What a Difference a Day Makes

On Tuesday, Jansen had a stellar developmental day.  In the morning I took a funny video of his not-so-successful attempts at crawling to send to my mom and sister to show where he was at.  Here goes...

Well, apparently, Jansen did not like being laughed at, so he decided he was going to make this crawling thing happen.  Only ten hours later, he had crawled his first few "steps" (what do you call it for crawling movements?).  We caught a small example on video after the initial moment.

That's not all this adorable 9 and 1/2 month old baby does though.  As of Tuesday (yep, that's right another milestone on the same day!), he can pick up his own finger foods and shove it in his cute little face.  

And in just the last few days, he's also mastered playing peek-a-boo on his own.  He's so proud of himself (and also a little mystified by this disappearing act he can pull off).

Quite a day, huh?  Babies are amazing and this one is such a joy.  I couldn't resist taking a picture of him sleeping that night after putting in such a full day's work...passed out with his bum up in the air!

Light Up Night 2015 - A Melder First

For the first time in our 14 years of living in the Pittsburgh area, we (well, Doug, Koen and Tav) attended Light Up Night!  This is an annual tradition, always on the Friday before Thanksgiving, where the city lights up all the big trees downtown and sets up the nativity scene.  There are all sorts of activities and attractions, including several fireworks displays.  The boys had a good time checking out the event for future years.  Here's the pictures I got (gets me so excited for Christmas!!)...

The huge tree at PPG Place.  So pretty!

A reindeer!!!

The big tree at City Hall.

The nativity (with a moon above, I might add!).

No pictures of the boys, but hey, you just got a preview of Pittsburgh's Light Up Night too!

Portrait Pics Plus...

Today was parent-teacher conferences, which means I get the low-down about the boys' progress and behavior at school, but I also get their school photos.  So fun!  This year was a big success, both are priceless!

I got an amazing picture of Penn this week that I can share too since his preschool pics won't be until February.  

Janse-man already had a post in honor of his week or so under-the-weather, and then in "Backyard Buddies" he had a mini-photo shoot.  So, no pics for the snotty Janse in this post. =)

Sick Baby

Poor Jansen has been sick for over a week now.  It started just as junky, gunky stuff last week, but after last weekend it turned into something more with fever and obvious discomfort in the sweet babe.  On Wednesday, I took Janse to the doctor and sure enough he had an ear infection.  He's now on Amoxycillin and slowly making a recovery.  

Here's my sad, sick baby on Monday (had to send a pathetic picture to Daddy)...

And another sad picture for Daddy on Wednesday.

Starting to turn around (on Thursday).

Finally sleeping better (noisy, but sound!) on Friday morning.  I had to wake him up for breakfast, but not before getting a picture of him passed out.

I love you, Janse, even when you are covered in snot, feverish and ornery.  Praying the medicine gets you healthy fast.  You are such a trooper!!

Backyard Buddies

This is such a glorious Fall!!  After sending Koen and Tav off to school this morning, my big goal was to spend as much time outside as possible.  This amazing weather is bound to break eventually!  Penn and I headed out to the backyard as soon as I laid Janse down for his morning nap.  Penn kept busy doing a varied number of things while I weeded, raked, cleaned up the mess the sandbox made all summer, etc.  Penn asked that I make a leaf pile.  Now, this is no leaf pile to brag about.  We only have Bradford Pear trees in the backyard and their leaves often don't completely fall off until after the first snow, but there were enough leaves to gather a pile big enough for a Penn Rye to jump in.  He was so excited!

This video is hilarious.  He thought the little pile was such a blast.  The jumping is so lame, but he thinks it's the bast thing ever!

After Jansen woke up from his nap, we took a walk together down into Bloomfied to run an errand.  When we returned it was lunchtime, then it was back out to the backyard.  Penn had gotten really involved in a project in the sandbox that required A LOT of concentration (note the tongue out)...

...(and here it's out even more!).

Jansen and I stayed out of his way and had a little photo shoot on the grass.  Prepare yourself, he's pretty cute!

Before heading in for nap, Penn and I played a little pretend baseball.  I tried pitching to him, but he actually does awesome pitching to himself.  When he hits it and it goes far, he yells, "home run!"  And then, when he gets back to where he started, he says, "fireworks!" and then proceeds to make the sound effects (the Pirates shoot off fireworks with every home run).  It was quite entertaining to watch!  I should've taken a video, but here's a pic of the batter!

We didn't end up getting out in the afternoon/evening after naptime.  Jansen has been fighting a virus and he was a wreck.  And it gets dark so early now, that I didn't even get Penn back out to his outdoor project before the sun was setting.  Thankfully Koen and Tavin got some outdoor time after school at a friend's house.  And I was very satisfied with my morning outdoors in the backyard with my little buddies.

K, T, P, J, Me and Megan Magee

This weekend Megan Magee came to visit the boys and I.  Doug's out of town and she's just that amazing kind of friend that came to be with us to lend me a hand (and she knows I don't like staying here alone, not to mention, we were overdue for some long chats!).  We all had a great weekend with her.  The boys all refer to her as "Miss Megan Magee."  At church someone even asked, "who's that with you guys?"  They said, "that's Megan Magee."  As if everyone has a Megan Magee, right?  Well, you are missing out if you don't.

We met up at Koen and Tavin's school on Friday night.  It was a Math & Science Family Fun Night.  The boys really wanted to go, so I dragged all four of them to it.  It was definitely worth it since K & T loved getting to experience it and see a bunch of their school buddies on a Friday night and introduce me to some of them too.  Here are some pics as the boys took part in some of the activities.  Tavin played a numbers matching game with Megan.

Koen played a few rounds of bingo.

Penn did what 3 year olds do best at an event for elementary and middle school kids - somersaults.

We found a geometric puzzle game that Penn enjoyed doing with me.  Janse "enjoyed" it too.  What a trooper that little #4 is!

We left and still managed to get Penn, Janse and Tav down by 8pm.  Then Megan and Koen arrived home shortly after and Koen was all set by 8:30pm.  I was really glad I made the effort to bring the boys, but was also happy to just relax with a sweet friend after the longer evening out with the brood.

On Saturday, we had a few hours at the house and then we went to the zoo as it was the Polar Bear's birthday party and I figured it would make for a fun outing.  I was right!  The boys loved all the activities at the aquarium that were set up as part of the party.  Here they are working on some animal masks.

Tav and Penn both made polar bears with cotton balls and traced their hands inside a polar bear print.

Tav played the game where they try to keep the polar bear on the ice.  I missed the shot of all the ice blocks crashing down though and the polar bear going through the ice (so many children to keep track of sometimes clashes with my picture priorities =)).

While we waited to see the polar bear's eat their cake (yep, that's right, they were going to get some special version of cake!), we enjoyed quite a show by the sea otters.  Penn got super surprised once when they came right up to him at the glass and did a flip.  So fun!

Janse was dressed in his polar bear fleece suit (see the polar bear guy on it?), but his scowl seems to show he's not amused by all this partying for polar bears.

We moved into the underwater tunnel to wait for the polar bears.  The trainers were baiting them with their birthday cakes to get them to jump into the water.  While waiting, I got this pic of Tavin, the bear.  So cute!

So they put the birthday cakes on these floating discs, hoping to get the bears to jump in. 

The first bear though, got lucky and the floating disc came right up to the edge and he snagged the cake and ate it on shore (I mean destroyed it and devoured it).

Then the second bear got a whiff of it and was curious, jealous and hungry for his own cake, but it was way out in the middle of the pool.

It took him awhile and it was really fun to watch him stick his nose in, try to use his paws to get the cake to come his ways, but then finally he gave in and dove in and we all saw him come straight down into the water, directly at us.  It was very satisfying and fun!  He thought it was satisfying too when he got over to his cake...yum!

Here he is dragging it back to the shore.  

After watching the bears enjoy their cake, the zoo had cake for all the birthday party attenders.  The boys were as excited as the bears (of course).  Then we all headed out to see the polar bears above the water.  Such amazing creatures (they were finishing up their treats).

We stopped over at the sea lions and then hung out at the playground while I fed Jansen his food.  It was a pretty chilly day, but we dressed for it and the boys were so happy to be outside (and I was glad to have them out in the fresh air!).  Penn was hilarious on this squirrel thing.  That kid is so expressive.  He was just cracking himself up!

After the playground, we had to walk clear across the zoo to visit the elephants because Penn had been asking about them all day.  But after that, it was already 1:30pm, so we booked it back to the van and then home for naps.  The little guys slept long and hard that afternoon!  

Saturday night was pretty chill.  The boys have really been enjoying crafting in the kitchen pre-dinner time.  I love it.  We chat, they make a mess and create and I make dinner.  After dinner, it was the bedtime routine, but nice to have Megan around to help out so it wasn't all me.  

On Sunday, I had a rough start to the day with the boys.  Just one of those epic Sunday mornings where they are bent on doing the wrong thing and I'm exasperated with trying to get them to want to do the right thing.  We all survived though and got to church on time for the 11am service.  Church was a good breather and fresh start for me and most of the rest of the day was better for it.  It also helped that the Troxells took Tav for a few hours in the afternoon.  They attended the "Caps for Sale" children's musical downtown.  I got a pic from Megan of the crew pre-show.  

Back at the house, Megan Magee was still around for a bit, so Koen and I got to take a walk to do a few quick, closeby errands after I got the little ones down for nap.  That was a treat for me to get some fresh air and some one-on-one time with Koen (since I was trying to release my grudge from the morning!).  Then when we returned it was time to bid goodbye to our sweet friend.  Thanks, Megan Magee.  We appreciate you coming to stay with us so much (especially me!).  You are like an extended part of this family and are always welcome in our home.  We look forward to your next visit already.  Thanks for making this trip Doug is on that much more doable for me back here on the homefront!

Jansen's 9 Month Appointment

The blog can be a little bit like a gray could hanging over my head sometimes.  I mean, just because I'm one of those people who can't stop something she's started and things get busy and I feel like I don't have time for it, etc. But it's nights like tonight when it pays off a little bit.  I went back into the blog to find the stats for the boys' 9 months appointments and laughed until I cried at the pictures I found (particularly of Tav hamming it up at his 9 month appt.!!).  In case you need a good laugh (or cry), just check the links...
Tav's
Penn's

Now for Jansen.  He's landing right around where his brother's did.  He's definitely my smallest baby, but not by much.  He weighed in at 17 lbs., 11 oz. (15th percentile) and was 28 inches long (31st percentile).  He was on the verge of naptime, so he was NOT hamming it up like his big bro Tav a few years ago.  But, he's still pretty cute (and perfectly healthy, praise the Lord).

Nashville in November, Part 4

Well, it's a low key day here in Nashville.  I kept Jansen home while Chris and Moll took the girls to church.  We have a super late flight tonight and he was absolutely exhausted from the women's conference yesterday, so I figured it was in our best interest to get him a good morning nap (and afternoon one too I hope!).  Before his morning nap, we took a few pictures.  Some snuggly ones.  Totally appropriate after this weekend of loving up to my littlest.

I got an email from Doug early this morning with the 3 boys at church already, playing Hangman in his office to kill some time before the services.  These guys are doing great with mom out of town (although Doug has definitely been texting me that they are all ready for my return =)).

This afternoon has also been nice and low key.  After I fed Jansen his lunch we took another walk in the lovely park under the capital building.  It's a gorgeous day here, 60's and sunny.

Jansen didn't last long before his afternoon nap and I was able to sneak out for a second walk after he went down.  I'm glad I did because some cloud cover has now appeared, so it looks like I might have taken advantage of the last of the sun today.  It's been such a great weekend with some much needed down time, quiet time, friend time, learning time and Jansen time.  Here's hoping our super late flight goes smoothly and we are soon home with the rest of the family though.  This has been great, but nothing beats life together. 

Nashville in November, Part 3

Yesterday (Saturday) was the reason I made the trip to Nashville (although, my time with Chirs and Molly, their girls and my little guy has been totally worth the trip on its own!).  Molly and I attended Q Women in Franklin, a nearby town outside of Nashville.  It was a great day of learning, discussing, being challenged and thinking.  Jansen was an ultimate trooper.  9 hours of listening to women talk?!  Yeah, he deserves a medal. =)  He took both his naps while there, just by me laying him in his car seat/stroller and saying, "ok, it's time to take a rest, love you" and giving him his blanket.  What a good boy!  He ate all his meals of the day there and played with Moll and I like a champ, mostly on our laps and in our arms.  Had to have been one of the most boring days in his life yet, but he was great about it and wasn't a distraction to myself, Molly or the women around us.  Good job, Janse!

Now, the Melder boys back in the Burgh got to have themselves a lot more fun than Jansen.  They went to a farm in the South Hills.  The pictures I received via text throughout the day made it look like quite a wonderful time.  Good job, Douglas.  It looks like your activity choice was a hit!  Here are the pics (and I didn't get much info at all except they all enjoyed themselves).  I just love how Tavin puts his arm around Penn.  So sweet!  Ok, here's the hayride...

Cool old fire truck.  Finding Penn is like looking for Goldbug in a Richard Scarry book.

Look at this amazing (and a little scary) slide and Penn is going down it all by himself!

Oh my goodness, I miss this cuteness!!

Well, let's be honest.  I miss all this cuteness.  

 They had goats that you could pet there.  I think my animal lovers must have enjoyed that!

Phew!  What a day!  The boys did get home in time for a late nap for Penn and then they all had a nice evening together.  This was the last pic I got of the day.  There was some cleaning up to do after a day at the farm!

Douglas, amazing job embracing this weekend with your boys and giving them such a fun Fall day.  And thanks for letting me be here with my friend, engaging in some conversations that are churning in my mind, inspiring, provoking and encouraging my soul.