Happy Birthday Derek!!!

We seem to be having trouble getting ourselves together lately(we were in danger of being late so we didn't go back for the camera). But Brent borrowed Grandma Gayle's camera and got some cute pictures :)
Derek made us laugh multiple times all afternoon by consistently answering "how old are you?" with an accurate "tuu!" He figured it out in perfect time :)
We rode bikes to/at the park, saw salmon in a stream, listened to music, Dad and Derek played the violin together, and when we had dessert, Derek blew out both the candles....several times ("more!")... while we sang him happy birthday :)

Grandpa Jon did a great job of buying and wrapping many little gifts for Derek so that he had a lot of presents to open! He started slow but caught on fast ;) There was a wooden delivery truck, dump truck, old fashioned truck, train engine, and airplane, two or three matchbox trucks and cars(?) and a Semi truck and trailer! Plus two baseball hats :)

Then he got a wool jacket that he didn't try on for us, but he put it on to wear home and was quite happy with it. The jacket only came in white, so I will try to dye it a dark(er) color :)
Many thanks to Grandma Gayle!
Derek's Auntie Hilary came down for his party and gave Derek the Mike Mulligan's Steam Shovel and Friends book, and some play dough! Derek really likes heavy equipment like the steam shovel, snow plow, trains and buses in his new book. We have pictures of Derek showing his gratitude that we will post later :)

I think this sums up Derek's feelings about his party...SA ZAAAAA!!!
Thank you so much Derek and Sara, we all had a great time :)

Busy day for Tweedledee and Tweedledum

Well this afternoon/evening was quite exciting. We all were invited to Derek and Sara's for a potluck to celebrate the 13th birthday of Jeremy :)
There was a lot of people and lots of good food! We didn't take our camera but Jeremy and Derek both had theirs and took photos so you will have to check out their blogs. There were so many kids running around that Little Derek was a bit overwhelmed, so he spent a fair amount of time being held by one of the nice girls, or sitting on Mom or Dad's lap. Later he spent some time playing Uncle Derek's guitar with Dad. It was funny as initially he tried to put it under his chin like with Dad's violin but that didn't work too well ;)
We had such a good time that we stayed well past Derek's bed time, so it was around 9:00 when we were finially heading home. As we neared Centralia we started to discuss the amount of gas we had left in the van and if we should fill the tank or just head for home. Then we had the descision made for us when we realized that we had both left our wallets at home! All we had was a check book and for that you need ID. So we headed home.
There is a very long hill not far from home, and we were about 2/3 of the way up it when we started to slow down, and Brent said "are you pressing on the gas?"
Well, I hadn't taken my foot off the gas at all.
We were lucky enough to make it to a pull out, as that road is very narrow and dark, you wouldn't want to be stuck on the side of the road. So then we discussed our options, we could just walk home (Brent says we were 1.5-2 miles from home), but that would still take a while and the road is dark and narrow, plus it was getting cold, so Brent had me put on the hazard lights and waved someone down (Brent was holding Derek and I think that kept him from being taken for a thug). A very nice man stopped and said he lived close by and would bring us some gas. So we were hugely relived, he showed up a few minutes later and we got fueled up and drove home. We tried to pay him for the gas and favor but he was happy just to help :) What a great neighbor!
Ahhh, home sweet home.

Oh and yes Dad, I know..... ;P

Derek's friend Spencer

Today Derek and Mom were invited to a lovely lunch at Grandma Gayle's, with Great Grandma Ruth, Linda, Sheryl, Teresa, and her son Spencer. The two boys are only about 2 and a half months different in age and they played very well together. I didn't manage to get any pictures of them together (they are so cute together! Both very affectionate and chummy) but Derek did take quite a few of his friend Spencer, this one being the best. What a sweet little guy :)

Derek and the ballerina

I don't think that Derek is really supposed to play with this beautiful porcelain dancer but his Great Grandma handed it to him with such a big smile I didn't have the heart to take it away. So I watched and cautioned him to be gentle, and Derek was very careful. He was fascinated with her hair which was under a sort of netting.

Dad says this kind of doll is for girls Derek. ;p

Unfortunately this picture doesn't look like much or show anything exciting but it is the only photo we have of Derek on the day he started to walk! A year ago today he did the "frankenstein" (arms strait out in front and wobbly) walk back and forth between Mom and Dad and Mom and Grandma, with a HUGE smile on his face :D We have lots of really cute videos but only this one picture, and he isn't even standing!!! Bah ;p

Landscaping ;)

Here are my handsome men :)

Breaking in the soil, (using rocks to dig up more rocks)

And then throwing them down the ravine.
Quite the engaging activity that lasted a while, my favorite part was when Derek found a small rock and showed me, saying "baby" and nodding his head confidently before chucking it over the stumps :)

Food is fun!

Dad made eating yogurt an adventure, and they were having so much fun I had to run out and get a picture!
You should have heard all the happy squeals and giggles :)

You may want to click on the photo to see the larger version as this size doesn't do justice to Derek's grin, also, if a post you like disappears from the bottom of the page look in the side bar under "Recent Post's" or "Archives".

Everybody has to "go"...

The first morning that Derek woke up with his new "baby" he said "baby, go", so we took the baby to the bathroom too, now, about a week later Derek was carrying his huge duck across the room insisting "duck, go"!
So Dad and Derek sat Duck on the potty :) I wonder who else will have to "go"... :D

Water Baby!

Here is our sweetie enjoying his time in the tub a year ago today :)

It was so fun to watch him as he would splash up quite a storm and then make faces because Someone was getting his face wet!!

It was rather like watching a concert, a very wet one with a comical conductor...

LlamaJama's

We only ever used disposable diapers for night time and outings but it still added up to a lot of money being thrown away over 2 years, so I have decided to do what I can to convert to cloth completely. I am rather adverse to plastic so we kinda got by without covers, the only plastic alternative being wool, which can be expensive, and I didn't think it would work that well.

So instead of buying the usual monthly pack of disposables I spent the money on a pair of llama/wool, "longies". Basically wool pants that are also a diaper cover, I wanted them for pajama's as his worst leaks were at night. I had my doubts but they are fantastic!!!! No leaks!

For your info, here are some great properties of wool:
it can absorb 30-40% of it's weight in liquid without feeling wet OR cold,
it breathes with the skin, regulating temperature in hot or cold weather,
it helps combat/prevents diaper rash,
it is naturally anti-bacterial, it doesn't need to be washed often, just air dryed (Other Moms have said they wash their's from once a week to once every 2-3 months, apparently it dosen't smell!)
and it is naturally fire resistant (other baby pj's are treated with fire proofing chemicals which are currently being investigated as toxic)

Some wool CAN be itchy, but some is incredibly soft, plus these LlamaJama's are just too cute!
You can even get matching sweaters!
I have also found that if you shop around, the prices aren't so bad :)
Bet you were all just desperate to know all that! Hehehe :D

Blackberry season :)

This is how much Derek enjoyed blackberries last year. He still likes them a lot and even picks his own, but sometimes he is just too busy riding his bike or running around to eat them for very long :)
He certainly hasn't done much blackberry face painting like he did last year!

New Boots!

Derek got new boots, and how does he feel about that? Sa-Zaaa!
They really are very cute, he wore them shopping with Mom and everywhere we went people commented on them :) They have a layer of sheep skin with the wool against his skin and he must love the feeling because he prefers them over his other shoes and slippers!
A company in Oregon makes them, and adult slippers too :)
(please excuse the messy house ;)

Day of rest

For future refrence, I have decided not to make any posts on Sunday.
Thank you for all the comments buy the way :) They are very encouraging!

This time last year

This is a picture of Derek a year and two days ago :) With his birthday coming up I have been looking at all the pictures we have taken of Derek in the last year.

Derek had a busy day with Grandma and Grampa while Brent and I were at a meeting in Longview. It sounds like he had a great time and I wish we had some pictures of it as I hear there was lively zooming about in a wheel barrow and grocery carts! Derek even got some new toys, and had a nap with Grandma :)
Many thanks to Grandma and Grampa Pearson!

Derek's photos ;)

Here is a picture of all three of us, this pic is from last December so it is a little dated :)
As you can see from Brent's cast this was just about 6 weeks after his accident, he was sooo happy to be out of the full arm cast!
Oh yes, and that is the famous phonics bus...
"G says guh!, every letter makes a sound..."







This may look like the most succesful self portrait to date but there is actually a better story than that. You can't see it but Derek's baby was on the futon and Derek decided that it wanted to take pictures too. So he held the camera in front of his baby's face, with the lens facing himself, and helped the baby "take" a picture!







This is Derek's first photo of his new sibling, I think Derek knows we don't have many pics of this pregnancy and he is making up for it :)

I am amazed at how clear his pictures are, very few are blurry or out of focus, I think he has caught on even faster than my Mom did!
Sorry Mom :} to your credit, none of your photo's are of fingers!







I just had to post this happy smile, Dad was home and he always gets big smiles :)

A photographers progress (and fascination with feet)

Little Derek was back at it today and took this photo of lovely legs :) We will let you guess who they belong to. There were a few other pictures he took of just feet but they have little fingers in front of the lens so it is actually quite impressive to get one this clear!

Here is a great clear pic of some of his favorite toys; his giant ducky's feet, and his "bang, bang" (along with a little finger tip).

And the feet of the photographer himself! A tad blurry, but good arrangement of the subject if I do say so myself :)
FEET!


Here is the artist reverting back to his old bike riding method. He was happily chasing Mom and Grandma around the deck and this is the fastest way for him to ride still. I wish you all could hear his squeals of delight as he tries to catch us :D

The many talents of Derek :)

This morning as I was busy putting away laundry in the bedroom I noticed Derek was being very quiet, which as you parents know, is very suspicious....
I peeked into the front room and he was sitting on a chair with the camera; he had turned it on and while I watched the flash went off, he was taking pictures! It appears from the 7 or so shots he took that he was trying to get a self portrait, as they all have a bit of his head and the ceiling :D

After Brent tried out his new concert pieces he showed Derek how to use the bow, and play some music on his violin. He did quite well for his first effort!

Saturday Concert

This last Sat. there was a concert put on by a local family of 12! The Dad only joined in one song ( he was in charge of the sound board) but the Mom sang a few and the 10 kids did the rest. The kids were from 22 to 5 years old and they all sang, and played instruments. Unfortunately we didn't get our camera until just before we had to go so I didn't get a picture of them all, but here are all except the youngest on the stage, you just can't see the 7 year old :)
And yes, they were very good!

Derek was trying to run off but Grampa Jon was holding on!
Thank you to Grampa Jon, #1 Father-in-Law, for letting us know about the concert and for bringing us chairs :)

Derek's baby :)

Derek has always loved babies, toys and real ones, so we got him one for his birthday, but as you can see, Mom couldn't wait to give it to him. (his b-day is not til the 30th!)
First he has a good, close, look at it....

Then the baby gets a sweet hug....

And the grand finale.... a great big kiss! :)

When Dad took Derek to bed he said "Your name is Derek, what is the new babies name?"
Derek confidently responded "Baby!"
This was taken a few hours after going to bed, and after much wiggling around, (he was at the foot of the bed) so I was suprised to see them so close!

If you are interested, here is a Link with information on toy buying precautions.

Sunday Potluck

Here are the three sisters-in-law, Sara, Hilary, and myself. The potluck was in honor of Hilary, and most enjoyable :) We will miss her immensly.
My handsome hubby who was making great progress playing the Viola (he plays the Violin), and Derek, trying out Julie's (Hawkins) cute deck chair, in the house...?
Derek taking Julie's Barbie airplane for a ride around the house :D

Unfortunately I missed out on the group photo, but I think Hilary or Gayle may have a picture of all of us so I might be able to add that later, or link to Hilary's blog?

Derek is not picky about what he rides!

This was so funny, he actually rode this pull toy across the kitchen, pushing with his feet :D
Ta Da! After a few months of sitting on the second set of steps and pushing with his feet on the ground, Derek suddenly sat on the seat and took off pedalling! Now he alternates between going forwards and backwards accompanied by complaining when he gets stuck in-between :)

More sailing ship

Yay, I managed to figure out how to post more than one pic at a time! Sheesh, it's not even complicated, I don't know how to do a blushing smiley :)
Any way, there is our loverly ship again, and Derek, Grandma Gayle, and I gazing at all the little fish.

Lady Washington

This is an active reproduced sailing ship that is out of Aberdeen here in Washington and travels from port to port. If any of you saw "Pirates of the Caribbean" this ship was called the "Interceptor". The amount of ropes on it is amazing, and below deck, it is very small!
I think Derek was more interested in the fish at the time, but now he gets pretty excited about boats we see :)

How exciting! Welcome to the Brent, Danny, and Derek Pearson blog. Now I can post pictures of our little cutie and keep everyone as updated as possible on the happenings in our (mostly Derek) lives :)
Here is a picture to start us off, Dereks latest occupation has been with drawing, but not necessarily on paper....