NH with the Littlests, Part 2

Soon after my day started in NH I got my first update from Pittsburgh, another happy morning at the bus stop!

Right after Koen got on the bus, Doug took Tavin to our friend, Deborah's house.  Doug needed to work for the day, so Tav got to have a fun day with friends.  Deborah amazingly took the time to snap a few pics of him for me despite her full plate with four kids afoot.  Here's Tavin enjoying a puzzle.

They took a little trip to the Shaler library.  Tavin, Claire and Hazel enjoyed picking out books and having some different toys to play with.  

As for here in NH, we had a nice low key day around the house.  That means that Penn Rye had one of the best days of his life.  He LOVES being here.  From just playing with the few toys in the house to helping Gramma and Grampa in the yard to playing in the military vehicles to throwing rocks in the stream.  Here he is checking out the blog with Gramma.

Then they went out to do some work in the garden.  Penn was a big help!

Later, Grampa pulled the Jeep out into the sun.  Penn had a blast playing in it and Jansen got in it for the first time.  I'm sure he's a future Jeep lover too.

Jansen has enjoyed his time here too.  Check out his sweet smiles and agoo's with Gramma from this morning.

And then he had some precious, subdued snuggles with Grampa in the afternoon.

In the afternoon I also received some updates from home.  Douglas is doing a great job holding down the fort including helping Koen complete a project for his Native American unit due tomorrow.  They put together a plank house modeled after that of the Chinook tribe.  

In the evening, we enjoyed a little more time outside before dinner.  I got Dad to take a few pictures of me and my littlests with a quintessential NH backdrop.

Another great day in NH (and a good one at home in the Burgh too!).  Tomorrow we head home to finally get this family all back together.  Can't wait (although it's never easy to leave my parents!).  

NH with the Littlests, Part 1

After some busy days in Boston, it's been great to have a few slower-paced days in NH with Penn and Jansen.  Sunday we had a nice morning at church.  In the afternoon, Penn must have been too excited about fun plans with Grampa because he didn't end up taking a nap.  When I went to get him he told me he wanted to wait for Grampa to get him instead and he asked if he could do so in "Tavin's room" (where Tav slept).  I said sure.  Look at what Grampa found when he went to get him...patient little Penn Rye.

Then they had a blast the rest of the afternoon.  Penn loves being right at Grampa's side.  Here they are playing in the military truck. 

Grampa even got some legitimate help from his little buddy.  

As usual, I got some great updates from Doug during the day.  The boys seemed to have a great day re-acclimating to each other.  Doug took them to Frick Park for some fresh air after a long rest time in the afternoon.

Then they had a fun dinner out at Mad Mex.

Back in NH, I got a few more pictures that day of Gramma and Grampa soaking up some smiles from Jansen.

Janse has some fussy moments (as most little babes do) and Grampa had a calming touch Sunday night, helping get Jansen to sleep for his last nap for the day.  Precious.

All the Melder boys woke up well-rested on Monday morning.  Here's the early morning proof I got of that fact from Doug at the bus stop.

And then in NH, here's the other half of the Melder boy crew.  Jansen was so interested in Penn and Penn was being so sweet with him (there were smiles, just not when I snapped the picture of course!).

Today Grampa did a big Spring project in the garage...moving the Jeep out of its Winter hiding place and ready for fun outings throughout the warmer months.  He had his helper, Penn, by his side once again for the job.  Penn was just a tad happy. 

The only other update we got from Pittsburgh today was from the cold and snowy! soccer practice for Koen.  Doug and Tavin made a "polar bear den" to stay warm as they watched.  Looks like they made the most of it!  Good job, Doug!

Well, that's it for now.  Check back for more another day!

Boston or Bust, Part 3

Friday morning was much the same as Saturday (except Doug had an early pastor's breakfast to attend).  But we all met up at the conference for the 9am start.  Jansen napped there until his 10am feeding and then after his second breakfast, he was quite interested in my friends and the speakers.  I believe he was the cutest in attendance.

At the lunch break we went to Boston Sail Loft, a quintessential New England seafood restaurant, right on the harbor.  Chris and Molly were set on having lobster.  Doug and I shared a salad and fresh fish, we all had to sample the restaurant's clam chowder as well of course.  Jansen was pretty chill and perfectly adorable.

After lunch it was time to head back to the conference.  Jansen didn't last long though as he was quite the little fuss budget, so he and I bailed and had a walk and then got to the hotel for the 4pm feeding.  We met up with our friends after the last session was complete.  Jansen was exhausted and slept through our last hangout with Nic, V, some new friends and Chris and Moll.  Here's my little trooper on our way back up the elevator for his bedtime.  How sweet!

Around this time I got an update from Pittsburgh where Koen was now at a friend's house.  He and his buddy Miles got their sleep area all set up well before bedtime.  They were so excited!

Apparently they did really well and both got a good night's sleep.  Phew!  Here they are at breakfast this morning.  Cute buddies!

Doug and I had our final session at 9am again, on parenting no less.  Never can stop learning on that topic!!  Jansen got some final snuggles and smiles with Molly before we had to make an early exit at 11am.  What a special time it's been having just Jansen with us and then sharing his with dear friends.  

We headed back to our hotel to check out and meet Grampa who was bringing Tavin down to Doug for their afternoon flight home.  It was so great to get a big hug from my Tavin.  I missed him so much and had heard so many sweet stories of Gramma and Grampa just soaking up his amazing and fun personality.  Doug was so looking forward to his afternoon with Tav.  And they had a blast.  They got lunch together and saw some historic sights (which our awesome Tav fully appreciated).  Here's the cute tourist duo.

Tav visited the hall where much of our conference took place, and also the location of a speech by Abraham Lincoln.  Tav was impressed.

Here he is with Benjamin Franklin (note the hat at his heart in honor of the great American founding father).

Enjoying some street entertainment (check out his classic, fluffy, everywhere hair).

And here he is waiting for the exciting T ride over to the airport after their adventures in Boston were complete.  

Tavin wasn't the only one having a fun day though.  Koen was given a wonderful day with our friends back in the Burgh.  Check out the fun make-your-own lunch they made...

And then they had a geological activity in the afternoon searching for gemstones.  

And what about me?  Well, I got to head home to be with my mom, dad and Penn (with Jansen along of course).  Here's Gramma getting re-acquainted with Janse.

Well, that's it for our time in Boston.  It was a lot (A LOT) of work to get there, but totally worth it.  I loved being a part of such interesting conversations.  I was encouraged by the Biblical truth presented uncompromisingly, but with grace and love.  I learned new things and was challenged to think through some ideas and issues in new ways.  It was a huge blessing to see old friends and engage in deep, honest and real conversations.  And it was great to be away with my LOVE and my littlest.  Thank you to all those that helped us pull this off: Gramma and Grampa, Dan and Stella, Deborah, Grant and family and Kylie.  We are so blessed to be so well supported and able to take advantage of opportunities like these.

Boston or Bust, Part 2

It's Day 2 in Boston.  Jansen had a good night, but an early start to the day.  But after that it was pretty smooth sailing all day.  Phew!  After his 7am feeding, I had some fun taking pictures of my chunky little bug on the big, fluffy bed.  He was totally cooperative, seemingly enjoying the attention and the prop-up on the comfy pillows.

Around 8:15am, we headed over to the conference.  We know several other people attending (well, Doug knows a bunch, but I know a few).  We have a few dear friends attending that we were really looking forward to spending time with.  Chris and Molly, our buddies from college, were some of them.  Molly and I had a blast catching up today and enjoying each other's company.  And she was a huge help with Jansen!  She held him tons.  He even took a nap on her!  Here they are hanging out.

Soon after our arrival at the conference, I got a "good morning" picture from Penn and Tav at my parents'.  So cute!

Here's a little glimpse of the conference start.  Such an interesting, engaging day of discussions.  I'm so impressed by this organization and the event.  So glad Doug asked me to come and be a part of it!

Here's a cute picture I received later of Tav and Penn enjoying the playground.  Gramma and Grampa are loving their time with the boys and have said several times that they are getting along and playing so well with each other.  Such a relief and praise that things are going so well!

 After the morning sessions at the conference, we headed to lunch with Chris and Molly.  Then Molly and I headed to the hotel so I could feed Jansen and give him some time to stretch out and she and I enjoyed some precious and way overdue catch up time.  Then we walked back to the conference for a full afternoon.  When Jansen got antsy, I found a nursery area in the venue.  We tested out some new toys.  He's a little too small for this one, but you can see he was initially happy with it.

This thing he loved!  He laid under it staring at the colorful pieces above for about 10 minutes or so.  I was so glad he got a chance to play and move around after a day of lots of being held and napping in the car seat.

When the afternoon session was complete, we headed to grab a bite to eat with friends.  Chris and Molly came and also Nic & V and their son, Mo.  Here's V and I.  It's been 3 years since we've seen each other, so another precious and wonderful reunion!

I was hoping to go out with Doug tonight and bring Janse along, but after such a long day of having Jansen out, I was tired and I knew he was too, so I decided to head back to the hotel and get him to bed on time.  Hopefully it was a good call and he has a good sleep tonight and gives me a little more sleep than last night.  He's doing a great job rolling with these funny travel days.  And it's a lot of fun just having him along to focus on and enjoy.  Although, I definitely miss the other boys, especially in such a cool city that they would love to be exploring with us.  We'll definitely be back with them all on another trip up this way.