Eight is great for the McCaughey septuplets

Kenny, the kids' father, is more determined ever to keep his children on the straight and narrow. He feels the weight of the eight years since he brought those seven babies home.

Ann Curry, Dateline correspondent: Tired?

Kenny McCaughey, father: Oh yeah. But we’re still going strong. We’re still maintaining our heads.

Curry: What’s helping you maintain your head?

Kenny: A lot of it is just God, who is, and I’ve always said that throughout the beginning—that he was going to be our sustainer and our strength. And he has been that.

Curry: What do you pray to God for these days?

Kenny: Knowing how to discipline them and train them in the way that is right for them. Teaching them how to respect others and not liabilities in life. We want them to be assets.

A little after 10 p.m., Kenny, who had to be up early for work, hopped on his favorite toy and headed home for a good night’s sleep.

For five years, he has worked on an assembly line at a powder coating factory. Last January, Bobbi got a job there, too. She puts in 3-5 five hours, two days a week, while the kids are at school and Mikayla studies in the break room.

After eight children and 13 years of marriage, they say the time they get together is a nice bonus that comes along with the extra money.

Bobbi: He’s so sweet. He says that the days that I work go much better than the days I don’t work.

Four hours into the party, the kids were fueling on “comets” made out of ice-cream and Oreos, which of course rocketted them to the moon.

For Joel, who wants to be an astronaut, the star-gazing was nothing short of heaven.

Joel: I wish I could be in outer space ‘cause then I would float.

Curry: That would be fun.

Joel: So would all the food.

Curry: The food would float.

Joel: I wanna go to the moon and see what its like on there.

Curry: What do you think it’s like?

Joel: Sand and rocks.

Curry: Not cheese?

Joel: No.

Between second winds and last calls. Everyone had to get down to the business of bedtime.

Dealing with cerebral palsy
Alexis still needs help changing into pjs. Cerebral palsy has affected her movement, muscle tone, and cognitive development.

But her skills and comprehension keep improving with physical therapy and special education at school, which she loves.

Curry: Why do you like school?

Alexis: ‘Cause it’s very fun.

Curry: You get help on things like—learning how to read?

Alexis: It’s very important.

Curry: Why is it important?

Alexis: You have to learn very a lot of things.

Curry: Do you know how to read?

Alexis: Yeah.

Curry: You do not.

Alexis: Yes I do.

Curry: Can you read a whole sentence?

Alexis: Yes, I can.

Curry: Can you read a whole book?

Alexis: Yeah.

As soon as the lights went off, eight high voltage children finally powered down.

For Nathan, who was probably dreaming about his hero Spiderman, it’s been a momentous year.

He has been contending with a form of cerebral palsy that makes his muscles punishingly stiff.

But 14 months ago, he underwent a surgical procedure called “selective dorsal rhizotomy.” More than 60 nerve rootlets in his back were cut to loosen his muscles.

Days after the operation at Gilette Hospital in St. Paul Minnesota, Nathan began six weeks of rigorous rehabilitation to learn how to sit, stand, and walk properly. True to form, he never complained. And he was proud when he returned to school.

His therapist says Nathan was so thrilled to be able to tell his class that he could sit with his legs crossed just like everybody else.

As he continues his regimen of physical therapy, Nathan is now walking longer distances and doing something else he once only wished were possible.

Curry: Your mom said that you ride a tricycle all the time?

Nathan: Every single day. Five times a day.

For the sound sleepers at the Science Center, daybreak came much too soon.

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