Marathon Morning

It was another cloudy and rainy start to the day. We had a nice breakfast with Nana at home, then Koen and Nana headed upstairs to play. His imagination is hilarious. By the time I had finished cleaning up the kitchen and got up to the playroom with Tavin Koen had he and Nana on an exploration of Antarctica searching for a pink pengiun. And to top it all off, he was driving a bus (his top bunk) to get them there. Hilarious! We played some more and got ready for our day and finally by about 10:45am we were ready to go do something. I checked the radar and decided to just think positively and ignore the green blobs hovering and churning around the greater Pittsburgh area. Today was the Pittsburgh marathon so we headed out on foot because with all the road closures driving anywhere would be frustrating. Plus, with all this rain, we were all in need of some fresh air and exercise. From our house you could actually hear the cheering and music, so we decided to walk down to Liberty Ave. in Bloomfield and see what was going on. It was a party! It was so much fun.
Right at the end of our street practically there was a water station and where they had music playing and a very pro-Pittsburgh/Bloomfield lady was welcoming all the runners into Bloomfield, "It's all downhill from here" I heard her say. She was a trip. Here's a video of her singing along to the music, welcoming the runners and checkout the police officer enjoying her job of watching over this water stop!

We stayed there to watch the runners (we must have come at a good time because there were lots that passed right then), listen to the music and people watch for awhile. I had to include this picture. Check out the nuns running!
Then I figured we might as well walk the course down Liberty Ave. I had no idea that we would run into 3 live bands and tons of "fans" out to cheer on the runners and their friends.
People were partying on the sidewalks and keeping spirits up for the runners. It was such a fun experience. I had no idea there was so much watcher-fun involved in a marathon. Is it like this everywhere? This is going on my list of things-to-do every year for sure!

On our way home we were passing by the playground in Bloomfield so we made a last minute decision to chance the rain some more and let the kids get some exercise. It was fun to see Nana working with Tav on the slides and swings. She pushed Koen on the swings a little too, but apparently I push harder and higher, so I was back on Koen duty.After awhile we headed home for lunch. I was so, so thankful for the surprise outdoor time. It was so good for my soul to get outside after all this rain and a forecast that looks like much of this week we'll be indoors as well.

Nana left around naptime. It was a fast visit, but a great one. Thanks so much for making the trip, Nana. It was a great time for all of us!

Nana's Here

Only a long morning of a super-whiney Koen after Douglas left for the airport, Nana arrived!!! Yay! Doug's mom is here for the night and it was excellent that she could make the trip to see the boys and I love the company and extra hand!

The boys went to their afternoon naps soon after Nana got here and I had to go to a baby shower, but this evening after I got back and the boys got up from their naps we had a really nice family time. Nana read a book to Koen and then he came down with me to make dinner. Tavin stayed with Nana to play. Sally and I are both so amazed at how chill Tavin is with her. It's been a month or two since he's seen her last and he was completely comfortable with her today when I left, being laid down for his nap by her, everything! I think he totally reads big brother's tone with people and then responds similarly by nature. Anyways, it was great to see him so comfortable with his Nana.

After our dinner we took advantage of a break from the clouds and rain that have been surrounding us most of the day and went on a quick walk to the playground. Tavin only got to play there for about 10 minutes, but he loved it. Koen and Nana stayed for an extra 15 minutes or so after I brought Tavin home for bath and bed. Koen was keeping her busy when we left. At one point he said, "Nana, do you want to climb the rock wall with me?" Nana replied, "uh, no thank you!"
Koen had a snack and then headed up to bed with a request for Nana to lay him down (yes!) and she willingly and happily agreed, so they had another sweet time together tonight. I just love watching my kids enjoy their grandparents.

Family Day at the International Children's Festival

So, Douglas leaves tomorrow for a week in Nicaragua. It's been busy (when is life with little ones not busy?) and so most days off for Doug have consisted of one-on-one time with one of the boys, or sometimes taking over watching both of them so I can get something done and of course those Spring outdoor chores that have been keeping him on his toes. Today we made great effort to actually just have a fun day together. And it was great!

Every year Pittsburgh hosts an International Children's Festival in Oakland. It's fantastic. There are multiple theatrical events offered. We've never done one of these before, but this year "Knuffle Bunny" was being performed in the form of a musical, so we took advantage of it and brought the boys for a fun theatrical display of a favorite of Koen's books.
The performance was actually about an hour long. Tavin lasted about three-quarters of it which was impressive to me. Koen, on the other hand, loved, loved, loved every minute of it!

After the musical, we headed out to the lawn beside Heinz Chapel where there were a bunch of tents with different activities for the kids. Northway Oakland had a great tent for making paper-bag puppets. Such a cute idea and it was super packed there, so that was fun to see. Great job Megan on the craft and your festive looking tent! Koen enjoyed making a personalized puppet, but wasn't really in the mood to do a puppet show.Next we headed to a little tennis activity. It was super lame though (we were so annoyed at the lady there!). Koen was excited to do the tennis thing and then the lady wouldn't let them hold the racket themselves and each kid only got to hit 2 balls. Anyways, it was so, so lame. Poor Koen totally burst into tears and honestly, I didn't blame him. We had a good chat about it (although I had to really think about how to explain the situation to him without absolutely bashing the lady that totally made this a frustrating experience!) and moved on.

We stopped quickly to play with sidewalk chalk (there was this great artist from the zoo doing a beautiful picture of painted dogs). Tav was happy to have something he could sort of take part in!Koen enjoyed interviewing with a local PBS radio station. Apparently his interview will eventually be available online. Fun! Grampa, you'll be proud, he totally mentioned you to the people at the booth.
Tavin was getting pretty restless from the heat, lots of time in the stroller and his weird cough/sickness, so we headed over to the big tent at Schenley plaza to watch a high school band perform some fun, upbeat songs (including Louie, Louie, which Tav loved!).Doug and Koen met back up with us and we got in line for the carousel (free rides during the festival!). It was Tavin's first ride and big brother was super excited since it had been awhile since he had been on a carousel as well. Tavin got to ride the giraffe (it's a favorite animal right now because it's displayed in his room and Doug taught him the name and he's really proud that he can sort of say it). Koen was on a super large bunny that went up and down right next to Tavin. Tavin was just in awe and wonder the whole time. So cute!
From there we headed to get some lunch and found a new great place on Craig St., "Eat Unique." Yummy, healthy food. Perfect! Plus, it's across the street from "Razzy Fresh" so we had a delicious frozen yogurt treat after lunch too. Super special day!

The boys were pretty tired when we got home, so I took Tavin to a quick, cooling bath and then to nap. Koen played with Doug for a bit and then also hit the hay. The boys ended up sleeping great. Ahhhh.... I got a bunch of work done and Doug packed for Nicaragua.

After naps, Tavin went out for errands with Doug and I got to spend some one-on-one time with Koen. I forget what that's like sometimes. I need to do that more. Koen loved it. We played cars, then we made dinner for he and Tav (whole wheat English muffin pizzas) and he was so sweet helping with it all). After dinner actually, Tavin and Doug played upstairs and Koen asked me if we could do some cleaning projects. Of course I said, "yes!" I think he knows that I love to clean! He was actually super helpful as we got dinner cleaned up and then he wanted to do some bigger projects too. I just loved his conversational, helpful attitude tonight. So sweet. Just my little pal. A refreshing break from some tough days in the recent weeks. I love my boys so much!

It was a great day. After we put the little bugs to bed, Doug made pizza and I did a few more tasks around the house. We finally stopped our productivity and got to chill and have a meal and relax. Seriously, a great day. Douglas, you will be missed! I hope this week goes super fast. The boys and I are going to miss you so, so much!

My Little Trooper

Tavin has been battling a mild cold and probably Spring allergies as well that then turned into quite a cough. Yesterday he had a fever and last night he woke up in a cold, trembling sweat, poor little thing. Look at how sweet and happy he was yesterday despite not feeling 100%.Today he seems to be better despite still having quite a cough. We'll see though. We kept him quite busy this morning on a super fun family time this AM (I will post about this later tonight most likely). Hopefully he'll finally take a long afternoon nap (his cough has been waking him up all week!).

Koen's New Haircut

Koen was way overdue for a haircut, so this morning we finally had an opportunity to get it done. I set us up in the backyard under the patio umbrella with DVD player and everything. He enjoyed it and I loved that we got fresh air, plus it spared me cleaning the living room floor after the cut. Here's his new look. I tried to leave the top long (and hopefully it will cooperate and go the direction it is supposed to) and then I got the back and sides nice and short. He looks like quite the big boy!

New Ride?

So our double stroller that was so kindly given to us from some friends that were done using it is on its last leg. We had a break in an important metal piece last week, not to mention the boys are getting very heavy to push in this type of stroller. When we were at the Friendship Folk & Flower Festival, we ran into some friends and happened to just mention we were on the market for a new double stroller and these kind neighbors offered us their super sweet Phil & Ted's e3 for free! Yesterday Doug picked it up and I got it cleaned up in the afternoon. This morning I had the boys in it for our maiden voyage, only to realize I forgot to pump up the wheels and then wasn't able to do to the bike pump not fitting into the tires. Oh well. As soon as we get air, we'll be ready and off on many an adventure in our new "vehicle." I'm looking forward to seeing how this type of stroller rolls along with these heavy guys in it. It's got to be better than what I was doing at least!

Mother's Day 2011

Yesterday was a fun day with my little family and many of our friends. I felt very special and so blessed reflecting on the gift it is to be a mom to my sweet boys.

Our day started with a busy morning at church. We had to arrive early for a singing practice because the pre-K and elementary kids were going to sing on stage for Mother's Day. Here are two of the practices...can you tell Koen is still waking up?


A sweet mom at church made all the participating families breakfast for before the 9am service. So sweet! (And tasty!). The boys loved it. Tavin, of course, ate 3 helpings of quiche. Koen enjoyed a special blueberry muffin. The whole Mother's Day church service was just lovely. The worship, the kids singing on stage and Doug's sermon was great (I know, I'm a big fan, but it was really a good message). We stayed in between services so that Koen could participate in the singing on stage again at the next service. Tavin was a trooper after already spending most of his morning in nursery with one of his favorite nursery workers, our friend, Megan.

At one point Koen even came and checked on him through the window. Megan said it was so cute! At the 11am service I got another video of Koen performing with all the kids. So funny!

And a few pictures... He absolutely loved the experience. He was much more into it this time than last time. When he woke up in the morning initially he had remembered that it was church and that he was getting to sing on stage and he said, "I'm so excited, Mommy, do you want to see the dance I'm going to do?" Thankfully he didn't do the dance. It was pretty intense! =) In the second service 3 babies from our small group were dedicated. It was so fun to see such good friends do this intentional step for their little ones and all the babies were so, so cute (and good too - no cries!). After church we headed to Uncle Sean & Aunt Jen's for a big lunch party which was fun, but the boys were pretty tired, so we had to head home pretty soon after we finished lunch. The afternoon was low key as the boys napped and I got things done and Doug rested in between services. Doug went back to work and then the boys woke up and we played until dinnertime. After dinner, Megan & Sky stopped by and that was a fun way to finish the evening (especially since Doug wasn't there). We enjoyed hanging out on the front porch in the warm sun until it was time to start the boys' bedtime routine. With all the community, friends and my sweet boys throughout the day I was very grateful for this blessed life I lead as I prayed with the boys before bed. God is so generous to me. After the boys were in bed, Doug came home and we had a pizza night. He had surprised me first thing in the morning with a gift card to get my hair done (envelope decorated by Koen (with Thomas stickers to describe me Doug said - read them, it's funny!)). Earlier in the week Koen had also given me his "surprise" canvas painting he did for me at nursery school, which he opened on his way home from nursery school on Thursday because he just couldn't wait to give it to me. Oh, Koen! But last night he also surprised me with a special mini dessert trio (all chocolates of course) from Whole Foods. Here's a pic of the luscious desserts and a glimpse at what I was keeping busy with before bed last night (my new attempt to save us even more money by couponing like crazy!). It was a "sweet" end to a great day!