Will, Levi and Max

Will, Levi and Max
Photo by http://ashleysportraits.com/

Friday, April 29, 2011

Happy 2nd Birthday Will, Max and Levi!

Will, Max and Levi’s 2nd Birthday was such a great day!  They awoke to Thomas the Train punch balloons which they had so much fun with.  We then got ready and went to The Museum of Transportation.  First we took a ride on a miniature train.  As we were leaving the conductor asked all the boys and girls what they are supposed to say to make the train go.  Levi lifted his arm up and down and said “Choo Chooo” and laughed!  When we were getting off the train ride Max got a big smile on his face and told Dale “Fun”!  We spent a few hours there playing in their awesome play room and checking out all of the trains.  The boys loved it!  When we got home we gave the boys their present, a Playhouse for outside.  They were so excited!  They played with it for a while and then we got ready and went to Grandpa and Grandma Hackmann’s for pizza, presents and cake.  We had to get Pepperoni and Olive pizza since it’s their favorite!  We then opened lots of presents.  They got shopping carts and sand grabbers from Aunt Megan and Uncle Bill, an outfit and flashlights from Aunt Lauren and Uncle Ryan, clothes and motorcycles from Grandma and Grandpa Hackmann and clothes and scooter from MaMa Weber and PaPa Great.  Finally we had cake.  I was very disappointed that I didn’t get to make their cakes this year.  Our kitchen is still under renovation so we had to go with store bought cakes!  They still enjoyed them though.  We sang Happy Birthday to each of them and Dale helped them blow out their candles.  After eating cake and ice cream the boys played with all of their new toys until they were finally tuckered out.  What a great 2nd birthday! 


Max 
Will 
Levi
Will, Dale and Max on the Choo Choo Train. 
Levi and me on the Choo Choo Train. 
Max, Will and Levi sitting on a bed in a train car. 
Levi standing on a train car. 
Will posing on an Engine. 
Max sitting in a caboose. 
Their new playhouse! Max, Levi and Will 
Max 
Levi 
Will 
Their store bought cakes. 
Levi was checking out his cake and decided he needed a bite!
Will with his Thomas the Train Balloon! 
Me and Max with his Thomas the Train Birthday Hat!
Will, Max and Levi 
Singing to Levi 
Singing to Max 
Singing to Will

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

What happened? My babies are almost 2!

We have been talking about the boys 2nd birthday for a while now. They know their birthday is April 29, that they are going to be 2 and that they get pizza with olives, cake and presents!  But for some reason today I feel like I am going to have a panic attack.  We were at The Little Gym and one of the moms has a new baby boy.  Max is obsessed with this baby and today he followed him everywhere (he was in a sling on his mommy) just looking at him, trying to kiss him and rubbing his hands and feet.  He was so sweet and gentle.  I was watching my “baby” play with this baby and all of a sudden it hit me; my Babies are going to be 2!  What the heck happened?  I have always heard people say that time flies when you have kids, and they are absolutely right.  It seems like it was just yesterday when I walked around the corner from my hospital room to the delivery room anticipating the unknown!  We were excited and very very nervous.  I wasn’t due until June 18th and I was on my way to have three baby boys over 7 weeks premature.  So many things could happen, but there we were minutes from what we have been anticipating for months!  I started feeling some tugging then all of a sudden I heard the faintest cry, Will was here!  The nurses flew him past me for a quick glance before he was whisked away to the neonatal staff to make sure all was ok.  Then another faint cry, Max was here!  Another quick glance and off to the neonatal staff.  Finally I heard the weakest cry of all and Levi was here!  They brought him over for a quick glance then all of a sudden my calmness ended and I started to cry “is he okay?” Dale reassured me that everything was fine, but he was so tiny and gray.  He just looked so much smaller than Will and Max.  I was very nervous just watching the neonatal staff do their thing while all I could do was lie there asking questions.  Luckily everything was going well.  We were able to hold each of them and get a few pictures before they were brought to the NICU.  We were able to visit them again before I was transferred rooms.  Will and Max were hooked on big tubes to help them breathe (CPAP) and there was little tiny Levi breathing on his own.  It’s so weird how the tiniest one seems the strongest!  It was weeks of hospital visits to see my babies wishing for the day they could come home, then all of a sudden it was here.  We had three infants to care for and we did whatever we could just to get through the day and now all of a sudden they are 2!  Where did it go?  Now instead of juggling bottles and jars of baby food we are stopping fights, fighting off tantrums, saying “NO” 150 times a day and still just trying to survive the day.  Have things gotten easier?  It some ways yes, but in some ways no.  But this is our life.  Our crazy, chaotic, busy, and fun lives!  We are blessed in so many ways by these beautiful boys. There are many many days where I think I am going to lose my mind (and many people probably think I already have!), but when we go to bed at night and see our three beautiful boys sleeping we are so thankful!  They bring us so much joy and happiness.  We love you Will, Max and Levi! 

Then
Levi, Will and Max
Now
Max, Will and Levi

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Happy Easter!

We had a busy, but nice Easter weekend. We dyed Easter Eggs Saturday evening which only lasted about 5 minutes. They were throwing the eggs into the dye then throwing the eggs onto the floor. Will accidentally kicked one of the cups of dye over and they all thought it was funny so the remaining 5 cups were soon to follow. Needless to say the Easter Bunny had to hide eggs that were pretty damaged!

The boys awoke to baskets full of candy, a new Cardinals hat, some Hot Wheels, a new DVD and lots of hidden eggs in the yard. They loved hunting the eggs and carrying them around in their baskets. We then had brunch at Grandpa and Grandma Hackmann’s and then we were off to GPaPa and GMaMa’s for lunch. (We ate a LOT today!) We all had a nice Easter!


Levi 
Will 
Max 
Max, Levi and Will 
Levi.....one jelly bean was all he needed to be happy!
Will...very excited about his new cars!
Max...too busy trying to eat and gather all the candy to smile! 

New Card's hats!
Will 
Max
Levi 
Will 
Levi 
Max 
Max 
Levi 
Will

Thursday, April 21, 2011

A trip to the Zoo with Lisa!

My cousin Lisa is in town from Chicago on her Spring Break.  We decided to spend the day together with the boys.  We had breakfast with our grandparents and then took the boys to the Zoo.  It was such a great day.  The weather was nice and they boys behaved amazingly well. 

Levi 
Max 
Will and Max 


Will 
Levi 
Max 
Will, Levi, Max and Lisa 
Will, Levi, Max and Lisa 
Will, Max, me and Levi 
Me, Lisa, Levi, Max and Will