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

 

Nearly Mobile!

Dear Marcus,

I don't think you could get any cuter than you are!  Seriously, those big blue eyes just melt me, especially coming from underneath those super-long eyelashes.  You are sweet and also have a sense of humor...you just love to smile at me.  I will look at you and you just grin.  I love it!

You're transitioning from stationary baby to active baby.  You can't quite do what your mind wants you to do...which is mostly keep up with your brother, or me if he isn't available.  When you get left alone in a room, you start to complain a little.  Especially these days...between colds, allergies, and teeth...you just never feel very good!

We've stopped doing solid foods with you for a little while.  You were throwing up quite a bit and were starting to get cranky, but the day I stopped, you got much better.  You still spit up some but it's not too bad.  We're going to the doctor for your six month (!!!) check-up next week so I'll ask him then.  You don't seem to miss it too much.

Not much else to update on today.  Just wanted to tell you that I love you!

Love,

Mom

 

Solid

Dear Marcus,

You, sir, are officially an eater!  If we didn't know how passionately you felt about food when you were just taking bottles, all of the sudden you get downright angry when we take away your solid foods.  Right now you are eating carrots like they are going out of style and the only problem is, we have no idea when you are full or if you are still hungry.  You never, ever want to stop eating, even if means throwing it up later!  Silly boy.  The result is that you are so big!  You are heavy, but more than anything, you have the longest legs! 

You love to stand up.  When I hold your hands and help you stand, the look on your face is priceless.  You are so proud of yourself.  You still can't sit on your own.  You just kind of roll to one side or the other.  But just in the past couple of days, you've kind of figured out that you can move around.  You don't always roll or spin in the direction you wanted (which is usually towards your brother) but you're starting to figure it out.  You are kind of getting into the crawling position.  It's exciting to watch you grow up!

It's been a hard week around here.  On Sunday you were banned from the nursery because of green snot (yes, that's a rule!).  Thankfully, you never had a fever but you've been coughing and a little fussy.  On top of that, Jordan had strep throat which meant lost of fever fighting with him.  He always gets super high fevers and it is so stressful.  Two days ago was the worst.  It was so high that I spent all day giving him medicine and baths to keep it down.  You weren't quite sure why you weren't getting any attention, but you didn't like it!  You are much happier when you are part of what's going on and now that Jordan is mobile again, you are so happy. :)

You are such a sweet little guy and we are so thankful for you.  You've started to have your fussy moments in the afternoon, but you still are such a good baby.  You are generally content...it's just those silly teeth that are starting to push through your gums.  I can imagine that feels pretty terrible!

Spring will be here soon and we will be able to get out and start having some fun.  I can't wait to see you grow up and enjoy all of the things Jordan does!

I love you little guy,

Mom

 

Those Darn Teeth!

Dear Marcus,

Well, you usually get most of the attention (at least from others), but this week was your brother's birthday.  He lived it up.  You just enjoyed the show.  Seriously, you are a super laid back baby and you just enjoyed hanging out and watching him have fun.  In the past two weeks there have been two difficult days with you and today was one of them.  It's all about teeth.  On days you are not teething, you are so easy.  On days you are, well, you don't want to be put down and you fuss if you aren't with me.  You also spit up a lot more!!  But, I guess it's understandable to complain about teeth poking through your gums!!

You are such a big baby.  You're about average for weight but since Jordan was so little, I'm not used to lugging around a normal-sized almost-six-month-old.  You are rolling and wiggling a lot more.  We can't leave you on the couch anymore (you fell off) or in the swing (you were on your stomach hanging on for dear life).  So, we're entering a new world when we have to think about where you could end up if we put you somewhere.  You can roll around and are trying to get the idea of crawling.  You're not always motivated though!  Most of the time you're pretty cool just to hang out if you have a toy.

You have the sweetest smile and you love Jordan. You laugh at everything he does...even I it's detrimental to my discipline.  Last night I was bathing you guys and he refused to get out so he got a spanking.  He cried and you laughed and laughed, which made him do something else naughty to get in trouble...and you just laughed and laughed.  It's so cute though!  It's like a little giggle instead of a belly laugh.  You give Jordan the best of your laughs.  I have to really tickle you to get you going.

Little man, you are precious to our family and love having your sweet spirit around!

Love you,

Mom

 

Mom's Surgery is Over!

Dear Marcus,

I had my surgery and it was very successful.  The only problem is that I'm not allowed to pick YOU up.  It's killing me because you will grin at me from across the room and all I want to do is pick you up and snuggle you.  I fed you a couple of bottles but had to give you to your Aunt Abby to burp.  I'm hoping in about 5 days to get to wear I can do things for you again.  But in the end, this surgery will really help me live a life that is less painful.

You are a great baby and so easy to read!  You are starting to get big.  This week, we've put you in a Johnny Jumper and you really enjoy the swinging and mobility that you have.  You like to follow your brother.  You try to face whichever way he is standing.  I have the cutest video of you grinning at him and following him.  But half the time, he has no idea how much you love him.  I bet once you really start laughing at him, he'll spend lots of time entertaining you!

You smile at everyone and everything.  It's hard to hold a conversation when you are smiling at me. :)

You are still trying to figure out how to roll over.  You can do it if you have momentum, but you still haven't quite figured out how to reach your toys.  You are not to far away from rolling around the living room to try to track down your toys.

I can't believe how grown-up you are.  You are such a joy and I love you so much!

Love,

Mom

 

Four Months

Dear Marcus,

I'm sorry, but one of the things that comes with being the second child is I forget to take pictures. You have been four months old for six days and I still haven't gotten your four month picture.  Sorry!  In my defense, I tried on the actual day and the camera was dead. 

It's been a hard week.  I was supposed to have back surgery on the 31st and found out the day before that it was being postponed.  Then, the next day I was putting you in the swing and my back went out.  You greatly benefited from that, though because you got more snuggles than usual.  Since Dad was home, I just sat in the recliner and held you for a few days!

You are finally getting the hang of sleeping in your crib.  It was so funny.  You learned how to roll over in bed.  So, every time I lay you down, you roll onto your tummy.  One night you went from back to tummy and scared yourself.  I kept rocking you back to sleep and then laying you down and you would do it again.  It was funny, but not so much at 4:30 in the morning!!  Finally, you fell asleep on your tummy and for two nights in a row have been able to sleep on your tummy.  You are such a good and easy baby!

I cannot get enough of your big blue eyes.  You love when people smile at you and talk to you.  You will just stare until you get their attention.  And you love everything your big brother does.  You follow him with your eyes everywhere he goes.  I love to see you two growing in your love for each other!

I love you,

Mom