Just Like Old Times

Today we had an unexpected but very welcome visitor at our house: Kaiser's friend, Koen! Koen's daddy, Doug, called this morning to let me know that his and Amy's 6-month-old, Tavin, had been admitted to Children's Hospital with pneumonia. Bless his little heart! Amy was there with him, but Doug needed someone to watch Koen while he spent some time there, too. Brett is back in Oklahoma this weekend for a wedding, and Kaiser and I were home alone with no plans set in stone for the day, so I said we would love to have Koen come play with us! Although Koen spent several Wednesdays with us before his baby brother was born, and we sometimes are lucky enough to get to see him multiple times a week, I think it's been since Kaiser's 1st birthday party that he was at our house! Kaiser and I (and Berkeley, too!) were very excited to have him back with us for a few hours of the day.

Doug dropped off Koen around 10:30am, and not long after he arrived I suggested that we all go outside to play with Kaiser's new water table (a fabulous gift from YaYa that was just delivered a couple of days ago!). The weather forecast is calling for thunderstorms nonstop from late this afternoon all the way through Monday morning, so I thought it would be great to get as much sunshine as we could before being cooped up inside. Man, was it HOT out there! I was tempted to fill up the pool and let them swim, too, but Koen didn't have his swimsuit with him. They had a blast splashing around with some of Kaiser's bath toys in the water, though, and after a while were ready to come inside to cool off before lunchtime.

Hard to get face shots when they're wearing their hats and hard at play!

Stopping to look up at an airplane flying overhead.

"Does that octopus want to go for a ride in the boat, Kaiser?"

"Nope, he wants to take a dip in the top of the waterwheel."

Once back inside, the boys hung out in the living room while I got their food ready.

Playing a duet.

(Kaiser's sporting Thomas the Train stickers on his back--a gift from Koen.)

"Let me help you get those cookies in the jar."

"Be careful not to knock that down, Kaiser!"

Hungry boys!

After lunch, we continued to play inside for a while. It is so fun watching and listening to Kaiser and Koen interact with one another. Koen has very much assumed his role as the older brother, giving Kaiser guidance and explaining what he thinks they should do next. It's hard for him to understand sometimes that Kaiser doesn't always get what he's saying and so can't completely cooperate, but Koen is patient and kind and quick to move on to something new if need be. I hope Kaiser is as good with his baby brother. :)

Arranging magnets on the fridge.

Koen making sure they're just right.

Pretty soon the backyard was calling our names again, so we headed outside for another short water table session.

"This thing comes off? Interesting..."

Koen asked me to take his picture, then decided to smile at me through the blue cup. :)

A little after 1pm, Koen requested that we go inside so he could use the potty, and at that point I realized that Kaiser was in desperate need of a nap. He had a mini-meltdown when I would not let him go into the bathroom with his friend, so I asked Koen to play quietly in the living room while I spent some quiet time reading to and cuddling with Kaiser before he laid down to rest. Koen had been telling me all morning that he thought it was Kaiser's naptime, so I think this came as no surprise to him. :) I think my sweet boy was relieved to be out of the heat and in his cool, dark room, so he fell asleep quickly (and, after a morning of fun with his buddy, will hopefully stay asleep for quite a while!). I joined Koen back downstairs, where we cleaned up some toys and I put on a Bob the Builder DVD for him to watch until his daddy came to pick him up. Doug arrived about 2pm to take his boy (who I think was equally tired) home for a nap, as well.

Kaiser and I so enjoyed the chance to spend some quality time with Koen. We wish it were under other circumstances, and are praying for Baby Tavin's quick and complete recovery and peace of mind for his mommy and daddy! We love you, Melders!