Labor Day Weekend 2012

I decided to just do one big post for this long weekend.  It's been a really nice one with family and friends.

On Saturday we hung out with our friends, Dennis and Julia and their little ones, Keely and Jay.  We went to their part of town, the North Side.  Julia and I stayed behind at the house for a little while to feed the babies.  Then Jay and Penn had a little playtime while we finished packing up to go meet the Daddies and big kids.

I feel like Penn is already teething.  He is always cramming his hands or wrists and sometimes even his forearm into his mouth and trying to gnaw or suck on it. It's really cute (and sometimes really loud).  Here's a shot of the new pastime.

Although the little guys thought they were having a blast staring at toys and chewing on their knuckles, the big kids were the ones really having a good time down by the river in the fountain.  Here are the pictures I got from Doug.

When Julia and I walked over in the mid-80 heat, sun and crazy high humidity we were so excited to join the big kids and Daddies in the refreshing fountain.  It worked wonders on our comfort level in the elements.  After cooling off, we found a nice picnic spot under a tree and enjoyed lunch together before having to head back home.  It was a simple, super fun morning.  My favorite kind.  I was so happy I got to be involved in this family outing.  Many of them this summer I've opted out on to keep Penn home or get some things done in the peace and quiet at home, but this was such a nice time with our friends and as a family, I'm so glad Penn and I could join!

On Sunday we went to the 9am service at church and then did our usual post-church stop at Andersen playground at Schenley.  It was super humid again and really overcast, but I was glad I risked it because we didn't see a drop of rain and the boys had a blast on the sparsely populated playground.  They pretended one of the playground equipment areas was a big ship.  Koen was of course bossing Tavin around ordering him all around the deck, up and down the fictitious mast and dropping anchor.  Here's the only picture I got of the big boys.

Penn was in and out of sleep while we were there.  During one of his sleepy moments he had his hands up, just frozen in mid-air.  So funny.  

The boys and I had our own little picnic and then drove back to church to pick up Doug after the second service.  It's our new routine so that he can drop us at home and head back to Oakland with the car so he can get home quickly after the fourth service much later in the evening.  It's so nice how we are settling back into a normal routine after a summer of figuring it all out.  Before heading into our actual Labor Day activities, here are a few close-ups of Penn I took on Sunday afternoon.  Those cheeks just keep getting chunkier!  

On Monday Doug had the great idea to take the boys downtown for the Labor Day parade.  They were very excited to ride the bus with Daddy to this fun event.  This was Tavin's first bus ride.  Here they are waiting for the bus to arrive.

And then on the bus (Tavin was apparently quite a hit with the passengers as he called out everything they passed by and made different sound effects for the bus noises and things he saw).

The parade was not exactly "well attended."  As you can see, when the boys arrived a little before 10am (the start time), there was no one there.  

It didn't matter.  My Melder boys had a blast anyways.

Since there were so few attenders, the boys made a killing getting a backpack full of candy (which thankfully the boys aren't interested in, so we just put it away for Halloween), toys, pencils and these flags.  

Doug said there weren't as many floats and entertainment pieces in this parade as in some we've attended.  Lots of unions walking with flags, etc.  This was a cool one though.  A little ode to the steel workers.

And here are the boys enjoying the one of the many bands that passed by.  Tavin must have burned 1200 calories with each band that passed.  That kid can move and keep busy!  No wonder he's napping hard right now!

So, what did Penn and I do while the big boys were away?  Well, for one, we enjoyed some peace and quiet!  But we also got some vacuuming and dusting accomplished (ok, that was me, not Penn), we got to watch Ellen while I fed Penn, a big treat since usually it's pandemonium when I'm feeding Penn at that hour.  Then Penn and I had a little photo shoot and video fun.

Soon after we finished this fun time, I realized I had wanted to give Penn a bath while the boys were out, so we moved on to that activity.  He loved it yet again and he looked so adorable in his towel hood, I had to share this pictures too.

After the quiet with Penn this morning, the boys came home and filled the house with noise and fun again.  They laid down early for their naps.  Tavin crashed, but Koen played through his rest time (I couldn't believe it!).  We woke/got them early and headed to our friends' house in Regent Square for a Labor Day cookout.  I brought my camera, but it was a busy and fun time with lots of friends and kids, so I ended up not getting any pictures.  But it was a great end to a wonderful weekend.  Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall: a new season, routine and chapter in our lives!