On Tues, Sept 23 Daddy left on (another!) business trip, this time to Philadelphia. Grandma Moldy came and spent some time with us, which was a huge blessing for Mommy and the kids. Maybe not so much for Grandma... Micah liked having Grandma stay in the boys' room for their slumber party the last time she came (because the usual guest room was taken by Uncle Peter who was visiting), so he convinced Grandma to again stay on the bottom bunk below him. Poor Grandma... Micah woke up twice to go to the bathroom that night. Henry also woke up once because he couldn't find his pacifier. In contrast, Helen only woke up once, so Mommy had a much easier night than Grandma!
Micah arranged for us to take a "bus ride to Philadelphia." The couch functioned as our bus but we were only permitted to enter the bus if we were wearing hats (such strict rules on this business trip!).
Mommy took the occasion to try to get a selfie with the boys.
Well, we all survived the night. And the next day, Helen became 3 weeks old - and finally was back to her birth weight at 7lbs, 14 oz.
To celebrate, Helen had her first play date. The boys had a bit of fun, as well.
We gathered with three other babies born this summer. All of their mommies have been in a small group bible study with our mommy over the years. It was a great reunion for the mommies, who appreciated comparing notes and sympathizing.
Youngest to oldest: Helen, Lucy Fairbanks, Simon Romines, and Paul Szpara
The big brothers, including Barrett Fairbanks joined in for a photo as well. We missed Leo Romines that day though.
Daddy came home late this night, but not before we traveled again by bus, this time to Florida, where we boarded a cruise ship bigger than the Titanic (Micah assured Mommy there were no "ice cubes" in the water to put us in danger).
The next morning, Helen was bright-eyed at 4am, so Mommy started out the day a bit tired. But looking at those beautiful eyes - it's hard not to fall in love, even if it is with someone who is robbing you of sleep!
The boys entertained their sister on the living room floor during and after tummy time. Henry also took a turn to "burp" Helen - a new role he discovered he can play to help take care of his sister.
At 24 days old, Helen surprised us when she rolled from tummy to back all by herself - twice! Maybe she just wanted to get a better view of her brothers. Mommy was too surprised to get any video of the event. But Henry was the coach with her on the blanket at the time.
We were thankful to have Chit Chat Club friends visit us this Thurday. Nami came for lunch and Kaori, Chisaki, Yurika, and Mei-chan came in the afternoon. We like having someone help break up the day, especially when Daddy is coming home late. This Thursday was Daddy's first time playing basketball after work this season. He did ask Mommy first if it was ok, and she agreed, though made him promise that they could get professional family photographs taken in exchange (AND he has to be smiling in them!). Nami was sweet enough to bring food for our dinner. So at meal time, the boys got out their chopsticks...
In the evening, we had a dance party - in costume, of course. Micah said he wanted to be completely covered so no one would know who he was. So he wore his Woody costume, with a Superman cape, superhero mask, and a Japanese furoshiki on his head.
Dance parties always start with the Tobymac song "Me Without You" (or as we call it, "The packing my bags song").
While it was a long day for Mommy, God did provide her with help when needed. In fact, at one point when both Helen and Henry were crying, Micah turned to Mommy and asked, "You want me to deal with one of these kids?"
On Friday, Daddy knew Mommy was tired after a long week, so thankfully he was able to work from home. This also worked out well because our new furnace was being installed this day. After dinner, we packed up the kids and headed to our favorite park in downtown Brighton - our first trip there with Helen. And we realized on the way there that we had forgotten the diaper bag (this was troubling to Mommy because it seems like Henry always makes a stinky diaper within 15 min of arriving at the playground). But Daddy doesn't like returning to get the things we've forgotten once we've left the driveway, so we chanced it. Thankfully, we survived without poop, other than the duck and goose poop by the millpond. Helen slept the entire time.
As always, we completed the trip with a walk around the millpond, looking at the ducks and geese.
And we ended the night, as usual, by snuggling with Helen. She's a skinny girl, built a lot like baby Micah (and baby Mommy). But she's strong and wiggly. She should be able to hold her own, though Micah often tells her he will protect her.
On Saturday, Helen topped the scales at 8lbs. Yea! She also donned her Michigan shirt, along with her brothers.
Mommy wanted to get a photo of the three kids in their Michigan gear. Daddy insisted that Mommy join, too, in support of our favorite college team. Too bad they're not having a very good year in football. Outside, the boys also enjoyed tractor rides with Daddy and a trip to Costco, giving Mommy and Helen a little peace in the house. When the craziness returned in the afternoon, Micah exclaimed, "It's just too noisy for me with these two kids crying!" Yup, you're not the only one who feels that way!
On Sunday, Micah was the talkative one at the children's message at church. Daddy was worried that Micah would be "that kid". So when we got home, Daddy had a conversation with him about it, telling Micah, "If they ask you questions, you can answer one, but then let another kid have a turn to answer the questions." With a determined look on his face, Micah responded, "No, I'm not going to do that!"
And after lunch, while Mommy was cleaning up the kitchen, Henry grabbed something off the counter behind her and ran into the living room. All of a sudden, Daddy yelled, "Henry, no!" Turns out Henry had grabbed a large knife off the counter and was tapping Helen, who was in her cradle, on the head with the flat side of the knife! Whew. Thank God for His protection. Actually the craziness of this week (with events just like that) lead in well to the lesson that God would teach Mommy the following week!
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