A weekend in Charleston

Last weekend we went to Charleston for a wedding. It was about a 4 hour drive so we headed up on Friday afternoon. Thankfully nap time fell during the drive. Here's Helen sacked out in the car. Notice she is clutching her lovey even in her sleep.

Ella is fighting hard to stay awake but she fell asleep shortly after this. When they woke up, the discovered a great new invention - DVD player in the minivan. This is the first road trip we've taken since we've turned their car seats around so they had a great time watching Baby Einstein, Barney (not Daddy's favorite), and the Little People.

On Saturday there was a big farmers market across the street from our hotel. So we headed over to check everything out. They even had bouncy houses. Since they were empty when we got there, we had one all to ourselves. Helen is not too excited about the idea of bouncing around though.

This is Ella and Alex trying on their "Bouncy Feet". Ella was fearless and crashing into everything and Alex was just glad to be next to his mother

Here we are in the back pew of the Citadel Chapel where the wedding was held for Cecil's cousin. The kids were definitely the "Pre-Game Entertainment" since we let them loose inside the chapel before the ceremony started. I don't know what was more entertaining: The kids running up and down the aisles or us chasing them.

Needless to say, the kids were all dressed up and they looked adorable. Here is a shot of Ella pouring on the charm with Uncle Jerry and somehow getting him completely wrapped around her little finger.

Ella and Uncle Jerry hanging out together before they walk down the aisle. I believe this is right before Ella starts to show everyone where her belly button is.

Alex being extremely happy in Mommy's arms.

Helen playing with her one of her favorite toys: the cup and spoon. Needless to say, she is doing pretty good now that we are letting them feed themselves with utensils during mealtimes. She can clean out a bowl of pudding before Alex and Ella can get out of their starting blocks.

Ella trying to talk Cecil into letting her go so she can go and investigate whats happening in the front of the Church during the ceremony. Looks like Daddy is on the little finger now.

The kids did good on the night of the ceremony and stayed up until 8:00pm. Now they are getting ready for bedtime. Cecil went to the reception and I stayed with the kids. I still got cake and dinner though.

Helen and Alex on Cecil's birthday. We went to a fancy restaurant called "High Cotton" located along Battery Park for a Birthday Brunch. The restaurant was kid friendly and the kids did fine although they were still tired. Luckily, they slept on the way home.

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!