Grandpa time!

Part of the aforementioned-super-help I've received has been in the form of visiting grandparents. Yay! The girls get attention, the grandparent gets to meet his/her new grandson, Joseph gets held more snoogles, and mom has an extra set of helping hands -- everybody wins!

The first visit was from Grandpa B., who was here for a week, right after Mr. Pickles had to go back to work.

Grandpa with the bitty boy! My dad is a great baby holder. He is completely imperturbable. Whenever Joseph was fussing before a nap, my dad would pick him up and calmly walk the living room with him, merrily singing bawdy sea shanties and completely disregarding the fact that Joseph was shrieking in his ear, until Joseph fell asleep peacefully on his shoulder. Mom B. assures me that he was the same way with us kids. It was great to have such an expert baby-putter-to-sleeper on hand!

There's nothing in the world like holding a sleeping baby. (I'll never forget the first time I held a friend's newborn while it fell asleep in my arms -- I could have stayed like that all day.)

Grandpa was also great with the girls, making sure they got their recommended daily dose of teasing and tickling. The weather was glorious while he was here -- I think he brought California with him -- so we spent lots of time outdoors, riding bikes, having picnics, and going to playgrounds.

Building grass houses after one picnic lunch. (Katie's providing the raw material)

Interesting that my dad build in 3-D, while Miriam drew with lines of grass.

Joseph loved being outside -- he just stared and stared. (It was warm enough -- upper 70s and 80s most days -- that I was able to take off his shirt and give him the much-needed sunshine to get rid of the jaundice. It worked -- at his 1 month checkup the doctor said his color looked really good, so he wouldn't have to get any more blood tests, thank goodness!)

It was so great having my dad here. I think Miriam summed it up best: after we dropped him off at the airport, she said, "My heart misses Grandpa SO MUCH." Thanks so much to Mom B. for loaning him to us for a week!