Nana & Danny Visit!

We've been looking forward to a visit from Nana for weeks, but just a few days before the weekend arrived, we found out that the boys' cousin Danny would also be coming along.  Koen was so thrilled (and we were excited too that Koen would have a playmate all weekend!).  Danny is 10 and is such a fantastic kid.  He's sweet and chill and very easy to enjoy.  He's great with our boys and is happy to engage with them even though they are quite a bit younger.  He's been such a blessing to have here!  But wait, I'm getting ahead of myself.  Here's how the weekend has played out thus far...

On Saturday, around 11am, Doug took Koen and Tavin out on their scooters to get some fresh air and wait for Nana's arrival.

While out on their walk, they got to watch some telephone poles being replaced.  They were amazed!  Turned out to be a great entertainment opportunity while they patiently waited for Nana and Danny to get here.

Inside the house I had Penn all decked out in a super cute outfit to just take the cuteness to the highest level for Nana.  Did we accomplish our task?

This was the first time I put Penn in this outfit which is a 6-12 month size from the Gap.  Seems that "long & lean" Penn Rye has already outgrown this size.  In this picture he seems to be saying, "hey Mom, didn't you notice that my pants aren't long enough?"

After Nana arrived, we sat down for lunch.  Koen and Danny got to sit out in the dining room and "catch up."  It was so cute.  Koen was so excited for him to come and then just kind of stared at him.  Danny was a good sport and just hung out in his presence.  

The rest of us were in the kitchen.  It's cute...even Penn was in the lunchtime lineup.

Nana and PopPop always bring gifts along, so the boys couldn't wait any longer and wanted to check out what thoughtful things they brought with them this time.  We tore into the presents right after lunch.  Koen and Tavin both got some cute track pants and tops and they each got a toy too.   Koen was so excited to find he got another little Lego set to work with!

Tav got a drawing board.  He didn't understand what it was at first, but Koen got it (as you can see from his face as he pumps Tav up about it...what a good brother!).

Penn quickly got reacquainted with Nana.  So sweet!

Nana makes everyone happy!

Danny is like Koen in that he is gifted with little ones.  He has patience and an interest in bonding with them.  It's pretty special.  Danny wanted to hold Penn soon after arrival, but Penn was coming up on naptime and was a little nervous being passed around...

While Penn and Tavin napped, Danny, Nana and I played Scrabble.  After Koen's rest time he joined us.  He loved being involved in this game and was actually really patient and listened to my instructions on where to put the tiles, etc. when I tried to include him in my turn.  

After Tav woke up from his nap (well, I woke him up, he was pretty tired from all the AM activity!), Danny and Koen and Nana hung out upstairs while I fed Penn his many dinner courses (after he nurses he now gets cereal and then a green veggie).  Danny read to our two Melder boys for quite awhile.  What a kid!  How special!

The boys were wiped after this special day and went to sleep in an instant I think (at least it was very quiet!).  We had a babysitter come so Doug and I could take Nana out to dinner in the neighborhood.  We caught the last bit of the mild weather and enjoyed the walk, the meal and the conversation.  Family is such a blessing and we are really enjoying this visit!  We got home by 9pm and all headed to bed at a decent hour with Sunday, our family's big, long day, coming up.  Nana, Danny, myself and the boys went to the 9am service.  Koen was so proud to have Danny along at Kidz Church.  Tavin was pretty proud to be going in to brother's age group again and have his Bible and his underpants on.  So cute!  After church we got up to the mall (ugh, I really don't like driving far, the mall or going outside the city, so this was a big deal!) for a free haircut at JCPenney's for Koen.  If you don't know, JCP does free haircuts for kids 5 and up on Sundays.  I figured we should try it out.  Worked out quite well. Here's Koen a little unsure as he got set up.

Penn (after catching a nap at church), was a happy bug hanging out taking it all in.  

The haircut turned out great and we were in and out in 30 minutes.  Phew!  We made it home around noon in time to feed Penn and get the big kids a timely lunch too.  Unfortunately, I forgot to get a picture of Koen's shortest haircut yet (he looks so old!).  So, stay tuned.  I'm sure tomorrow I'll get one of the handsome big boy.  He was all upset tonight that we washed his hair because he said it was going to mess up his haircut.  He was encouraged after we combed it in the mirror and he looked great!  Well, I'm going to sign off for now.  A good day, but I'm exhausted and ready to chill out with Nana until Doug gets home.