Faces of Tavin

Tavin is making great noises, sounds and faces lately. It's hard to know the letters to use to type the sounds, so I will just have to try and catch some good video of it soon. Anyways, here a few good snapshots of his expressions (by the way, he has added "da, da, da" to his vocabulary!).

Settling into our Fall Routine

I feel like we are settling into our Fall routine, and it feels great! Koen is loving nursery school. We had a Parents' Night this week (yes, that's right, they have Parents' Night for 3 year olds!). Anyways, I loved being there learning about what Koen does during the day. I learned a few of the names of others in his class and asked him about them. "Oh, Koen, I heard there was a Nadia in your class." "Yes, Mommy." "And is there an Anthony in your class?" "Yeah, he has a hard time though, he cries and his mommy has to come." It was so sweet. I actually thought that that would be Koen, so my heart goes out to that mom. Koen is doing so well. The children have to wait to be excused from class individually (it is 2010, it's for security reasons). Koen waits on his little carpet square and they sing the goodbye song for him and then he comes to me. It's so sweet. Thursday is "bag day." They made a special bag that they bring home all their crafts and handiwork from the week in. It's so cute. He has so much pride for it already. Today I bought magnets to put his creations on the fridge each week. I must be a proud mommy, because if you know me, I don't like clutter. But it's worth it to me to show off his sweet artwork.

Anyways, beyond nursery school, we've been settling into the new look of the week with Doug switching his day off from Monday to Friday. Mondays are a little rough for me (Sunday is a long day while he works 12+ hours and I have the boys with no break), but I absolutely love getting Friday and Saturday together as a family. It feels like the weekend comes early even though we've put in a full week. Today, I took advantage of Doug's day off... Koen and I went to "playshop" at our new East Liberty library (we walked of course as it is an amazing weather week in the Burgh!!). We invited our playgroup and it was great. It was just fun to be he and I. Plus, the East Liberty library is amazing! If you are in the Pittsburgh city limits and haven't gone yet, go! It's great. And if you have kids, they are doing a playshop every Friday at 10:30am for the next few weeks.

So, today at playgroup Koen enjoyed reading some new books I requested at the library (man, he is a Thomas fan!, Grampa you would love this new Thomas story we got!), playing with the "transportation toys," and dressing up as a Fireman.

Tavin spent a lot of quality time with Doug today. Doug actually mentioned how much he enjoyed it. Tavin was in his pajamas for most of the day. Here's a picture Doug took. I love the tight thermal pj's! It was sweet though, Doug actually mentioned to me how much he enjoyed the extra time with Tavin. He is such a sweetheart and so, so easy to hang out with.

I actually got to go out during afternoon naps while Doug did yardwork and I got some errands done, yay! Then we stopped at a friend's tonight as a family (in walking distance, so yay, more time outside!). Then I brought Tavin home for bed and shortly after Koen and Doug arrived for bed (Doug has a new seat for Koen on the back of his bike and they are loving getting around together that way!). Here's a final shot of Tavin in the bath. Such a sweetie!

Another Rainy Day, so...Creative Play!

We are having to get really creative here around the Melder house. This morning I built this "playground" for Koen's Little People. It has a microphone, jungle gym, slide, trampoline, sandbox and see-saw. He loved it! (Can you tell that I'm proud of my accomplishment?)

Koen has been playing a lot with Play-Doh this week and today was no exception. He's been loving to pretend that one of the cabinets is the oven. He treats it very carefully, he even uses potholders to open the door and put his playdoh containers in to cook. Today he made me ham & cheese with PB&J. Yum...I'm really glad his creations are out of an inedible object. That didn't sound appetizing to me at all!

I did drag the kids out for a cold, brisk walk today. We have been homebound too many days in a row. Tavin woke up early from his nap and I remembered I had to return a RedBox DVD, so we headed out for a quick jaunt. Koen didn't want to, but it ended up being a highlight of both of our days. He was so talkative there and back about everything he observed on the road, etc. as well as about some things about nursery school. The best part of the walk was that we saw the street sweeper. You should have heard the exclamations of joy!

Because it was only 50 and it was cloudy with potential drizzle, I dressed the kids in full winter garb. They looked so cute. I wish I took a picture of them in the double stroller, but here's a picture of Tavin in his little outfit (he wasn't super psyched about the walk idea until we got going either).

Tavin's rainy week accomplishment (beyond forward crawling) has been that he can now do the ring stacker thing by himself (no joke!) and he is loving putting things "away." Obviously, that is a favorite for me. He was helping us clean up legos this morning and here is a picture of him putting Koen's tools away. I've also included a super cute picture of him talking to me.

Koen and I also built some pretty great car tracks today (these rubber/felt tracks that you can build as a roadway system on the floor for his vehicles). We've also done several craft projects. I can't tell you how excited I am to be outside in the sun tomorrow. This indoor play is fun, but it's tough to keep it exciting! I'm running out of ideas!

Tavin Crawls!!

Today is the day. Tavin has moved from scooting, rolling and manuevering into the true, forward crawl. It is rigid and definitely not smooth as of yet, but he is really crawling now.

Of course, even though I've spent basically every second of his life with him, I believe he took his first few forward crawl movements today in the playroom with my good friend, Kelly, who was hanging out with her daughter, Katie, and Tavin while I laid Koen down early for a nap (Koen was exhausted after nursery school and requested a nap). Classic that I missed the real first, but this video is what came next. I saw his attempts downstairs on the hardwood, but that was so, so frustrating for Tavin, I had to bring him upstairs to the carpet. We also took a congratulatory happy picture after the crawling (the video is a little sad as he is ready for nap and frustrated with all the effort to crawl).

Rainy Days Back Home

Yesterday was quite a return home. Koen was an absoolute disaster. I knew I would get payback for being gone a day and a half, but I didn't really think I deserved the frustrating day he gave me. I haven't had a day that required a balling phone call to my mom at the end of it in quite a few months, but yesterday was definitely that kind of day. Koen is so totally 3 and is also so smart that he knows how to push buttons, disobey knowingly, be stubborn and try and try to wear me down. I have to say I'm quite tough and don't wear down easily, but it is exhausting and I love him so much, it is very sad for my spirit to have to be disciplining him all day long. I pray this hard work and these tough days one day pay off.

Tavin, on the other hand, seems like an angel in comparison (I feel so bad for saying that because Koen is my sweetheart and I love him dearly). Tavin is in such a different phase than Koen...he laughs easy, he is entertained easily and he is almost always agreeable. He has not given me any payback for being gone this weekend, slipping comfortably back into our home life, not skipping a beat (and this is all even with him still dealing with this nasty cold, although his energy level is much better).

Today has been a much better day despite the rain and despite the fact I feel awful today. This morning I woke up with the alarm and quickly rolled out of bed. As I did that I literally heard something crunch in the back of my neck and immediately I was in excruciating pain. I ended up taking some ibuprofen, putting a heat pack on it and going back to bed where I laid in pain for about 30 mins. before falling asleep. The ibuprofen is helping me get through the day, but I am in a lot of pain and do not have full range in motion (can't really turn my head to the right and can't fully use the arm on the right as usual without causing pain). Such an odd start to the day, and an odd malady. I'm really hoping after some more hot packs and some massaging it gets better.

Koen has been easier to deal with today. He has tested me some, but in general seems to not be trying to make my life miserable. He's been really enjoying pretending to cook and bake with Play-Doh. He has also been really enjoying "craft projects" lately too. This usually involves scissors, a glue stick, paper scraps, colored pencils, crayons and stickers. Yesterday, however, he lost privileges of using/having craft supplies upstairs after drawing on the wall with pencil for the first time. Things like that are such a let down as well as such a punch in the face that wake me up to the fact that this innocent child that I thought would never do something that was so obviously not the right use for crayons/pencils would do it on purpose. Human depravity at its best. Another example of that is that he is definitely testing how much little brother can take in terms of physical attention. So scary! He was so sweet the first few months of Tavin's life. Now Koen is definitely acting like a typical rival. I'm looking forward to when he moves on from 3 and this type of behavior! I hope and pray I'm doing the things it takes to help that process along!

Tavin seems to be feling a lot better despite the river running from his nose! He has been happy and very active. Here are some smiles from lunch and a video of Tavin's attempt at crawling (still not quite there yet). The video is also a hilarious glimpse in how we pass the time during playtime here with the two boys. Koen's crazy story-making imagination play mixed with Tavin's bumbling/babbling around. Hilarious!

West Virginia, Part II

Today has been so great. I miss the boys terribly, but all the reports we have gotten from our sitters have been so positive, that we've been able to move on and just enjoy this time together.
This morning after breakfast, I was blogging, doing some picture cataloging/organizing online and picking up some facebook messages. I decided to scroll through the facebook posts and noticed that some dear friends from college had just posted that morning that they had just moved back to Wheeling, WV and were at Oglebayfest for the first time in years. What an ironic coincidence! We haven't been to Wheeling/Oglebay in years (since college) and here we are as well on the same weekend. Thankfully, we had the numbers of these friends, Jon & Molly, and we called them up and asked if we could try and coordinate a meetup. It worked! We met them for lunch at the festival. It was so special to get to see some old friends this weekend.

The festival was impressive, by the way. Doug and I are seriously considering coming down next year with the boys (I felt so guilty that Koen wasn't with us, there were tractor demonstrations and kids were playing on them, lasso lessons, a petting zoo, playgrounds, paddle boats, live music and much more). He would have loved all of it! Doug and I enjoyed it as just us too. It was a warm day (it was supposed to have been rainy and cool, so I was not dressed properly, but oh well). We had to walk around quite a bit to find our friends and explore the festival which was so nice to be outside on such a gorgeous Fall day. We figured we would just lay around in bed all day, but that got old fast (I was up at 8am). So it was great there was something to do!

Koen did have a fabulous day even though he wasn't with us for the festival. He got to go to the Children's Museum with Megan and Sky. There was a Curious George exhibit that ended today. Doug and I have been meaning to take him during this special display and haven't gotten around to it (plus I am so cheap!). We were so happy he could go. He loves Curious George from the books and the PBS show. He played in that exhibit as well as others. Megan said he really loved the water floor at the museum. They had an activity today where you could make your own sailboat and then float it. Koen loved it and did that for 30 mins. My little engineer!

Tavin had a good day too. Unfortunately, he was still feeling quite under the weather, but Sean and Jen did such a great job just loving on him, feeding him and making sure he had some great naps. Tonight after bath, apparently he really perked up for 20 mins. and Jen was encouraged that maybe he was turning the corner on this prolonged cold. I sure hope so! I can't wait to see him tomorrow morning! Here is a picture of Tavin and Uncle Sean at midday...

The wedding was beautiful and so special. Douglas, as usual, did such a great job. Amanda, the bride, is a co-worker of Doug's and has become like a sister to Doug over the years. It was great to be a part of her day and we are so happy for she and Chris, the groom. Here are a few pictures of Pastor Doug and myself enjoying the afternoon/evening.

West Virginia for the Weekend, Part I

Doug was asked to do a wedding in West Virgina this weekend for a friend of ours. He gladly accepted the honor and we have been looking forward to this weekend away for months.

Yesterday we drove down to WV on a back road along the river that goes right into Wheeling. We passed through quintessential towns, barges on the river and several coal plants. The drive was really interesting and pretty. The industrial side of it and the hills really made it obvious we were driving through West Virginia.

Wheeling has some special memories for Doug and I. In college, we basically met (or really, he finally noticed me) on a retreat at Oglebay here in Wheeling. From then on he pursued me and we dated through the rest of college until engagement and the wedding. It all started here. =) It's surreal to be back and think that we have two little guys at home and we've been married over 9 years! The rehearsal dinner was actually in Oglebay Park last night. Here's a picture of the view there and a picture of us.

Koen is at our place with friends. He did awesome when we left. He was completely happy. Our friend Megan laid him down for nap and he went right to sleep. They had fun last night it seemed. Here is an adorable picture of them that she sent last night.

Tavin is with Aunt Jen and Uncle Sean. Unfortunately, Tavin has gone downhill each day with this cold that he just can't kick. I felt so horrible leaving him, but it was a relief to know he was in good hands with Jen. She is a baby pro! Tavin didn't cry when I left him which was a relief to me. I wasn't sure I'd be able to go through with leaving him if he lost it when I left. This is the first time I've left him overnight and it is the first time Doug & I have gotten away together without both boys since before we were even pregnant with Tavin (Hawaii Trip, January 2009).

I haven't heard from Megan about Koen yet this morning, but I did hear that Tavin slept all night until his usual wake-up of 8am and then he actually took the bottle! He had about 8 oz! He hasn't been into the bottle the last few months, so I wasn't sure how this would work. I was so relieved that he had it (especially with the congestion). I told you, Aunt Jen is a pro!

Well, I will update the blog later with anything interesting that happens. Doug and I are looking forward to a laid back morning and really have no plans until the wedding. Yay!