...And the Hits Just Keep on Coming...

The last couple of weeks have been absolutely nuts in our world. Two weeks ago, when my grandpa was in the ICU, Bob and I were told that the family needed to get there fast, so we packed up the boys, Mom, Faith, & ourselves and headed south. The boys are fantastic travelers. It helped that Mom and Faith were there to help us along the way, so we can feed all three boys at once. Our weekend in Louisiana was stressful to say the least. Bob and Faith spent most of their time at the house taking care of the boys. It was so sweet of Bob to take the brunt of childcare so that I could spend as much time as possible with my grandpa. It was good to have the opportunity to say goodbye.

Faith did not enjoy getting up early to go to the hospital, but she did enjoy a little man wake up call. Although we learned that if Faith is doing the early morning shift, she'd rather sleep than get up and put a pacifier in the boys' mouths.
Bob and Ryan in Popo Gejo's chair. Luckily he didn't know that these type of shenanigans were going on in his favorite chair.
For a little relief from the hospital grind, Bob would come to the parking lot with the boys. Grandma & the gang would head out from the ICU waiting room for a little hold time. Nothing makes life better like holding a baby. It was kind of strange to be banished to the parking garage, but we didn't want to bring our boys into the germfest in the hospital.
Uncle Kent, Uncle Frank, Grandma, and my mom spent most of their days in the hospital. I tried to go for at least three visits. Popo could respond to yes & no questions, so when I asked him if he wanted to watch the LSU game, he said yes. It made me smile.
After two nights on the floor - one intentional and one an accidental air mattress snafu - we got a bed. James and I took a little rest. The other boys were hanging out in the bed with us, but Ryan just kicked and kicked while Mikey squirmed. I've decided that when we either win the lotto or one of us gets a job, I want to buy a king sized bed - there's not much room in a queen for three little men.
While Mikey didn't want to let us take a little rest, he had no problem passing out in the living room.
On Monday, we stayed as late as possible, and I dressed the boys in the superman outfits Aunt Paula & Uncle Grant sent the boys. These are the SUPER TRIPLETS sharing an activity mat.
Once we got home on Monday night, the boys settled in to their regular routine pretty easily. They are really grooving on the jumparoos. They all like to jump until they pass out. Here Ryan demonstrates why the padded chair is essential.
All of the boys are smiling more often. Mikey has a killer smile with dimples, Ryan has the cutest open mouth grin, and James has got a subtle little smile that melts my heart. James is a talker. He is certainly the most verbal of all the boys. After our return trip to Louisiana on Saturday, we checked in to the hotel and set up baby land before heading to the funeral home. The boys were great. They definitely were fantastically behaved considering all of the myriad of ways we messed up their schedule.
After a long day of being "on show," and a mental meltdown by the young sir James which lasted about 10 minutes in regular time and several hours in the minds of his parents who were trying to calm him down amongst an audience composed of all my family, we returned to the hotel where the boys just enjoyed being able to stretch out on the bed.
There was lots of kicking and talking as all of my boys chilled on the bed post funeral. We decided to stay another night before heading home on Monday.
It was fun to visit with family members we hadn't seen in a while, and it was nice that my uncles who live far away got a chance to see our boys while they're still little. Here's a picture of Uncle Mike and Ryan. Ry looks awfully comfy.
Here are Kent & Kellie hanging out with Mikey. Faith & their daughter Katie had a great time playing together, and they both enjoyed showing off their baby skills.