Merry Christmas!

It was finally Christmas morning and I was so excited for the boys to come downstairs to see that Santa had been there! They first looked outside and saw that the Reindeer (aka dirt devil) ate their food! We then went to the kitchen and saw that Santa ate his cookies! Finally we went to the living room and saw that Santa had left tons of presents! The boys were excited, but not as much as I thought they would be. Of course we had a ton going on the past several days and I think they were tired and still trying to grasp what was happening. Will and Levi would open one present and then want another. Max was still in his mood and we could barely get him to open anything at first. We handed him a present and he said “its clothes” and didn’t even open it. So we decided to have them open something that was not boring. Their next present was a Bobcat tractor! The boys were very excited and we finally got some emotion from Max! All Christmas long Levi told Santa he wanted a John Deere Tractor and John Deere Trailer, Max wanted a Red tractor and trailer and Will wanted a tractor (sometimes it was orange, sometimes blue and sometimes John Deere). Well Santa fulfilled their wish! And guess what happened when they opened them? Max saw Will’s blue tractor and wanted it instead of his red one! You’ve got to be kidding me! Luckily he decided he like it because Santa was not bringing him another one! The boys played with their toys for a while and then both sets of Grandparents came over for breakfast. After they left we took a nap and then headed over to my Grandma’s.

The entire time at my Grandma's Max kept saying he wanted to go back to mommy’s home. Frankly at this point I just felt bad for the kid. I knew that something was not right and he was not feeling well all weekend. I was exhausted and I knew he was.  I was sad that he was so miserable, especially for Christmas.  I was going to call the doctor the next morning. He did eventually go and play with all of his cousins very well, but kept saying he wanted to go home. We came home and let them play with their toys for a while before bed. Well good news!  That night Max slept through the night for the first time in weeks! And guess what? He was so happy and smiley all day! I didn’t call the doctor yet because it seems that maybe he is feeling better and getting over whatever it was that was making him feel so crappy! I am keeping my fingers crossed that he stays this way! 

Will seeing that Santa ate his cookies!

Will opning a TV tray!

Levi  opening Candy Land!

Max opening a Go Fish game!

Max opening his Bobcat Tractor!

Look is that a smile? 

Levi opening a gun!

Will with his gun!

Max opening his Red tractor and Trailer!

Levi opening his John Deere Tractor!

Will opening his blue tractor!

Will, Levi and Max opening their Train Table! 

Levi with his John Deere Tractor and John Deere Trailer! 

Levi and Will playing with their computer! 

A smiling happy Max! 

Max, Will and Levi opening their stockings!

Christmas Eve Part 3!

After the Hackmann Christmas we had to come home to make sure we were ready for Santa!  The boys made Reindeer food at school so we had to spread it out in the yard for Santa's Reindeer.  We put on our shoes and headed to the yard with our Reindeer food.  Dale said "throw it everywhere in the yard so all the Reindeer can get some."  What did they do?  Dumped the entire bag right in front of them right next to the driveway!  What did this mean?  After the boys fell asleep Dale had to go out with a dust buster to vacuum it up so they wouldn't see it the next day!  We then went inside and set out the cookies and milk for Santa.  It was finally bedtime and thankfully they were out within minutes because Dale and I still had plenty to do!

Levi 

Max 

Will 

Levi, Will and Max 

Cookies and milk for Santa!

Christmas Eve Part 2!

After leaving my Grandparent’s we went to Dale’s parents for another Christmas Eve celebration.  The guys played a few games of pool and then we opened presents.  Max cheered up some, but you still had to watch out if he didn't get his way!  Luckily with all the presents, candy and cookies around we could easily please him!  The boys got sleeping bags with leopards on them from Grandma and Grandpa.  Will and Levi kept laying in them and snoring.  Will would snore and laugh and if no one would pay attention he would snore louder and louder.  He thought he was funny stuff!  We then had some drinks, ate again and then were exhausted and had to head home to finish our Christmas Eve!

Me, Levi, Will, Max and Dale 

Max, Will and Levi

Christmas Eve, Part 1!

Christmas Eve started with my dad's family.  We have it in my Grandpa's shed because there are 12 kids who all have kids and a lot of those kids have kids.  I think my Grandpa said there was like 75 of us!  We pass around the coffee can, have a nice dinner and Santa comes and bring all the little ones a present.  It's usually nice to catch up with my cousins that I don't get to see very often, however on this day I didn't get to do much of it.  Max still was not feeling good and was making my day pretty stressful.  He wouldn't let me out of his site and then he started throwing major tantrums when he couldn't get his toy Santa brought him to work the way he thought it should.  I literally broke down as I was making my plate.  I had to go outside for a few minutes to cry and recompose myself!  Besides all the drama with Max; Dale, Levi and Will really enjoyed themselves. 

Hunter 

Max 

Baylen 

Will 

Levi 

Colton

(He gets a little scared of Santa so I was psyched that I captured this picture of just Colton and Santa!  I think my sister-in-law will be happy to have it!) 

Santa and my Grandparents! 

Me and Max in the back

Grandma and Levi, Dale, Grandpa and Will

(And my nephew Hunter in the left hand corner waiting for his turn for a picture!!!)

Weber Christmas!

Friday night we celebrated Christmas with my immediate family.  We opened presents, ate a nice dinner and just watched all the boys play together with their new toys.  Before the chaos of unwrapping presents began we were able to get all the boys to pose for a picture in front of the tree!  I had to take like a gazillion pictures, but I think this one turned out pretty good.  I must say they are one incredibly handsome group of boys!

Back: Hunter and Baylen

Front: Max, Levi, Will and Colton

Christmas Cookies!

The boys and I went to Dazed and Confused a while back to make the Grandma's a christmas gift.  Since we didn't think the Grandpa's would appreciate a coffee mug with handprints on them like the Grandma's would we deiced to make them Christmas Cookies!  I almost bailed on it because Max had been sick, but decied to do it anyway.  They had fun and were very proud of their cookies for Grandpa and Santa!

Will 

Levi 

Max 

Will, Levi and Max 

Levi 

Max 

Will

Missouri Botanical Garden!

Today we decided to take the boys to the Missouri Botanical Garden to see their Gardenland Express exhibit.  They loved seeing the trains and doing the search and find.  We then went to the Climatron and Temperate House.  The boys actually enjoyed seeing all the plants.  The Temperate House was our favorite.  They have this garden that was so serene and peaceful, even with the boys!  We were the only one's in the Climatron and Temperate house for most of the time we were there so the boys just got to run as they pleased which was very nice for all of us!  Dale and I had only been to MoBot once a very long time ago.  After going today we can't wait to bring the boys back in the spring and explore all of the outdoor gardens!

Max

(As you can probably tell, he was not feeling well.  Luckily I made a call to the doctor and she called out antibiotics since Will just went through this.) 

Levi 

Dale, Will, Max and Levi 

Will 

Dale and Max 

Me and Will 

Will, Levi and Max 

Levi, Max and Will 

Levi 

Will, Max and Levi 

This is the view from Dale and I's future villa in Tuscany!!!