BOW-Heads and a Boy

If you have daughters, then you know how much fun it is, to get them all dolled up and make them feel special. My girls have been picky about the clothes they wear from an early age. It's so funny the way that happens. It's like a female instinct to want to match. Thanks to a super sweet friend of mine, taught me how to make bows a couple years ago. Since we have three girls this has turned out to be a wonderful thing. If you buy all your bows at the mall, you know how expensive they are. Think of that times three every time you buy a bow. You could go broke just putting together one outfit. Making hair bows is now one of my favorite hobbies. The girls always feel pretty when they have bows in their hair. Today the girls are wearing some of my most recent bow designs.

Watermelon Bow

Fall Bow

I Have "FALL"en In Love

Signs of Fall are here in Texas. I love this time of year! The weather is beautiful! Cool days and even cooler nights! We have had a lot of rainy days lately, which I love. I love this sort of weather. I love cloudy fall days that are crisp and make me want to make apple crisp and homemade chili. Do you know what I am talking about? The smells are wonderful. I love driving down the road and seeing pumpkins and scarecrows and all the fall colors. I just absolutely love this time of year...I just wish it would last longer.

Here are some pictures of the Quads that were taken yesterday. We pulled these dresses out from the back of their closets. And they even had to wear a sweater over them so they would not get chilly. A perfect fall morning.

GO BIG ORANGE!!

I realized one of the most important day's of Brown Bear Week was forgotten. How could I forget to post pics from Orange day?! After all, this family roots for the TN VOLS! GO BIG ORANGE!! Here are the quads right before school. Don't they all look so cute? If you can't tell recently, Sam has become quite fond of having her picture taken. She is always ready with her smile and putting her arms around others posing. So cute! I love it!! It's funny too, because when Logan is not around, it's like Sam is the ring leader. All of a sudden she becomes the one in charge and tells the others what to do, or the way it is going to be.

That evening I caught a moment with Donny holding Sam and I had to take a picture. The lighting was really bad, and there was a bad glare, but I still love the picture of them two.

Of course Daddy got some tickles out of Sam. That's a daily Daddy thing. No matter the day, good or bad, each child gets some tickle time with Daddy. I love watching it! I love hearing it! Especially when Maddy is the one getting the tickles. That girl can laugh like no other. I can be having the worst day, but to hear Madison and her famous giggle, you cannot help but smile. It's pretty awesome when I think about things like this, and the little ins and outs of our children's personalities right now, a part of me can see into the future, a picture of them and what they will be like as they get older. The way they will act, interact and react. The kind of friend they will be to others. The kind of student they will be. The kind of teenager they will be. These are the fun and wonderful things we can and get to think about. We don't need to worry about what we are going to do when all the kids need braces, or figuring out how to manage the schedules and costs when all five children are interested in different sports or hobbies. We get to make the most the way things are now, the amazingly different and special children that we have, and all the many ways that they bless our lives each day.

And here's Sam for a close up...

I downloaded a new program the other day, so I was playing around with it and here is the result.

Dressed To Impress

Today was picture day at school! So the kids got all dressed up today. The girls were so beautiful and Hudson and Logan were very handsome. (Here are some pics of the quads before school. I know our pictures have been lacking Logan recently. Just hard to get pics of him since he goes to school so much earlier. I'll try to get some of Logan soon.)

Hudson snuck outside with his little Tiger. He loves that animal so much!

Isn't this so precious??!

We Got the Blues!

The Quads were all dressed in blue last week, to take part in Blue day. Learning about colors is so much fun! They have enjoyed picking out clothes for each day.

Another day in Dixonville...

The quads are doing very well this year in school so far. Just remembering and thinking back to the last few months and now...it's crazy how far they have come. Each one of them has come so far in their communication skills. Even Hudson in the last month has taken leap and bounds forward. Speaking of the Hud man, he has done amazingly well learning to walk with his leg/foot brace.

Who said you can't wear WHITE after Labor Day?!!!

The Dixon Quads were sporting white today. The color of the day at Pre-K was WHITE. Only two more days left of learning colors. Can you guess what color's will be next?

Shades of Purple...

Today the quads had purple day at school. The girls had various shades of purple on they picked out. Well, Hud on the other hand....come on, not many boys wear purple. Ours is on of them. But look in Donny's closet, well...hehe...he does!

GOING GREEN!

The quads are doing their part to save the envoirnment. Friday the color of the day was GREEN. So they all let their green shine. Haha! How's that for going going green?!?!!

Dr. Seuss, Here We Are!!!

Everyday this week the quads are learning about a different color at school. To help them learn each day they were to wear the color of the day. Here are the quads sporting their Dr. Seuss shirts for RED day. In order of birth, they are represented. Hudson is thing 1, Madison is thing 2, Candice is thing 3 and Samantha is thing 4.

There is no doubt that they get tons of attention when they wear these shirts. I think they should make a book cover, don't you?! Hehe!

Quads go to Pre-K

The quads also had a big day yesterday. They started Pr-K! They go to same school as Logan, except their school day is in the afternoon for three hours. This year they have lots of firsts like eating lunch at school in the big cafeteria. They are riding the bus again this year, so that's fun too.

The Dixon Quadruplets & Big Brother

The kids have been having a great summer! I took these pics of the kids a while back but never posted any of them here. Check out those t-shirts that Daddy found while he was on business trip in Florida! It always get peoples attention when we take the quads out in these shirts. They are too cute!!

Kuddos To The Kiddos!

The Quads have and continue to enjoy there three hours of school Monday-Friday. They have come so far. It is amazing! The other day we got progress reports/evaluations of them in regards to there speech therapy. They all were said to of mastered 70% of almost every goal and step stone that was tested. Except for one, that they all received 80% on, in regards to recognizing names of things, people, etc.

Hudson is the only one receiving physical therapy now, and he scored 50% on each goal. Although, he continues to do well and plays well with the others and can keep his own, he does continue to have a consistent difficulty physically because he is not able to use his left arm/hand normally, and though his leg is much better since his heal toe cord surgery, it is still not normal. Not that it needs to be or ever will be, but of course as his parents, we want to do whatever we can for all of our kids to have the best possible life they can have. So we are looking into other options and seeking other opinions of what is the best plan of action to help him along, as much as we can.

Got Quads?! Results are In!

Thanks to all who participated in the poll. After 83 votes, 9 of you got it right. Congrats! If you guessed right, I'd love to hear from you. Believe it or not, a few days before the quads were born, I had gained 82 lbs. However, when we were referred to a multiple specialist I was told that I should gain at least 80lbs, but he really wanted me to gain 100 lbs. I thought that was crazy! I could not imagine at the time gaining that much weight. When your in the middle of a high order multiple pregnancy, you get weighed in bed. After all, I did go on hospital bedrest at 16 weeks. We delivered the quads by emergency cesarean section at 26 1/2 weeks.

POLL RESULTS: How much weight did Liz gain with the quads? Can you guess?! 40- 45 lbs. 13 (15%) 50- 55 lbs. 20 (24%) 60- 65 lbs. 18 (21%) 70- 75 lbs. 16 (19%) 80- 85 lbs. 9 (10%) 90- 95 lbs. 2 (2%) 100 lbs. 5 (6%) Votes so far: 83 Poll closed


According to Most.com (Mother's Of SuperTwins):

"Unlike singleton pregnancies when mothers-to-be worry about gaining too much weight, doctors recommend expectant mothers of triplets or more gain at least 20 to 25 pounds in the first 20 weeks of their pregnancy. Some expectant mothers of higher-order multiples experience problems with severe morning sickness(hyperemesis) making this weight gain goal difficult, but typical overall weight gains for higher-order multiple pregnancies are: 50 to 80 pounds for triplets 70 to 100 pounds for quadruplets. These amounts may depend on the mother’s weight at conception, how many babies are involved, and other medical factors. See statistics from the MOST Medical Birth Survey for more information."

On About.com I found some Interesting Facts About Quadruplets.

"The state with the highest population of quadruplets is New York, followed by New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

There are about 3500 sets of quadruplets worldwide; only 60 or so are identical or monozygotic.

Parents of quadruplets will change close to 30,000 diapers before their kids are potty trained.

The most premature surviving quads were born in 1997 at 25 weeks, 1 day.

The incidence of quadruplet birth rose more than 400% in the last quarter of the
20th century, but rates have declined somewhat in the years since 2000.

Banner Good Samaritan Hospital in Arizona is believed to have delivered the most sets of quadruplets, abuout 75 sets."

Liz's Quad Pregnancy Poll!

In case you have not already put in your vote...you have two more days. On the left sidebar you will see a poll...make your best guess, how much weight I gained with the quad pregnancy. Time is running out....let's see how many of you can get it right? Be sure to come back for the results and see if you guessed correctly.

I know it has been a week now since I have made any updates on the blog. Lot's has been going on with our family, the kids, some fun and some not so fun things, including another stay in the hospital. Our life is never dull! I have not had a chance to write about it all. So expect a long post soon!

Germs, Germs, Everywhere!!

This is a long weekend for us. The quads were out of school on Friday and there is no school on Monday for Fair day. Unfortunately, we are unable to enjoy the extra family time, cause we have a house full of sick people. All five kids are sick. Logan is the better of the five, for now anyway, but the quads have some nasty bug. It is not pretty in no shape or form. I've had a lot of trouble sleeping at night the last several nights. Sorry Donny! Between recovering from surgical pains, my body reacting the medicines that I'm on, and an ear infection (well, it's not really an infection, but I really don't know any other easy way to say it). There's an problem with my ear that's causing major ear pain, as if I had an infection. In order to not bother Donny any more than I already have, I decided to go lay in the other room for a while. Soon as I got up I heard crying from the upstairs, and I listened and heard a cry for mommy. Then more crying. I went upstairs, Sam and Maddy were both in bed asleep, crying and Sam was the one calling my name. It was so sad. But yet so precious. I got them out of bed one at a time and held them for a while, wiped their tears, gave them so medicine and put them back down. I feel so bad when my babies don't feel good. :( Poor munchkins! Logan came home from a friends birthday party yesterday not feeling well...and the quads were, let's just say, a mess yesterday. Not much has changed. We are not going far. We are stuck in this germ infested house.

The WINNER is...M&M'S !

Colorful & fun M&M'S milk chocolate!, originally uploaded by RajRem.

Thank's for participating in our quiz! The polls are now closed and the results are in.
We asked.."What should the Dixon Quads dress up as for Halloween?"

M&M's 41 (62%)
The Wizard Of Oz 14 (21%)
Superheros 4 (6%)
Animals 5 (7%)
Clowns 4 (6%)

Suddenly, I am craving chocolate!!

The Quads First Year In School

Today was our first ever parent teacher conference. It was for the Quads. I'm just proud of their teacher for learning so much about them, and remembering little details about each one. Some people have trouble telling them apart much less, recognizing detailed information. She is a great teacher. She is super sweet and is very good with them. She has fallen in love with each one of them and adores them. Although, it is very hard to spend much time with the quads and not fall in love with them. :P They are each so special, and have their own little cute and loving qualities about them. I know, I'm their mom, so It's easy for me to say these things. But they are so true!! :)

So how are the quads doing in school? Let's see... Madison is eager to participate in all school activities. She is learning colors and speaking and playing well with her peers. She seems to enjoy school and always has a positive attitude. Samantha is playing cooperatively with her peers. She is adjusting well to the classroom routines, and beginning to participate in group time. Her fine motor skills (as far as coloring goes) are age appropriate. Candice is confident playing independently or with peers. She enjoys patterning activities and excels at them. Candi also enjoys sorting by color and working puzzles. Hudson always has a smile on his face and seems to enjoy school. He is talking more in class to peers and adults. (This is a good thing, cause he was to shy to talk at the beginning of the year). He really enjoys the water table, sandbox and tricycles during outside play. We will continue working on all the goals discussed in the ARD yesterday, along with working on some of the fine motor skills and verbal skills at home. But they are all off to a great start for the year and I am very proud of how far each one my little preemies have come. GOD is GOOD!!

Have I told you that the quads are riding the bus again this semester. It is wonderful. They LOVE it and makes things much easier for mom and dad. "The Wheels On The Bus" has to be their favortie song right now becuase of it. The bus driver is such a sweet and loving woman. The kids adore her and I'm always confident that she is taking good care of them and keeping them safe. I'm so thankful for such wonderful people, caring for, and watching over our children each day. I never have to worry cause I know they are doing everything they can to teach, love, and protect our kiddos. :) What a refreshing thought, there are good people out there in this evil world. Praise God!!

ABC's and 123's

The quads are learning more and more each week. They have been in the new special education program for a month now, and already reaching and mastering developmental goals. There vocabulary is increasing and they are using simple sentences. They are responding, identifying, and participating in daily activities and directions. They are learning basic colors, numbers and shapes and will continue to work on these this year. Today I attended an ARD meeting where we discussed the objectives and goals that they will be working on for the rest of the school year. Hudson, Madison, Candice and Samantha will all continue to receive speech therapy services. While Hudson will also receive physical and occupational therapy. The quads have fit right in the classroom and are doing great with the other children. Madison in particular has really blossomed and seems to have won over the affection of the teachers. Apparently she really is a drama queen. Very expressive, very involved, and very interactive in each activity. In addition, I am told that Madison has very good recall, and picks up on things quickly. Candice works very on her own or with others, and is very interested in numbers. She may not tell you, but she knows how to count 1-10. That's just a little bit of what I was told today. Tomorrow is parent teacher conference for each of the quads, so we will get more specific about each child and how they are doing in the classroom. So stay tuned for more on our precious little foursome!