But pretty soon, there are you are making your way across the room.  It is so cute to watch you.  Every time you do something new, you are so proud of your self!  You're always looking to see who is watching so you can giggle at them.

You've also started squealing when you see someone you know.  On Sunday night, you saw Grammy through the window of the nursery and just started going crazy.  She was so excited to know how much you love her!  And then you were heart-broken when you still had to stay in the nursery.  Although, that didn't last long because you love Miss Beth and Miss Hope and had their full attention when I checked on you a few minutes later.

Your poor big brother...one of the consequences of you walking is that you can keep up with him easier and the poor guy doesn't get a lot of free time when you're up.  You can climb up on the couch with him or stand next to him while he watches tv.  As a big sister, I understand the patience it requires to put up with the little siblings when they get in your business.  So, I sympathize with Jordan.

The other day, you two were in the back of the van just giggling at each other.  I love to see you guys love on each other.  The older you get, the more Jordan enjoys having you around and of course, you adore him!  I can't wait to watch you grow closer to one another.

Your birthday is next week!  It's hard to believe that it's here.  I'm so sad to see you grow up, but excited to celebrate YOU because you are such a special little guy.

I love you,

Mom

 

Taking Steps

Dear Marcus,

I love how babies have an innate sense of pride in accomplishments.  No, you're not winning Olympic medals (yet!) or receive honors for your intellect (yet!), but you are standing on your own and taking steps.  You get this look on your face that is priceless and you always stare at the people around you, like you are saying "Hey, did you see that?  I'm kind of awesome!"

So, yes, you are taking 5-6 steps now.  You toddled from Grandma Nietzie to me yesterday at church to show off for everyone.  I love how at the end of your journey, you throw yourself into the arms of the person you are arriving at.  It's almost like your victory hug!

Speaking of hugs, you are not the morning cuddler that your brother is, but you do enjoy a good hug.  On Wednesday, you saw me at church for the first time all afternoon and just sat in my lap with your head on my should for a long time.  Boy, it makes me feel loved!

You are a sweet little guy and I cannot believe we are getting close to your birthday!  I sent out the invitation to your pool party yesterday and already have so many guests coming just to celebrate YOU!  You are worth the celebration, too!

I love you,

Mom

 

Almost On the Run

Dear Marcus,

Just in the last few days, you have started "almost" walking.  You are so much more comfortable standing and getting up and down into that position and now you have started taking one or two steps before you sit down or fall into someone's arms.  It is so cute!  And you always smile, no matter what.  It's kind of hard sometimes because I try to tell Jordan to leave you alone, but you are constantly wanting to be right there with him.  And even if you take a shot to the face or hit your head, you always smile.  It's hard to make him stay away when you just want to be with him!

You are such a sweet guy and are such a blessing to our family.  I was worried about loving you as much as I do Jordan, but it is possible to love two little people so much and so equally.  You are perfect for our family and we are so thankful for you!

I love you!

Mom

 

Three Months Changes Everything!

Dear Marcus,

It has been a crazy three months and you have grown so much!  You are getting to be a big boy and you are such a sweetheart.  You are much more shy than Jordan was but once you warm up to somebody, you can't stop smiling at them.  You prefer to be with me or Dad, but you don't mind flirting and smiling at everyone else!  And you do fine if we do leave you with somebody you trust.

You are starting to learn how to walk.  You can stand up on your own and can scoot around the wall or the couch.  You just need to put all of the skills together and you will be running around here in no time! 

One of the hardest things for me right now is to watch your interactions with Jordan.  The problem is you love him too much!  You can be a little bit "up in his business" but he's a little rough with you any time you are near here.  I feel sorry for you, except for you keep going at him.  You love him so much that you can't stay away even if he's hit you or kicked you.  It's hard for me because in order to get anything done, I have to keep you separated!  But no matter how much I try, you guys always start playing together and then I have to watch him to make sure he doesn't hurt you.  You are getting so big, though.  It won't be long and you'll be able to take him!

In April, you got an eye infection and it was terrible.  It was so awful to see, even though you didn't act like it bothered you.  Your brother was sicker than you, but your eye was bad enough that you had to see the doctor too.  The day she prescribed antibiotics, she warned us that if they didn't work, we would have to put you in the hospital to make sure it didn't get into your brain.  It was a scary time for us, but thankfully you got better and in a couple of weeks, both of you were back to normal.  It makes me so sad when you are sick!

You haven't really said a whole lot yet.  You say "Mamama" a lot but there's only been a couple of times you looked at me when you said it.  Pretty soon, you will be saying all kinds of things!

Hopefully, I can do better at writing you!  You are growing so fast that it's hard to keep up. :)

I love you, buddy!

Mom

 

Catching Up

Dear Marcus,

It has been a long time since I wrote.  Sometimes life seems like it is spinning out of control, but I know that God has it all in control and focusing on Him helps me to feel peaceful!  But seriously, life is so busy right now!  Every day is full of something.  And some days are full of way too many things.  All are good things...there just seems to be too many of them!  All of that to say, it's been a while...

You are so big!  You are growth spurting because all of the sudden, you don't fit in clothes and you are moving around so much.  You love your new ability to "army crawl" but still aren't a full-on crawler.  But I honestly think you will walk pretty soon.  You are trying to pull up and when I stand you up, you try to take steps.  I'm ok with it!  Crawling is kind of hard on me because you're always finding things on the floor.  Plus, if you start walking, I don't have to carry you anymore!

You are the sweetest baby.  You love to be with people and you are a flirt!  You smile all of the time, especially at people.  Once you catch their attention you giggle and if they pick you up, you give them all kinds of "baby hugs".  It's so fun to walk others enjoy you and even your big brother is enjoying you!

Before now, Jordan just kind of ignored you.  He would always give you kisses and occasionally would worry about where you were if he couldn't see you.  But, now he is either loving or frustrated with you.  You frustrate him because all of the sudden you can get to his toys.  This complicates thing for you!  But he loves you so much.  He always wants to "pet Marcus" and he is so ready for us to give him the ok to wrestle.

Little man, you are a sweet blessing from God.  Life is crazy with you two but it's a good crazy!

I love you!

Mom

 

Six Months and Counting!

Dear Marcus,

I am watching you sit and play with toys right now and cannot believe how big you have gotten!  You can sit on your own and are starting to roll and pull yourself towards toys that you want.  You don't know what to do when I put you on your hands and knees, but I'm sure you'll figure it out!  You love to stand with someone holding you up and it's hilarious because every time I try to set you on your bottom, you straighten your legs because you want to stand and you refuse to sit.  I have to force you to fold so you can sit down.

This past week was hard but so much fun.  We drove down to Texas for Aunt Katie's wedding.  You and Jordan and I stayed in her one-bedroom apartment and it rained all week.  It was a crazy time, but you were such a joy.  And Grammy and Pappa got to come see us too so they loved getting to know you.  They will be back in four months for a six month furlough and we will get to see a lot of them.

You have also learned the joy of spitting, so that's all you do is jabber and spit.  It's cute, but we've decided that Jordan is our mover and you are our talker.  You talk all day.  Sometimes it sounds like you are upset, but you are just expressing yourself!  Six months is my favorite age and you are living up to it.  You are so cute and bring us such joy!!

You love your Dad and your Pappa...but like Jordan, you pretty much prefer to be around guys.  Something about their voices or their beards or something!  You love Uncle Adam and when he holds you, you just grin at him.  You get so excited when anyone is holding you, but you really loved to hang out with him!

Now that the wedding over, we are enjoying a low-key week back in our routine of going to the gym and grocery shopping.  We haven't been to church in a couple of weeks, so I'm sure everyone will think you look as big as I do.

I love you buddy!!

Mom