Milestone Day!!

We can name today “Milestone Day!” Marcus did three big things today for the first time.
1. He waved and said Hi to Mom.
2. He actually played at the beach, in the sand and ocean….running (with Dad and Mom’s help) into and out of the water. It was the first time he didn’t totally freak out with sand. He didn’t mind the sand on his feet but was still did not like it on his hands.
3. He blew bubbles in the bath with Mom. I have been showing him how to blow bubbles in the water for a while. Tonight was the first time that he copied me and then did it with me. He did it twice…he thought it was pretty funny…so did we!! :)

So much has happened

Ok, I have been horrible about posting for a few months now...SORRY!!! I am going to go back and re-hash the most important stuff as soon as I have some free time. BUT until then I had to post most current thing that happened...

Marcus took 5 steps on the grass today. Daddy has been working with him for a while on the grass. Having him stand and then try to walk towards him. Well, today, all 3 of us were in the backyard. He was playing with the hose (he’s favorite toy in the world right now). Curtis pulled him back from it, stood him up and he went right for it…taking his first 5 steps all by himself. We were so happy!!

Our "cruising" boy

Marcus is moving around like crazy. He has got the whole crawling thing down. He started pulling himself up on things last week. He even took a few steps while hanging on to our couch on one side and ottoman on the other...it's unbelievable how fast he is progressing. Everyday he is looking and acting more like a toddler than a baby. It is truly exciting for us all to watch but it's a little bitter sweet for me. I can't believe that the baby stage is coming to an end. I wish I could pause time, at times. At others, I find myself eager for all the fun stuff that lies ahead. Then I remember to just live in the moment and enjoy this stage cuz it too will be gone in a blink of an eye.

Found his tongue

Marcus starting sticking his tongue out today. We were hanging out in the living room and out of nowhere he stuck out his tongue and kept it out. He was touching and playing with it...so cute!! He loves to have it out now all the time. I guess he's been watching the dogs too much. LOL :)

We have a crawling baby in the house

Today is the official day...Marcus is crawling!!! We are soo proud of him. He has been attempting to crawl for some weeks now but most of his attempts left him scooting around the floor backwards. Each day, we could see that his arms were getting stronger. He was able to hold himself up for longer periods and did a lot of rocking back and forth. We knew it was only a matter of time. :) So today, I put him on the floor in the gym/office while I was finishing my run on the treadmill. All of a sudden, he went from a sitting position, to being on his tummy, to up on all fours, to putting one knee and arm in front of each other. He went forward about 2 times before getting to the treadmill. Of course, I nearly fell off the treadmill trying to get to him before he hurt himself by touching it or hitting his head on it. With relief I got to him just in time. No more running for mama now while he's in the room unless he's in his pack'n'play or someones arms. No complaints here!! We are so excited for this next chapter that we are goin to get more area rugs so he doesn't hurt his sweet knees on all our tile floor. hehe :)

Mama

Yes, Marcus' spoke his first word today and it was indeed "MAMA!" Yippee for me!!!! I can't even begin to explain the love and excitement that came over me. Curtis was witness too, which was really special. Of course, we both cried tears of pure happiness. :) He had been playing around with "ma" for the past couple of days. There was even one incident on Sat that we thought maybe he said it. Today there was no denying it. Here was the scene: he was in his jumper jumping around like a little monkey and he said "mama" three times in row while lifting his arms up at me. What an amazing feeling!!!! Then about an hour later, he was standing on his changing table face to face with me. He said it again as clear as can be..."mama", and then wrapped me with a big ole huge! Yes, my heart melted again! :) What a big boy...I can't even believe it.

I can remember sitting on our living room couch during the first month of Marcus' life...I think it was around 2am and I had not been getting much sleep, if any...and I turned to my mom (who was up with me and Marcus at the time) and said to her that if Marcus' first word was to be "mama" then all these sleepless nights would not matter. I was obviously kidding cuz it really would not have mattered if it were "dada" or "ball" or anything else...but it sure felt SUPER special that the word was in fact me!! :)

Road warriors

Playing with his favorite toys

Hanging with cousin Mikinsley

With Kinsley and Aunt Neenee (Renee)

Ana and I on the 4th...aren't we patriotic?

The two golfers...well at least Marcus is in character

My hubby and me at Jessica's wedding
Of course we have been busy like always. Sooo busy that I have not had time to do a posting in forever...or so it feels like it. First we had Curtis' sister, Renee, in town with her family. Then we went to LA for the 4th. Then we were back for a few days while Marcus and I toughed out a really bad cold. Then we went back south this time to the OC for my friend, Jessica, from high school's wedding. We just got back on Monday...we are trying to recoup and now enjoying our little family time.

Well on to the most important stuff:

Marcus is cutting 3 more teeth, yes, 3 all at one time. Needless to say we are not sleeping. Oh well...I suppose it is somewhat overrated. :) He is taking swim lessons (he had his second one yesterday) and he went completely under water for the first time. He is total water baby...not scared at all!! He also is officially crawling/scooting backwards anywhere we put him down. Oh and his new nickname is "lunges" cuz he sure has found his voice. He enjoys play independently for short burst time...but we can't keep him inside too long...he's a total nature boy (just like his daddy)...he loves to go for a walk in the back or front yard and go to the park...we put him in the swing and he just take in all the scenary...it's so precious. Like always, we are LOVING watching him grow up and explore new things...too bad we can't stop time. :)