Dellinger James, AKA DJ

Last, but never least, is DJ. His personality is really coming out in full force! He still hasn't figured out that he has more mass to push around then Elli, but I feel that time is coming soon. When he does figure it out, she better beware . . . he will put a quick end to her reign of terror. lol For now, he is just so laid back. Nothing really gets to him. If Elli puts up a fuss, he generally just walks away. He has, however, figured out that if he's patient enough, she'll get distracted and walk away. He's become sneaky that way. Especially when it comes to snack and treats . . . she'll snag his away and he doesn't make a peep because he knows in a manner of seconds, she'll abandon it and he'll have access to as much as he wants. This boy is FAR from dumb!!

He already seems to love Andrew - giving him hugs and kisses. He'll even snuggle up next to him when he's sleepy or if Andrew is crying. (SO cute!) He'll enjoys "rough housing" with Michael and Daddy and loves to be tickled. He come up to you just for a tickle. He has also become quite the climber. Up and Down stairs, all over the furniture . . . he even figured out it was fun to climb up the changing table, crawl over the top of the couch and slide down the cushions! I think he's trying to keep up with Elli, which of course makes me stress just thinking about it!

He walked up by himself. Thankfully didn't try to walk down alone.

Acting like a grown up, he was reading the paper with the guy next to him. My little gentleman!

Peek!

The only downfall to DJ being so laid back is that he has fallen behind in communication. He had his evaluation with the Alabama Early Intervention and he was identified for services in speech and language. This Wed afternoon we have a therapist coming to create an Education Plan for DJ to try and catch him up. Thankfully, everything came back clear on his hearing. Good news there. Now we just need to find a motivator to get him moving forward. The hard part right now is he just doesn't care . . . if you try and get him to repeat a word, such as please - more - juice - etc. he eventually just walks away. The only words he uses consistently is "Ready, Set, GO", Yes, Stop, No, Thank You and "Twinkle Star". Sounds good on paper, but the majority of people would have no idea that they were actual words. I've already prepared myself for the shock that is going to come from speech therapy . . . I may live to regret it (lol), but I know it must be done for his benefit in the long run!

Well, I hope this catches everyone up a bit . . . I'm sure I forgot tons of things, but at least now I know there will be at least something to post another day!

Princess Elli

Elli has taken on the roll of little momma in our house . . . She will holler at the boys, especially if I just said something, if they are doing wronf. If one of the boys is crying, she will try to calm them first, then come grab me. She's even trying to teach DJ letters, numbers and animals! (I REALLY need to get video of that one day!) She adores her big brother, following him all over, anywhere he goes. And she loves her little brothers tons, constantly hugging and kissing them. That is, until one of them gets in the way of something she thinks is hers or that she wants. Then out comes the diva . . . typical 2 year old. "I may not be playing with it, but it is MINE and you CAN'T have it!!" Those are the moments I wish I wasn't the mom because I just want to laugh, but instead have to redirect her attention to keep her from pummeling someone. 

 Copying mommy reading a magazine in the waiting room

She's trying to decide if this one has pictures to look at . . . 

I can't get over how smart Elli has gotten either. She can sing the Alphabet Song, all the way through without missing a letter, and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. She knows all of her rainbow colors, though for some reason she still mixes up yellow and green. She can count to five, knows all the main shapes, animals and body parts. She even likes to play hide and seek. At the rate this kid is picking things up, I may need to put her into a preschool program at 3 yrs, just to keep her learning! 

 One, two, three . . .

 ready or not!

 Elli has been having so much fun in ballet class. She is so cute when they walk her across the floor while she does: step, point, step, point or point, hop, point, hop. She is also getting pretty good at her plie. I can't wait to see her costume or the recital.

Mr. Michael

Michael has taken so many strides forward, it's hard to believe he's the same child that, less than 7 years ago, didn't speak, made no eye contact, was completely out of control and lived in his own little world. Now, he has made A/B Honor Roll for the 2nd time, he has almost doubled his A/R reading level and he is doing all of this with virtually no assistance. He is given an allowance of extra time for taking tests, when they do their ARMT (think IOWA testing . . .) he has the option to take them in a separate room along with even more time to take the tests if needed. He also has a "tutor" to help catch him up in grammar and sentence structuring. (Hi, can I get one too?? lol)

Michael has also made huge strides in friendships. There a number of kids that he plays with now, from all over the neighborhood. Rarely does a day go by now that someone isn't knocking on the door looking for him. It has also given me a great opportunity to help him to grow as a human being . . . he'll come to me from time to time with struggles on how to handle a certain situation. After talking about it until he understands what is the right thing to do, he not only listens (can you believe it?) but he also does his best to help the other kids involved to understand WHY it's the right thing to do . . . he really wants to help make the world a better place. *GUSH* The only really hard part is that his best friend, Hayden, will be moving to Birmingham the end of the year. Something that we are trying not to focus on too much, but I know it is going to hit him hard once Hayden is actually gone.

Michael has become such a huge help at home. He sets/ clears the table, helps keep the living area picked up. Works to keep his room clean and helps wrangle the little ones when things start to get out of hand. I really don't know what I would do without him. He just adores being the big brother - especially when things are a bit quieter and he can snuggle with Andrew. 

I really wish we were closer to everyone, so that I could share with you all what just a small glimpse into his mind is like. There are so many wonderful things rolling around in there - I can't WAIT to see what he's able to accomplish as an adult. I just hope he keeps his passion about doing what he can to help the world. I continue to tell him he can to anything he wants, as long as he's willing to put the work in to achieve his goals. I also tell him almost daily that no one can tell him what he's capable of - that's something only he can discover for himself. Case in point, dancing . . . Michael has really grown in just a couple of months at dance. If he can work on focusing, that boy would have some serious moves!

So little to do, so much time. Strike that . . . reverse it.

So, I know it's been forever since last I posted. I would LOVE to say that it's because we have been running around with millions of things to do . . .  a schedule overflowing with places to go, people to see and things to do. Yeah, you do remember who I am, right? ;)

No, instead it has been a long time because life has happened . . . Having four kids, three so close, makes for a busy day. Rarely am I able to find a chance to sit at the computer and think of whitty stories to type. With as scatter-brained as I have become lately, I think Drew's beginning to wonder if he really did marry a basket case. 

Since there is SO much to catch up on, I thought it would easier on the reader to create a post for each of the little ones. This one will contain Andrew since he hasn't really started hitting any major milestones yet. 

As for Drew and I, the holiday season has begun in full force. He already was working at least 52 hours a week and now, with it being prime season, we'll be lucky if it's anything under 60. I guess living with Colleen all those years are going to pay off - I know and understand what it means to be a store manager during the holiday season. Apparently that is not a common thing - I've already heard of wives that are complaining about the hours. 

I have been making more and more connections, the more I get out. I had connected with a group of stay at home moms with kids around the same ages as the little ones. They meet every Wed morning at one of the big playgrounds in the area. All of them had to move here for their husband's job, so we all can relate to what each other are going thru. I've also started getting to know some of the parents at the dance studio. (Those that know me really well would be proud of how outgoing I'm becoming!)

Even though Andrew is not sleeping through the night just yet, he's finally getting into the routine of things. For the most part I haven't had to adjust my routine with Elli and DJ too much - Andrew's needs seem to just slip right into the swing of things. He is really starting to smile and coo a lot more and rarely will I find him in the same position as when I laid him on the mat. Of course, sometimes that is also because his big sister likes to hold him and has taken to trying to pick him up and hold him herself. I will say that I wish I could freeze time right now as all of the little ones LOVE each other - something I know won't last. I don't have to many pictures or videos of him just yet . . . half the time I pull out the phone, someone starts crying or Elli/DJ decide to stand right in front of me to get my attention. Here are some of the cuter ones I managed to sneak:

Oh, do I have a whole new respect for my parents . . .

The JOYS of Parenthood!

Halloween was a big day for our family and not just because of the holiday. DJ had his evaluation with Alabama's Early Intervention. On one end, a huge sigh of relief since he is developmentally on track socially and with fine & gross motor skills. One the other end, he did qualify for services in speech & language. I'm not in the least bit surprised since this is the area that we were concerned about to begin with. Still waiting on pins and needles for his appointment at the University on Thursday to have his speech and hearing evaluated. Still not sure how to feel about this one, especially since I have NO idea what's going to happen.

For Trick or Treating, Michael was a Ninja (again), Elli was a princess (of course), DJ was a dinosaur and Andrew was a lion. Michael and Elli were hopped up before they even got their costumes on - we barely got dinner into them! As a result, trying to get a picture of them all together was akin to wrangling cats.

Once we headed out into the neighborhood, it didn't take Elli long to figure out that if she knocked on a door and smiled big - she got candy. It became a race between her and Michael to see who could make it to the door first to knock. I had to giggle at the fact that she never did figure out to say "trick or Treat" she'd simply flash her big smile and shout "HAPPY HALLOWEEN!" then stick out her bucket. Once the candy was inside she'd shout her thanks as she was running off to find the next house. 

As if running from home to home with the kids wasn't enough - they decided to add to the excitement by requiring us to search for the homes giving out candy . . . apparently it is NOT common sense to turn off your porch light when you are not giving out candy. It was a rough start since we were one of the first families that went out. Towards the end it was a cinch as you could just fallow the line from house to house. Believe me, I will be hitting the "suggestion box" next time I'm in the office. A complex this big and confusing (the layout can be a bit of a labyrinth)  I don't see why they can't hand out a flyer, or the like, for people to put on their door if they are handing out candy. It would make things easier on everyone involved.

We were out for about an hour or so when the little ones had enough. (pretty impressive considering Elli walked the entire time AND refused to take her afternoon nap.) Once we got back home it became meltdown city. Michael sat out front to hand out candy so Drew and I could get the kids changed and "ready" for bed. I'm pretty sure Elli threw a tantrum for the hour from when we got home until we finally got her to bed. (of course, she didn't get to sleep for another hour. sigh) Michael was having so much fun handing out the candy that he was giving handfuls to each kid and not paying attention to who he was giving it to . . . (some were coming back for seconds) and we were running thru candy pretty quick. That changed once I told him if we went thru all of our candy we'd start using his stash. :)

By about 9:30 everyone was asleep, the remaining candy was "hidden", the house put back together, Drew was back at work for re-merchandising and I was desperately trying to find something not gory to watch. (Thank goodness for DVR!)

We need more apples!

You know the old saying "An apple a day keeps the doctor away"? Yeah, apparently I should have listened closer  . . .

So here's the update on the kids:

I took DJ and Andrew to the Dr for their 18 mo and 2 mo check-ups. DJ is weighing in at 33.5 lb and 33 1/4 in (wow, almost a pound per inch!) and Andrew is 11 lb 9 oz and 24 in. (half a pound per in? I think he and DJ need to have a talk . . .) Going in Drew and I had a few questions for the pediatrician about both boys and I walked out with MORE questions then I came with.

Our main concern with DJ was a couple of behaviors that left us baffled AND concerns regarding his hearing/speech. The Dr had me fill out a developmental form and while I was doing that - they checked his hearing. A couple of red flags came up on the form and his left ear failed the testing. We have an appt on Oct 31 with the early intervention dept to do a more thorough evaluation of his development (yep, saw THAT one coming) - they pushed us up on the list since he has a sibling with a known development delay. We have an appt on Nov 8 with the Speech and Hearing dept for a complete exam of his hearing and speech and we'll know more from there.

With Andrew we were just curious about his left eye as it doesn't seem to focus quite as well . . . Apparently it is common for a baby his age to have 1 eye that turns in since they are still learning how to focus and can sometimes "over-focus" - we weren't so lucky. His eye turns out, not in. We have an appt for him Nov 12 with an eye Dr that specializes in these types of eye problems.  Finally, while the Dr was feeling his tummy, she could feel something there - more than likely just some stool or his kidneys, but better safe than sorry. 

So, apparently God felt we haven't seen enough doctors in our home, He wanted to add just a few more. I'm really finding my sense of humor in all of this - In fact, I was wondering if the Hospital had a punch card (kinda like Subway) where once you see a certain amount of doctors, you win something fun. Wouldn't that ROCK??

Knowing what I know at this point, the only thing on my mind is DJ's hearing as it would explain a few things and hearing can run the gambit on causes and solutions. All the rest are just precautions to make sure everything truly is status quo and as far as Andrew's eye - if anything will need to be done, they usually start with covering one eye or prescribe glasses. Guess we'll know more in a few weeks.

After all of this, plus the appointments for Michael and me, I feel like I should be able to use this as a reference to my multitasking skills. If/when I return to work, if anyone asks about said skills, I think I'm going to giggle, explain that I had 4 kids (3 within 3 yrs) and list the number of Dr.s they saw. Then explain how I successfully carted all 3 little ones with me from visit to visit with little to no incidents. I DARE them to not hire me! LOL

Tonight is dance night and they get to wear their costumes . . . hopefully I get a chance to snag some cute videos and maybe even post them later tonight! Keep your eyes pealed! :)

Tag-team, back again!

Today was one heck of a whirlwind!! While out shopping, Elli and DJ decided the store was too quiet for their tastes which made for a GREAT opportunity for one of their lovely screeching contests. And no, that was not a misprint - be glad you've not been around to experience one . . . I think I'm still experiencing 50% hearing loss in my right ear. lol Already frustrated because I couldn't figure out the layout to the stupid store, we decided to quickly grab the last couple of items on the "must have" list and run. While checking out, DJ managed to snag a treat, which I allowed him to eat & share with Elli. He REALLY enjoyed it . . . 

Once we got the little ones fed and down for naps, Michael asked if Drew wanted to play catch (okay, actually there was about a 15 min back & forth btwn the 3 of us to get to that point), while they were getting ready Hayden, Michael's new "bestie", knocked on the door. (Why didn't I feel the pending doom with that knock?) The three of them went to the tennis courts to practice catch in a safer environment. (For those that missed the story - the last time Drew and Michael played catch, Drew wound up with pretty nasty scratches from his foot to his thigh on one of his legs . . .) Next thing I know Michael and Drew come charging thru the door laughing hysterically, and not in a good way. The gravity of the situation hit me in layers. Drew had accidentally hit Michael in the head with the baseball. WHY to head injuries always have do look so nasty??

Hard to tell in the picture, but the lacing even left marks. They were half a tennis court away from each other, so the ball wasn't going that fast. Michael kept saying he thought it was going to hit his stomach. After a call to Colleen, a check of his eyes, and a bit of begging, Michael was sent on his merry way to continue playing with Hayden. Michael thinks it's funny. Mommy has banned catch btwn Drew and Michael until the end of time! ;)

Later, while I was cooking dinner, Elli found a permanent marker (that I SWEAR was left in MN when we moved) and decided to color all over the walls, fridge, herself and DJ. Good GRIEF I wish this little girl would use her powers for good! There are a number of items I STILL can't find and here she's finding things we didn't realize were "lost". And, as if to prove their tag-team abilities (because every mother wonders if her children are capable of such things - right?), in the short time I sat to nurse baby Andrew - Elli & DJ managed to strew ALL of their toys, books and stuffed animals across the toy area. These are the times I am so glad to be an organized person - "A place for everything" - as it makes it quick and pretty painless to put everything back in it's place!

These are the days I know I will look back on and miss when they are older and I hardly see them. My only concern at this point is what skills they will learn once Andrew is old enough to join the mix . . . Do you think it's too early to stock up on Duck Tape?? LOL :)

Oh the wonderful things Mr.Brown can do . . .

That past few days have been crazy. Of course, with 4 kids should I expect anything less? :)
One day was spent trying to purge excess junk and rearrange things in order to find a spot to hide Christmas presents. Not any easy task in this house and we already have some gifts purchased. On Thursday I had my bible study class and since Drew had to work I got to take all 3 kids with me. The ladies in the nursery were VERY excited to see them. Especially DJ since they haven't seen him in about 6 months. 

The class also happened to coincide with the 1 yr anniversary of our leaving MN, so I decided to bake my grandma's Banana Crumb Muffins and her Breakfast Carrot Cake. Both were a huge hit. I'm quickly realizing that I not only LOVE to bake, but am pretty good at it! In fact, Drew's employees have started putting in requests for things they want me to make. :) On another happy note, Drew and I took the little ones to one of the big playgrounds and we ran into another stay-at-home mom with a total of 5 kids (her youngest 2 are close to DJ and Andrew's ages!). She moved here from Houston for her husband's job. Apparently she has run into a couple of other mom's with similar situations so she is starting a little meet-up at the playground once a week. I'm really excited as this is my first REAL chance to make some friends in similar situations!

Michael has made MAJOR strides at school. This past week he had his EQT's (End of Quarter Tests) and it sounds like he aced them all! I can't even put into words how proud I am of him for how far he has come! Especially in reading. He's also having a blast in his Hip-hop class. The teacher is trying to teach him a couple of moves for his "solo" in the recital. He started with some Pop n Lock moves, but quickly changed to a few robotic ones. Michael has a whole lot of Pop and not so much lock. LOL

Elli really enjoys her ballet class and now has times where she will start running around on her tippie-toes singing tippy-tippy-tippy and practice from class. Other times she will be sitting on the floor playing and will stretch her legs while pointing/flexing her toes. I'm beginning to think I've started something that will take me in over my head in a very big way! Although I'll admit I can't wait to see her in her costume and dancing on the stage at her recital!!!

DJ has started to talking more and more. And he is FINALLY starting to figure out that he has more mass than Elli . . . her "reign of terror" is about to come to a very abrupt end. Although, she can try and act like she doesn't like him all she wants . . . we know the truth:

 Where is Elli? Not in her crib, or on the floor . . .

She's having a sleepover with DJ! Too cute!

Although this is becoming a habit and we are now worried about moving Baby Andrew into their room in his big crib. She's already joining DJ who can at least "protect" himself when she hops in and we know she ADORES baby Andrew - she will curl up next to him and "read" to him, tell him stories or sing to him. VERY cute, but it leads me to worry that she would try and join him in his crib and squish him . . .

On an exciting note, Andrew is working very hard on rolling from back to stomach. His only hold up is his excitement to find his hands every time he's almost over. He's also moving into a routine that mirrors Elli & DJ's so were are FINALLY starting to find a rhythm! Unfortunately that means time is going to start flying by all too fast! Before I know it, I will have kids in Kindergarten, 1st grade, 2nd grade and 8th grade!! Hopefully this blog will give me a chance to look back once in a while and remember the humor that life is when you not only have 4 kids, but 3 of them so close together!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! 

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