At Home with Helen

 Our first weekend home together! We spent time just cuddling Helen and getting to know this new little one that God has brought into our lives.

 The boys took turns holding Helen. Micah, especially, thinks it is important who is the first person to hold her - when they wake up, after she eats, after they eat... it's all a bit of a competition right now.

Micah does hold her longer than he used to like holding Baby Henry... though there is still an ending point!

Henry is most fascinated by Helen's pacifier. He wants to constantly take it out - or put it in, according to his wishes, not Helen's. 

Henry still is more likely to call her "Baby Sister" instead of by her name. I guess that's not a surprise, since that's what we've called her for months. He's not quite pronouncing Helen correctly yet. It sounded originally like "Baby Colin" (his second cousin's name), but now it sounds like "Baby Kelen." Previously, Micah had hoped we would name her "Little Minnie". However, Mommy figured she would be a tall girl and the name wouldn't fit. (We do use the name though - when we play the board game "Sorry" Micah says we have to say "Little Minnie" instead of "Sorry" for some unknown reason.) Micah still most often calls Helen "Sister" also. Eventually, we'll get her name right!

The weekend before Helen was born, we bought a new king-size bed, which meant we needed to also buy a new mattress, box springs, and sheets! Mommy was a little irritated at that time about the timing of that purchase and the extra shopping it required. But now Mommy is thrilled to have the bigger bed. We spent a lot of time that first weekend together cuddling in the big bed. And all five of us fit!

Some of the sweet things Micah said to Helen while holding her this weekend:
"Sister, when you get to be three and a half, I'll teach you how to golf."
"You're so beautiful, Sister!"
"Sister, can you wink?"

Here's a little video of our first morning together at home. This little girl is going to be one well-loved girl with the way her brothers dote on her (she will also probably be pretty tough, thanks to Henry). 

We welcomed Grandma and Poppa Roe that Saturday also, as they made the drive from Hartford to meet Helen. Grandma told Poppa, "When we get there, be sure you hold her right away because then I plan to hold her the rest of the time!" Helen was perfectly happy to sleep in Grandma's arms for the afternoon!

In the evening, Miss Jan also came over to meet Helen. And she brought us about a week's worth of meals - such an incredible gift for weary parents!

Sunday morning, we snuggled in bed a bit with our three little monkeys in their monkey pajamas. 

 Later, Micah and Helen listened to Mommy read a "Magic Treehouse" book - Micah has been very into this series lately. (While the reading level is a little high for his age, he can't get enough -and asks a lot of questions about words he doesn't know, so Mommy figures he's building his vocabulary.) Helen lay there wide-eyed and listening for a while as well. Perhaps we'll have another bookworm in the family!

 While the boys played outside with Daddy, Mommy and Helen got some "quiet time" together (sleep for Helen, Bible reading for Mommy). Mommy was very thankful for this moment!

 When Henry wakes up from his nap, the first thing he does is run to find Helen. When he leans in to give her a hug, he always says, "That's nice!" We really are getting our money's worth out of that bed... seems like we're spending lots of time there (Mommy was also pretty thrilled not to be sleeping in a hospital bed anymore). Apparently, God's timing was right on getting the bed after all.