Happy Birthday Jackson!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY J !!!!

Happy Birthday Jackson. Today you are 2! We are so proud of you and the wonderful person you are. You continue to amaze us every day. In 2 years you have accomplished so many things and overcome so many challenges.

In no short order you have:
Learned to hold your head up.
Learned to sit up.
Learned to crawl.
Learned to walk.
Learned to run.
Learned how to use a spoon, fork and knife.
Learned to talk. Loudly. Like Uncle Drew loud.
Learned how to climb stairs.
Learned to flush a toilet.
Learned to give a high five, fist bump, and do the bash.
Learned to say "please" and "thank you" and "Oh my gosshhhhhhh!"
Learned how to throw a ball (righty).
Learned to swing a bat and a golf club (lefty).
Learned to jump on the bed.
Learned to ride a tricycle.
Learned how to use an iPhone (no joke, he's a master with the pics and videos).
Learned to, dare I say it, SLEEP.
Learned to count to 10 and say your ABC's.
Learned about going to preschool.
Learned about music and the Michigan Marching Band.
Learned how to wash your hands, albeit against your will usually.
Learned how to put a quarter into a cd player and make it short out and then smoke....no kidding.
You have learned to laugh and cry.
Most importantly, I hope you have learned what love is. Your Momma and I try to show you every day what that is. We love you more than anything in this world.

Happy Birthday Jackson. We love you.

Still Terrible. Loving Life

I just can't seem to find a free minute to make a post these days. Sorry everyone. I am guessing that 3 months without a post has pretty much destroyed any hope of people reading this. Oh well. I guess that's what I get.

Anyways, we are still very busy. Moving furniture around the house regularly. Keeping Jackson busy with school, music classes, play groups and the Michigan Marching Band practices. He knows the fight song and the march now.
He also knows the Arizona Statefight song too (we are a Rose Bowl household, Big Ten and Pac 10!).

We just finished a remodel of the downstairs bath/laundry room. We had a birthday party for Jackson even though his actual b-day is Nov. 9. We went to the farm complete with aniamls, a hay ride, a hot cider/donuts.

Heather is doing well with her pregnancy. I fear she as just entered the last stage of this adventure. The back pain is becoming more of a daily thing. Climbing the stairs at home is getting tiresome. She's baking cookies again. Last time, cookies we're made at least 3 times a week. We've reached 2 times this week. I think we had a Costco cake last week to pinch hit for the baking. So I feel like it's official.

The new baby's room is coming together. We have a changing table, a rug, a dresser, a not-yet assembled crib and some clothes. I am really digging the little girl clothes and I have a feeling that I will be spoiling my daughter in record fashion. Is it over-the-top to want to put a chandelier in your daughter's room? Is it too much to think that she needs to have a $70 pink pettiskirt? Of course we should get her the Angelina Jolie/Brad Pitt endorsed Kingsley onesie. It was in People magazine. (Okay, that last sentence is further proof that females, no matter the age, will always dictate the male agenda). I have come to terms with this despite kicking and screaming the entire way.

We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our daughter as well as new additons across the country as a lot of our friends are expecting. We have babies coming to the Jackson family (10 days), the Russell family (December), the Schroeder family (May, finally!).

All that being said. There is so much to be thankful for. So much to be excited about. So much to love about life. Jackson's face can surely attest to that.

Horrible Bloggers - Renewed Spirit

No posts since March!?!?! What the hell...

I know......this was going to be a truly awesome Blog with constant updates. Like CNN for our family. Unfortunately, we have been offline for a while. Such is life. However, it is with a new sense of urgency that I make this post. I am a believer in the Blog and want to get is back to it's proper status. Normally the usual "We've been busy" excuse would fit here, however, I have decided that OUR busy is normally much more than the busy of every other couple in the world. Reasonable excuses to the lack of posts include:

1. Purchasing our first home. That's right. Heather and I bought a house. We are homeowners. And we bought an old house to boot. Built in 1916. That's old. Constant visits to ThisOldHouse.com have taken up a substantial amount of my time at home and at work. And we had a long, long process of actually buying the place. We closed on the house in April. We love it.



2. We moved. After the purchase mentioned above, we moved into the house keeping our streak of moving at least once per year alive. Combined total of moves for Heather and Derek since college (1995 - present) 18. Maybe more. All I know is that since Heather and I started dating we have lived in the following places (Alamo, Antioch, San Francisco, Hayward, Alamo, San Francisco, Alamo, and Ann Arbor). Keep in mind we lived separately until the second Alamo residence. Either way, packing boxes and moving them precluded either of us from logging on and posting pics and updates to the Blog. Moving with a toddler, not recommended.

3. We're Pregnant. J is going to be a big brother. He loves babies and being around kids. This is in addition to long walks on the beach, his mow-mow, airplanes, cats and baseball. So we figured why not give the kid what he wants. It's not like you can say no to this face.

I dare anyone to look at him and say no. Really, it cannot be done. Especially when he says "please". It's just not happening. So, Baby #2 is on the way. Heather is convinced it's another boy, I am still thinking girl. We should know in about a month.

4. Maintenance of New House. With the new home comes a lot of work. We bought some items that help. I have a lawn mower. First one ever. First time I ever had to use one. Growing up, I was very lucky. I never had to mow a lawn. Now that I get to, it's kind of cool. It's a very zen chore. And if I'm lucky, Heather brings me a cold beverage at some point to help cool me off in the summer heat. Mowing the lawn is just the start though. We have a huge yard with a massive garden. We are very close to cutting the whole thing and putting in a basketball court and a pool. It's nice to look at, but the work is a killer. Some parts are downright Amazon back there. Is this a weed? Is this a flower? I don't know, but it's 4 feet tall and there's more growing over there, and there, and there....

5. Play Time. Jack said it best, "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." Jackson is a firm believer in play time. So we do a lot of playing. At the park, in the yard, in the house, at the neighbors', at our friends house, etc... Personally, I would rather play with Jackson than blog. But I am going to try to keep the blog on my list of weekly items. See how much fun it is to play!



Until next time. Love to all and we hope to see you soon!

D, H, J, and Baby on the way.

Amazing Trip

Just a quick pic from the recent family trip to LA/Orange County/Las Vegas/San Francisco. The first leg to LA was amazing and Jax actually slept the entire flight out. Lucky for Momma and Dada. Unlce Kyle picked us up at LAX and we went back to the beach to await the kids getting up. Of course, they picked up right where they left off and we're playing and laughing together. We hoped they would watch Little Einsteins together but they got bored with it. Of course this did not stop the Dad's from tuning in, right Styles? This is a picture I took with my cell phone while we were taking our AM walk down to the water in Redondo Beach. Grace looks right at home while her cousin "Acksi" looks like he is seriously confused.

Jackson - "?!What?! Wait, it was snowing just a few hours ago...it was cold...I know it was. What is this? Is this real? Am I dreaming? Where's my wa-wa...oh! Ocean! Seaweed! DOLPHINS!"

Grace - Relax dude, you're at the beach.

Thanks again to Uncle Kyle and Auntie Jen for making room for us in their wonderful beach home. It is always so great to be there with you 3. More to come soon...I promise.

Derek

Mardi Gras Time

Fat Tuesday!!!! Ash Wednesday!!!!

Time for Mardi Gras!!!!

As you can see....Jackson is geared up for the annual festivities. He's got his beads on and he's is looking for some good times. He loves playing with the beads. Heather and I have a shopping bag full of beads from our trips to NOLA and contributions from Dave, Keri, Lexi & newcomer Lily! He got really excited taking them out of a giant bowl and then putting them back into it. Hopefully we will be able to take a trip down next year to see some parades, catch some beads and EAT EAT EAT!

Below you can see a picture of the GUMBO Heather made last week along with the famous Edna's rum cake. Of course I added my touch to the feast by bringing in some Abita Turbodog beer, brewed in New Orleans. I can't cook too well but I helped stir the roux. Thank you Aunt Bec and Mae Mae for helping us with our first go round. In case you were wondering HEATHER NAILED IT. Not that I ever doubted her, but it's a HUGE deal that she can make gumbo.

Love to you all. In case you want a taste of New Orleans, go get some Rebirth Brass Band songs on iTunes. Nothing better to get you in the spirit then Rebirth.

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you all a very very Merry Christmas. Hope the day is full of laughter, love, gratitude, and a whole ton of cookies. Hugs, D, H and J

Pictures with Santa

I have to admit...I got myself looking picture presentable JUST in case J was afraid of Jolly ol St. Nick and I had to jump up on his lap too. But, surprisingly...or maybe not so surprisingly considering his very social personality, the monkey did great! Waiting in line was a little not so fun, but once it was our turn J walked right up to Santa and let me put him on his lap. He wouldn't smile, but I did snap a few cute pictures of him "babbling" to Santa. The apparently clueless guy behind the camera decided to snap these....the one where he's fussing is my favorite because it's that classic "get me off this guy's lap!" face. He wasn't crying though because he was afraid...he just wanted to touch the raindeer that he was woofing at! Also, do you love the arm placement in the second one? He looks like he's elbowing Santa! This age is SO MUCH FUN. I can not WAIT for Christmas morning!