Memorial Day 2012 - Another Scorcher!

I can definitely remember that the last 3 Memorial Days have been hot ones.  3 years ago my sister-in-law, Leah, was here from FL and she was surprised that the weather was pretty much identical to her home.  That was also right before Tavin plummeted into pneumonia at only 6 months.  Poor Tav.  The following year (last year) I remember us walking down to the parade in Lawrenceville through the Allegheny Cemetery.  The walk there was pleasant enough, but the hike back up the hill closer to noon, was intense!  We headed straight into the backyard getting the pool out for the first time that year.  We mimicked that part of last year this year too.  So, this year Doug and Koen headed to Home Depot early to get some landscaping supplies, then we all worked outside for a few hours.  Our friends, Megan and Sky, came over around 11am for brunch.  Tav and Doug were both in need of a break from the sun and heat (Koen somehow never seems to mind!).  We set up the pool and let the water warm up while we ate our delicious brunch.  I made a pineapple/strawberry/blueberry upside-down (get it?  red, white and blue?) sour cream whole wheat coffee cake, Doug made a flavorful, huge omelette and we also had some fresh fruit.  Delicious!  We all enjoyed the indoor break too.  Then we got the boys dressed in their swimsuits and headed back out into the sun.  The boys loved it!  Just like with the sprinkler the other night, I was curious to see how Tavin did with the pool experience.  It took him about 2 minutes to figure out that whatever brother did looked like a great idea.  So, he basically jumped, slid, spun and splashed around just as much as Koen.  We adults enjoyed the frequent splashes for the most part as we stayed mostly in the shade of the trees and the patio umbrella.  Here are the brothers in the pool for the first time this season...

The boys were tired out from spending most of the morning outside and being active.  Thankfully they took great naps too since we had fun evening plans as well.  At 5pm, we headed over to Deborah & Grant's house (Miles, Claire and Hazel's parents) for a Memorial Day cookout with them and a bunch of mutual college friends.  It was a blast!  Albeit a HOT blast, but still a fantastic time.  All the adults just couldn't believe how many kids we all have at this point.  Kind of crazy to see the house and yard over-run with little ones!  If we had our 3rd one before this cookout, the adults actually would've been outnumbered!  The kids all did great with the heat, but they were all especially happy when we broke out the sprinkler.  Here are a few shots of my boys running around getting cooled off.  Tavin just loves water this summer.  I'm so excited that he's into it!  He gets so overheated, I'm glad he can enjoy these simple ways of cooling off!

We got the boys into bed a little after 8pm and they fell asleep fast!  Doug and I were exhausted from the heat and sun too and I turned in around 9:15pm!  A good night's sleep feels great though.  We had a great Memorial Day together as a family and with friends.  It really feels like summer now!

First Sprinkler of the Summer

Last night I got the sprinkler out for the boys to play in before dinner.  It was muggy and hot all day here and that is going to be the theme throughout the weekend, so I figured that we had to do something to keep them cool outside.  Koen was so excited about the idea, but I was curious to see how Tavin would do.  Well, as you can see in this video (and hear in his squeals of delight), they both turned out to love the activity.  At this point in the evening Tavin was still sticking to the sides and thinking it was awesome, but about 10 minutes later he got very courageous and followed his big brother right through the middle and by the end was happy to stand over the spray and stick his face in to get a drink.  Looks like we will be using the sprinkler a lot this summer!

And My Last Full Morning with Just Tavin

Last year was fun with Tavin when Koen was off at preschool, but ever since Tav hit this fun 2 year old stage, these mornings alone with him or hanging out with him and friends have been such a special time for us.  He is a joy to get to spend time with one-on-one without the influence of his brother.  I love watching those two together, but when you separate Tav from Koen his true personality shines through and it is precious.  So, today I kept my camera close by so that I could document our last one-on-one morning for awhile with preschool ending and new baby arriving in the coming weeks.  


We started our morning by baking cookies for yet another friend who had her baby.  Tavin loves to "help" with his own supplies.  So, macaroni cookies it was for Tav.

He's so into it and concentrates very hard, jabbering away the whole time.  My little sidekick.  While we waited for the cookies to bake, we spent some time watching Doug mow the lawn.  Tavin has taken to pretending to mow grass with the toy tractors.  You can see in the picture that once Tav heard Doug start mowing he ran to get his tractor (and his pal Corduroy) to watch Daddy.  By the way, is he not the cutest in just his diaper?  It's warm here and he got messy at breakfast, so he sported this look for awhile this morning.

Later we got ready (meaning put Tav in an outfit finally!) and then headed out to the hospital to drop off the baked treat.  After our visit to the baby (when leaving Tavin said, "more baby...mommy baby out," I completely agree, buddy), we played ball for awhile in Friendship Park.  Tavin was being silly rolling around in the grass.  Here's a picture of him sucking his thumb pretending to take a nap...

And then I totally caught this one by accident a few minutes later.  So sweet!

When we got home, Doug was hard at work in the backyard still.  This is the theme this Spring and I am so appreciative.  He is just blasting through projects that we've thought of and put on hold other years.  Thanks, babe!  Well, Tavin saw Daddy with shovels, dirt and buckets and couldn't resist jumping in.  I lathered him up with sunscreen and he stayed in the backyard for the remainder of time Koen was at preschool.  Here he is keeping busy "helping" Daddy and playing with his loader.  

While Doug got Koen and ran an errand with him, I fed Tavin in the backyard in the shade.  It was really sweet.  I love my little bug so much.  Today was a great way to end this pattern of life for us for the time being.  He won't realize a difference and will probably be thrilled to have brother around each and every day all summer, but I will miss these special opportunities to just enjoy Tavin Dale and his unique, sweet personality.  I love you, Tavin!

Koen's Last Full Day of Preschool

Doug reminded me before Koen left this morning that today was Koen's last day of preschool.  Monday is the holiday and Wednesday is just a brief day with the graduation ceremony.  So, of course, we had to get a quick photo for the blog.  Here's my big boy heading out for his last day of preschool, I can't believe in just a few months we'll be snapping a picture as he goes off to Kindergarten!!

It's been a fantastic year at the preschool which has proved to be a major blessing to us between their caring staff, great curriculum and fun experiences.  We are sad that we won't be back at preschool next year, but we've already sent in an application for Tavin for the 2013-14 year, so we look forward to lots of memories for Tavin there too.

Garfield Community Farm Volunteer Night

Our church has partnered with a great organization, the Garfield Community Farm, in the nearby neighborhood of Garfield.  Doug has loved this idea from the start and was so excited to get involved.  We both come from families where gardening is enjoyed and we've also had a lot of fun gardening in our small yard over the years here.  Doug was particularly excited to get Koen up to the farm for their volunteer nights.  Tonight was the first one and Doug said Koen did a great job listening to instructions and being a helpful gardener.  Here are a few pictures.  

I don't have a lot of details from Doug, but I'm sure you will be hearing a lot more about the farm and their adventures in volunteering there throughout the summer.  If you are interested in checking out the farm, the organization or are interested in purchasing vegetables and fruits from them at their farmer's market or through their weekly CSA, check out their website, http://garfieldfarm.com/.  

Blue Slide Park Visit

It's really starting to feel like summer here in the Burgh.  It's near 80 every afternoon, we've planted most of our garden, Koen only has a few days left of preschool and this weekend is Memorial Day.  My summer will certainly look a lot different this year with a newborn, but the promise of summer around the corner also means this baby will arrive soon!Since we are really lacking rain here, every day is a great chance to get outside and doing something in the sunshine.  


Today we met some friends at Blue Slide Park in Frick Park.  Koen and his buddy, Owen, and his preschool friend, Griffin, who just happened to be there too, pretty much did the huge blue slide the entire time we were there.  Koen had a blast!  He came home with some elbow and knee burns from some pretty tricky moves he attempted, but it was worth it to him for sure.  

All this activity in the heat definitely wore him out as he took a nap today (third day in a row after weeks of only one or so a week).  Tavin also kept very busy during this visit to the playground.  He was very independent and although he wanted to stay close to Mommy, he made some new strides in accomplishing some stairs and the shaky bridge at this park all on his own for the first time.  Here's my proud little man conquering a steep set of stairs.

After our long playdate, we still had a few extra minutes to spare before naptime, so we swung into the Squirrel Hill library to pick up some new books.  It helps me find different books to visit different libraries from time to time.  I think we found some winners today.  I love new book day!  And so do the boys.  We had so much reading before their naps.  Reading with the boys is one of my all time favorite things in our day.  And I love that Tavin is getting just as into it as his big brother (although most of his books still include lots of sounds, motions and of course, trucks or trains).

It was a great morning (well except for the Target trip I snuck in on the way to the playground, could be the last time I take both boys with me for awhile...phew!).  The afternoon was quiet since the boys both slept for awhile.  We all needed the down time.  Stay tuned for what Koen and Doug did after naptime. =)

Photo Opp with Daddy

So, today the boys and I had a few visits to friends with new babies (have you noticed a trend? I think we have a half dozen friends who have had babies in the last 6 weeks!).  Then we also had scheduled an informal photo shoot with a friend of mine who does photography.  I had some sweet pictures done with Koen when I was pregnant with Tavin and these pictures ended up being really precious to me, just capturing that moment in life when it was just Koen and I most days.  And it was also fun to have pictures of me with the big belly and the expectation of baby #2.  I thought it would be nice to do a similar photo shoot this time around as well.  The boys were troopers and Koen especially was very cooperative and a good leader to his brother. We did the shoot on Washington's Landing and the boys just loved running around in the woods and through the grass, so it wasn't too hard of a job for them.  After our photo shoot (pictures to follow when I get them!), we actually had to pick up Doug so that he could have the car for the afternoon.  Doug wanted to take advantage of the fact he was in work clothes and the boys were dressed cute, so we took a few pictures of all 3 of them on the front porch.  I sure hope a few of my pics with the boys today turned out as sweet as these!!  Oh, my boys!

Quick Grampa Visit

It's been a busy few days, so sorry about no blog posts!  Grampa stopped in here on his way back from a conference in Dayton, Ohio.  We look forward to this visit every year.  It's especially nice because he always arrives on a Sunday and that is always a long day for me since Doug works a 12 hour day at least.  The boys were so excited Grampa was on his way.  To kill the time after lunch as we waited, the boys made some welcome signs.  Koen's is the readable one in red, Tav's is the scribble-fest in blue.

Tav ended up heading to nap before Grampa's arrival and Koen and I kept watch. Grampa arrived a little before 3pm and Koen gave him such a great hug.  He just wanted to keep loving on Grampa, it was so sweet.  Grampa got right to work and took Koen up for rest-time (most days K isn't napping) and read him a few books.  Dad and I got to catch up a little bit while Koen rested.  Then Koen came down at 4pm to join us.  He and Grampa got to work on a job outside right away and then they knocked out a quick repair on Koen's ceiling fan at 5pm after Tavin got up from nap.  Tavin was super excited to see Grampa after nap by the way.  So cute!  We hung out in the backyard and even ate dinner out there together.  Koen got a little weird, probably just over-tired, a little too overheated, perhaps hungry and also wired with the fun of having Grampa here.  It was frustrating though because he wasn't as much fun as he can be.  Oh well, that's a 5 year old for you!  We still had a really nice birthday celebration for Grampa though.  His birthday was the 6th, but after forgetting to send a card, Koen and I decided we would pay him back by re-celebrating his birthday during this visit.  Grampa was pretty excited to be with his grandsons and getting all this attention.  

Dad handled cleaning up the backyard and I laid Tavin down.  Then I got Koen through the shower and Dad took over with laying him down too.  Yay!  Love having an extra hand on a Sunday and having it be my Daddy makes it even better.  =)

On Monday, Koen woke up in quite a mood.  When I say that, I mean it.  Really odd.  But this occurs sometimes, I was just bummed it was during Grampa's stay.  An example of the mood that Koen was in is best evidenced by the fact that when he went to the bathroom during breakfast he actually went #1 in the trash can in the bathroom.  Yep, that's right.  Disgusting.  He got quite a talking to and also had to clean out the stinking trash and wash the can himself (he wasn't too happy about it).  After that fun, I took Koen to preschool and Tavin stayed happily with Grampa.  It made Grampa so happy that Tav was so comfortable with him.  I ran a few errands and got back to the house a little before 10am.  Tav and Grampa were having a blast together just hanging out in the playroom (I guess they also did play a little in the backyard too).  I enjoyed joining them and then just chilling out with Tavin and taking a walk with his wagon while Dad got to work on another little project.

The rest of the day was pretty normal.  We picked up Koen, had lunch, Tav napped, Koen didn't (even though he totally seemed like he needed it after his weird mood and terrible behavior continuing after preschool).  After nap we headed to meet Doug out for dinner.  We had a nice, simple and delicious meal at Bites & Brews on Ellsworth enjoying the beautiful evening.  Here's a picture of Grampa walking his grandsons to dinner.  Precious.

Koen bounced back after a hearty meal (he and Tavin really impressed Grampa with how much they could consume!).  And he had a nice night getting laid down by his Daddy, which was good to see after such a weird day.  Dad and I finished one last project before hanging out with Doug for a little while.  This morning Dad left right after I got the boys up.  Thankfully the boys didn't get too sad as I was able to comfort them that Grampa would be back soon when baby #3 arrives.  They loved seeing him off though and gave him sweet hugs and kisses.  Thanks for a great visit, Dad.  We will be counting the days until your next visit (because we love having you and because we can't wait for this new little one to arrive!).

Touch-A-Truck with Tavin

Today Tavin and I had our own adventure.  Lately it's been Doug and Koen that head out on exciting outings and the little guy and I stay home (which we always enjoy), but today was different, Tavin and I had the adventure.  Koen and Doug headed off to soccer practice and Tavin and I walked to the Strip District with my friend Audrey and her kids for the Touch-A-Truck event.  Tavin is so into trucks these days, I knew he would enjoy it.  I was definitely right!  Not to mention all the garbage trucks we saw on the hour long walk.  I didn't know so many worked on Saturday, but Tavin was thrilled with all the "grr, clunk, thunk, thunk," that's his way of saying garbage truck due to a book we had months ago.  When we arrived Tavin immediately got out of the stroller and never got back in.  He stayed with me the whole time, but was so excited to just be around the trucks.  He even did these adorable happy dances while waiting in line to get into the trucks.  Here are the pictures that basically take you through all the trucks Tavin got to check out today...


First up was the digger, or excavator.  The loader, roller and excavator top his favorite truck list, so he was eager to check out the digger up close.  Here he is looking puzzled that he can get this close to this anomaly which is normally viewed from a distance. 

And look at the inquisitive look at the digger device.

Tavin was so patient in line and thrilled when it was his turn.  

So proud of himself pressing the horn (and it was a loud one!).

After waiting in line for the digger, I decided to develop a strategy for viewing these trucks, but limiting wait time.  Tavin totally rolled with the plan.  Look for no line or shortest line and talk up whichever vehicle that was.  It worked marvelously and we spent most our time in vehicles as opposed to waiting outside of them.  Here's Tavin in a massive tow truck.  He was up very high and you can see he is quite brave and totally fine with it. 

Next he visited a huge snowplow from the Pittsburgh International Airport.  Grampa, Tav needs a little help on how to hold a radio mic.

In every truck, the buttons were almost as exciting as the steering wheel, stick shifts and horn.  And as he pressed them he would chat away in his language about what he was doing. So precious!

Eventually he made it into the driver's seat (which oddly was on the right) of the snowplow.

Here he is in the cab of a shiny new tractor trailer.

So proud of himself. =)

Since I feel often as though it looks like I'm not even at these fun things with the boys, I attempted to actually get in a photo with Tav.  He was a little too busy to stay still for a picture.  Here he is saying "cheese" while wriggling out of our photo moment.  Oh well, I tried and at least it's proof that I'm there!

Tav was very excited about the mail truck.  We see our mailman's truck on a daily basis, so it was so fun for Tavin to get to experience the vehicle for himself instead of from the vantage point of the front porch.  

The last thing we did before heading out to get picked up by Doug and Koen (no way I was forcing my prego body to walk up the huge hill home for an hour!) was to sit in the monster truck.  Tavin and Xavier shared a turn since we sort of joined up in the long line with our friends to check in on them.  Xav was really nice to share his turn.  Tavin looks like he's trying to figure out how to get into the driver's seat.  The monster truck driver was there signing pictures of the truck and he gave Tavin one.  Tavin was so proud of himself, it was precious.  He couldn't wait to show it to Brother and Doug!

Around 12:45pm Doug and Koen picked us up (I strategically walked away from the event so Koen couldn't really tell what he had missed out on) and we all headed home for lunch, water intake and the shade of the cool house.  It was a great morning with my little bug.  I loved it.  Thanks, Tavin. 

Another Daddy Date for Koen

Koen has been enjoying quite a bit of quality Daddy time this Spring between their special outings, projects in the backyard and errands.  It's been great for Koen.  He's definitely at that age where he needs that extra Daddy time and Doug is so great at making those moments possible as often as he can.  I see a real difference in Koen when he gets the Daddy times he naturally needs, it's so good for him.  Tavin loves to be included, but he's not yet at this same stage in life (which means he still loves hanging back with me for quality Mommy time).  Anyways, tonight Doug had tickets to the Pitt baseball game.  We've never attended a game there before and Doug just raved about it.  A beautiful night in general, but the new stadium has a great view of downtown, is very family friendly, affordable and fun.  Koen did a great job being a big boy and due to the more low key feeling of the field, he was very interested in the game and was intrigued to learn about the game.  I look forward to hopefully going next season as it sounded like it was a blast!  Here's the picture I got of my big boy Pitt fan from Doug during their time at the game...

Thanks for being such a fun Daddy, Douglas.  Koen is truly blessed (and Tavin too).  Looking forward to more family time tomorrow.

Pittsburgh International Children's Festival, Part II

So today we got to go back to the festival as a big happy family.  Koen had preschool this morning, so Doug, Tavin and I picked him up and headed to Schenley Plaza to take in the sights and have a picnic lunch.  We didn't have much time before nap, so it was a quick visit, but a really nice one.  Such a beautiful day too.  We brought the wagon for Tavin to pull (we get so many comments about him huffing around pulling that huge thing and today it even had my bag in it and the cooler.  He's quite a tough guy (and we got several comments about the genius of making your kid pull something instead of pulling/pushing the kid, not my intention, but a good point).  And Koen rode his scooter (it is a brilliant help when we need him to walk, makes it fun and fast for him!).  When we got to the plaza we checked out some booths and the boys were very interested in the hula hoops.  

And you are going to love this adorable video of Tav attempting the hula hoop...

The boys were pretty hungry as usual (despite the fact Tavin had 3 breakfasts this morning!), so we headed to the big tent to have lunch and watch a school perform old TV theme songs.  We bumped into Koen's little friend, Hannah, and her mom, Maria, which was a fun bonus!

Like I said, it was going to be a quick visit, so after lunch we wandered around checking out a few more exhibits and then finished with the petting zoo.  Due to being pregnant, I didn't want to be in with the animals, so Doug did the literal dirty work.  The boys were intrigued by the cute animals.  Tav was more timid than I expected (he loves animals!) and Koen was actually more brave than I thought he would be.  Interesting!

Thanks to everyone at the Pittsburgh International Children's Festival.  We definitely enjoyed our visits again this year and look forward to future festivals.  Gotta say, we love this town and all it offers our family!