Their Day Off, My Day On

Koen and Tavin had the day off today.  Teacher In-Service or something.  It was certainly Parent In-Service!  I really don't mind, it's like a day of summer (just cooler weather).  All the boys and mom.  We even had one extra today, Koen's friend, Adam.  Just like in the summer, I love sharing our fun outing day with friends, so we went to the Carnegie Science Center with Deborah and her kids.  The boys were all excited to see their respective friends: Miles, Claire and Hazel.  Penn takes the cake though with his sweet excitement to see "Habel."  The buddies got right to it at the UPMC Sports Works playing the giant Operation game.

The museum was quite empty when we first got there, so we took advantage of it and did everything that usually has long lines.  Both Koen and Tav enjoyed the trampoline jump (couldn't talk Penn into it).

Tav waiting patiently with Claire.  Cute!

Jumping Tavin both on the trampoline...

And this thing (don't even know what it's called!).

The SportsWorks is a little tough on the little ones.  Not a ton for them to do there, but they did get a kick out of this spinny thing!

Koen and Miles gave the rock wall a try.  

After we had covered all the favorites at the SportsWorks, we headed back to the main museum.  We went to the 2nd floor, where there are a few favorites for Penn.  But first we bumped into some neat astronaut exhibits.  Hey look, it's Tavin the Astronaut!

Penn loves this robot.  You can make him sing "Singing in the Rain."  So that's what he does every time.  Better than that though is Penn's rendition of it (which he had been doing since we told him we were going to visit the museum).

Tavin, the Astronaut, still at work in his space lab.

After the 2nd floor, we headed to the 4th, where there's the most stuff for the little ones to do.  It was fun, they all worked together in one section for quite awhile and then it was time for lunch.  After lunch, Janse got a few photos with the girls who were doting on him.  He was overtired from a short morning nap and now the closeness of afternoon nap, so he doesn't exactly look happy (but the girls are precious!).

Clearly, it was time to head home.  We left the museum a little after 1pm and got home right in time for naps.  It was a busy morning out, but it was a lot of fun.  The afternoon was pretty low key with Jansen and Penn taking long naps after the fun morning.  And then Doug got home early and took the big boys to the library for a little while before dinner.  Fun Friday all the way around.  Special thanks to Deborah for getting together with us.  I love my time with you and getting our kids together.  Hope the teachers got a lot done today, we certainly did!

Some Jansen Videos

Jansen seems to be at one of those stages where every day he's doing something new.  

This week he started really babbling with "a-da-da-da."  I caught just a little on the front of this video.  Before I got the camera out, of course he was going back and forth like crazy with Koen.  But at least there's a little in here to share.  Hopefully I'll get a better one another day!  Although he's always switched to saying, "a-bwa-bwa-bwa" now!

I've given Janse Cheerios before a few times, but this time he picked them up on his own and got really close to shoving them into his mouth.  I didn't capture anything super exciting on the video, but he's just so darn cute I am showing it anyways. =)

Tavin Lost His First Tooth!

Tavin lost his first tooth on Sunday, the 25th.  One of his bottom baby teeth has been hanging on by a thread or two for weeks.  Last week I finally talked him into me trying to pluck it out, but those threads were still hanging on a little too tight (my stomach was turning and he was not enjoying the experience either).  But on Sunday night as I brushed his teeth the tooth was just bending back and forth and started to bleed, I figured it was probably time.  It took some cajoling as he was not really interested in me pulling it out, but I was afraid at this point he might swallow it in his sleep!  Finally I talked him into it.  All I had to do was put two fingers on it and it fell out.  Tav had been so scared beforehand, crying huge alligator tears, but it was so cute to see his reaction when I said, "bud, it's out, you lost your first tooth."  He said, "but Mommy, I didn't even feel it!"  Yeah, what did I tell you, kid!?!  Here's the proud and stunned Tavin (giving a half-hearted-what-just-happened thumbs up) with a hole in his mouth!

Good job, Tav!  Here's hoping the next time won't be as traumatic and scary beforehand.  You've got this, bud!

Old Friends & New Friends

When I take the time to think about it, I am just overwhelmed by the friends the Lord has blessed us with.  Some we see every few days, others every few weeks, months or years.  But there are so many people who support us, encourage us, do life with us and are there for us.  We are richly blessed by the community both far and near that the Lord has given us.  

This week we've had some great opportunities to spend time with friends.  Here's a glimpse at a few...

On Monday morning we had a playdate with a bunch of young moms (I feel like I'm getting to be the "seasoned" mom, is that a nice way to say, "old?").  Penn had fun with his friend, Jay.  It was a costume party with Halloween around the corner.  Jay is Captain America.  Penn didn't want to keep his Olaf costume on long.  But Penn enjoyed playing Connect 4 with Captain America!

Jansen napped for most of the playdate, but he did get to play for a little bit at the end.  He is gaining confidence in groups as he is too interested in exploring to waste time crying the second I leave him to play on the floor.  He's a pretty cute in his sleeper (I brought his costume, but wasn't worth putting it on!).

When we got home, we had a fun lunchtime guest...my friend, Kelly.  We've been friends since college, but rarely get time together.  Jansen and Penn were such big fans of her.  It was really special since both of them can be a bit shy around new faces.  Penn gave lots of warm hugs (just like Olaf).  Jansen let Kell hold him for a long time.  Unheard of!

Today we had another guest for lunch, my friend, Bethany, and her two boys, Isaac and Will.  I meant to get a picture to share, but Bethany and I were chatting and the boys were playing and I totally forgot!  They change so much between visits that I wanted to get a shot of them all at this stage.  Penn really enjoyed hanging out with Will, who's about a year older than he is.  And since they were happy, Bethany and I got a lot of catching up done. =)

We are only two days into the week and look at all the love we've felt already through our friends.  Just a glimpse of how full our hearts are for the people the Lord has placed in our lives, it sure does make life just that much richer to share it with so many loved ones.

Fall Fun

We are having such a beautiful Fall!  Not too much rain and many mild days.  The leaves are all changing and falling and crunching beneath our feet, the sky is often a crisp blue and the air follows suit with its fresh flavor.  On a beautiful Fall day, it's my goal to get outside and breathe it all in myself and also share it with the boys (plus, they always need to run off energy!).  We've had several great opportunities the last few days.

On Friday, Doug picked Koen and Tav up from school with his sidekick, Penn.  They were all off to a follow-up appointment for Tav's breathing/cough (jury is still out on what's going on, so we are just still treating it), but I figured why not have them all get flu shots and Doug was the lucky guy who got to break the news to them and take them.  They took the news pretty hard, but they were champs about the shots.  And afterwards, Jansen and I met them at the playground to run off the stress of the shots, the cramp of the school day and the stored-up energy young boys never seem to run out of anyways.  Tav and Koen played really well together, here they are hiding behind a tree, but I caught them when Tav broke their cover.

And they're off!

Only slowed down by the snacks I brought.  Ha, ha!  Gotcha!

It was just a gorgeous afternoon and so nice to be spending it outside with the boys.  A great start to the weekend.  We unfortunately had to cut it about 20 minutes shorter than I had planned because Penn had to go to the bathroom so bad (he said) and they had removed the port-a-potty for the season...of course when we got home and he tried to go he said, "me not need to go now, Mommy."  Classic!!  

Saturday, we had a super fun Fall day with the Troxells, their families and a bunch of mutual friends.  They live in a neighborhood that hosts a Halloween parade.  Now, I really don't like Halloween as I scare easily, but this parade is so adorable.  All it is is one fire truck leading, then dozens of children dressed up in their costumes and their faithful parents followed by another fire truck.  Before heading down to the parade though, there was pumpkin carving and a fire in the Troxell's backyard.  It was a perfect Fall day, cool, comfortable and cloudy.  

Little buds having a snack on the stairs...

Penn stuck around for a couple more "donuts."  He was a big fun of the fun pumpkin muffin donuts I made to share.  Here's the recipe in case you are curious to try them for yourself.  They were a big hit!

The boys all had fun at the fire of course.  All they needed were some choice poker sticks from the woods surrounding and the fire fun was limitless.

The Troxells have the best swing setup.  Penn really enjoyed it this time, but all the Melder boys got on it at one time or another.  Here's Penn and I...

Tavin and Alex and Andy were screaming, screeching and laughing their heads off!

Penn didn't want to be on the swing with the crazies pictured above, but Koen happily joined him.  Penn was pleased.

Cora, a friend's little 3 year old girl, was at the party.  Penn has met her before, but this was the first time they played together.  They were so cute on the swing.  They were on there for quite awhile.  Penn said, "she's my friend."  So sweet!

A little before noon, we all got the kiddos in their costumes to head down to the parade route.  Janse was up from his nap and got to participate too.  We had a near meltdown when Penn had a costume malfunction, but Aunt Megan saved the day with a safety pin.  Phew!

Here are all the kids (Koen was helping with photography).

Jansen was just begging for some full body pics (well, actually I wanted to make sure to get some, he put up with it).  Cutest ketchup packet I ever saw!!

We headed down to the parade (pretty much a mini-parade ourselves).  Doug got this shot of Olaf and Fleury, the goalie heading to the hill.  Now there's a funny sentence.

The boys were very satisfied with the parade experience, especially since it ended at the firehouse (or as Penn calls it, "the weee-ooo-weee-ooo home") where the firefighters cooked hot dogs for all the kiddos!  After that we headed back to the Troxells for a few more moments of play and then we went home for naptime (the kids were just a tad exhausted).  

In the last few days, we've had a few more opportunities to get outside.  The weather has just been lovely.  Not too cool and often sunny.  On Sunday night, I took the boys to the playground after Jansen's nap and brought his dinner as well as snacky dinner for the big boys.  We stayed outside all the way until bathtime it was such a nice time.  Can't you tell they enjoy the outdoors in the Fall?  Pretty happy boys!

I hope this Fall drags on and on and Winter starts late this year.  I'm loving it!!

Jansen Update

So, I feel like I rarely take the time to describe what's going on in Jansen's development.  So, I had a few pictures to share that were from random times this week and thought that since I couldn't figure out which blog post to stick them in, I'd just do a quick one all about Janse.  

Jansen is somewhat mobile these days.  He's an avid roller.  It's hilarious how far he can get and how good he is at figuring out how to get whatever he lays his eyes on.  I left for about 30 seconds after setting him under his jungle gym thing (which he's totally outgrown, but occasionally serves as a good distraction) and look what he found!  He grabbed the basket out of the coffeetable, dumped it and was playing with the cars.  And look how proud he is!

Similar to all my other babies, Jansen LOVES to be outside.  He's still quite the jumper, but is most happy in his jumper thing out on the front porch.  He is attentive to all the sounds, the cars driving by, whatever his brothers are doing and neighbors stopping by to say hi (he has a few fans next door that seem to know the second we are on the front porch!).  This week there was a mild morning that Jansen and I spent on the front porch after Doug took Penn to preschool and the boys were already off to school.  It was just breakfast with my littlest and it was a precious moment.  I miss my boys when they are away, but it's for moments like these that I'm thankful for the margin it provides.  Janse looks happy too.

Jansen is quite the noise-maker, especially in his crib.  He grunts, he babbles, he laughs, gurgles and ooh's and aah's.  I love listening to him on the monitor.  He likes to grab the blanket he sleeps with and stick his mouth (wide open) on it and just say, "ahhhh."  He rolls and thrashes his legs around in his crib and gets himself cracking up.  Rarely does he get upset in his safe little nest.  He just enjoys the calm and quiet of his own private space I think.  I LOVE getting him up in the mornings or after a nap.  He pops his little head up over the bumper and immediately gives me a wide smile.  He's often now rocking back and forth on all fours, practicing for crawling which seems to be right around the corner.  In this pic, he was just up on his knees, but I missed it by an instant, his wide smiled remained though and was totally worth sharing.  I can't wait to get him up in the mornings, can't you see why?

I don't have a picture handy for this one, but here's a quick update on Jansen's eating these days.  He is a big fan of real food.  He still nurses four times a day (at 3 meals and once before bed), but he also has real food at each of the 3 meals.  In the morning, he has a light appetite and has a half of banana.  I've tried mixing it with whole grain cream of wheat, but he hasn't decided if he likes that yet.  At lunch he has a green veggie/whole grain combo baby food and then a pureed fruit.  At dinner he has an orange veggie and then whole grain baby cereal.  I have yet to introduce protein, but hope to soon.  I wait til a year to introduce dairy, so we have a ways to go on that.  He really likes his food though and it's fun for me to have a pretty easy-going customer since I'm making up these baby food recipes myself.  He occasionally disagrees with my experiments, but for the most part is good about not wasting my efforts. 

As for sleep, this guy is a champ.  He takes two naps a day.  They vary in length, but average is a good hour and a half in the morning and 2-3 hours in the afternoon.  He sleeps from 7pm at night until some time between 6:30 & 7:45am in the morning, but he stays happily in his crib til I get him to feed him at 7:45am.  

Jansen, you are a JOY.  There's no other way to describe it.  I love you and I am so blessed by your sweet presence and personality all day, every day.  Since you are upstairs sleeping right now, I'm already looking forward to wake-up tomorrow morning and that sweet smile.

Janse Says No

So, I don't really know if Jansen knows what he's doing, but today he started shaking his head, "no!"  I think maybe it could be because I think his ears are bothering him because of this cold that just won't quit, but it also could be because he's such a super smart little bug.  Anyways, the video is entertaining.  So here goes, Jansen knows how to say no!

Little Sickies

We've had a nuisance of a cold virus spiraling around through the house the last week or so.  Penn is pretty much over it, Janse just seems to be hanging out in it.  Poor kid.  He still smiles though.

Tavin didn't get taken down too bad by it, but he did develop quite a cough and then we noticed a very obvious wheezing.  So, we took him to the doctor.  They are thoughtful that it could be asthma, but they aren't willing to call it yet.  They gave him a steroid breathing treatment and watched and listened for a bit.

We have to give him treatments now every 4-6 hours and then he has a check-in on Friday, we'll see where this goes.  It could just be respiratory irritation from the cold and his seasonal allergies, but we are now monitoring the possibility of asthma.  Tav remains his strong, sweet self.  He and Penn had some fun singing for Doug in the bath tonight.

You gotta love how these boys are such troopers.  Not much gets them down!

Not-so-fun Playdate

On Wednesday, I had to go to an appointment.  My friend, Taylor, and her two-month-old, Fitz, came over to hang at the house while Jansen napped.  I took Penn along with me (happiest, funniest sidekick ever).  The plan was that Jansen would nap most of the time and then when he did wake up, he usually just chats to himself happily in his crib for awhile and maybe, maybe Taylor would have to get him just a bit before I got home.  Apparently, Jansen didn't want to follow the plan.  He woke up as I was leaving and didn't last long being happy in his crib.  So, Taylor rescued him, but he was not happy about that either.  Thankfully for awhile Fitz slept while Taylor tried every trick to make Jansen keep a happy face for more than 30 seconds.  Here's a pouty picture I received.  He does not look amused!

Things went from bad to worse when Fitz woke up and was also mad.  They just kept setting each other off.  Poor Taylor!  She figured that since she couldn't get them to stop, she might as well photograph it.  Ha!

A huge thank you to Taylor for putting up with that craziness so that I could keep my appointment!!  Next time you come over Jansen promises to be a fun playmate for his buddy, Fitz!