Christmas Pictures.

In the tub, with their clothes on... Very excited for bath time! (Zachary (left) is obviously obsessed with eating things, don't worry, he didn't get any toothpaste. I haven't had to call poison control since the magazine eating incident when they were 6 mo. old.)

New wagon and new sweatshirts for Christmas. They have their names on the back, Zach (right) is "Thing 1", Max (left) is "Thing 2."
(Notice the attempt to climb out of the wagon and the little brush in his mouth--one of the reasons we have few pictures of them together, we can not get them to stay still long enough!)

Our Maxy Baby

Of course Zachary would wear the Santa hat. This kid has cried at bedtime until he got his fisherman's hat and wore it all night long!

Maxwell with Baby Brinley's pacifier. (Then I wonder how we got sick after Christmas!)

Zachary LOVES cranberries. He is sitting in Brinley's BRAND NEW high chair. (Sorry baby, we kind of destroyed your things... but we still aren't used to not being the babies at Grandma and Grandpa Hoheisel's!)

Our beautiful family.
Dustin, Max, Sara & Zach

Sammie Kaelin

Three years ago today, our first baby's heart stop beating. We didn't know yet... and continued our hopes and dreams, while my body held on.

I found this poem and I know our angel is with Jesus, waiting for her mommy, daddy & twin brothers.


I'm just a little baby
who didn't quite make it there,
I went straight to be with Jesus
but I'm waiting for you here.

Don't you fret about me mommy
I'm of all God's most blessed
I'd have loved to stay there with you
but Heavenly Father knows what's best.

Many who dwell here where I live
waited years to enter in,
they struggled through a world of sorrow
and their lives were marred with sin.

So sweet mommy don't be sad,
wipe those tears and chase the gloom,
I went straight to be with Jesus,
from my lovely mother's womb.

Thank you for the life you gave me,
it was brief but don't complain,
I have all of Heaven's glory
suffering none of the worlds pain.

I would have loved to stay with you,
and lived a life by your side,
but the Lord has called me home,
I know it's hard to understand why.

Thank you mommy for making me,
You made me out of love,
I can't wait for the day I see you again
so you can see what I've become.

I'm an angel here in heaven.
The Lord's here by my side,
He wants me to let you know
He's sorry he made you cry.

He has a plan for me up here,
And a plan for you here too,
Someday we'll be together again,
and this I know is true.

Mommy Time

I really don't have anything magnificent to say. Usually it is something like, "do you want a snack?" "be nice." "don't hit your brother." "we love each other." "nigh night." etc.

Last weekend I got a chance to spend a little time alone. I love the boys with all I have, but I was starting to look like I had been hit by a truck, not to mention that Max broke my glasses over 3 months ago and I was wearing the incorrect prescription, leading to headaches. So, I headed off for a day at the beauty salon and the optometrist.

The thing was, all I wanted to do was be with the boys. It was a rare day that Daddy was home too. And I wanted to spend time as a family. I enjoyed the adult conversation, but I missed my babies.

I spend a large majority of my time with them. I still work nights, which means I sleep right away when I get home and then through the boys' nap time. We are up together in the afternoons and then we have dinner as a family when Dustin gets home from work after 5 p.m. He gives them a bath, I clean up dinner... We get them dressed, watch "Wheel of Fortune" (which I rock at--just thought I would throw that out there. I answer puzzles with one letter on the board, I always know it before the contestant does. I also play on Facebook. I am on level 28 or something, with a cool 2.5 million dollars.) I go to sleep for a bit after that and then get up and go to work.

I see my husband for approximately 40 minutes a day. We communicate via text message. We share a bed, but I sleep in it during the day, him at night. It works for us. We've never fought, we certainly aren't screamers... But, being apart makes us enjoy our time together a little more.

We rarely have time, just the two of us. We would rather spend it with our boys. But, tomorrow night will be an exception. We are going bowling (I am hoping to break 50) for Dustin's work Christmas party. The Packer's are also playing in a play-off game. I am not sure Dustin will be able to handle me kicking his rear in bowling AND watching the Packers, I might need to load on him on betablockers before hand. ;)

In all seriousness, we are thankful for the time we spend together. Even if it is only 2400 seconds a day. And I enjoyed my day to myself, and look forward to the next one, in 100 or more days... as soon as I look like a rodent under a Mack truck.

"herre"

The newest word in our house, here, which sounds like "herre." Zachary is giving us whatever he has and says, "herre." It is adorable. He is mellowing out a little bit and becoming quite caring.

Tonight, Max fell off the coffee table (I knew that damn "babyproof" post was going to bite me in the ass), and Zach ran over to him and gave him a toy. If Max is sad, Zach will find a blanket or sippy cup. It is SOOOOOOOOOO cute.

They are really into puppies lately. They notice puppies in books, on TV, out the window, etc. It is adorable to watch them point and say "puppy." We have thought about getting a puppy, but I am sure I want them potty trained before we try to potty train a puppy.

And speaking of potty training, Max has been grabbing at himself when we ask him if he went poop. All potty functions are poop so far. Today I asked if anyone needed to go potty. First Zachary sat on the potty. He didn't go, but he did wipe. lol. Then, Max went pee! Yay! They love the potty, and so far, no more splashing in the toilet, so we are getting somewhere.

We seriously are loving each stage they go through the best. Dustin's mom, Nancy, wrote him a book when we got married. I was reading it last night and there is a part that says,

"When you were very small, I often thought that I couldn't stand to see you grow older. When you first started school, it broke my heart that those baby days were over... then you delighted me with the things you learned and I was so tickled with how proud you were of every accomplishment. As you continued to grow up, I realized that I loved you best at each age you suddenly were."

I couldn't describe my feelings about watching the boys growing up "herre" any better.

Sara

BabyProof

I got an e-mail from a dear cousin who commented on the blog. It was so nice to hear that people still read this, so, I shall keep typing.

I haven't been stellar at keeping baby books. I have them, I wrote in them before they were born, but since then, I haven't been as faithful as I want to be. I remember when I would look at my own baby book and couldn't believe that my mom hadn't filled in every page, like the guest list for my 2nd birthday. I believe I know why she didn't now!

We are all getting over the Christmas cold. The windows in the house haven't been open for two months, germs breed like rabbits, and we all get together & hug. We might as well lick the toilet bowl! Speaking of toilet bowls, I finally bought a child lock for ours. The boys seem to love splashing in the water and besides the initial safety aspect, it is nasty. I did a bunch of research on-line, posted a status about it on Facebook. I ended buying the only kind that Target had. It is effective. They have even tried to "double team" the lock (which is effective for most of the kitchen cabinets), but they couldn't get it open, so instead, Max moved onto something else, while Zach decided to stand on top of the toilet seat and climb onto the vanity. I wonder how I baby-proof that?!

Our house is safe now. I feel like they can't get into anything that I don't want them in. I have locks on nearly everything. I can always buy more though. The latest trick is pulling out the drawer on the stove to get a little closer to the top. Don't worry, our range does not have the burners or the covers on them. ;) It has locks on the controls and if I cook, I take the control right off.

Pretty clever, I know!

My youngest sister, Emma, is getting married in June and I am all ready nervous for what the boys will get into. They will be 2 then, and will hopefully have a better understanding of the word, "no." Which I was informed at Christmas time that they need to hear more of... really?! They are 19 mo. old, oh wait....ACHOOOO! Sorry, did I not cover my mouth? You want to talk smack about my parenting skills, I will get you sick. Hahahaha--evil laugh. At any rate, my other sister, Betsy (mother of 3) offered for us to stay at her house, which I am so grateful for. My comfort level rises knowing that her house is baby proof too.

I don't make New Year's resolutions, but I do like this blog thing. I may try to blog more. Sleep more. And I promise to try to keep my children as safe as possible. Even if that means all the chairs are turned on their sides to prevent climbing on the table. Even if I have so much junk crammed into the one space in the living room that they can't reach, it looks like I am auditioning for Hoarders.

I am fully aware that they will still get hurt. They will fall down, chip their teeth, cut their fingers... but, I am going to try to be more aware of my actions which could prevent injury to them, but still allowing them to explore and learn.

Until next time, with 20 fingers, 19 fingernails, 20 toes, and 20 toenails-- which need a trimming--

Mama