Penn's 3rd Birthday...Simple & Sweet

I love keeping things simple and when your child is three, they just don't care what their birthday looks like.  We will have many family parties and simple birthdays to come, but at three, it's an easy sell (well, not really a sell, just a reality).  I think what matters most is showing the birthday person that you care about them and we are great at pulling that off whether it means a simple day with family or a big to-do.  

To start Penn's day, Koen, Tavin and I (well, Jansen was there too) burst into Penn's room singing a boisterous "Happy Birthday."  At breakfast, Penn got to open his birthday card from Aunt Abbie.  Handmade and super cute!

Koen and Tav headed off to Kidz Gig for the morning and Jansen had a long nap, so that meant Mommy and Penn Rye time.  Unfortunately, Penn was feeling a little lousy due to a cold, so he wasn't up for much.  So, I totally let him have the treat of watching a Curious George.  That gave him the downtime he needed to have the energy to see Miss Christal.  She was happy to celebrate his birthday with him and they made a birthday cake craft with Penn's favorite craft material...glitter.  She also gave him a lollipop as a treat.  He was a happy kid and we were both glad we still came to speech therapy despite the fact Penn wasn't quite 100%.

After speech, we headed to the Kidz Gig picnic.  Then we all headed home for a quiet afternoon.  Penn was exhausted and napped hard.  When he woke up, Koen and I took him on a walk for an errand.  When he got home he scootered a bit with Daddy.  Our neighbor (and adopted great-grandmother), Ruth, was out on her porch, so Doug, Penn and Jansen visited with her for a bit.  In the process, Penn decided he'd try on the BabyBjorn and stick his Teddy in it.  Pretty funny!!

When they came in from outside, we had present time while dinner cooked.  A three year old opening presents is just pure delight...absolute joy.  Penn was so enthusiastic, so easily pleased and savored every tear of wrapping paper almost as much as each gift reveal.  We keep birthday presents pretty simple, but Penn could've cared less.  He LOVED everything.  Here he is taking forever to open his book, "Nancy Knows," from Uncle Nate and Aunt Megan.

We gave him some Tinker Toys (you can see how happy he is about opening presents alone here!).

Doug gave him a ball with fire trucks on it.  Happy boy!! 

Then he opened his cards from Koen and Tavin.  Koen gave him a cool shark sticker in his card. 

Tavin read his card to him.  Look how attentive and happy Penn is about this attention from his brother!

Additional Tinker Toys (the starter pack was just not enough to make fun stuff).

We had fun making a few things with the Tinker Toys and then fed the boys dinner.  After their dinner they played a bit more and then we had brownies (Penn isn't much of a sweet tooth yet, but I was pretty sure he would be into these).

Happy Birthday, Penn Rye!!  Oh my goodness, the cheese smile!!

Blowing out the candles.  He was sooooo serious about this.  

Penn did enjoy the brownies (well, he ate half of one, but Tavin so graciously offered to finish the rest =)).  All in all, it was a good day.  Too bad that Penn was a little off due to his cold, but he did well and I'm glad for him that we kept it super simple and just loved on him as a family.  Penn Rye, you are such a blessing to us.  I'm so thankful for you each and every day.  No matter what my mood, all I have to do is look into your big, chocolate brown eyes to be reminded of the privilege it is to be your mom, to watch you grow and experience your sweet personality.  This year has been filled with so much change.  You've grown taller, you've gone from saying less than 5 words to speaking sentences with more than 5 words and sometimes paragraphs with more than 5 sentences, you've learned to ride a scooter, you've become a big brother and that's just naming a few of your big accomplishments this year.  In the year ahead, we pray you will only further grow healthy and strong, but also that you would grow in wisdom and favor with God and man.  As with all of you boys, being your parents is a gift (and a big responsibility) from the Lord and we pray for you daily that you would love and serve Him throughout your life. Happy Birthday, Penn!!

Half Days of Half of the Brood

So usually I do a little post about Kidz Gig, our church's version of VBS.  Well, I don't have any pictures of what Tav and Koen have been enjoying at Kidz Gig (and they've been loving it this year), so I'm going to tell my side of Kidz Gig week.  It's been a blast!!  Koen and Tav leave a little before 9am and don't return until a little after 2pm.  That whole time, it's just me and the little guys.  A nice breather after the shock of starting summer with all 4 at home and figuring out how to balance it all, especially with the youngest being an infant.  It's given me time to focus on Penn.  He's been so much more relaxed and chill with less brothers around vying for attention and toys.  It's been more relaxed as I don't bother making grand plans with Penn.  He could care less and just enjoys playing somewhere in my vicinity.  On Monday, we had the car and we ran some errands and he was just a happy little helper.  On Tuesday, I decided this week was the perfect (or as perfect as it would get this summer) opportunity to shift Jansen's schedule to feedings every 4 hours instead of every 3.  He took a huge morning nap that day making me feel good about the decision and it afforded Penn and I a lot of time to hang out.  I got a bulletin board project done (where I keep all their stuff organized, but yet hidden in the laundry room!).

Penn played with magnets on the dryer for awhile during my project and then went on to macaroni on the kitchen floor (note he's wearing a Kidz Gig shirt to be like his brothers).

After my project, Penn and I spent the rest of our time in the backyard.  I got the whole thing weeded while he played with trucks and dirt.  Perfect.  After Jansen woke up and I fed him, we all enjoyed a nice walk to the grocery store, then returned home for a simple lunch.  Everything is just so much quieter and calmer and easier with 2 out of 4!  On Wednesday, we had more fun at home.  It was a gorgeous day, so we spent as much time outside as possible.  We did have some indoor time though with Penn's speech therapist, Allison.  It was Penn's last Early Intervention session with her because he is turning three on Friday and will therefore disqualify from services.  We of course had to get a picture.  Can't you tell how much he loves her?!

Thursday the weather was more blah and I think Penn was coming down with a little virus (snotty and whiney...classic signs!).  So, we mostly stayed indoors.  We did a special project and made banana bread during Jansen's nap.  Here's my little baker! 

Friday (today) is Penn's birthday!  Unfortunately, he did indeed come down with some kind of a summer cold.  He was still full of energy at first though and popped out of bed when Tav, Koen and I came into his room to wake him with a round of "Happy Birthday."  After Koen and Tavin left for Kidz Gig his energy quickly dwindled, so I totally gave in and let the birthday boy watch TV for awhile during Jansen's nap.  Then we headed on a walk to Children's Hospital for speech therapy.  I know, sounds rough to have to do that on your birthday, but Penn doesn't look at it as work really, it's his special session with Miss Christal, where he, Melder boy #3, gets one-on-one attention.  Who would want to pass that up on account of a little cold??  After speech, Doug picked us up and took us to Kidz Gig to meet up with the big boys and take part in the celebratory end-of-week picnic.  I had all intentions of taking a picture or two (or you know me...ten) of my campers and I got caught up in helping them all with lunch and chatting with other parents, etc. that I didn't get a chance to.  Oh well, thanks to everyone at North Way for a super fun week for Koen and Tavin and a super fun week for Penn, Jansen and I at home!

Jansen's 4 Month Appointment

On Friday, Jansen had his 4 month appointment.  He checked out as healthy again.  He did get vaccines which have given him quite the diaper rash though, poor guy (and they made him sooooo fussy for the afternoon after the appointment).  The interesting info though is always in the stats, so let's get to it...weight: 14 lbs., 4 oz. (15th percentile), height: 25 and 1/2 inches (49th percentile).  His weight has dropped from the 49th percentile at his 2 month and his height jumped up from the 21st percentile, so basically his stats flip-flopped.  Here's some photos of his sweet little body at 4 months...can't get enough!

I'm always curious about how one baby's growth compares to another, so I have to lay it out...

Weight - K: 15 lbs., 4 oz., T: 13 lbs., 11 oz., P: 14 lbs., 12 oz., J: 14 lbs., 4 oz.

Height - K: 25 inches, T: 26 inches, P: 26 3/4 inches, J: 25 and 1/2 inches

So, although I was a little nervous about Janse's weight dropping down in the average rankings, it appears for my babies, he's right about where he should be.  Same with his height (although, wow, Penn was tall!).

Praise God for another healthy appointment.  To celebrate, I'm going to compare 4 month photos of all 4 boys.  Enjoy!!

Koen:

Tavin:

Penn: 

Jansen:

I tried to pick some similar poses and locations.  So, who do you think most looks like whom?  (Grammar ok there?)

Father's Day 2015

This year we had an extra special Father's Day.  Doug's dad (affectionately known by the boys as, "PopPop") came to town for a visit.  He and Nana met us all at church for the 11am service and then came home with us for lunch.  Prior to church the boys and I got things cleaned up and the lunch set up.  We also made cards for Douglas (we had made PopPop's card and craft gift the day before).  

This was PopPop's first time meeting Jansen.  He got his hands on him at church (as did Nana), but then also got some loves at home.  They were fast friends.

Nana got some great snuggle time too.  My boys always love being held by Nana!

PopPop came with gifts and the first one went to Jansen.  He got a very special family piece.  A cute little froggy that says a nighttime prayer ("Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep").  The frog is 18 years old and the original batteries still work to play the sweet prayer in a child's voice.  It'll be interesting to see how long the battery lasts!  Jansen checked out the frog as much as a 4 month old can. =)  Penn was more interested in it and took him up to his room to listen to him say the prayer before naptime.

Penn opened his gift which was some really fun Lego-shaped molds for ice cubes, candy-making, Play-doh play or even baking!  We will have fun with these for sure!  Penn was psyched about them and carried them around that afternoon until we stuck them in the freezer to see how the ice cubes would turn out later.

Tavin got another brain-teasing game.  We all had fun passing it around in the afternoon trying to figure it out.  Hopefully we are all a bit smarter for it.  =)  Tavin is excited to take it on some upcoming long roadtrips.  It'll definitely keep him occupied!

Koen was thrilled with his gift.  He got a beautiful drawing book on how to sketch birds and a large pack of artist's pencils.  He dove right in to the drawing with PopPop a little while later in the afternoon.

First though, PopPop had brought a special activity to work on with Tavin.  He introduced him to stamp collecting!  PopPop pays close attention to what the boys are interested in and he's noticed Tav's appetite for history.  Stamp collecting can be an interesting and fun way to dig into history.  Tav and PopPop spread out at the dining room table and dove into this new activity.  Tavin caught on quickly and loved using the magnifying glass to take a closer look at the stamps and he also enjoyed searching for them in the catalog in order to help PopPop label them on his stock pages.  Really special moment for Tavin and PopPop connecting and bonding over thish great hands-on activity.  Good job, PopPop!

Jansen didn't have much of a midday nap, so he tired quickly, but not before some great bonding time with Nana.  They shared some tummy time.  How cute!!

When PopPop finished educating Tav about stamp collecting, he moved on to teaching Koen about sketching birds.  PopPop has an aptitude for art and he was the perfect person to help Koen go through the step-by-step process the new book outlines (Doug and I are NOT the artsy type).  He exhibited so much patience and grace as he led Koen through the steps and they together drew a warbler.  Koen loved the attention from PopPop and I could tell he was also so proud of his end result.  Again, good job, PopPop.  Thanks for these great quiet, independent activities the boys can enjoy.

PopPop also read with the boys (seriously, it was a full-on PopPop afternoon, so great!).  The boys love it when he reads to them.  He has one of those great story-telling voices, not to mention they love an excuse to cuddle up and hear a good book.

Nana and PopPop, thank you so much for making the drive to be with us on Father's Day.  We loved our afternoon with you.  You'll have to come back soon and see the boys' progress with their new activities and of course they are all always growing and changing.  =)  PopPop, we were especially thankful to be with you on Father's Day. 

After Nana and PopPop left, the boys enjoyed some down time and then we all piled into the van and headed to the Troxells for a cookout, backyard fun and of course, S'mores.  Happy Father's Day to Nate and Doug meant getting all 6 boys together.  Just in case they don't realize they have their hands full, we thought this fun night would remind them.  Ha!  It was a great visit and it's super fun to see how familiar the boys are with each other now that we get to see each other so often.  Alex and Andy adore Koen and Tavin (especially Koen, kids just love the oldest!).  Megan was prepared with a water balloon activity.  Here are a few shots of some of that fun (albeit short-lived...6 boys can go through water balloons pretty fast!).

Koen was bummed that the little guys were letting the balloons break so easily, so Megan offered to toss with him.  Good sport risking getting wet!

Nate and Megan just recently put up an amazing tree swing.  The boys LOVED it!

We shared a simple, but delicious (mostly because of Megan's amazing potato and vegetable salad) dinner outside.  I loved that we were out in the backyard all evening.  It had been a hot, sunny day, but there were storms North of us that brought in a breeze and it was just perfection.  Here are the dads we were honoring (we gave them their own little table away from the kids!).

Jansen was laying on a blanket during part of the meal and when he was crying, Koen rushed over to him.  Then every other boy peeled away from the table to come to his aid as well.  That's a lot of doting brothers and friends (note that Koen is trying to push Tav away, he just hates being copied!).

After dinner, Jansen got a turn on the swing while the guys were getting the fire started and the S'mores set up.  Koen was our photographer.  

I wasn't sure how that would turn out, so I took a few selfies.  Gotta say I like these snuggly closeups a bit better (but thanks for trying, Koen!).

Penn eventually noticed I was swinging with Jansen and came up to join.  It was a blast!  He loved it.  Koen again captured it for me.

 

After S'mores, it was time to head home.  It had been a long day for all of us, but especially for Jansen who had completely skipped this evening catnap (and somehow stayed awake the whole way home too).  The boys love being at the Troxells and didn't want to leave.  On the way home even Penn was asking when we were going to go back.  Thanks so much, Nate and Megan.  We love our special celebrations with you.  Happy Father's Day to Doug and Nate.  You guys are in the thick of it with these little guys, but you both do such an amazing job loving and leading your kids.  Looking forward to living alongside of you for years to come and watching our boys grow in to men.