It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!

Yesterday we had no plans and the weather was very rainy in the morning. Koen had been asking for days wondering when we would get to decorate for Christmas. So, I declared that we would decorate and make some Christmas cookies to get things started. It ended up being a really fun morning and a great way to spend a rainy day at home.

Before decorating (I knew we should take things slowly because we had the whole day and if we worked too quickly it would be 10am, we'd be done and bored for the rest of the morning!), we got the batter stirred up for the Christmas cookies. Tavin just longs to be involved in everything we do. It's really sweet (and I kind of feel bad too because some things he just can't do, not to mention his brother occasionally freaks out about him getting involved). Here's Tavin stirring up the dough. Nice form!Koen, quite the pro, did a great job despite the fact as you mix in the flour it gets a lot tougher.After the dough was mixed it needed to be refrigerated, so we went upstairs and I got the boys dressed for the day and we played a little while too (until the boys were pretty much risking their lives to find ways to keep occupied up there, man, boys are intense!!).

So, we headed back downstairs and dove into decorating. Koen was so much fun to work with. We had the Christmas tunes playing, all the decorations out. Tavin kind of just played around us and I gave Koen specific jobs (which most were actually quite helpful). The biggest thing for him was definitely setting up the nativity scene. I told him that this year I thought he was old enough to handle the "big responsibility." He rose to the occasion and loved it! He carefully took each item out of the tissue paper and set it all up.Tavin, of course, tried to get involved. I encouraged him to just park some vehicles around the manger scene (I'm sure Action Chugger and a VW van were there in Bethlehem, right?).The decorating actually took us until almost noon. And at that point we noticed that the clouds were parting and the rain was slowing, so I took the opportunity to get the boys out for some fresh air. It was about 65 degrees and felt great to get outside. Koen rode his bike and Tav pulled or rode in the wagon for about a half hour. Afterwards we had lunch and then dove back into the cookie project. Koen did really well cutting them out and Tavin basically played (poor thing, at this point I think he was a little sick of the not age appropriate activities we had been participating in all morning). We baked the cookies and then I got the boys to nap. Koen took a great one as usual, but Tav's been struggling with sleeping a little since returning from being away last week. He always gets back into the routine eventually, but he's definitely a little off (he's also great at "fake crying" when he wakes up and it gets really obnoxious to listen to!).

The boys and I had a nice dinner, some play time, they took a bath and then we laid Tavin down. Afterwards, Koen and I had some special time decorating the cookies. I decided it would be nicer for us to save that for after Tavin was asleep since the poor thing had watched us work on projects all day. Koen loved that special time, as did I. One on one time is the best!Here's the finished product (a little plate of love for Daddy from us).It was such a fun day getting into the Christmas spirit and my house looks so pretty all decorated for Christmas. This has to be my favorite time of year!! Look for more Christmas activities coming soon! PS - I watched White Christmas for the first time this season last night while ironing way too many of Doug's dress shirts, that won't be the last showing. Love it!

Downtown Christmas Parade

Today was the Christmas Parade downtown. Doug took Koen to it and Tavin and I stayed in the neighborhood and went on a nice walk to get some groceries and run some other errands. The big boys had a lot of fun at the parade for about a half an hour. The weather was mild, so they were quite comfortable (especially with the hot cocoa I sent them with). Since I wasn't there I don't have much else to say, so enjoy the pictures!This was the highlight of the parade for Koen, Buddy the Dinosaur from Dinosaur Train!Doug took a video of this fun group that did crazy tricks on pogo sticks, wow!

After they were done watching the parade, the boys left downtown and came to meet Tavin and I at the playground. Then we all came home for lunch and more playtime. It was a really nice morning. Tonight we have friends coming over for a Thanksgiving leftovers potluck. Should be fun!

Thanksgiving at Nana & PopPop's, Part 2

Thanksgiving Day was a full one for the Melder clan. I have a lot of pictures, so I think I will just narrate those so you can get an idea of what kept us so busy all day long. Enjoy (we certainly did!)...

A note to start off - Koen had an episode of croup in the early AM hours, around 5, and never fell back asleep. He was a good boy and laid quietly, but the poor thing never fell back asleep so he was exhausted by the time we were all ready to start our day. After breakfast, PopPop had a great activity planned for Koen. He took him out to his woodshop in the garage and they made a wooden boat!Koen did very well with the special one-on-one attention and the hands-on activity. When Doug went out to get these pictures he asked him to leave so that he could concentrate on his project with PopPop!After the toy boat was complete, we all piled into the cars and headed over to Boiling Springs Children's Lake for the boat's maiden voyage. Tavin was happy to be along with big brother, but was a little pouty (I think he was a little tired too). He happily let PopPop carry him when he got tired walking. So sweet.We brought Koen's bike along so that kept Koen nice and busy.Doug and Koen found some rocks to climb. Koen was completely into it.This could've been a cute family shot, but we were happy to have a little moment with Tavin while Koen was happy riding his bike around talking every second.Tavin was very sweet with Nana during our whole stay. Here they are getting the bread for the ducks ready (Tavin wanted to eat it, but I had some alternative snacks for him).Koen loved feeding the ducks (and swans!), he also was getting hungry and did actually snack on the duck bread. Oh well!Here's Nana, Tavin and I on our walk by. Look at Tav's sweet face. Just going with the flow as usual.
Koen threw his boat into the water one last time when we got back to the car. Look how proud he is of his construction project. He and PopPop named it the S.S. Hedgehog. Koen put his name on it as well.Koen was so tired (and really showing the evidence of it) that we had him rest for an hour in his bedroom before the Thanksgiving meal (and before his cousins arrived) after our time at Children's Lake. He didn't actually fall asleep, but the down time seemed to really make a difference the rest of the day. Since the moment we arrived at Nana & PopPop's, Koen has been asking about his cousins. Well, around 12:30pm the moment finally arrived! Koen was ecstatic and so sweet just doting around his cousins smiling trying to get conversations started and interact. He is so social, it was really sweet to watch. Here he is with Daniel. Daniel sat down here soon after he arrived and Koen pulled up right next to him and just smiled and asked him questions. It was so precious. Daniel is such a sweetheart, he is very patient and gave Koen the attention he was so looking forward to.Koen had requested to sit with his cousins at the meal. Here he is (in his hilarious turkey hat) enjoying conversation with his big kid cousins. He really rose to the occasion. There was almost no silliness from the kid table. (David's kids are so great. I'm always so impressed!).Soon after the meal we laid Tavin down for his nap and the rest of the kids went outside to play baseball with Doug and Uncle David. Koen was so pleased to be included. Doug helped him work with the big wooden bat and Uncle David (a great baseball player himself) coached him as well.
Here's a video of Koen at bat. At this point he was pretty tired from all the swings, so his technique is a little sloppy. =)

While everyone was outside, I took a walk and then came back for my little buddy and we went on a bike ride in the neighborhood. I couldn't believe he still had the energy to be biking. This was probably one of the most active, long days of his life with such an early rise, no nap and so much activity!After our bike ride we had some down time for Koen for a little while and he enjoyed watching Cars 2 with Michael. About when the sun went down, Tavin got up from his nap and Uncle Scott, Aunt Jen and their kids, Casey and Katelyn arrived for dessert. Koen was so excited for more cousins! After dessert Doug took a few of the kids outside and got a fire started in the backyard. We all headed out to enjoy the crisp fresh air.Here's Koen star-gazing with Casey and Daniel. Shortly afterwards Koen had an idea and asked his cousins if they wanted to play tag in the dark. They all loved that idea and they were off running! (Seriously, I can't believe Koen could still move!!).Here's a shot of the Melder boys. Scott, David and Douglas.At 7pm I put Tavin down for bed and everyone else started to get ready to go. Koen was sad to see his cousins leave, but thankfully, Casey was actually staying the night which made it easier for Koen to say goodbye. It is so sweet how he cares for his cousins so much! Casey is another great kid (seriously, all of these cousins are just wonderful children, I'm always so encouraged, I hope our little Melders turn out the same way!). Casey patiently played some made-up games with Koen until it was 7:30pm and definitely time for Koen to go to bed.We heard no complaints from him and after laying him down there wasn't a peep, he went right to sleep. He was exhausted, but the best kind!

Koen slept hard and didn't wake up until about 6:30am when the sun lit up our room. We laid around until 7:30am though, so a pretty normal start to the day. Tavin woke up super early for some reason, but managed to stay resting in his bed until 8am. Here he is after breakfast cuddling with Nana and reading a book.We got things all packed up and headed out around 10am. It was a wonderful visit with family and a lovely holiday. Thank you so much, Nana and PopPop. You are such kind and generous hosts. Mom, the Thanksgiving meal was delicious (and we've already enjoyed some of the leftovers you sent home!). We so appreciate that we were able to have this special family time. Thanks for all your effort!

We made one stop on the way home (Bent and Broken grocery store - amazing deals!) and then got on the turnpike and made fantastic time getting home. The boys "helped" us unload and got to play for a little while and we laid them down for their naps late. We weren't really expecting them to sleep, but they both were so exhausted from the fun few days that they fell fast asleep immediately. Koen had to be woken up even!

We had a low key night unpacking and just playing at the house. Doug and I made pizza after the boys went to bed and just finished a movie. Now, I can't wait to crash myself!!

Thanksgiving at Nana & PopPop's, Part 1

So our maiden voyage in the minivan went very well and despite a longer than expected time at the dealership and the intense rain and wind on the turnpike we made great time to Nana & PopPop's. We got there and had a delicious lunch of sandwiches and homemade chicken soup (thanks, Nana!) and then soon afterwards we got Tavin to sleep for nap. We allowed Koen to stay up during naptime since he had spent most of the morning relaxing in the car. He did really well just playing with the toys here, went on a short bike ride and then got to watch Cars 2 with Daddy. I got to help Nana in the kitchen with some prep for dinner and Thanksgiving and then had time for a walk. I love getting fresh air and moving after a long morning in the car.

Tavin got up a little before 5pm and he played in the living room while Koen finished his special movie with Daddy. Here are my boys vegging out!Tavin really liked these little figurines my mother-in-law has. Tavin doesn't quite get it obviously. The person with the walker is pushing the guy in the wheelchair. Well, at least his awareness is heightened, right Nana? =) (Nana is an early childhood education specialist and these figurines are used in classrooms with little ones so they are aware of all different types of people with different needs, etc.).I told Tavin to go sit with PopPop and he went right over and climbed up in his lap. So sweet.When I was in the kitchen with Nana Tavin was underfoot and in the way s o we sent him out to play in the living room. PopPop took him on and they had a lot of fun playing with blocks.
After Koen's movie, he set to work in the kitchen on making homemade ice cream! It was starting to show that he hadn't napped (this kid just really needs sleep!), but he was a good little assistant and interested in the process. Nana is a patient teacher and a lot of fun to work with!Tonight we laid the boys down basically at the same time. Nana and PopPop read Koen his story before bed. He loved it!Unfortunately the attempt to have the boys sleep in the same room going to bed at the same time was not successful at all tonight. Tavin was wound up and Koen was overtired, so it turned into silly mayhem. By 8pm we ended up taking Koen into our room and I'm pretty sure we are just going to have him sleep there and we'll split up between the boys. Tavin took forever to go to sleep and probably didn't really fall asleep until almost 9pm! Oh well, hopefully they'll sleep well and it'll be no big deal in the morning. We'll see. Either way I'm sure it'll be a fun day tomorrow. Koen is so excited to have his cousins coming, the weather is supposed to be lovely and Nana and PopPop have some fun activities planned for the boys. Can't wait (well, I can't wait, but I'm also looking forward to what will hopefully be a good night's sleep first!).

It's Official...The Melders Have Gone Minivan

With a dying faithful Ford Escape, we've been searching for what would be the next vehicle. We are a one car family so this has been quite the decision. Being the young, oh so hip people we think we are we explored every potential option not to get a minivan. The thing is, the best option really was a minivan. Once we came to that decision the search became serious and last week Doug found the next Melder family car. And today it was ready for pickup (on our way out of town to be with Doug's parents for Thanksgiving no less). Here she is...Tavin wasn't that impressed...Koen was ecstatic (especially about the built-in DVD player and the DVD's Doug brought for him to watch on our drive). Doug was actually quite excited about the car. It drove so smoothly on the nasty, rainy, windy turnpike. We got great gas mileage and all felt very comfortable. Here's the happy buyer getting used to the idea that he now drives a minivan...Well, I'm grateful for a vehicle that runs well and has plenty of room for the boys and all our gear. I look forward to lots of adventures with my boys in this vehicle. Good job, husband. You did great finding us the vehicle we needed. =)

Baking Pumpkin Pies With My Boys

I guess this is sort of becoming a tradition. Koen helped me last year and he totally remembered it and so we were both really looking forward to it again. Last year Tavin didn't have a clue, but this year, he (just like with everything else) wanted to be right in the middle of it. I gave Tavin his own bowl, whisk and measuring cups. He wanted to look just like brother so he stood on the stool instead of sitting (oh dear).In this picture you can get a nice look at the awesome turkey hat Koen made at preschool yesterday. He's been wearing it ever since pretty much (including all morning at Miles and at the library!). At this point the turkey hat is as much Scotch tape as it is construction paper. We are hoping it survives until Thanksgiving Day.In the above picture Koen was talking and here he is again talking it up about the whole process of making a pumpkin pie. He took it upon himself to make sure this was an educational experience for Tavin.After awhile Tavin got a little bored with his fake ingredients, so he got his little van and I gave him an egg carton to use as a tunnel or a garage and he had fun with that for the rest of our baking session.Here's the little baker really putting in some elbow grease on stirring up the filling.And, our finished product... Hopefully they taste as good as they look!Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I love, love, love the holidays and I feel like Thanksgiving just kicks it all off. Can't wait!