Slip-N-Slide

     After reviewing the previous blog, I felt bad that there was only one good picture of Marcus.  So to make up for it, here are some pictures I took today when he and JoJo had fun on the slip-n-slide. :)

Next Blog: Pictures from Aunt Ran and Uncle Henry's visit.

Air surfing

Daddy showed Marcus how to slide like Jason Heyward (Marcus' favorite player)

A warm bath after being on the cold slip-n-slide

Good Time with the Twins

     Last Tuesday the four of us got to go to Winston and see our precious nephews.  Tyson and Hunter are now over six pounds, are 3 months old, and are just the sweetest little miracles you've ever seen. Mark and I both enjoyed holding these boys, talking to them, and just taking in all their funny little "premie grunts."  They sound like goats sometimes!  The only thing that is keeping them in the hospital is something called "bradycardia."  It's where their heart rate drops from around 150 to 50 (or below).  Most of the time they don't need to be stimulated to get it back up, but occasionally they still do.  Either way, if either of them can go seven consecutive days without a bradycardia, they can come home on the eighth day!  Even though it's ambitious, we're praying for them both to be home by Labor Day.  Here are some pictures of our time with them as well as pictures of our own two boys. :)

PS - I still enjoy writing on here, but if you've not yet noticed, I have been a little behind since having Titus.  I'll get out of the "newborn fog" one day.  I'm just not sure when... ;)

My first time holding Tyson - IN LOVE!

Sisters holding brothers (Tyson-left, Hunter-right)

Tyson Luke and Hunter Wells

First time holding Hunter - again IN LOVE!

Uncle Mark holding Tyson :)

Cozy Hunter

Sleepy Tyson

95% of all Schuurman road trips consists of finding and checking out a new ballpark.

This is where the Winston Salem Dash play (single A ball)

Aunt Liv holding Titus for the first time.

Uncle TJ holding Titus for the first time.

Their second nephew, Titus Jeffrey.

While in Winston, we stayed with the Hausers.  Children were everywhere and it was wonderful.

Bright eyed Hunter.

Our Mom (Grandma B) and TJ's mom (Nana B) holding Tyson.

Holding sweet Tyson again.

Olivia feeding Tyson.

You know Titus was tired when he just fell asleep on the couch like this.

Tummy Time!

Enjoying a stroller ride.

Smiling at Daddy. :)

First time in the Bumbo chair - working on neck muscles.

Look what I found in the cabinets!!!

Can't stand the cuteness.

Almost smiling...

Couldn't you just eat him up?

Closest thing to a smile we could get.

"I've had enough of this picture taking stuff, Mama!"

2 Months Old

     Titus will be two months old on Tuesday, but since we'll be out of town, visiting his cousins, Tyson and Hunter, I wanted to go ahead and write his two month blog. :)  His pediatrician, Dr. Love, is on vacation this week, so we went last week anyhow, for his 2 month (or 8 week) visit.  Once there, he weighed in at 13 pounds and 9 ounces (80th percentile), he is 24 1/4 inches tall (98th percentile), and he has a big ol' noggin that's 17 inches in circumference (well over 100th percentile).  I was worried that he weighed too much, but Dr. Love said that his BMI (Body Mass Index) which is his weight in proportion to his height is less than 50%.  In Dr. Love's words, "he's a line backer" and is perfectly healthy.  Dr. Love is always good at reassuring me with any concerns that I bring.  Everything checked out wonderfully and we even got better news than expected.  He had a minor "manhood" issue that has fixed itself!  So I left the doctor's office with a healthy, "solid" baby boy and a ton of relief.  :)
     He can now recognize Mark and I, and smiles on demand when we smile or talk to him.  He smiles at Marcus a lot, sometimes doesn't get the chance to because Marcus is laying on him trying to give him a hug.  If I'm ever out of the room and the two of them are together and I hear Titus grunting, you can bet that Marcus is trying to "hug" him again.  We're working on that...
     Titus has had a few nights of sleeping 5 and 6 hours at a time and is on a pretty good schedule thus far.  It's not nearly as strict and predictable as Marcus' schedule was at this age, but I'm not willing to put Marcus' needs aside for Titus' schedule.  And we're also on the road a LOT here lately, so sweet Titus just goes with the flow and sleeps wonderfully in the car.  He still doesn't enjoy a dirty diaper, but does, now enjoy bath time with his big brother.
     Marcus has been incredible this past week.  There was a stretch of days for a while where he was pretty awful and got spankings daily.  I'm happy to say he's not gotten a spanking or even time-out in the past week!  Our sweet little angel has returned!  He's a typical 2 (almost 3) year old who pushes limits, asks why, and has occasional meltdowns when over-tired or hungry, but let's be honest, so do I.  It's nice to have this little joy back to "normal" and get to have some fun with him as of late.
     Finally, we're super excited to go to Winston to see TJ, Olivia, Tyson, and Hunter this week.  It'll be a short visit, but we'll be staying in Winston so we can be closest to them.  Unfortunately, Marcus still won't be able to see them since there are no children under the age of 12 allowed in the NICU.  But Mark and I are excited to see AND GET TO HOLD them.  They're both over five pounds now, tube free, and only have heart monitors holding them back from going home.  If they can go seven consecutive days without a brady (drop in heart rate) they'll be discharged on the eighth day!  CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!?!  We're going to keep praying for their growth, strength, and development and ask that you'd do the same. 
     Enjoy the pics of the boys and hopefully we'll post a few from Winston when we return. :)

Even at 3am, you can't get mad at this sweet smile.

Marcus picked out his entire outfit on this day.

Sorting colors with milk caps.

Titus was upset that he had to wears a Yankees shirt & Marcus tried to console him.

We were BLESSED with lots of hand-me-downs this week and this jewel was in there.  I wish we'd had it when Titus was first born, but it'll still work now, too.

We all had some sweet snuggles in bed this morning.

Marcus wore this outfit when he was dedicated at church and was 9 weeks old.  It was big on him.  Titus, on the other hand, isn't yet 9 weeks old and he probably won't be able to wear it again.  Uh oh!

Me and our sweet boys

LOVE HIM!