6 Months Old!

The boys are 6 months old today! We can't believe it! They are doing so much right now. They roll everywhere and can sit up on their own for a few seconds. We know it's not going to be long before they are crawling. They grab and play with toys and even talk to each other. They have their 6 month check-up on Monday so we will have updates on weights then. Other than that the boys have had a cold which is taking it's toll on all of us. They whine in their sleep because they don't feel well so none of us have been sleeping well. It seems that they are starting to feel a little better today though.

I took a few pictures of them this morning on their 6 month birthday. The first is a group picture of them next to the outfit they wore home from the hospital so we can see how much they have grown. And believe it or not they were a month old when they wore this outfit and it was big on them, especially Levi. The next picture is Will, then Max then Levi.

Aunt Megan & Uncle Bill's Wedding!

The boys gained a new uncle this weekend as Dale's sister Megan got married to her now husband Bill. Megan was gorgeous and the wedding was beautiful. The boys stayed with their Aunt Karen and cousin Amber during the reception. Dale and I had a great time as we didn't leave the dance floor the entire night. We are so happy for Megan and Bill! We hope they have a fun and safe honeymoon and can't wait to see them when they get back!

Me with Levi and Dale with Max & Will

The Hackmann Family!

Rod with Max, Kim, Megan, Bill, Dale with Levi, Me with Will & Lauren.

Megan & Bill and their first beer as husband & wife!!!

Dale and I dancing!

Megan & Bill at the last dance of the night!

Pumpkin Patch!

We brought the boys to Eckert's Pumpkin Patch yesterday in Grafton. We took the Golden Eagle Ferry to Kinder's for lunch (not a great idea, they didn't sleep like we expected them too!), then drove through Calhoun Co., IL to the Brussels Ferry. It was a beautiful drive. When we first walked up to the pumpkins, Max just screamed and smiled. He loved the huge pumpkins. Will and Levi liked looking at them too, but they were more interested in chewing on their hands!!! We went into the actual pumpkin patch and Dale picked our pumpkin. It was quite a bumpy ride as that place really isn't made for strollers! We then took the Grafton Ferry
back home.

This is Max when we first got there, you can see his excited smile!

Will

Max

Levi

Dale picking our pumpkin.

Will, Levi then Max.

Dale with Levi and me with Will and Max.

The beautiful fall foliage on the ride back on the Grafton Ferry!

Daddy is so funny!

Here is a video of Dale making the boys laugh, especially Max. It is so cute! Just ignore my shaky video skills!

Bikers for Babies!

The Bikers for Babies event was held on Sunday. Besides the cold weather, it was great! Will, Max and Levi were the Ambassadors for the event. We had to give a presentation on stage about my pregnancy and about the boys being premature and their stay in the hospital. My pregnancy being prolonged as long as it was and the health of our boys, including all of the therapies they received in the NICU was thanks to the research provided by the March of Dimes. Dale did the presentation and my Father-in-Law, along with myself stood on stage next to him holding one of the boys. Dale did a great job! The boys were then presented with Harley Build-A-Bears. (I will post a picture of them in a few days, they are super cute.)

What was amazing to me was to see all of these "Biker Guys" coming out to raise money for the March of Dimes. We met quite of few people and they were all very genuine and sincere, not what you expect from this stereotype. Right before we had to go on stage the chair for the Bikers for Babies said a few words and then chanted "Why are we here?" and the crowd would respond "For the babies!" I became teary eyed listening to this. (Thank goodness Dale did the speaking, I would have been a mess!) It is truly a wonderful thing what these people do. We are so grateful to them. I have posted some pictures from this day. I have also posted a link to WIL's website. Click on the Bikers for Babies video. We are in one of the first few pictures and they also have some great shots of all of the Bikes and how neat it was to see.

www.wil92.com/post/22227_bikers_for_babies_video_2009/feat_video

Dale giving the presentation. I am holding Levi, Dale is holding Max and my Father-in-Law, Rod is holding Will.

This is the boys being presented with their Harley Build-A-Bear's.

A picture with the other children that were Ambassador's for local Bike Clubs.

All of the bikes getting ready to leave for the ride.

We went to watch the bikes come down Earth City Expressway and just happen to snap a picture of My Father-in-Law Rod with my Sister-in-Law Lauren riding with him and Lauren's boyfriend Ryan, riding right next to them. It's not a close picture, but how we managed to snap this picture of just them right between the trees is crazy!

Helmets

We picked up Will and Levi's helmet's yesterday. They look so cute in them. We have to go back tomorrow for Will because his helmet keeps slipping down over his eyes. They will shave more off to make it more comfortable for him. We also took Will to physical therapy for torticolis. It is not very bad, but I have a big list of exercises to do with him. I also learned something very interesting. Because they were squished in the womb and were premature they didn't get their curling reflex. We need to work with all of them on getting that so they can sit up and crawl. We are not supposed to let them stand or go in the exersaucer right now because they use their back muscles for that and they need to learn to use their abdominal muscles for sitting up and crawling. We have exercises to help with this also. I think they will pick up on it really quickly! Here are a few pictures with their helmets on. Also, we didn't want to leave Max out so there is a picture of him and Sally. He was sitting on the couch and fell to the side on top of Sally. He didn't get mad and just laid there snuggling with her and petting her!

I also added a few pictures of us BBQing last night. We had a fire in the fire pit and sat outside with daddy while he made BBQ hamburgers. They were bundled in their hoodies we got them from Colorado. The boys LOVE being outside. They even got to eat their applesauce outside!

Will in his helmet.

Levi in his helmet.

Max and Sally.

Will

Max

Levi

Helmets for Positional Plagiocephaly

On Tuesday Will and Levi had a consultation with a plastic surgeon for positional plagiophealy (their misshapen heads). They have been that way since birth and we have been unable to correct it with at home exercises and repositioning. Will's has gotten worse because he is stubborn and will only turn to the right. And after his evaluation he will also need to undergo physical therapy because he has Torticollis (neck stiffness on one side). This is probably why he doesn't want to turn his head that way! Levi's head has actually gotten better since birth, but it is still very misshapen. The doctor could even tell Levi was in my ribs due to the shape of his head. Because of his very odd shaped head, he may actually need two helmets. The first helmet may stop correcting before the condition is completely corrected, so a second helmet may need to be made. Unfortunately, because they were multiples they were at a higher risk for this because they were squished in the womb. After the evaluation they were fitted for helmets that they will have to start wearing next Wednesday. Luckily Max will not have to wear one. Here are some pictures from the helmet fitting.

Levi

Levi

Will

Will

Max, he was just along for the ride but we decided he needed a picture too!