Happy Easter!

Our Easter weekend started off with an Easter egg hunt on Saturday. After fending off a bunch of little kids, I helped Alex find an egg.

Daddy helps Helen put an egg in her basket

Nikki helps Ella pick up her eggs

After the hunt, the Cauleys were hot and tired (and the younger ones a little cranky - but nothing that some melted chocolate and cookies could not fix)

Grandma and Grandpa were there to cheer us on

The Easter Bunny came over to visit but Ella was the only one interested in saying hi

Alex is a little suspicious of the big furry guy

Daddy and Helen checking out the loot

Ella is in heaven with her own personal escort to drag around everywhere

Daddy and Helen check out the scenery

Grandma and Ella go for a walk too to see if we missed any eggs

Ella checks out her basket

On Easter Sunday, we went to church and then took pictures in the front yard. The girls loved their hats and purses. They all looked adorable!

Grandma and Grandpa were quite the proud grandparents too

Ella, Alex, and Helen - could they be any cuter??

During nap time, the Easter Bunny came - this is the calm before the storm

Helen (who wanted to wear her hat all day) investigates these baskets

Ella figures out that this is chocolate

Hi Daddy! I found a Reese's Egg!

Alex and Helen check out Helen's basket

Mom! I'm pretty sure there is chocolate in here but I need you to open it!

Then the real fun starts - pulling everything out of the basket

Alex and Mommy

Ella with a mouth full of chocolate

Helen is shoveling it in too

And the trio of terror strikes again

Later that day we went to the beach to play

Alex playing in the sand (but he really just wanted to out in the water)

Grandma and Ella

Helen building a sand castle

No more thickener for Alex!

One night at dinner everyone was throwing food on the floor so they all ended up in time-out at the same time. Can we say party in the pack-n-play? Clearly Ella was devastated by being put in time out.

Alex playing and minding his own business

Helen likes to "feed" everyone bites from her cup and spoon. Ella is a willing recipient (until recently when Helen got the spoon a little too far down Ella's throat and then Ella decided she did not like it all that much -despite Helen repeatedly trying to get her to "eat" more)

One of the rare occassions when Ella kept her hat on outside

Alex is trying to figure out where his hat went

Helen and Alex playing on the back porch (we call this hat his crocodile hunter hat)

I tried to get everyone to sit for a picture and this was the best I could do before Helen took off

Ella and Alex relax during play time

One day I went in to get them up from a nap and this is what I found. I have no idea what Ella did with her shirt and she did not think it was out of the ordinary.

Helen is very good at climbing down the stairs but usually Ella will refuse to. This morning they both came down together - which I thought was especially sweet since had the same outfit on today too!

This week Alex went back for his final swallow study. I was pretty optimistic that he was going to pass because he has been doing really well with drinking lately. They told me to make sure I bring him hungry so that he will drink the barium solution that will show up on the x-ray. I told them not a problem, this kid has not met a food he would not eat. So of course what does he do when we get there? Refuses to eat. I think he got scared when I could not hold him and there were these strange people shoving a sippy cup in his mouth. We ended up using a syringe to squirt the stuff in his mouth but it was enough and he passed! No more thickener in his drinks and his laryngomalasia (underdevloped cartilage in his larynx) is all gone! That's my boy! I'm so glad we don't have to use that thickener anymore. It is hard to believe it has been a whole year that he has been on it. When they initially diagnosed him, they said it usually resolves itself about 15-18 months. He's 16 months so it is good to know he is on track.

Everyone is doing great. They are learning more and more words and trying to talk and communicate more. They are learning how to sign more words and it is really helpful with knowing what they want. They say "please" a lot - I just don't always know what they are saying please for! They have the walking down pat and are starting to a run a little too. They love going to the beach and playing in the ocean. Helen is already starting to get tan like her Daddy, Ella has more of a tan than I do, and Alex is "blessed" with the same fair, fair skin as mommy.

Now we are getting ready for the Easter bunny this weekend. Our first Easter egg hunt is on Saturday and then the Easter bunny comes on Sunday. Of course we have adorable Easter dresses (with hats and purses ) for the girls and a cute outfit for Alex too. Pictures coming soon!

Summer has arrived in Florida

Helen looks to the Great Arbitrator (i.e. Mom) when Alex commits the injustice of trying to steal a toy

Ella likes to snuggle up in a basket of laundry

Daddy reading to the girls (and Alex on his way to try to get mommy's camera)

Happy Alex

Helen had a hood on one day and when I put it up, Ella wanted to have her hood up too. Only problem - she did not have a hood on that day. So I pulled her shirt up on her head and she thought it was great.

We are so big now that we can turn our car seats so they are forward facing!

What to do at the park when there are only two baby swings? The girls get to share!

Alex and Helen love to swing

Helen likes playing in the sand too (Ella and Daddy were off exploring)

Our beach stroller - off to the beach!!

Who knew Helen had enough hair for pigtails?

Of course Ella wanted one too but she only had enough hair for one pigtail

Helen looks like a Dr. Suess character

Sometimes there is nothing better than sitting in a laundry basket together

Daddy enjoying a quiet moment to read the paper

Our first 5K

This past Saturday was the River Run - a 15K (9.3 mile) race through Jacksonville that I have done every year since I've lived here. It is a big tradition here. This year, Cecil had to work on the day of the race so I was on my own. Strollers are not allowed in the 15K (not that I could push a triple stroller for 15K anyway) so I could not do it with the kids. But there was a 5K (3.1 miles) that did allow strollers. So we got up early Saturday morning and headed down to the race. The kids did great in the race. They were very happy to see new sights and hang out. I brought sippy cups of water for them so they could hydrate at the water stations too :) The downside of doing the race is that it was impossible to get any pictures of us running. But we must have been quite a sight because we got lots and lots of comments. Most people were saying "You go mom!", "Way to go" "You go girl" or just "Oh my God!" But I heard one person as we walked around before the race say "She's my hero" That really touched me. I know he was saying it in an offhand way, but I don't think anyone has ever called me a hero before. Then I stopped and thought about what we must look like - 3 one year olds in a 4 foot wide stroller with some crazy lady running behind them.

It was actually not too bad running with the stroller. It is pretty big and unweildy and we almost took out a couple of walkers, but we were able to run the whole thing. And it was great having so many people cheer us on as we went along. The kids never fussed or cried - they just sat there and were perfectly content. After our race, we went back to the van to wait while April ran the 15K. Thankfully the kids actually fell asleep for about an hour and got a good nap in. Then it was back up for the Diaper Dash. This was a 25 yard "race" for kids. We were in the 13-18 month race. I gave the kids some snacks to carbo load before the race and hydrated them with water. It was hilarious. Again, the problem with doing this without your husband is that you cannot get any good pictures. April had Ella and I had Helen and Alex. Ella took off pretty quickly and made it to the finish line. Helen was plodding along pretty well but she was holding my hand as was Alex and Alex was not motivated to move. He was too busy staring around at all the other cute little girl racers. Helen and I were dragging him along. But we all finished and the kids got finisher t-shirts and medals. The picture above is of me with the kids after the race with their medals on.

Ella is ready to walk around and show off her medal

Everyone goes in different directions and it is hard to keep up

I'm trying to keep Helen and Ella close so I don't lose them

Ella and Alex are checking out the race scene

Back home on the back porch, Helen practices her McDonald's moves in her apron

Helen and Alex share toys in the pool

April teaches Ella how to brush off her hands after falling down

Playing in the pool never gets old

We are starting to practice our coloring - but it comes to a quick end when there is more chewing of the crayons than coloring with them

The kids are fascinated watching April wash her truck

Ella likes to press her face up against the screen

For some reason they thought it was hilarious to walk around with boxes on their heads

Alex is a blockhead