Bayou Bound, Part 2

The irony is hilarious, but I left the Burgh in beautiful weather and down here at Rocky Bayou, it's been an odd mixture of rain and wind overshadowing the normal sunny and warm May weather.  Oh well, the company is great and the time with Phil's girls is precious (not to mention I love my special travels with Penn!).  Last night I tried to get a few pictures of Penn and his one year, one day older cousin Eleanor.  Penn seems to not mind his curious cousin.

But I don't think this is a look of a positive reaction for Penn's curiosity in her direction.

Eleanor also helped Penn learn the ropes of her old exersaucer.  Penn might be wary of unfamiliar adults, but he is soooo comfortable with little ones.  He loves to watch Eleanor!

I got some sweet cuddle time with Elizabeth yesterday.  She is so sweet!  She even waves at the camera!

And then this one she just looks sooo perfect and peaceful!

While we were stuck indoors most of the evening (save for the awesome covered back porch here) due to rain, Doug and the boys had some post-nap playtime at a playground.  Look at how grown-up Koen looks!

And it turns out Tav was in quite the awesome mood after a 3 hour+ nap (Daddy wears this guy out!).  He was doing his "outside dinosaur voice."  Apparently he and Doug got a book about a dinosaur learning his inside and outside voice.  Perhaps it will be helpful in training our intense decibel level children?

Here he is striking another pose.  Super adorable.  I wish he didn't have the hilarious sunglasses on (cute, but oh, those blue eyes underneath!).

We all had good rests both back in the Burgh and here on the Bayou.  The boys at home woke up to another gorgeous day and I woke up to rain.  Thankfully it cleared by 10am, but before that happened we killed time taking pictures...again.

Here's some closeups of Elizabeth who had some great wake time showing off her big baby blues!

Big sister didn't want to be left out, so I invited her to join the photo shoot.  

Back in Pittsburgh, Doug had the boys helping get things ready for his mom's visit.  Nana should be a nice distraction and help while Mommy is away, although I have to say that Douglas is one talented Daddy.  The boys are having a blast.  I don't think they will care if/when I come home!  Tav was in charge of Swiffer sweeping, Koen had the Swiffer duster.  

Koen also cleaned up their room and made the beds.  Look how proud he is.  (Is it sad that I wish I could just straighten up the comforter and pull back the curtains?).

Since the house was picked up, Doug thought they should get out of there before they messed it up again.  They headed to Home Depot for some mulch.  Turns out there was a workshop going on and they got to build and paint their own little planters.  The boys loved it!

Penn has finally rebounded from last week's cold and the lack of sleep and strain from the travel day.  He is really warming up to Uncle Phil and Aunt Leah and is much more comfortable here.  Here he is just being a man like his Uncle Phil, a little Lazy Boy time never hurt anyone, right?

Bonding with silly Uncle Phil.  Penn's still deciding what he thinks. 

Well, that's it for now.  I'm really enjoying the laid back nature of Phil & Leah's hospitality combined with having one versus three of my own kids to care for.  Rain or not, it's relaxing and very enjoyable.  Hopefully I'll post more tomorrow!

Bayou Bound, Part 1

This weekend Penn and I have the special treat of flying down to Florida so that I can be with my brother, his wife and their two daughters.  The occasion for the trip is to meet their newest addition, Elizabeth, but really, I didn't need much of an excuse.  I've been missing family, I love hanging out with my brother and wife, Leah, and well, they live in paradise.  Tavin and Doug took Penn and I to the airport yesterday morning.  I was so thrilled that Tavin was completely fine with Mommy "leavin' on a jet plane."  He seemed so thrilled to be looking forward to a few days with Dad (and not to mention he and Koen can NOT stop talking about the impending visit from Nana and cousin, Casey on Saturday/Sunday).  Penn was amazing on the plane rides despite the fact he's still getting over the weird cold/virus that blew through Tav, Penn and I this past week or so.  Here he is all ramped and ready to go!

And right after liftoff he was ready to nap, so I smuggled my travel bed into position, laid him in and after one sad, pitiful cry he put his thumb in his mouth and passed out.  

Tavin had a great morning with Doug.  Look at this super happy picture I received upon landing for our connection in Chicago.  I think he's regaining his strength and silly stamina!

Doug took Koen and Tavin to Highland Park after Koen got out of school.  These are such sweet (and dilapidated) brother pictures.  Koen was dressed for "crazy day" at school, that's why his shirt is inside out and unbuttoned. =)

The rest of mine and Penn's travel day went very well, although Penn was exhausted of course.  He's such a trooper and great traveler.  He even pretty much adjusted to the time change in our first evening and went to sleep at his normal time, sleeping all night long and waking up happily after 7am and chatted to himself until 8am.  He and Eleanor had some playtime in their PJ's after breakfast.  Penn's saying, "I'm so happy to be here!"

"Ok, this time I'll look down and you look up, Eleanor."

Apparently the rest of the big boys' night went well at home too and Doug successfully got them out the door on time for school (for Koen) and speech therapy (for Tav).  Look how grown up they are (and yes, a little shaggy, I've yet again forgotten to schedule a hair appointment!).

Pittsburgh is actually getting warmer, brighter weather than we are in Florida today, but you can't beat this lovely backdrop, the peaceful bayou (and not to mention the adorable Eleanor!).

She and I spent almost two hours out in the backyard this morning playing while Penn took a nice long (and much needed) morning nap.  She is super talkative and relational.  I'm so enjoying getting to know her better.  Phil grabbed my camera and got her to do some poses this morning.  Such a sweet face!

Well, that's it for now.  It's relaxing being here minus 2 of my boys.  I miss them like crazy (and Doug too).  We love coming to Florida together and enjoying my family and all the outdoors has to offer here.  Next time, we have to all make the trek!

Braly Buds

This morning (after a smattering of errands) Tav, Penn and I had a fun, laid back playdate at the Braly's.  Tavin loves going to Kaiser's house!  Kaiser is phenomenal at sharing and his little bro, Porter, does just as well.  And Tavin loves the cool boy toys they have on hand.  Today he was particularly excited about the helicopter.  Here's Tav with the helicopter nad his bud, Kaiser.

Tavin also remembered the train tracks (with automatic Thomas engines!).  Here are all 3 little guys working together.

Now, little Miss Malone and Penn are a lot of fun to shoot photos of as they just sit there and make cute faces and sort of interact with one another.  So much fun.  Here's what I got this morning...
"Is she touching me?" says Penn.  Malone seems to think it's funny!

Penn decides that he is going to use this invasion of space to his advantage..."well, I have an itch right here, Malone, can you get it?"  Malone doesn't look amused.

"So, Malone, what face do you think we should do next?...Oh, that's a good one!" says Penn.

It was a super fun, relaxed morning catching up with Kyndal, getting our kids together (well, most of them, Koen was at school of course) and we also got a visit from Captain America.

Thanks for a nice morning, Kyndal!  We love you guys!  

Home Church: Honesty

Although I prefer getting out with other believers, the fellowship, the corporate worship, the teaching, etc., I have to say, I enjoy these opportunities to simplify things and just learn by teaching my boys.  Today I chose honesty as our theme since Koen has become a master of little white lies that make his life easier.  I found some great resources online.  First of all, I let them watch a Hermie & Friends DVD segment..."The Truth About Telling Lies."  Then we worked on our memory verse...

Psalm 34:13
Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies.

I had that song on CD from "Hide 'em in your Heart" by Steve Green.  In the second verse you hold your tongue and sing the words (not easy!), Koen loved it.  Hopefully it helps the powerful words stick!  Koen pulled out his guitar for our worship time and he instructed that he was going to play along with the CD and that Tav and I could sing and hold our tongues.  Thanks, Koen.

Next I read an applicable Bible story that I had found from a great Focus on the Family website (it's actually Focus on the Family Canada!).  I chose to read the Jeremiah 28 story where Jeremiah calls out the prophet Hananiah on a lie.  I thought the summary sounded good last night when I read it before bed, so I figured it'd be great.  Yep, always read the text before plowing into it with your little ones.  Oops, God kills Hananiah for lying.  Well, I guess I got my point across.  You should've seen Koen's eyes open wide!  

Then we moved on to snacktime (which probably eradicated any fears of smiting due to lying).  And finally, craft time.  I also got this idea off of the Focus on the Family website I shared.  We made Certificates of Authenticity.  The boys wrote their names in, I signed it and then they decorated it to make it super special since it is such a big deal to say you are trustworthy.  The boys both loved this activity.  Glitter, glitter glue and glue were the most popular decor items.  I need to invest in much more of this stuff!  Here's Tav working.

And Koen...

Here's his finished product.  He was quite proud.

I have to say that home church was really the highlight of our morning.  I love doing this stuff with the boys.  I definitely missed getting out to church, but this was a great and special substitute.  Love you two and I do pray that the Lord will help you keep those tongues from evil and those lips from speaking lies.  

Weekend Work and Woes

Friday and Saturday were beautiful weather days here in the Burgh.  Warm, breezy and the perfect atmosphere for Spring yardwork.  Doug used every spare moment to get things done outside and Koen was his right hand man.  Tavin was the understudy and did quite well also. Doug was excited that the boys proved to actually be quite helpful.  Having a brood of boys could be as useful as it is fun!  Here are some pictures of the big boys hard at work with their dad.

Tavin was feeling a lot better on Friday and loved the opportunity to be working with Doug and Koen.  He has quite a good work ethic when he's feeling up to it!

Oh yes, do note the new sunglasses.  He's crazy about them.

Koen is impressively strong and able to really help Doug (as long as he pays attention to instruction!).

Now the reason the blog post is titled "Weekend Work and Woes" is because of the yucky cold that continues to keep a few of us down.  I was still feeling pretty nasty on Friday and poor Penn was pretty uncomfortable as well, but definitely slightly improved over his Thursday fevers, etc.  Penn and I didn't get outside much during his wake times, but here we are catching a little observation time and sun.

Later in the evening I had him out and threw one of Tav's hats on him to keep him warm as the sun set and the cool Spring evening began.  He was adorable in the hat and pathetic with the snot, so I had to include these pics (sorry about his nose!).

Thankfully everyone had a good night's sleep on Friday night despite all the congestion and coughing heard over the monitors (this is a nasty virus/cold, but Tav and Penn are such troopers!).  In the morning Penn had some great energy even though the cold was definitely still present.  He even cooperated and showed off his newest trick for the camera.  Penn does, "SO BIG!"  Come on, Penn, like Koen...

Up, up, come on, Penn!

Yay!!  So big!

Unlike Penn, Tav seemed to be quite tired on Saturday, but thankfully he was still eager to be outside.  I took all 3 boys for a picnic at the park while Doug had to be away at midday/in the afternoon.  Here are the Melder boys enjoying their playful lunchtime.

I had to take some pictures of Penn as it was great to see him with a little more of his usual energy (and slightly less snot).

We headed home for naptime and this is when the improvements and encouragement kind of came to a quick close (back to the woes of the weekend).  Penn barely slept due to his congestion and coughing.  Poor kid!  Tav did sleep, but when he woke up he was really lethargic and after awhile I discovered that he had a fever of 102!  Here we go again.  Ugh!  (Although I'll take this over the stomach bug any day!).  Tavin was pretty much a wreck until bedtime and Penn was overtired too.  We got through the evening though and even took a wagon walk down the street (sickies in the wagon, big bro pulling the two...so bummed I didn't grab a pic!).  With Tav having a fever so close to church time on Sunday, we were unable to attend today even though he seems much better again.  Hopefully that means he doesn't have an ear infection.  I'm sure everyone at church is pretty happy we didn't bring in the runny noses either!  Check out the next blog post for home church recap. =)