Divide and Conquer, Part I

So, this weekend is very special.  Koen went to preschool as usual this morning, but when Doug picked him up at noon, they headed out to Carlisle, PA to visit Nana and PopPop, Doug's parents.  That left Tavin and I here to fend for ourselves, a.k.a. love being just the two of us.  Koen was so excited to go out to his grandparents just him and Daddy.  Doug was really excited to spend some special one-on-one time with his first-born.  Apparently, their trip out went very well.  They arrived in Carlisle by 5pm.  Meanwhile, Tavin and I had a very nice day.  In the morning we hung out while Doug went to the gym and got packed, then Doug took over on Tavin duty so that I could run a quick errand.  When I came home we bid farewell to Daddy and I made lunch for us to eat on the front porch.  Tavin chatted it up with me and our neighbors, played with his little buddy, "Annie," and enjoyed his lunch.  We ended up being on the front porch for over an hour playing, watching the traffic and busyness.  

He was so sweet all day.  Earlier in the morning we were hanging out in the playroom and he came over with his blanket, "choo choo," and he laid it over my stomach and said, "baby nap."  And then he laid his head down on my belly and sucked his thumb.  It was precious.  While we were on the porch he came over to my belly and rested his head on it and stuck his thumb in again.  Pretty sweet.  I'm sure he just likes my belly as a pillow, but I also know he is a sweetheart and loves to snuggle.  It's precious he's already loving up on this little one.

I think he was also getting a little tired.  We headed up for naptime shortly afterwards.  I thought maybe with such a different day (meaning, no brother around!) that he might not settle in for a nap well, but thankfully I was wrong.  He took a great nap and I enjoyed it so much.  Koen has been dropping his nap and is usually chatting away or singing in his room for an hour and a half or two in the afternoons while he plays, then he's usually with me downstairs for the last hour of Tavin's down time.  It was nice to have the whole afternoon to myself.  I worked on a wall art project for the office (if it's successful, I will probably post something about my triumph, we'll see).  I also went through the baby clothes stored in the basement and got out all the neutral newborn and 0-3 month summer-appropriate clothing to be washed tomorrow.  Super fun looking at the tiny clothes!  


After naptime, Tavin and I headed to the playground with his wagon.  Sometimes he seems like he doesn't know what to do without his brother at a playground just with me, but today that was not the case.  He loved climbing all over the equipment.  Here are the cute pics from our walk to the playground and our time there...

Did you catch those amazing blue eyes?  Sorry about the smudge on the last photo, just a friendly expletive someone left on the playground - classy.


After our playground visit we walked home, had dinner, played a little more and before I knew it it was time for Tav's bedtime.  What a sweet day!  So much less stressful when just watching after one (and it obviously makes a difference that this one is still in that sweet, young stage - pre-disciplinary issues every second).


After I laid Tav down, I got an update from Doug with this picture...

Koen apparently had an amazing evening.  He was very well-behaved, ate an amazing dinner (Doug's mom made porterhouse steak, shrimp, asparagus and corn on the cob...yum!), and was enjoying some special Nana time.  I hope Doug will send me more pictures tomorrow.  I wish I could be a fly on the wall.  He's such a big boy!