Penn Rye, you are 5 months old!

My how time flies!  I love this stage, but with every passing week and month I feel like Penn is growing up too fast.  I wish you could extend each month and the sweet developments that come with it for a few extra weeks (ok, months, but you get the point).  Well, on the 26th it struck me that oh my goodness, Penn is already 5 months!  Here are a few shots of his sweet face over the last few days so that you can see a glimpse of Penn at this milestone.

Penn, like his brothers, is a thumb sucker.  He often likes to stick it in between bites of rice cereal.  He's not a big fan of the solid food he's been introduced to, so I think the thumb sucking is his way of getting through it.

Although Koen is pretty much the "baby whisperer," Penn spends more of his time with Tavin due to Koen being at school 5 mornings a week.  Randomly one day Tav was in his bed and laid Penn down next to him.  Tav didn't want to let go and Penn was loving it.

At 5 months, Penn has one tooth through and moving up on a daily basis, another tooth obviously under the surface and then a third you can just make out that will probably be more apparent within a day or two.  This whole development has occurred within about a week.  Imagine the pain he's experiencing and yet he's a happy, sweet little baby boy all day long.  I'm so blessed!  Here are my attempts to show off his tooth/teeth.

Here's a very brief video where I was trying to get a glimpse of his tooth.  He was just being so sweet in my arms smiling at the lights in the ceiling, I had to grab the camera and attempt to capture it.  I didn't get much, but I thought I'd share.

Tonight I was enjoying some face time with my littlest man right before his bedtime and I got a few more shots of his sweet (although rashy) face, tooth included.

A little video.  He's drooling and just trying to munch on my knuckles, but if you look closely you can see that pearly white!

Penn Rye, you are such a beautiful and pleasant little guy.  I'm so thankful on a daily basis that we decided to go for number 3.  You are a treasure to me!

Tavin's Social Calendar

It's been a fun and busy week for Tavin.  Somehow I stacked our schedule this week and we've been enjoying a lot of time with friends.  Yesterday, Miss Kyndal came over with Kaiser, Porter and Malone.  The little guys had such a nice time playing together/around each other.  They all do very well together since there is just about 2 years between the oldest and youngest and Tav is practically right in between the two of them.  Here are a few shots of their busy playdate. 

As you can see, Penn got in on the action this time too.  Here are two more shots I got of his cute face amidst him trying to take in all the busyness going on around him.

We love hanging out with the Bralys.  The boys get along.  Penn and Malone hang out and eat, sleep and be cute.  And Kyndal and I get to chat.  What more could you want out of a playdate?

Today we had another friend over.  Tav's new buddy, Natalie.  We met her at a playground near our home and Natalie's mom and I have totally hit it off.  It's so fun developing some friends for Tav and I love meeting other moms in this same life stage and enjoying a morning together chatting it up and enjoying watching our kids play together.  I didn't catch any pics of Tav and Natalie, but I did get a picture of a project they did while we weren't really paying attention.  Look who made it into a traffic jam in the car tracks?  Is that Baby Jesus??  I was laughing so hard!

Well, that's it for now.  We've been busy this week with playdates, entertaining, big boys sharing their room, Doug out with meetings, etc., etc.  I'm happy I'm finally catching up a little on the blog.  Hate to get behind!

Church of the Home Again

With Doug called in to preach this weekend, I again didn't have a car.  This week I was much more up for the challenge of taking all 3 boys down to the East End campus on foot, but unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate with that plan.  It was in the 20's this morning and then there was also snow for most of the early morning hours.  Penn's cheeks are already red and chapped (as are Koen's and Tav's, I don't know what it is with these kids!) just from the dry air in the house, the cool temps outside would probably not help at all and not to mention it might be a little upsetting to him anyways.  Also, I don't even want to think about all the spills Koen would have on his scooter going downhill on the slick sidewalks covered with a thin layer of snow.  So, back to Church of the Home for us.  Koen was very pleased (although I again stressed that it's important to be out with the community and have fellowship).  I had thankfully already thought of a plan for if this situation occurred.  Today's theme was Matthew 12:34, "Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks."  We started around 9:30am after I had laid Penn down for his nap and gotten the final preparations for our church time completed.  Koen brought his guitar down and we started with a few favorite "God wuvwuv me" songs for Tavin.  Then we sang "Our God is an Awesome God" as that is one of Koen's favorites from chapel at school.  Then I had a CD with a children's song that was Matthew 12:34 that the boys really enjoy, so we did that a few times.  Then I read the Scripture of Matthew 12:34 and the following verses and briefly explained it (more to K's level than T's).  After that I let them watch a short Bible-based DVD (Davey and Goliath from the 70's or 80's...it's claymation, totally old-school and Koen loves it!).  After the show, the boys got to have a snack and then we set up the main activity.  It was a little object lesson (Dad you'll love it).  Here's the link to where I found it originally.  
http://godcenteredmom.com/2012/06/08/out-of-the-heart-the-mouth-speaks-an-activity/
It was such a good way to illustrate that what we put in is what comes out when we are upset.  Koen completely got it.  He said, "hey mommy, that's like what we just learned, that out of what's inside comes out of our mouth!"  Yay!  So, first I showed them the two identical jars that look just fine on the outside.

Then I said, "I wonder what's inside?"  "What happens when we upset the jars and turn them over and dump them out.  Hmmm, this one is all clear, I wonder what that could be?"  Koen guessed water.  "And what's this one?"  Koen guessed hair gel.  Well, it turns out that one is vinegar and one is honey.  I had the boys taste and smell each one.  Here's Koen's vinegar reaction (and yes, sorry about the messy hair, still working on a hair cut appointment!).

Tavin wasn't quite sure about the whole experiment.

Koen could not get enough of the honey!  

Koen totally tracked with me that the vinegar was bad and the honey was good.  What goes inside the jar (or person) is what's important and whatever you put in is bound to come out at some point especially when you are upset.  Then we talked about the good things we could put in our hearts, minds and thoughts.  They got to color a picture of those things (Koen drew the Bible and Tav drew an airplane). =)  Next I had them take GOOD ingredients to make GOOD banana bread.  They were pretty psyched about baking all together.  So we put the yummy ingredients in and got some yummy bread from it.  Here are the little bakers...

It was a really special time with my boys.  Doing these activities with them to make a concerted effort to still spend time with the Lord when we are unable to go to church gives us a real great opportunity to just work together and learn together.  I've really enjoyed it the last two weeks, but I also miss my friends and the teaching at church and I can't wait to go next week!

Daddy Time & Snowman Buddy Craft

After a long week, we've been enjoying a little more family time (and I'm loving having Doug around for backup!).  Yesterday he took Koen and Tavin out all morning to the Carnegie Science Center.  They had a great time together.  Here are the boys enjoying lunch overlooking the city (they look a little tired...could it be the early wake-up?).

On the way home Doug took the boys to see the big tree at PPG Square.  It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Doug made a slight mistake and got the boys hot cocoa.  In their overtiredness, the sugar was a disastrous combo and they were silly and disobedient upon coming home.  Oh well, I was ramped up for it after a nice morning to myself while Penn slept and I had a blast getting through a bunch of small tasks and just enjoyed the quiet during that time.  Doug did a great job with them in the AM and then he had to work all afternoon as he found out yesterday morning that he will be preaching this weekend, the pastor scheduled to preach got sick.  Doug's had a great attitude about it and I'm happy that he's available to do it.  It changes our plans this weekend a little, but for the most part we were free, so it's not a big deal.  Anyways, I tried to give Doug space to get some work done most of the afternoon, but he did manage to squeeze in a bike ride with Koen from 5 to 5:45pm.  Koen loved it and did very well as they did a hilly trek.  

Today Doug took the boys out this morning (again impressive since he has to leave midday to go up and prepare for preaching tonight).  They went and ran some grocery errands and made a stop at the library.  Before leaving, Doug had a special time hanging with Penn while the big boys were playing.  

We had a nice lunch together (turkey soup!) and then Doug took off.  Tavin was pretty much ready for a nap after that.  And I'm trying to lay him down earlier anyways to help with the nighttime go-to-sleep process, so he went down pretty quick.  Then Penn was ready to go down too.  That left Koen and I some special time together since I had gotten a lot of stuff done in the AM while the big boys were out and Penn was napping.  Anyways, I'd been looking forward to doing some adaptation of the craft at this link (by the way, love this site - so encouraging!).  
http://www.themobsociety.com/2012/11/kids-christmas-crafts-for-the-non-crafty-mom/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheMobSociety+%28The+MOB+Society%29
The mom at that link did the crafty part herself (which is why her finished product looks a lot better than ours!), but I knew Koen would enjoy the cutting, gluing and coloring.  It's more important that we enjoy the project together than that it looks perfect.  (As a perfectionist, I have to remind myself of this over and over).  Koen loved the craft.

We are going to use the snowmen a little bit differently.  We talked about the Bible verses that encourage brotherly love and good behavior towards one another and then whenever I see one of the brothers displaying the truths in the verses, they get to keep the snowman as their buddy for the day.  It can sleep by their bed, come to the meal with them, etc.  The verses are mentioned in the link I posted, but they all talk about love, kindness, forgiveness, compassion, building each other up, etc.  Koen seems pretty excited about getting a snowman buddy!

Back Up & Running!!!

A BIG thanks to my friend, Sky, who did a little research and uncovered a way to keep blogging despite having reached my limit (see comments in my "On Hold" post if you are having the same problem.  Looks like there are a few free solutions that will allow me to keep uploading pictures and keeping you aware of what the Melders are up to.  You can all breathe a big sigh of relief now.  Phew! =)

Happy Thanksgiving 2012!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving here at home with Doug's parents and brother.  So much to be thankful for this year!  First off, it's crazy to think that a year ago we were just announcing that we were pregnant and then this year we have an adorable, happy, healthy almost 5 month old!  Such a blessing!  Then there are the two other little guys that we enjoy so much.  We are so thankful to have one another and still be best friends after over a decade of marriage.  Those are the top items along with our salvation in Jesus Christ.  Then there are so many other blessings especially those dear relationships we have in our family and friends.  We are richly, richly blessed!  And we had a wonderful day celebrating all of that.  

Before Doug's parents arrived Douglas was super busy with the big boys hanging their name letters above their beds in their rooms and a few other little finishing touches up there.  I was able to set the dining room table and set out the place cards Koen made with me a few days ago.  I think it was cute, not fancy, but cute.  

Koen also helped me make a cornucopia which they had talked a lot about at school.  He was so excited to find out I had one in the basement and we used fruits and veggies we had on hand.  I think it turned out pretty cute!

Then Doug and Koen worked on some lunch prep while I hung out with Tavin.  

Doug's parents got in around 10:15am.  The boys were so thrilled to see them.  We had a little snack to hold us over until lunchtime (set to be about 1:30pm) and then the boys got to open a few gifts that Uncle David and Nana and PopPop had brought with them.  The boys were pretty excited about that!  

Uncle David gave Koen a helicopter Lego set, which he later helped Koen assemble with so much patience.  It was so great to watch them work together and Koen LOVES his new toy!

Nana & PopPop gave the boys several new lovely books.  We've been re-reading them ever since (Tavin loves his Olivia and Puff the Magic Dragon, we've read them twice a day at least!).

After the present opening we thought it was a good idea to get the big boys outside.  Doug and Koen set up a game of soccer out there.  While they were doing that, I brought Penn down after feeding him and he got to reunite with his loving grandparents.  As you can see, he had some special moments with his Nana!

Uncle David also got a sweet snuggle...

Koen and Doug really enjoyed their soccer game and David and Nana got some fresh air with Penn as the big cheerleader for Koen.  

Tavin hit a wall (probably tired from the earlier than normal wake-ups this week now that he's so pumped to be sharing a room with big brother!) and PopPop came to his rescue and took him inside to read some books.  Tavin loved that time!

 Tavin was super lovey with PopPop all day.  Here he is snuggled up for a photo.

 And how sweet and special is this!  One of my all time favorites!

The turkey and all the fixings were done and ready to go right on time, so we all sat down to the meal.  Here's the bird bursting with flavor and stuffing, just jumping out of its skin!

Tavin and Penn both went down for their naps about 10 minutes into their meal.  They were so tired from the special morning with family and napped great.  The rest of us (adults and Koen) hung out at the table just enjoying each other and the meal for awhile.  I love it when the meal lingers like that on Thanksgiving.  Koen did an amazing job hanging with the adults. He ate a good meal and then happily played with his helicopter for a long time while we finished up and did dishes.  Everyone of course got pretty tired, so we let Koen snuggle up on the couch and watch Polar Express with Doug, David and PopPop and Nana and I did the dishes and then headed out on a lovely walk to enjoy the mild Fall day and sunshine.  That was another favorite part of my day.  I love my mother-in-law and the chance to walk and chat was so nice after the busyness of the morning.  When we got home, all the men were asleep and Koen was glued to the movie.  Classic!  I fed Penn at 4pm and then woke Tav up from a sound slumber still at 4:30pm, then we had pumpkin pie and then Nana, PopPop & Uncle David had to get on the road.  Tavin was so sad to see them go.  He said, "more Nannie PopPop, Mommy, I wuv Nannie PopPop."  How precious!  Thanks for a great visit, Mom, Dad and David.  What a great day!

Our little family had a nice end to the evening.  We took the boys out on a walk around 5pm and just looped through the neighborhood.  It was so nice to be out as the 5 of us enjoying the fresh air and the simple time together.  I loved it.  Then after the boys' bedtimes Doug and I had delicious turkey sandwiches and just relaxed.  I hit the hay at 9pm.  So tired, but so thankful. =)

On Hold

Well, I got some upsetting blogger news yesterday.  Apparently I've hit my 1GB limit on blogger.  I actually didn't realize there was a limit.  Oops!  Anyways, I'm reviewing my options so that the blog can go on.  In the meantime, I won't be able to load any pictures or videos, so for those of you that read my blog, you know that means that I won't really be posting anything until I figure this out.  Hopefully I'll have it ironed out by early next week (not that any of you are really on the edge of your seats waiting for more Melder updates).  Thanks for your patience!

Similar Swing Shots

So, I was hoping I'd find some even better pictures than what I found, but at least these swing pictures are all from the same timeframe.  All the boys are approximately 4 and 1/2 months old in these pics and they are all super cute.  There are definitely similarities, but what do you think?

Penn Rye (Teddy Bear)

Tavin Dale

Koen Douglas