There's No Place Like Home...

The travelers have returned safely, albeit quite tired. It is so amazing to have everyone under one roof. It is our first day back in the grind. Dh had to return to work today. He will have more time off next week after the arrival of baby boy 2. It is not even 9 AM and I am already ready for a nap :) Four diaper changes (we add a newborn to that mix next week), breakfast prep and clean-up, playing, trying to get in a little school, and catching up the laundry. Life is going to be busy for awhile and I feel incredibly blessed that it is.
Dh, Banana, and Joseph arrived in the late afternoon on Sunday and after such a long trip, they were all exhausted. Poor Joseph couldn't keep his eyes open and fell asleep after only a few hours. Everyone was in bed quite early, except me. I just couldn't help myself, once dh was sleeping I kept going to check on the little guy and even looked in on my sleeping girls a few times. It is so nice to have them all together.
Joseph has had some trouble with jet lag. The first night he was up for hours in the middle of the night. I tried to comfort him, but he wanted dh who was quite tired from his trip. Poor dh was pretty tired again yesterday. We spent a relatively quiet day at home (as quiet as can be expected when you have two almost two year old toddlers, a three year old, and two older girls excited to see their dad and play with their new brother). We only ventured out to celebrate Mass as a family. We were blessed to have our first Mass together with Juliana be Christmas morning, and yesterday we were equally blessed to have the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul to celebrate Joseph's arrival, and we did indeed feast.
Last night, Joseph slept much better. He was only up for a short time early in the night. Unfortunately, the jet lag has caught up with dh and Banana. Apparently Banana was up at 3 AM, and she was shortly joined by her sister Bear (who claims she didn't miss Banana too much and yet gets up at these crazy hours to play with her). Dh was up at 4 AM. I can't imagine how he is going to make it through the work day. I am sure it will be another early night for us.
Joseph is such a cutie. He is quiet and likes to watch the girls. He is constantly looking for something new to examine. It took him some time to warm up to me, but with dh back at work he has had little choice. My heart melted today when I extended my hand to him and he grabbed it and walked around the house with me.

The girls are enjoying playing with him. Bear in particular seems to have developed quite a bond with him. She is a little more rough and tumble with him. Banana is my amazing helper. I know I will be relying on her more than ever. Bophie is Bophie. She enjoys having the extra commotion so she can play a little more on her own. As expected, Juju is having the hardest time adjusting. She is very sweet to Joseph, she constantly calls him "baby." It seems odd to hear this as he is just as big as she is. She is perhaps a little taller, but has more fine features. Joseph is more solid and his hands and feet are definitely quite a bit larger than hers. In a short time, after finally being well-fed, I expect he will outgrow her. Each time we change Joseph's diaper, Juju has to have hers changed. If he gets a hug, she is right behind looking for one as well. If he gets socks, she needs new socks. He gets tickled, she shows us her belly for a tickle. I expect this will last a short time as well.

I am quite proud of myself for getting out such a long post. I have been up and down from this seat more than a dozen times so I apologize if it seems disjointed. I imagine this will be typical of my posts (assuming I get the chance to post) for at least a few months. I also am sad there are not more (and better) pictures to add. The camera batteries were dead when dh arrived home and so we still don't have a good family shot. Come to think of it, there still isn't even one picture of Joseph and me. I suppose this is the plight of a fifth child :)

Thank you again for all the prayers, kind words, and support. We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family. Now only one more countdown. Baby arrives in three days...