When we're supposed go to sleep

In our house, we have a few traditions that we have created. Ever since Cayden was a baby, Scott and I have gone into his room every night after he has gone to sleep and before we go to bed to give him one last kiss, to tell him one more time that we love him, and just to check on him. Now we get to do this with all four children.

The other night I went into Cayden's room and found him sleeping peacefully. But I also discovered this art work on his nightstand. I guess he entertained himself for a little while before he went to sleep.

New Triplet Trick

The latest trick the babies can do is hold their own bottles! What a huge difference this has made for us. It makes feeding time so much smoother.

Aleah holding her own bottle.

Bryce holding his own bottle. Apparently I think I might have disturbed his drinking time based on the look he gave me!

Cayley holding her own bottle.


All three munchkins sprawled out on the floor. The living room is officially baby territory, leaving little room for the rest of us!

And so it begins...

The pictures say it all, but I'll add my commentary too!
Cayley (left) and Aleah (right). Playing nicely while sitting on the floor. Notice who has the rattle.
Now look who thinks she should have the rattle.
Three little babies sitting on the floor. (Left-Cayley, middle-Bryce, right-Aleah)
They all started with the middle filled with toys galore.
But someone has a tendency to take toys! Here's her stash.
Cayley with her stash of toys. Somewhere in the pile she hid Brycey's pacifier.

Making Ketchup???

I want his imagination! Cayden was out playing with his "trike." He calls me outside to see what he can do. I go out and he shows me how he can flip the trike sideways. Then I asked him what he was doing, well, watch the video to find out what he was doing. Too funny!


Here's a picture of Cayden making ketchup

Strike a pose

We spent a lot of time outside on Sunday. The babies got these awesome hats from a good friend of ours. Brycey's hat is a little snug around his chubby cheeks. They were just so stinkin' cute that I had to take a picture.

Then Cayden wanted me to snap a few pictures of him. When I said okay, this is the pose he got in...
Another pose...
Not sure what he was doing here. A little robot dancing????

Zoo

The weather was absolutely beautiful on Sunday, so we ventured out to the zoo. We, meaning, Me, Cayden, Aleah, Bryce, Cayley, and Grandma and Grandpa Johnson. It was interesting. When we got to the zoo, I felt like we were a bunch of clowns unloading out of one of those itty-bitty cars. But it really was a fun day! The babies slept through most of their first zoo experience. Cayden's favorite thing about the zoo was feeding the ducks.
Cayden feeding the ducks.
Cayden in front of the train engine. He really wanted to go up on it and go through it.
Bryce's first time at the zoo.
Cayley's first time at the zoo.
Aleah's first trip to the zoo. (the close up was the only way I could get her picture)
Cayden feeding the deer.
These were the only penguins we saw at the zoo. Who knew ND would be too cold to have penguins out on display!

The Circus is in town!

Cayden and I got to sneak away yesterday and attend the circus. The babies stayed home with 4 (yes 4!) wonderful volunteer babysitters. I had to laugh, one said that it really does take 4 people to watch the babies: 1 to get things ready (food, bottles, and anything else that is needed) and then the other 3 to hold each baby. So, maybe while Scott is gone, I really am superwoman-4 people all tied into 1!!!!!

Cayden was able to take a picture with one of the clowns that was greeting the kids as they came to the circus.

Cayden got to select a special treat when we went to the circus. He picked out the cool light up fan (batteries died by the end of the circus! Mom to the rescue: I was able to "fix" it when we got home=new batteries!)

Cayden clapping while holding onto his fan.

Cayden with his hand on his heart while they played the Star Spangled Banner.

Cayden with his blue lips. We had to have blue cotton candy, and this was the aftermath of eating it (I was shocked that we didn't get pink cotton candy). It was raining outside when we left, hence the hood. Not sure why he was making that face though.

Spring is finally here!

For the last week or two we have finally had some nice weather! Of course today is cooler and drizzly, but the snow is gone (at least for now-last year we got a couple of inches the first part of May you might recall my preggo snow angel)


My tulips are growing!


Cayden playing ring toss.


The best gift ever! Cayden has spent some time playing outside with me watching from the window while taking care of babies. But now, the babies and I can join him! Long story short: My cousin Kelly, happened to stumble across this triple stoller, and was able to get it for us. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!! We were able to get it from Montana to ND. The first nice day, Cayden and I took the babies around the block (a few times we ended up cruising around the block). It was so nice to get out of the house and get some fresh air! The babies appeared to enjoy it, putting themselves to sleep. (Aleah pink pacifier, Bryce blue pacifier and Cayley green pacifier).

Giggle

Bryce has the most amazing giggle. His siblings do too, but Brycey's laugh have been really special to me lately. You can almost always count on a giggle or smile from Bryce at any given moment (unless he is ready for his bed). Many of you know that Bryce has some heart issues. Well, in February, he had a follow up with a the heart specialist, and it was decided then that Bryce doesn't need any more follow-up appointments for the time being. Should the heart murmur still sound distinct by age 3 or 4, then we would probably want to do a follow-up at that time. Brycey was also on a diuretic up until this appointment in February, and then we were told he could come off of it. Up until this appointment, Bryce had always been laid back and not really very active with us. Once he came off of the diuretic, the boy has completely evolved into a whole new person. He smiles, giggles, and full-out belly-laughs. I would never have guessed that this rambunctious baby was hiding in him. I also would have never guessed that the diuretic would have this kind of affect on him. The doctors have never said that this caused his laid-back attitude, but I can't find any other explanation. In this video, Bryce and Aleah were in the jumpy seats. Cayley was off snoozing in their room. I was sitting on the couch just watching the babies, and Bryce just started laughing. I mean really laughing. So I ran and grabbed the camera and hoped to catch a few of his chuckles on it. Here's what I got...
In this video, I was doing something in the babies' room and Cayden came in. I laid Bryce down on the floor with him. Cayden was showing Bryce this toy, and Bryce (once again) laughed and laughed. By the time I got the camera, the laughs were starting to calm down, but here's a few of them...

Don't Ask

The camera just happens to be lying around handy most of the time. And here's why...

Cayden: You can do amazing things with Happy Meal Boxes

Scott: Stylish sunglasses that he gets to wear when he deploys

And I saved the best for last. I have a feeling someone isn't going to like this picture! :)
Scott: Who knows?!?!?!?! Did I really marry him? Yep, and I suppose this is why. He can always make me laugh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There are no strange or goofy pictures of me! I'm sure some will get posted sometime! Too bad I am the one who does this blogging for our family, so I get to screen what gets put on it!

Bye Dad! See you in 27 M & M's

That's how many days that Scott is going to be gone and I'm going to be a single Mom! Each day Cayden is supposed to eat an M & M out of a jar. When the M & M's are gone, daddy should be back home! Now, I just have to remember to always have Cayden eat one. Some days are a little hectic and we almost forget.

This isn't the first time I have had to be a single parent. But is the first time for me to be a single parent of 4 kiddos. For those of you who I haven't filled in... Scott has deployment orders for July. First, he has to attend training for a month (which is where he is now). Then, the end of June he has another class to attend. He will get to come back for a few days then he is off for a YEAR, a whole YEAR! Thank goodness my parents live in town, and we have lots of great friends in town who will help out. My dad has been staying with us right now just to help out with everybody during the night. He has been a HUGE HELP!

Cayden helping his daddy bring his suitcase to the airplane check-in.

Cayden, handling all that is happening quite well.

Smothering Daddy with a big "Cayden hug".

Cayden to his dad: "Dad, you're the man!" Or maybe he is thinking "Dad, you are my hero!"

Cayden played peek-a-boo with a little girl there while we waited for the airplane to get in.

Baptism (finally)

We had been trying to figure out a time when we could get most everybody together for the babies' baptisms. Well, it finally worked out. We had the babies baptized on Easter Sunday. My sister, Lisa, and her family were able to make a quick trip to ND to be here for the baptism. And Scott's parents were ble to fly up for a quick trip. It was nice to have everyone here, but it sure was hectic. Here are some pictures of the baptisms. First triplets baptism for our special Pastor! :)

Cayden and Aleah

Scott and Bryce

During the Baptism, Scott held Cayley (who was not a happy camper most of the time), I held Bryce (why do I seem to always get stuck with our little chunk!) and my mother held Aleah. In the pictures, you can see three other children, Cayden and his cousins Addy and Ash.





Pastor with the babies
Aleah
Cayley
Bryce

not sure how I ended up holding my two oldest children, Cayden and Aleah. Guess I'm lucky I didn't throw my back out! :)