Rubber Ducky, You're The One...

Have you heard about this crazy thing?  There is what some people are calling "art" on display in Pittsburgh currently...that's right a giant rubber duck.  I guess the artist feels he's bringing people together all over the world via this monstrosity floating on the waterways.  Hmmm, I'm just curious as to why a giant duck?  I'd understand a giant barge full of food or water, something that all humanity needs, or perhaps even a peace sign, but a giant rubber ducky??  Well, art has often escaped me, so I don't think there's a chance I'm going to be able to wrap my head around this one.  But we might as well enjoy it!  Today Doug was able to hang out after dropping Koen after his bus pick-up and he took the big boys to view the floating art piece.  Here they are running down towards the river to see what awaits them.

And here they are with the crazy huge duck.  As Tav says, "Quack, Quack!"

Doug was wise and let them run off some more of that boyish energy on the way back to the car.  Seriously, Pittsburgh is so fun.

Well, boys, consider yourselves cultured (by a big duck!).

The Kissing Hand

On the first day of preschool Tavin's class read the book, "The Kissing Hand." 

It was actually on the list of books that I posted about yesterday, so when they read it in school I had already requested it at the library and had it at home.  Tavin and I hadn't had a chance to read that one together yet when he came home after that first day of preschool.  During his lunch that day he asked me for my hand, opened it and laid the sweetest kiss from his lips into my palm (yes, I melted).  I asked him where he learned that and he said, "preschool."  Well, we recently got to the bottom of it with reading the sweet, charming tale of "The Kissing Hand."  There were some stickers in the back of the book and we decided we would make our own kissing hands.  Tavin was super excited.  

We traced his hand and I cut it out for him.  

Then we put the sticker (kiss) on it.  Can't get any simpler than that, but he's happy with it!

Here's an example of the sweet kiss I receive when we read this precious plot.

Craft Conundrum

I'm looking for input here.  What do you do with all the crafts, coloring pages and scribbles your kids produce?  Look at what my boys made in just one night.  

Pages and pages of things that they then think are works of art, special momentos to be kept by their beds or carried all over the house.  I mean, I think they are pretty great and all, but at this rate I feel that we don't need to (nor can we find a place) to keep all of these!  I put favorites on some display boards in the playroom and on the fridge, but then what to do with the rest?  I usually let them hang around for a day or so and then they somehow make their way into the trash can (oops).  Unfortunately the boys are catching onto this trend and it's heartbreaking when they take it personally.  Should I ask what can be thrown away?  Should I give them a choice to keep one favorite at the end of a coloring bonanza like last night's?  Would love your feedback!

My Silly Tavin (& a Moment of Serious Blessing)

I think most mothers have these moments where you are just overwhelmed by the gift that these kids are.  I had several moments like that today.  I caught this one on video.  

I love my Tavin.  He's just a blast.  The sense of humor, the deep thought, the "catch me off guard" statements.  I LOVE HIM.  But, as you know, I love all 3 of them.  Tonight I was overwhelmed by the blessing they are as I enjoyed worship with the 3 of them surrounding me (and at times in my arms) at North Way Oakland.  We went to the 5pm service to see Kassi sing and headed home after worship since we had already attended at the East End in the AM (Doug preached live there today...fun!).  Koen was singing his lungs out on the songs he knew.  Penn was, well, being adorable Penn.  Tav was snuggling up against me.  I just love these little guys and it felt so good to be in that moment, so close to them and just yet again lifting them up to the Lord, praying the words of the songs that they would one day understand them, internalize them and live out their truth in their lives.  This one in particular...

1. 
   
2. I stand amazed in the presence
   Of Jesus the Nazarene,
   And wonder how He could love me,
   A sinner, condemned, unclean.
   • Refrain:
     Oh, how marvelous! Oh, how wonderful!
     And my song shall ever be:
     Oh, how marvelous! Oh, how wonderful!
     Is my Savior’s love for me!
3. For me it was in the garden
   He prayed: “Not My will, but Thine.”
   He had no tears for His own griefs,
   But sweat drops of blood for mine.
4. In pity angels beheld Him,
   And came from the world of light
   To comfort Him in the sorrows
   He bore for my soul that night.
5. He took my sins and my sorrows,
   He made them His very own;
   He bore the burden to Calv’ry,
   And suffered and died alone.
6. When with the ransomed in glory
   His face I at last shall see,
   ’Twill be my joy through the ages
   To sing of His love for me.

3 Boys Play

Penn is definitely getting in on everything his brothers do.  This morning the boys made a fort under the dining room table.  They weren't really keen on letting Penn in, but eventually made way for him (see, Penn wants the table to be a tunnel with an out and in and the boys want to make it a fort with just one entrance/exit...you can see the plight).  

Penn was in a camera-kind-of-mood, so I went with it and got some great dramatic faces as he moved through smiles, interest in the camera and of course, his "cheese" face.  

Hmmm, I wonder where he gets it from?

It is so fun to see them all interact and somewhat play together.  Penn is in for a lot of fun (and some tough times too) crashing into Koen and Tavin's play.  I'm excited to watch it all continue to develop!

Leaf Man

I found a great link with a lot of suggestions for Fall picture books and some craft ideas to go along with them.  I requested almost all the books from the library and we've picked up most of them already.  We've done zero crafts so far though.  The days just fly by so fast with school in session!  Today though, I figured on our walk to church and back we could keep an eye out for leaves.  Tavin was super excited to find the pieces to make "Leaf Man."  We strayed from the suggested craft and just made a Leaf Man much like the one on the book cover.  I originally thought this was going to be more of a craft for Tav and I on a day that Koen was at school, but Koen was so into the leaf hunt and then the description of the craft that we just decided to dive into it after lunch today.  They LOVED this simple exercise with paper, leaves, glue (and scissors, because everything is better with sharp objects).

Tavin's (with a little help from Mom).

Koen's.

Super cute!! Good job, boys.  We love Fall!

Miss Kassi Visits & A Super Fun Wedding

This weekend was loaded with anticipation.  Doug and I have been close with a sweet, young couple from our church for years and particularly during their engagement.  This weekend was their wedding which Doug was officiating.  On top of this super exciting event, Miss Kassi was coming into town for the wedding and blessed us with a day of her time in the Burgh.  She came in Thursday night.  Oddly, Koen had Friday off.  Doug took the big boys out on a bike ride along the Allegheny in the AM so that Kassi could visit with a mommy friend at our house (with me and Penn included of course).  Here's the fun that Doug had with the big kids.  Tav is really into his tricycle right now, but I think that we should just go ahead and put him on a bike with training wheels.

Sweet morning sun brother shot along the river.  Pittsburgh is a pretty place.  Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

Another picture to prove the point.

After Kassi and I finished our lovely visit with our friend and her daughters, we packed up for a walk to meet the big boys and Doug for lunch over at Bakery Square.  I was a little behind the 8-ball (really lost motivation after the crazy day on Thursday!), so Kassi made friends with Penn while I packed up his lunch.  He is not the friendliest baby when I'm around, so this was amazing.  Thank goodness for electronic devices.  Kassi spent most of the time showing Penn videos of her son, Lincoln.

We had a fun lunch out on yet another gorgeous early Fall day.  Here's Penn stuffing his face wondering why on earth Kassi and I would stop for a photo.

The rest of Friday was low key (which we needed!) until Doug went to do the rehearsal.  Thankfully our evening went quite well and I could chill after the boys were down (seriously this week wore me out!).  Saturday was a great re-coup day as well.  We had some family time in the morning including a full family walk to Whole Foods in the AM (it had been a long time since we took a big walk all together, we are always dividing and conquering it seems!).  A little before noon our friend, Taylor, arrived to babysit all 3 boys (brave woman!) while Doug and I went to Dan & Steph's wedding about an hour away.  The wedding was beautiful and mostly just overwhelming in God's goodness and all He can do in the lives of those who give their lives wholeheartedly to Him.  It was just a blessing to be in attendance and witness that.  Doug did a lovely job with the ceremony and we were so thankful to be a part of the special day.  Here's Kassi and I at the reception in a cool, old barn on the Overton property where Frick was born where the wedding took place.

Here's a picture of another location on the grounds where the ceremony took place.  Very picturesque!  But you had to be there to experience the power in the special moments of this wedding day!

Doug and I had a blast at the reception.  So many of our friends from North Way were there and we just relaxed and enjoyed their company (and probably danced more than we have in years...so fun!).  We still headed home on the early side since Pastor Doug had to preach 4 times the next day and I had my usual Sunday Mommy duty.  We came home to a great report from Miss Taylor (although she had her hands full, she pulled it off beautifully and the boys did quite well it sounds like at least).  Here are a few pictures she (or Koen) grabbed on her phone.  This is Penn soon after we left.  He never cried after I snuck out on him.  I was relieved and so happy (and pretty proud of Taylor, she must be something special!).

A Koen selfie.  Since Taylor was a new babysitter (although a good friend we completely trusted), I don't think he tried all his usual tricks.  We had some reports of attempts to push the limits, but I think with his tiredness after the school week combined with the unfamiliarity with the babysitter, he was pretty tame.  This picture might not be the best example of that of course.

Taylor texted me specifically about how much she enjoyed listening to Tav on the monitor play on his own in his room after naptime.  Looks like he was really imagining something!

Taylor's husband visited for a bit of the intense time between the end of nap and bedtimes to lend a helping hand.  He got a chance to get the easy job (Penn) and Penn looks like he's on guard, but not protesting.  Pretty cute!  And I love that they coordinate!

 Thanks so much to Taylor (and Chase).  Doug and I were so thankful to be able to enjoy the wedding and reception with full confidence in the sitter back home.  The boys had lots of nice things to say about "Miss Taylor" today.  Pretty cute.  Tavin specifically requested that she come back.  =)

Koen's First Grade Open House

Thursday was a typical Melder crazy, busy day.  Koen had school, Tavin had preschool dropoff, I hosted a playgroup at the house and then walked to get Tav from preschool.  The little guys laid down from nap and then I went into cleaning mode for small group that night (not to mention I made soup for small group earlier in the AM too).  Then Koen got home from school and it was the evening after nap...a little play, dinner and then Doug was home.  Doug took over with the little guys and put them to bed.  I took Koen to his school for his 1st Grade Open House.  He was so excited to show his school, classroom and hard work off to me.  I loved the special opportunity to spend some one-on-one time with my biggest.

I had him pose at his desk (after he gave me a full tour of everything in his desk of course).

We looked all around the walls and halls for Koen's artwork and projects.  Here's what we found...

The unit this Fall is "Heroes."  The kids have been having fun developing superhero characters for themselves.  Here's a description of Koen's, a.k.a., Super K!

A picture of Koen in gym class doing sit-ups.  I didn't have the heart to tell him his form is a little off.  Apparently he's really good at them or something?

They had their pictures taken on the first day.  I see pride and a little anxiety in his face.

Some Spanish work and a great example of his coloring skills these days.

They reviewed the Noah's Ark story and did this cool wax and paint art piece.

I think this might be David & Goliath as I know that they have also reviewed that story as part of their "Heroes" unit.  Not quite suer though.  It looks intense!

I loved this one.  It's fun to learn more about your child as they learn more about themselves and the world around them.  Who knew that Koen would pick "playing the guitar" as something he is striving towards.

The 3 Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf illustration by Koen.  As you can see, he's into arrows right now.

In addition to visiting his classroom, we also got to check out some updates that had been made to the school in general and then pay a visit to the music/Spanish classroom.  Mrs. Mantos was letting kids play some games on the Smartboard to showcase their Spanish skills.  Koen did quite well and it was fun to see him interact with some students and a teacher as if he was in a class.

Well, Koen, I loved our evening together and it was fun to catch a glimpse of your life at school.  Oh, how I wish I could be a fly on a wall during a school day, but I'll take what I can get.  You are doing a great job acclimating and adjusting to life as a 1st grader, Koen.  Keep up the good work!

PS - When I arrived home I got Koen to bed and then small group arrived.  An hour into small group our friend, Kassi (see next post), arrived and stayed the night.  Yep, full day, but a good one!

Precious Moments

Although my days are filled with lots of precious moments, sometimes I forget to reflect on them and memorize them.  The boys can drain my energy, unnerve me and completely frustrate me for sure, but more often they amaze me, they humble me, they strike me and they love on me and I'm so thankful for this opportunity to be a mom to them and enjoy these precious moments.

Here are just a few from this week.  After school on Wednesday Koen randomly wanted to draw and write a card for Doug.  It included a pull-through window where he wrote lyrics to a song for Doug.  (See why this is called "precious" moments!)  He practiced it a few times with me and was just beaming when Doug got home so that he could present this card and song.  Here he is after dinner singing it through again for his Daddy.

That same night Doug caught a few pictures of me reading bedtime stories to Penn.  It occurred to me as he was snapping them that I'm not sure in my now 6 years of being a mom and reading every single night to my children that I've ever had a photograph of this special time that I enjoy so much and that is always one of the highlights of my day with each of the boys.  I had Doug send me the pics just to keep in my stores and of course to share in this oh so fitting blog post.

Well, that's all the mush for now.  Hopefully I ride this high through bedtime tonight as Doug is gone doing a wedding rehearsal so it's just me with the 3.

Friendship Fall Fun

This time of year is so refreshing.  I just love the cool, fresh air that allows us to get out so often throughout these gorgeous days.  We've had quite a stretch of nice weather this week and here are a few pictures of the boys taking advantage of it throughout the neighborhood. 

On Monday evening we spent some time before dinner at the Montessori playground.  Doug developed a fun game for Tavin chucking chestnuts in the holes in the bench for points.  Penn was the "catcher" or cheerleader, he loved it. 

After the game wore off, we just plopped Tav behind Penn instead of Doug.  At first, Tav was unsure.

But then he got pretty happy about it (Penn was still not quite sure about it).

Of course Koen had to join in when he noticed he wasn't included in a brotherly moment (he just LOVES being the biggest brother).  Here are the top 3 that I snatched on my phone.

After the photo session, I took Penn over to the playground.  He was so excited to be on the slide and then to play peekaboo in the tunnel.  Oh...my...goodness, those eyes!  Someone recently said they thought that he was growing into his eyes and they didn't look so big.  Hmmm, I don't think so!  Oh, how I love those dark, big, sweet eyes!

On Tuesday evening, we headed up to a neighbor's house to play out on the sidewalk (we do this several nights a week, we are so thankful for our neighbors...it's always a party!).  Koen developed a race game that Tavin loved.  Here it looks like Koen just smoked Tav.

Tonight we hung out up the street again.  This time I got some pics of the little guys as well.  Penn is finally old enough and mobile enough to really take part in this active time.  He has spent the past two nights just walking up and down the sidewalk with this zebra push toy.  His buddy, Everett (pictured right) is 7 weeks older than him, but is a great walker and Penn, I think, is doing his best to keep up!

Here you can see how Penn is happily and independently walking along the race course.  Koen is busy drawing some more barrier lines, then there's Penn, Xavier from across the street is dressed in construction gear on a riding toy and then Tav is way at the end of the race course on a blue trike.  As you can see, we really take over the street during these evening playtimes!

Another picture of my pre-walker.  I feel like he really wants to walk now that he's really tasted it with the other kids, taking it all in from that angle really gives him a new view of life.  Perhaps he'll walk soon?  We'll see!

Well, I'm sure there will be many more evenings like these 3 that have happened thus far this week (and more pics too).  I just love this time of year.  I love this phase of life with these 3 wonderful boys at these 3 different stages to enjoy, learn and grow through.  I'm a happy, thankful momma tonight.