Gramma & Grampa's Day 2

We had a great day today. Koen really settled down and was less scattered trying to run from one thing to the next. The busy few days of traveling and taking in the new surroundings seemed to hit him and he was quite subdued and content. Great!

Tavin did much better last night and OK this morning. He did wake up earlier than normal, but not too bad and it was an excuse for me to get out on a walk with him in the stroller before it got too hot.

Koen especially enjoyed playing with Uncle Phil's old trucks, the red wagon from my grandparents' home and then playing with his good old Carlos, Captain, Annie and Jamal (Little People that we've named and have been his favorites for over a year). In the picture below, Koen is using Grampa's tools to "fix" the wagon. He said he was the "mechamic" in his own "mechamic shop" (the garage). Tavin and I looked on (see my cute little Tavin in the BabyBjorn).

Tavin took a super long nap this morning and I had to wake him up...look how cute!

After Koen went down for nap, Tavin and I played in the kiddie pool in the backyard and Tavin also enjoyed some playtime with Gramma. He is definitely getting more used to the new surroundings and getting more comfortable with Gramma and Grampa helping out.

Tonight we went on a special adventure to a military vehicle rally in Weare, NH. My Dad is an engineer both in what he has been trained to do as well as just in natural aptitudes, he also has always had an interest in the military, specifically for WWII-related books and equipment. About 10 years ago he bought a military Jeep (Korean War era) and also a military truck (probably used as an ambulance). Anyways, he is a member of a military vehicle club. Just one of his very interesting hobbies. Tonight was the annual rally for the vehicles. The club members camp out in a field surrounded by woods. It is a pretty, quintessential New England drive out to the place with lots of stone walls, historical-looking homes and lots of greenery. Koen was in awe when we pulled into the field with scattered military vehicles parked all over the place. We ate dinner first (it was the night of the rally where you can order lobster...yum!). Koen was too distracted to concentrate on eating, so after Grampa finished, they quickly went out on a real Jeep ride. Koen's first time sitting in the passenger seat by himself (don't worry, Douglas, they went about 2 miles/hr.).

I had Koen and Tavin in camouflage outfits. They looked cute. I don't know that anyone there really noticed, but I was proud of myself for planning ahead. Check out these funny pictures as we tried to get a group shot. Each one Koen is doing something different and usually doing his weird smile. He was so into the Jeep and truck, it was tough to get him to sit still! The last one is my favorite.

Gramma & Grampa's Day 1

Not too much to post in the way of pictures today. The day just flew by trying to keep up with Koen and there were 4 adults here! He was just buzzing around the house and yard today checking out all his favorite things. He was definitely edgy after our long travel day yesterday with no nap, but he did very well.

Tavin had a rough night last night with a wake up in the middle of the night. I tried to let him cry it out with some Ferber visits, but since he's recovering from a virus, was a trooper on the plane and hand't eaten his usual amount during the day, I finally gave in and fed him at 3:30am. That did the trick and he went to sleep after that. Thankfully he did sleep until 6:45am. I figured he would be up earlier than that with the sunlight coming in. I sure hope we don't see earlier than 6:45am even if he sleeps through the night OK, but I'm trying to keep my expectations low.


Tavin and Grampa had some good bonding time today. Tavin is definitely on the mend and he did OK with naps here despite being in a new location. I will try to do better with pictures, babe (Douglas is in Nicaragua waiting for updates of his cute boys).

We Made It!

Thank you for all the prayers and well-wishes. Sick baby, emotional roller-coaster toddler and one super Mommy (well, sometimes) made it to NH in one piece and in fairly good spirits. Tavin did very well despite not feeling well. When he woke up this morning I could tell he was on the mend, but he isn't all the way there yet and now does have a rash on his hands, feet/legs and stomach, so it is possibly hands, foot and mouth disease. Great. I guess it just runs its course though.

Koen was thrilled from the moment I went up to get him this morning (which was 8:20am, despite the fact he had been awake since 6am...of all days!). He did very well while I fed he and Tavin breakfast, waited for our friend, Kassi to pick us up and even rolled his own suitcase into the airport. He was relatively patient through security and the terminal at Pittsburgh (he loved the train that takes you to the gates, he said, "I just want to ride it all day", thankfully there was a plane awaiting us that I could bait him off with).

The first plane ride Tavin was pretty upset as he only had slept about 30 mins. in the car on our way to the airport and then was ready for lunch by the time we boarded our flight. After getting some food into him, he cheered up for awhile. Koen was really sweet and comforted him through the whole take-off process. Adorable! Koen, who has been a little apprehensive in the past with take-off, did very well and was just thrilled. He should've been on the loud speaker over the airplane, he narrated the whole process.

The wait at Philly was longer than expected due to our next plane being late, but thankfully it was only a 30 min. delay. Still, an hour and a half in Philly with 2 boys can seem like 6 hours! Koen was coming up on his usual nap time, so his listening and obeying skills were dwindling. I let him run off some energy in an empty gate area and eventually we all just sat down and I put him in front of the DVD player. Tavin actually took a 30 min. nap in the carriage, which was a huge plus as he did wake up refreshed and did very well on the take-off on the 2nd flight. Koen's apprehension came back a little bit in his overtired state, but he did very well with it still. Tavin fell back asleep for about 30 mins. of that flight, so that was great for him too.

They really both did so well, I have no complaints. I'm tired, but it's rewarding to know I got them through that ordeal and they both managed very well. I'm glad we will be here 2 weeks though before I have to do it all over again!

Koen was so excited to see Gramma and Grampa. When I tried to talk to him in the car on the way back to their house from the airport, he said in a dreamy state, "I'm sorry, Mommy, I'm just thinking about Gramma and Grampa." Dad was completely excited to hang out with his little buddy again. They played as Mom got dinner ready and I fed Tavin.

After dinner, Dad and Koen went on a walk with the wagon full of my brother's old trucks. They wasted no time getting into the fun here. And Dad didn't really want to let him go to bed yet...I had to put my foot down eventually, the tiredness was bound to hit Koen sometime and I wanted it to be after he was in bed!

Tavin and Koen went down well in their new locations. I'm praying Tavin sleeps late in the morning or even just until 7am would be above my low expectations. It's pretty warm here and with no AC, the windows have to be open and that means lots of happy sunshine in the early AM. We'll see what tomorrow brings!

The Debacle Continues

Well, Doug did get off to Nicaragua today and I just got a text from him that he has arrived in that country safe and sound (despite some scary runway turbulence).

While Doug has been traveling South, we've been having a rough day here. Poor Tavin is sick again. I noticed some odd behavior over the weekend, just not happy and easy going as usual. Today he was hot, hot, hot and I brought myself to take a rectal temperature. Poor baby has been 101.5 or higher all day, despite being on Tylenol most of the time.

With our trip coming up tomorrow, I took him to the doctor for fear that it could be something major or possibly an uncomfortable ear infection that would be horrible to fly with. We saw the pediatrician at 4pm, which meant that I had to wake both boys up from their deep afternoon naps (not good!). Tavin has ulcers on his throat. Apparently, there are some intense throat viruses running around this summer. Poor Tavin. It must hurt so bad! And now I have to pull him through a travel adventure tomorrow. He is a trooper though, so I am being super positive, while also setting my expectations low.

Well, stay tuned for an update hopefully tomorrow night on how we do. We appreciate your prayers as we embark. Koen was a volatile roller coaster today, so I'm praying he will be exceptional tomorrow. And since I have no control over that, I am focusing myself on just not letting misbehavior bother me...I will stay calm...I must!

Conversations with Tavin

Tavin is still loving to squawk, screech and squeal. Koen actually communicates with him (to my chagrin - the decibel level is a little intense). It is so sweet though to see Tavin trying to talk to Koen, just looking at him so lovingly. And Koen just loves an excuse to be loud!

Here's a video of Tavin talking and blowing bubbles and then a video of the boys talking to each other during dinner. Tavin is a mess in both of them, he gets so dirty when eating!

Matchy Melder Boys

I meant to post this a few days ago. I got some swimming shirts at Target the other day. These things are a great invention. My boys are quite white and so I like to have a shirt on them at the pool or the beach. These things are really breathable and dry fast so they are a lot more comfortable for them to wear for a long time at the pool or beach. Anyways, I got them matching ones and Koen was so excited (is it strange I had him try it on in the children's section while sitting in the cart?). Here they are on their trial run. Koen actually asked for me to take the picture. He never does that. He loves his brother so much. He was so proud to be matching with him. SO cute!!!

Melder Boys Love Melons

We had people over on Friday night. I cut up an entire cantaloupe, watermelon and honeydew melon. There was about 3/4 of the honeydew left and 3/4 of the watermelon left and about half of the canteloupe left. Koen ate all of the leftover watermelon yesterday between breakfast, lunch and dinner. He also had a little of the other melons. Today he has already finished the canteloupe and has had about half of the remaining honeydew. Unbelievable!


I have this great little toy thing for Tavin where you stick food into this mesh area and can close it and the bottom is shaped like a teething toy holder. Anyways, I have been putting apple slices in there for him to gnaw on for his teething. Today I put in some of the honeydew. He loved it! He spent about 20 mins. enjoying it. Looks like Koen might have to be fighting for the melon eventually!


Here are two pictures of them enjoying the melon...

Crazy Hair Day

The fun theme at Kidz Church at Northway Oakland today was "Crazy Hair Day." Doug was in charge of Koen's look. He had a tough time using gel in Koen's very fine, almost still baby-like strands. It sort of stood up. Koen was really excited about it though. Tavin has almost nothing to work with, so we didn't bother with him this week!

Here are the boys all enjoying breakfast together...

Debacle Days

Sorry no posts lately. It's been a whirlwind and a mess around here!

This week I was originally planning on being in NH already, so Doug packed his schedule with work stuff. Since we were here it was nice to be a part of some of those things, but it also made for a hectic last few days together. We made it through it all up to Friday night very well, although Doug had some really late nights, which I don't think is super wise leading up to an international 2 week trip. Anyways, on Friday night my phone broke and so that made us both ill at ease as Doug was leaving the country in about 36 hours and I would be going to NH on Tuesday. So, on Saturday, Doug had another work thing from 9am-3pm. He got home a little after 4pm and went right to take care of my phone (he still hadn't packed at this point and would be leaving this morning). After Doug got to the phone place, they sent him home and told him he had to have an appointment and their earliest one was for 7:50pm. Wasted time (my nemesis)!

Finally, Doug started packing around 5pm last night. He went to grab his passport and realized that we had recently stowed it away in a safety deposit box. Yeah, past 5pm on a Saturday...the bank 1-800 number isn't even open at that hour. We called a friend that is high up in the bank organization and he tried to get Doug into the branch, but there was nothing he could do. Doug is so good about dealing about this stuff, but I just felt horrible. I was at the bank about a week ago in our box getting a copy of Tavin's birth certificate. I saw the passports! It never even crossed my mind. We were both so frazzled from being so frustrated for so many reasons the past few days. It was not a fun afternoon/evening.

Thankfully we did get a break when Doug finally had the appointment at the phone store and they were able to just exchange us a new replacement. Yay! Something good! I shouldn't say that, we have so, so much to be thankful for, but in the moment, we definitely needed something positive and that was a good one!

Last night we were able to unwind after Doug accepted the passport issue, transferred his flight to one leaving on Monday instead (after bank opens and he can get the passport) and called the other trip leaders, etc. We had our favorite, pizza date night, and got to bed earlier than we have all week.

So, now, on Sunday, we've been to church together (it was so fun to go with Doug as he usually has responsibilities, but today was able just to sit with me since it was covered because he was supposed to be gone already), he saw the missions trip team off at the airport, he's taking a nap (well, all the Melder boys are right now), and I am about to go to the grocery store. Not to mention Koen has been pretty easy today, which is a huge blessing after the emotional strain of yesterday!

PS - On top of the tense day yesterday I had to get fresh air so I took the boys to the pool by myself around lunchtime. It wasn't a bad idea, but it wasn't easy either. Not easy to feed an infant and keep an eye on a beginner swimmer, but we made it through and Koen had a blast and I felt better for the fresh air and cool water. It's the little things!!!

My Sweet Tavin Dale

Just a few pictures of Tavin and I loving it up before we woke Koen up for our fun day...

A Chocolatey Calamity

For Koen's birthday, Doug bought him this cute book, "Oh, Ducky, A Chocolate Calamity." It is really cute and has great illustrations for an imaginative, 3 year old boy's mind. Koen has been very interested in factories since getting really attached to the book. Well, lucky for us, soon after Koen's birthday we met some new folks at our church whom we've become fast friends with and they just happen to have a family chocolate-making business! Or, as the Dad (Mr. Mark to Koen) likes to claim...he is a Master Chocolatier! =)

So, we've been meaning to take a trip to the factory for months and today we finally did! It was such a great adventure for all of us. I, being the dark chocolate lover that I am, was totally looking forward to the opportunity, but Koen really was excited as well. I was so impressed with him throughout the excursion as he was very interested in how the chocolate and candies were being made, he stayed pretty close by me and listened and obeyed for the most part. Very encouraging as I was envisioning quite a few other scenarios (Koen going down a conveyor belt covered in chocolate perhaps? or getting locked in a cooler?). He cracks me up too. He is not a kid that just accepts any piece of candy or anything sweet. It's nice to see as a mom actually. He definitely found some favorites though...plain dark chocolate, dark chocolate over creamy chocolate and plain milk chocolate. What can I say...he's my boy!

Here are some pictures from our time in the factory. Note how intently Koen is watching our friend, Mark, make the toffee. After we left today he said, "maybe I could be a chocolate maker someday, Mommy." Music to my ears! =)

They have a retail store at the Pentagon, these chocolate molds are made for this store.

Spreading the toffee (above).

Cutting the toffee (above).

My favorite treat on the factory floor today, dark chocolate with a decorative white chocolate drizzle.

Koen, the engineer, checking out how the conveyor belt machine parts work. A chocolatier in training (or a part-time summer factory worker).

Happy Chocolate Lover!
Uh, oh...Look who found the store room!

The retail store above the factory.

Look at those wide eyes! Yum, yum, yum!

The Mommies sporting the hairnets (Koen chose not to participate in the picture...classic!).

Doug had coached Koen last night to ask Mr. Mark for chocolate peanut butter chocolates. Koen made his Daddy proud. He went right up to him and asked accordingly. So cute!

After our visit to the factory, we headed to Chik-fil-A with our friends. It is so much easier caring for two when you have friends around! Koen again did surprisingly well (at first it seemed we were heading towards meltdown, but after some real food he was very pleasant...can't blame the kid for that!).
I decided to squeeze in a few errands on our way home since I knew Tavin's schedule was already so messed up and Koen can usually handle an odd day every once in awhile. We got gas and went to Target and got home later than Koen's usual naptime, so I did deal with the consequences, but we got through the meltdown relatively quickly. It seems to help when I have low expectations and I don't really make a big deal about it. I knew he was tired, so I just dealt with it and it turned out fine. Koen had to be woken up at 5:40pm tonight. I guess he was tired!

Tavin didn't fare so well, but that's OK. I kind of figured that would happen. He screamed through the late afternoon nap I attempted to try and have him take. So, after trying to comfort him with a visit and then letting him struggle a little more I rescued him. I took him down to my bed and we just laid there and I was thinking he would be all tired and want to cuddle. Not so much! It must have been all that time in the car seat. He was ready to play. It was hilarious. 75% of that time he had a sock in his mouth, it is the cutest and funniest thing with him, it seems to be a great teether for him and it looks hilarious! He wanted to practice sitting up and play with toys and of course, chew the sock. So, I let him. I laid there and relaxed and watched some Friends episodes and he did his thing. It was actually a nice change. We did that for an hour! At 5pm I fed him and then he went downhill fast with very little napping in except a few catnaps throughout the day in the car.

Both boys are now in bed sleeping. I had a nice evening taking care of the garden and plants after laying Tavin down and while Doug took care of Koen's last few pieces of his day. Now, Doug and I are multi-tasking on our computers with a movie on in the background and the sun is setting. It's been a good day.

Indoors with the Boys

Koen has been really into playing indoors lately. This somewhat drives me nuts because I absolutely love to take advantage of the summertime weather and be outside as much as possible. I'm trying to resign myself to the fact that this summer, I have a baby and a toddler and I just can't get outside as much as I would prefer if it was just me. Anyways, today was an on and off unpredictable wash-out, so it was fine that Koen was preferring inside play. I'm not a pushover or anything with letting him get his way, but sometimes it is just easier to go with the flow on the little things, especially when I think my desire for him to play outside is a little selfish. I do have high hopes for a walk to the playground after Tavin eats and Koen gets up from nap, but we'll see if that is dashed or not.

Koen has been a helpful little man around the house today. He got all excited when I was unloading the dishwasher and asked if he could help with putting the silverware away. Sure! Don't worry, I did the knives myself. I told him it was like a matching game and he thought that was just fantastic and away he went on the job. He did almost every piece himself and those that he did do, he put them all in the correct spots. I said to him, "this is great teamwork, buddy" and then we said, "Go Team Melder!" and high-fived.

Later in the morning we had kind of made a mess with these car tracks Doug found at a yard sale. They leave black crumbly particles all over the floor after you clean them up. Being the neat freak that I am and having a few minutes on my hands while we cleaned up, I figured I would go ahead and sweep it up. Koen asked if he could do some sweeping. Well, sure! At one point he said, "it's pretty hard work being a little boy, Mommy." And then later said, "I'm being a big helper today, aren't I Mommy." He really was. It was really nice!

Tavin is screaming, so I have to run, but I just had to post a few pictures of Koen's new phone (a fake display model). He and Doug went to AT&T yesterday to update my phone (I think I mentioned this yesterday), anyways, they gave him a free one. He has to take it everywhere with him. It is hilarious. He says, "just in case I get a voicemail or have some texts." He always explains to me, "see Mommy, it does this, just like Aunt Abbie's. And it does this, just like yours" when making it slide to the side and up and down.

Finally, here is a shot of my sweet Tavin when we were playing in my room together before his afternoon nap. Such a precious little one!

Car Show on Walnut

We just had a fun night out with the boys. We went to the Walnut Street Car Show for about an hour and a half. I fed Tavin his cereal and squash there and Koen enjoyed his dinner on the go (he loves "snacky dinner"). We just missed the torrential downpour. We had some light, spitting rain on the way home, but thankfully the real storm came just after the boys were both in bed (and I on a whim of heat exhaustion had just run around and closed the windows and turned on the AC).

I didn't get to walk around much with Koen to see the cars, so I don't have much else to report except that it was a great turnout of beautiful cars. Just check out the view that Tavin and I had from the bench where I fed him...

Tavin wore his car-themed overalls. But first, he wore cereal, squash and a cute bib. =)

Koen and Daddy have had a great day today. I think Koen needed some Daddy time. Koen was in a fabulous mood all day. Such a nice change since the last few days have been filled with lots of whining. Here's a picture of them at the cruise (a parking lot full of Corvettes and other pretty cars are behind them).

Sports Theme Day

At church they are doing theme days for the kids in nursery and Sunday School. I was proud of myself for remembering when dressing the kids this morning! Today was a sports theme. Koen doesn't have much sporty stuff, so he wore a Steelers t-shirt. Tavin, on the other hand, has about 5 Red Sox outfits to choose from. I chose the loudest one! It is like a polyester blend, so not super cool for such a hot day, so I took some pictures of the boys right away after we got home for church and then got Tavin out of it (as you can see in the quick self-taken picture of him and I and in his high-chair where he is still sporting Red Sox pride).

Where's Tavin?

This is Tavin's new favorite game. He was so excited about me getting the camera out that he doesn't do the game as well as usual. But how it works is I throw the burp cloth on his face and he is the one that yanks it away. It is cute when he has to try and find how to get his eyes to peek out from behind it. The video doesn't really capture the best of it. So, then I just decided to tickle him so you could see some laughter.

Koen, the "Helpful" Brother

Koen loves to help with Tavin. If Tavin throws a toy, Koen fetches it. If Tavin gets food all over his face, Koen is happy to point out every spot so that I can clean it all up. If Tavin is sad, he wants to give him a hug and a kiss (super priceless, have to get this on video). And if Tavin is in the Exersaucer or playing on the floor, Koen likes to supply him with basically every toy imaginable. I'm really hoping that Tavin doesn't have an attention defecit disorder someday due to the overwhelming amounts of toys Koen bestows on Tavin. Just check out one picture from an episode of toy-overload today...Here is one of Koen's favorite playthings these days. The hand-me-down train set we got this Spring from some friends and then we build lego things around it as coal stops, water towers, sheds for the engines, etc. (Note the simplicity, 3 years down the road, Tavin's favorite play things will probably be this times 10 based on Koen's "helpful" generosity).
I love my boys!

Tavin Sitting Up

This picture and video are not necessarily Tavin sitting up 100%, but it is pretty close and he does do it all on his own when he wants to. He is still working on concentrating on it so that he doesn't fall over, but he has definitely hit the "sitting up" landmark.

I have to just add in here that Tavin is such a sweetheart. Smiles, sweet babbling, easy-going spirit. He is amazing!

We Have a Piano!

Thanks to my sister's generosity and the help of friends and Doug's willingness, we finally have a piano in our home. I am thrilled!

Abbie bought a piano on Craigslist a few years ago and when she moved out of the area she gave it to us. We just had to move it here. So, with our intimidating front steps I looked into professional movers, but their prices are just ridiculous! We decided to ask our friends to help us with this tough job. Our friends totally rose to the challenge and were willing, helpful and even had fun doing it.
The piano looks great in the dining room and it was such a fun thing to show it to Koen the next morning after the move. He was so excited about it and asks to play it often throughout the day.

I grew up with a piano in the home, with music as an important aspect of our development and I am so appreciative of that. I really wanted to be able to create a similar environment in our home. Thank you to Aunt Abbie and Dave, Brett, Mark, Sky and Steve and of course, a big thanks to Douglas!