Daddy's weekend away and why I missed out on mine.

Dale's good friend Scott has lived in Denver, CO for four years and Dale has yet to make it out for a visit during ski season. Since Dale does snow removal he has always been leery of leaving STL during winter. Finally Dale convinced himself that it was okay and he deserved a weekend away. So last weekend Dale and his friend Ben were off to Colorado to go snow boarding. Neither Ben or Dale had ever snow boarded before so I was waiting for the phone call that someone had broke their leg! Luckily that didn't happen and they had a great time. They said they did really well and they can't wait to go back.

Dale, Ben and Scott on the ski lift.

Dale enjoying the snow.

Dale after cutting freshies in the pow pow! 

(He thinks he can give a Shawn White a run for his money!  Ha-ha!)

Ben and Dale

When Dale got back on Monday all three boys were congested with runny noses and fevers. I wasn't too concerned as they've had this a few times before and just seemed like something that would have to run it's course. Then as I was giving baths that evening I noticed Will had a rash of little bumps all over his chest and stomach. I decided that I better call the doctor the next morning. Max was not running a fever and seemed okay, but luckily I decided I had learned my lesson and I was taking all of the boys to the doctor. She checked Will out first and initially thought the rash was a viral thing that was going around, then she looked at his throat and it was very red. She said it was not very common for children this age to get step, but ran a test anyway.  It was positive.  She then looked over Levi and he was not near as bad, but was going to be treated the same. Now on to Max, throat looked okay, he sounded wheezy and has a nasty ear infection. Now I had only wished I just called the doctor on Monday. I don't like how they can't tell me what's wrong and I have to try to figure it out. Then when the doctor first said strep I was like Oh No! My throat started hurting that morning. Sure enough, by Tuesday night I could hardly swallow and starting running a fever. Now I was in bed for the next two days not even able to comfort my sick kids. To top it all off this weekend I was supposed to be my weekend away to go see my cousin Lisa in Chicago. I was looking so forward to it. At least that is an easy trip to reschedule.  We are all feeling better now.  I can't say what hurts on the kids, but I wish they didn't have to feel that pain.  I know it was awful for me.  My throat still hurts, just not near as bad and by the evening I start feeling very run down again.  Hopefully March will bring better health and better weather!

Levi wanted to be like daddy on the snow board!

Levi consistently fights his sleep, but I guess he couldn't any longer this time and just decided to bend over in his chair and conk out!

Will showing his first teeth.  (I don't know why his neck was red, but I know Levi had just crawled his way over him, maybe that's where it came from.)

Max heard me tell Will to say cheese and from across the room he is looking at me posing!

Dare devils!

The boys have become quite the dare devils! They think they can get to anything, no matter what the obstacle. They are very determined. Despite the constant NO's, constant falls and constant wines because one brother is on top of another, they are very fun (most of the time!). Will finally got his first tooth on February 13th, quickly followed by his second a few days later. I'm sure he will catch up to Levi's 8 teeth and Max's 7 (almost 8) teeth very soon. Will and Max are starting to test themselves on standing up on their own. They pull up, let go, then fall on their butts. They are so proud of themselves and make sure you are watching to tell them how big they are. They both have stood on their own for several seconds a few times before they have fallen. I am sure Levi will start trying to stand on his own soon, but he's constantly got to be moving and standing may take to much being still! We are going to start swimming lessons on Monday. We are very excited. My mom, Dale and I will each be in the water with them. They love to splash in the bath so I am anxious to see them in the pool. And finally, the biggest news of the week. WILL NO LONGER NEEDS HIS HELMET! Yay!

Here are a few of the latest pictures.


Max tried getting something through the glass of our coffee table and cracked his head. We were a little freaked out, but he is fine and went right back to hitting his head. (I swear that kid has the hardest head.)

Levi loves to climb in everything. He is our future Olympian! He looks like he should have a snowboard on doing a trick on the half pipe. We wouldn't mind being parents of a gold medalist! Ha-ha!

Will being content as can be as usual, and of course posing for the camera.

Like father, like son! Dale and Levi having a conversation. These two are so much a like it's scary. I wonder what they are planning!

Ready, Set, Go! The boys were racing on their cars. They were better at going backwards!

(Levi, Will, Max)

The race quickly turned into bumper cars!
(Levi, Will, Max)

Wolves!

This week has been eventful to say the least. It started off with the boys 9 month well baby check-up on Monday. All are well and healthy. Will weighs in at 18 pounds 2 ounces, Max weighs in at 20 pounds 5 ounces and Levi weighs in at 17 pounds 13 ounces. The boys have recently learned to pull themselves up when Dale or I hold our hands out for them. Well, this week they learned to pull up on everything else! They are very proud of themselves and love for us to be proud of them as well. With this pulling up also came an even faster crawl. It's definitely not boring around here.

Here are a few short stories from the week:
Levi decided to make himself comfortable in our changing table (and later in a laundry basket and chair), then a few days later Max decided he would try to one up him and go up a level (of course he couldn't).
They are all obsessed with going into Dale's office for some reason. I had to answer phones for Dale one morning so when I was taking a message the first time Max of course followed me and found dirt, when I got off the phone it looked like he ate chocolate cake! When I was taking a message the second time he pulled himself up on the ottoman and got my purse of the chair. I heard him make a frustrated grunt when I turned around he was stuck in the straps of my purse. So I grab the camera real quick and as soon as he sees it he poses! He has been a huge ham this week.
They all like to take the toy their brother has and crawl all over each other. It seems like a mess now, but wait until they realize what is actually happening and fight back. We'll just enjoy the no fighting while we can!

There have been several moments this week that I felt like I was raising a pack of wolves. Here are a few similarities:

They live in dens:

Levi

Max

Levi
They playfully wrestle:

Will taking Max's toy.

Max climbing over Levi to get the remote.

They are just so darn cute and cuddly:
Will

Max

Levi

They travel in packs:

From front to back: Levi, Max & Will

From back to front: Will, Max Levi

Do you see the pattern here on who's the leader? Ha-ha!

Max Will and Levi eating Puffs.

They eat anything:

Max eating dirt!

Here are some other photos from the week.

Max trying bring back the Man Purse!

Levi so proud of himself!

Will on their new toy from Grandpa and Grandma Hackmann.

Max saw the camera!

Will getting into the diapers.

This week was also Dale's birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY! He got a new gas grill with the cover and a BBQ cookbook. We look forward to him making us a good dinner! The boys also went to their first Super Bowl party at my cousin Ashley's. We are looking forward to another eventful week this week.

9 Months!

Will, Max and Levi are 9 months old today! I cannot believe how fast it has gone. We'll be planning their 1st birthday party before we know it. I will definitely cry that day! Here are a few of their proofs from their 9 month pictures we had taken on Wednesday. Max was a ham, Levi was sleepy but cooperated and Will was scared and cried as soon as we put him down. But they are cute pictures anyway! These aren't the pictures we actually chose, but they were all so cute I thought I would put these on the blog instead of the ones we had printed!

Will, Max & Levi

Will


Max

Levi

Max's bad week!

Will

Levi

And lately Max loves to show his teeth when he smiles. It is hilarious! Here is the work up to his big cheesy smile!

Other than that the boys are still getting over their illness. Max is getting more teeth so he has been especially crabby. He has a terrible diaper rash now and just screams when we change him. I let him nap naked and am letting him play naked for a while. Hopefully it gets better fast. I know it must be very painful. Max also tried climbing the steps for the first time and busted his lip a little bit. My cousin was babysitting when this happened. I felt terrible for her. I knew this was going to happen soon, but knowing that I tend to watch the steps when I go upstairs to make bottles. I forgot to tell my cousin this. Anyway, the steps are now gated when we have to run up to get food. Hopefully the week will get better for Max very soon!

Sick of being sick!

So yesterday we had to take Levi and Max to the doctor for their congestion and wheezing. They were put on antibiotics and have to have nebulizer treatments for a few days. Will seemed fine besides his nose running occasionally. Well we got back from the doctor and my father-in-law was holding Will. I thought maybe he just woke up, but my father-in-law said that Will didn't feel good and has been coughing and his nose was running a lot. WHAT! Go figure that would happen while at the doctor. He wasn't bad before I left and put him down for a nap. Well by the evening Will was running a 101.8 fever. Max and Levi never even ran a fever when theirs started. So now the doctor is closed and the one child that wasn't bad and we left home from the doctor is now in the worst shape. Anyway, we knew he was destined to get it and the doctor already told us that if we notice Will wheezing to give him a breathing treatment as well and to call her and she would call him out an antibiotic also. Well by 11 pm Will's fever wasn't budging much with meds and he was wheezing pretty hard so we had to put a call into our doctor. We had to give Will another breathing treatment then he woke up again at 4 am needing yet another one. He only had a slight fever today but you could tell they all still felt bad. They were whiny and wanted to be held. Hopefully tomorrow will be better, but I will expect the worst!!! It's so nerve wrecking having sick kids, especially when they breathe like that. One day they will be able to tell us what is wrong and maybe we won't be so over anxious!

So if my post isn't long enough I have to crab for a moment. The boys have RSV which is basically a cold, just more respiratory stuff (by what I understand). Well they have a vaccine for this that certain infants qualify for. Because the boys were 7 weeks premature they are under that qualification. So in September our pediatrician put their names in to get the vaccine. So why do they have RSV? Well that's because stupid insurance companies rule the world and denied them. Their reason for this was because they were able to get the flu vaccine. I'm not a doctor (and frankly neither is the insurance company so why should they have any say) but I think the Flu and RSV are different viruses. So anyway I HATE INSURANCE COMPANIES. I think if the doctor says you need something then insurance that you pay a fortune for should cover it. But instead here we are with three kids that are sick with something that could have been prevented. I think I may just write the insurance company a letter. Or better yet send them our sick kids to deal with! Anyway, I feel better now that I got that off my chest. Thanks for listening!

A quick update

The last couple of weeks have been pretty good. We were going a little insane being stuck in the house for so long, but we were able to get out this weekend for a wedding and the boys got to spend the night at their Aunt Karen and Uncle Howard's. They seemed really excited to be there when we dropped them off. They really needed a change of scenery!!! Max and Levi have congestion AGAIN! We will probably have to make a trip to the doctor tomorrow because it seems to be getting worse not better and Levi sounds like he is wheezing. Hopefully they will get better soon. The boys are pulling themselves up now. They can't quite reach the couch but when we put our hands out they pull themselves up. And once they get up they are very proud of themselves and smile ear to ear! They know they are big boys and love to hear it! Other than that the few warm days we had this week really made us anxious for spring, but we know it's still going to be a while. Here are a few of our latest pictures.

Will, Max and Levi playing with a new toy with daddy!

Levi's hair is getting so long we decided to try out a new do!

Just because his hair isn't long enough doesn't mean he can't be in the picture!!! Max making sure he gets in on the photo op as well!!!

Daddy reading their favorite book! (Will, Max & Levi)

At the next bath we decided to give Will a Mohawk as well. It's not quite as long as Levi's, but they were sure cute! (Levi & Will)

For one of our baby shower's one of my aunt's and my two cousins gave the boys a bunch of camouflage and it finally fits! They love the hats and of course they are just too darn cute in this! My Aunt embroidered on the coats Daddy's Little Crew and on the back of the hats she embroidered Hackmann!