Happy Easter!

Everyone went to church on Easter morning and the kids did really well. This was our first trip with all three of them to church. It took about 2 hours of preparation to get us all out the door but it was worth it. No one cried or threw a fit. Here's a picture of us after church with our Easter outfits on. Did I mention that it was 26 degrees that morning?

Grandma with the babies in their Easter best.

Ella, Alex and Helen with their Easter Bunnies

Helen

Alex

Ella

Aunt Cathy with Ella at Easter lunch

Self portrait of mommy and Ella - I had her in a baby carrier on my chest and she was happy as a clam checking out the world from my point of view as I got stuff done around the house.

Ella is looking at herself in the mirror

Alex is sacked out after completing the arduous task of eating his bottle

Alex has discovered his thumb and thinks it might be a pretty good substitute for his pacifier - and a lot easier to find (Yeah!!!)

Alex and Helen sitting up in their bumbos - Ella is in the background asleep in the swing

Helen is checking out the world from her boppy

My best friend Chace came to visit this weekend to engage me in non-mommy activities (shopping and movies). Of course we put her right to work!

"What is this guy's problem?" - Helen

Visiting the Easter Bunny

On Monday, we loaded up the babies and went to see the Easter Bunny. They did really well! I think the Easter Bunny was a little overwhelmed though. No one smiled but no one cried either. From left to right is Ella, Alex, and Helen.

Alex is ready to the see the Easter Bunny with his own bunny hat on



Ella

Helen

The Easter Bunny helpers - Grandma and Nanny Kathy - with the babies

Nanny Kathy keeping watch over the babies at the mall. This was our first time using the triple stroller and it worked really well. There is definitely no such thing as a quick trip to the mall with a triple stroller though. We went to the mall right after it opened so there were not any crowds yet and we did not attract much attention. We did have several sales women follow us out of Macy's though to ask if these were triplets. Of course Grandma wasted no time in extolling the many virtues of her adorable grandchildren - from a distance though - she still won't let anyone touch them :)

From the top left - Helen, Alex, and Ella playing on the floor gym

Ella in her Winnie the Pooh pajamas

My cousin Jennifer feeding Helen. Jennifer came for the weekend to visit the babies - and let me get a night of sleep on a Saturday night. We love Jennifer!! She also gave Ella a new nickname. We've been calling her "peanut" because she is so small. But Jennifer christened her Honey Roasted Peanut because she is so sweet.

Aunt Cathy and Alex

Some observations on motherhood: I have noticed since becoming a mother that I am no longer Laura, or Laura Cauley, or Mrs. Cauley. I am "Mom." For example, when we go to the doctor, the nurses do not say, "So Laura, how are the babies doing?" Instead, they say "So Mom, how are the babies doing?" First, it is kind of weird having someone other than my kids address me as mom. Second, it is interesting that I am no longer my own person but that my identity now rests in who I am relative to my kids. I am the mom. I am very happy to be a mom and love the label, but to all the people who know me only through my kids, I am not an attorney or a wife or a triathlete - but mom.

My other observation is that I have become one of those people who dress her kids up in really cute nice clothes every day - but I'm lucky to get a shower every day much less wear anything other than the same pair of jeans and one of my husband's sweatshirts everyday. A note about the jeans though - I am happy to wear these every day because they are the only piece of prepregnancy clothing that I can fit back into so I do a little dance of joy every day when I can get these jeans back on. It is hard to get up the motivation to put on nice clothes and do my hair and makeup when I don't really leave the house (although let me assure you that a trip to Target definitely warrants putting on the make up). I'm trying to enjoy this relaxed state because I know the day is coming soon enough when I have to go back to work and I will be struggling to make it out of the house in my suit without baby food anywhere on me (or at least not in a conspicuous place - "Excuse me your honor while I wipe the baby food off of this brief before you read it.") For now, it is nice to not have to worry too much beyond who eats next and do we have enough diapers.

3 month pictures and more

This would be the foot and a half of snow that we got last weekend. It snowed all day Friday and all day Saturday. About 18 inches in all. We were snowed in on Saturday until they came and plowed the driveway Saturday night. On Sunday night, we lost power for a couple of hours becuase of all the snow. Living in Ohio is always an adventure...

"Mom! Do I have to sit next to my sister?" - Helen

Ella hates being left alone and usually cries when we leave the room. Last weekend we were trying to make breakfast but Ella would not stop crying. So we put her in one of these Bumbo seats and sat her on the counter. She was perfectly content watching us and being able to see what was going on...until she fell asleep.

Ella has discovered her hand. She is fascinated with watching it. It is really neat to see how they are all developing so differently. Ella has the fine motor skills - watching her hands, starting to bat at toys with them. Alex has the vocal skills and Helen has the gross motor skills - rolling over, holding her head up. I figure Alex is going to talk himself into trouble, Helen is just going to do whatever she wants, and Ella is going to figure out a way to do what she wants without me finding out.

We had their 3 month pictures taken this week. Here's Ella in her baptismal gown.

Helen

Alex
Alex

Ella
Helen
Helen, Alex, Ella

Ella, Alex, Helen
Ella
Helen
Alex

Alex, Helen, Ella
Alex, Helen, Ella
Alex and Helen

Snow, Snow, and more Snow

Ella and Helen in their St. Patrick's Day shirts

Helen in her bunny hat is ready to go to church with Grandma. She was a perfect angel in church and even got to go out to breakfast with everyone afterwards. It was kind of lonely for me staying home with only two babies!

Ella is fascinated with her new friends

Ella is all snuggly after her bath

Ella getting her bath in the kitchen sink

All the lovely snow....

Helen
Alex is a happy, smiley boy
Happy Alex

"OK, Helen, here's the plan. I'll start crying and when mom gets me to stop, you start. And then when you stop, I'll start. But remember, we don't start until 2:00 AM...."

This week we got to experience two of the wonderful joys of being in Ohio. On Tuesday, we got a nice ice storm that was so bad the night nanny could not come. When that melted, we got another storm on Friday that is supposed to dump about 12 inches on us. So forget any plans we had for this weekend!

The second joy was that I got a nice Ohio cold. I should consider myself lucky because I don't think I was sick at all while I was pregnant and I have not been sick since they were born. But my cold meant that I was banned from touching babies. So for a couple of days I had to completely rely on our wonderful help to take care of them. Thankfully, none of them seem to have gotten sick too so that is a blessing. I'm feeling much better now and hope that this is the last of being sick for awhile.

In case there was ever any doubt, I am definitely going back to Florida to stay! This weekend is the annual River Run in Jacksonville - a 15K run through the city that I have done every year since I have lived there. I find it ironic that not only will I not be doing the race this year, but instead I am watching 12 inches of snow accumulate outside our windows! I hope the babies remember what snow is like because it will be a long time before they see it again.

Everyone is continuing to do wonderfully. Helen has even managed to sleep through the night a few times. Inevitably though, on the nights she sleeps long, Ella does not. But they are slowly getting the hang of things. They are eating more, growing, playing, smiling, laughing, and cooing. Overall, they seem to be healthy and happy babies. Let's hope the trend continues!