Me Done

Such insight huh?

2011-05-03T08:15:00.000-07:00

This morning at the bus stop with Derek we were going over things like "keeping hands to yourself" etc...and then I explained the "Golden Rule". He says "whats the silver rule"...um....then he says after a delay, "the silver rule is respecting the world"...he never ceases to amaze me with his insight on things.

Random Randy strikes again

2011-02-19T08:24:00.000-08:00

So the other morning as we were getting ready for work/school, Derek say "Oxyclean gets stains out". We cracked up! And then we had been talking bout EJ's girlfriend who is abou 4'11" and Derek says "Parents stretch their kids into grownups".

Thats it for this morning...lol

A eye for the ladies

2011-02-12T07:32:00.001-08:00

We were driving in the car and talking about the kindergarten teachers with Derek. He says he really likes Mrs. Green, and then we commented on how pretty she is and he says "oh yes, she's lovely". OMG funny..the way he said it was so sweet and genuine...and the other day he was saying that he loves his teacher Mrs. Miller.."she has some "morts" on her cheek, but the other side is just skin". OMG....

He is doing VERY well with the new increased doseage of his ADHD meds...especially when given by 6am in the morning. He does have issues on any given day though with choices/actions...but all in all, much better. His conference with the teacher went well...she didn't even get into the academic eval cause he is so "off the charts" with his progress. We discussed more about how he interacts at home and choices at school. We will be arranging him to have a full psych eval soon and counseling to try to break through his "pissy mood" behavior he displays at times and for his general improvement on how he sees his world so he can grow to an awesome adult and use that creativity and passion he possesses. He's pretty awesome :) Love him.

Oh, we get it alright lol

2011-01-21T18:55:00.000-08:00

So, Steve put Derek in timeout...I was heading home from the doctor and I get the text about what Derek told Steve "How many times do I have to tell you that timeout is fake....don't you get it....I am getting obsessed with you ( we think he meant to say upset)...omg...he is so flipping funny.

He had a great day today at daycare...not so great earlier in the week at school or daycare. At school, he put hand sanitizer in his hair, disrupted the class off and on all week..completed just a few of his classtime projects...

We visited his primary doctor today to up the dosage of his ADHD meds..not much effect with the first. Tomorrow, Saturday will be the first day on the new dosage. Will let you know how that goes! He is so darn smart and we are trying so hard to be proactive with his needs. We have high hopes this new increase will make a difference in his focusing and impluse control...we'll see.

Seriously??????

2011-01-10T08:22:00.000-08:00

Derek has a bad habit of being defiant...hate it hate it....after going over and over and over about him squeaking his chalk on the blackboard at home...and then showing him how to use the chalk...the next second he starts using it again how I showed him NOT to use it...he earned a timeout..then this morning I had laid his clothes out for school...I am upstairs getting ready...out the door we flew..at the bus stop I look down and he has his pj bottoms on...damn it all to Hell. I asked him why he didn't have the pants on I laid out..he says "they were cold". I was pissed...I am tired of the "my clothes are cold" shit in the mornings..guess we have to watch him like a two year old. This is really getting old let me tell you. He will be in restriction this evening for that one. I swear, he better have a good day at school and at daycare. This didn't start my day out very well.

Poor poor boy

2011-01-09T09:18:00.000-08:00

OMG...can he get whiney about everything???? We are having Derek dry himself off after bathing..man..whine whine whine..."I'm cold...I can't do it...I can't".
OMG..enough lol..we explain that we are also chilly after bath and to just get dried off and dress...the "face" is that of a spoiled child...lol...

We're trying

2011-01-08T10:25:00.000-08:00

Well, we got the ADHD meds for Derek about 6 weeks ago...a little bit of difference, but not a lot...and he has been having such butthead trouble staying on task in school and following rules. We are starting a different kind of meds starting today..he seems a bit mellower...but...the jury is out for a few weeks on entire behavior. So this is how you work with ADHD. You try different meds/doseage until you find the right ones/doseage. Educate youself on the entire condition and work with it everyday.

He still has such a long way to go regarding minding rules AND not arguing with adults..it IS way frustrating. The first three years of his life he didn't get what he should have as far as structure and consistancy...it is making his years of 3 1/2 to present time so hard. He is such a sweet, smart, creative and loving boy thank God. He is growing so much in his language and ability everyday. He talks like a "little adult" at times and still says the most funniest things. Lets hope school next week goes better. We are still so thankful to have Jenny & Nathan Fields as our daycare family. They are the best!

Christmas 2010

2010-12-31T09:43:00.000-08:00

Christmas was a ton of fun! I got to have Oskar for a couple of days before xmas and then the Sunday following at our house til Tuesday, then to Jenn's with him thru Thursday while they had moved and were in transitioning into their daycare schedule. We had so much fun..I miss him already..but my back doesn't! lol

Derek and Oskar were so darn cute on xmas morning..they both hauled in a load of presents. We got some of the best pics of them both in their (not planned) matching jammies. Derek has been pretty good except for when he was home alone with Steve for those two days I was gone..naptime didn't go well...after Steve put him down, Derek hollared at him for a long time and then he said to Steve "get your ass in here"..well..Steve did...ya...didn't go over well at all. Derek is busy today playing (his favorite thing of course)..no attitudes yet..but the day is young! lol

Happy New Year everyone!

Some stuff from the last few months!

2010-12-12T15:13:00.000-08:00

Well, reminded by Jenny Fields I haven't posted anything on Derek's blog in a long time..man, she was so right!! Lots of different things to say I suppose for sure.
Derek is one of the smartest in his kindergarten class, although he has a huge problem stayin on task with his desk work. We finally finished the second round of ADHD evaluations and started him on a low dose of meds the day before Thanksgiving. He seems mellower..still the Derek we know thank goodness though. We are using an insentive with these 2 cool remote control cars, so that if he finishes his desk work at school, he gets to play with them.

Some great days, some not so great days...as to be expected. We love his teacher Mrs. Miller..she is so dedicated to these kids in her class. We try to help her with supplies for her and the class and then we are all working together to keep Derek focused and motivated!
Derek's handwriting has so improved since six months ago too and he has started reading. So excited about both of those. He has also been staying overnight at Stephen and Brittany's a couple of times without issues...whew! It is good for him to go other places and be with his aunty and uncle :) He was at their house last night and got to go to the Clackamas Aquatice Center..how fun!
We had a nice Thanksgiving with family and are looking forward to Xmas with the baby and the older kids. Derek is getting a couple of cool gifts this year, guitar and a snow slider.

Halloween 2010

2010-11-01T08:49:00.000-07:00

Derek had a fun Halloween this 2010. He LOVED his costume....went trick or treating for a bit, party at the Fields and out for the day with Uncle Stephen and Aunt Brit, then to see Pfaus family...whew!

Happy November!

Ick

2010-10-07T10:25:00.001-07:00

So yesterday Derek wasn't feeling well at school and Steve picked him up. Later that day, Derek pooped his undies with the icky kind of upset tummy stuff...Steve said "you shit your drawers", then Derek says "yes, I shit um good"...omg...lol

Derek also turned 6 on Sept. 29th...we had his bday party at the park on Oct. 2..great turnout of family and friends for this very special day. Can't believe he is six and in kindergarten...man..its been quite the ride let me tell you...and many years ahead..hope they aren't to insane huh?

Da Bus

2010-09-17T08:52:00.001-07:00

Here is a pic of Derek on the bus for school in the morning...can ya tell he is a bit excited? So far, so good for the first week of school..thank goodness...no school for his a.m. on Fridays until February...he has "homework" a couple of days a week..picture day on Monday...so weird to have another child in school!

1st Day of Kindergarten

2010-09-11T09:42:00.001-07:00

Well..first day of school went OK for Derek..other than....ya...just as I figured...
The teacher gave them shaving cream to wipe around on their desks and make pictures etc..guess who decided to slap it between his hand and splatter it all over?
And guess who has been told that climbing is for outside play, but decided to climb on and lie on the desks? I don't know much else of what went on that day...lol..I am sure we will find out soon though.

Derek was soooooooooo excited to go to "big boy school". We walked him over (two houses away) to the school. All the kinder kids were linging up in the cafeteria..many parents had tears in their eyes, including us. He did pretty well in line..althouh he was one of few kids who was spazing out a bit. Then they walked them in a line to their classrooms...man, I would love to have been a fly on the wall that day. Full week coming up next week and they have Friday's off until February. He seems to love it..and it is great that he is with kids his own age finally full-time. He also, gets to ride the bus due to our work schedules. We went over 100 rules in the days before school about so many things. He will learn. His teacher is seasoned...lol

Four more days

2010-09-06T18:33:00.000-07:00

Wow..only four more days until Derek starts kindergarten! He has a new backpack with supplies and lots of clothes, shoes and coats. We are pretty excited and a bit nervious. Exited because he is so excited and he is so darn smart. Nervious because he is so hyper and has "selective listening"...lol

Jenny Fields has done so much for him in her daycare home. She has had her preschool with him for three years. She has taught him things we didn't have lots of time to teach due to our work schedules. I am forever thankful for her patience and love. He will have morning kindergarten and Miss Jenny will walk up to greet him as he comes off the bus.

His vocabulary and speaking has improved so much in the last three years, you wouldn't even know he came to us speaking only two work sentences at age 3 1/2. This is why I called this blog "Me Done". Even now, when he talks up a storm (which is ALL THE TIME LOL), we look at each other and say "Me Done". It's insane how creative he is and so good at problem solving. He is a wiz at mazes. He is finally liking to draw (quite good for his delay) and we are so hoping he does well in school and that his teacher can see how smart he is.

Derek loves his cousin Oskar and made him laugh this weekend...It is so flipping funny to watch Oskar's face as Derek laughs etc...heart warming.

Casually spoken

2010-07-25T07:40:00.000-07:00

We had a very full day yesterday...got up early, cleaned house, made tons of eggs for the Pfaus BBQ....fun at Jenn n Chris's. Derek was still ready to swim when we got home, but I was sooooooo tired and it was so hot out still. He watched some TV with Steve and I had told Derek that it was such a long day and we weren't going to go in the pool...later, I got a second wind and it had cooled down just enough (for me) to have him go outside and be in the pool. He was so happy about that! Then I had to pump up the outer ring of that damn pool again...not quite sure what happened, but when I was pumping it up, I told Derek that he gets to go swimming cause I love him so much and he said "yes, so damn hard"...lol. He said it like it was just such a casual, everyday thing to say...I had to laugh..but did tell him to please not use curse words like that. God, so funny...

"It wasn't me"

2010-07-12T19:52:00.000-07:00

Well of course Derek didn't do it...he says Cora got into the goodie drawer and left the wrapper under the dining table...lol

Tonight..he was in timeout and EJ saw and heard him playing with the spray bottle of water....but "he didn't do it"...I think he honestly thinks we are going to believe what he says about such things...he tries to be so convincing I swear...lol

I have missed this

2010-06-02T16:20:00.000-07:00

Derek has had bunk beds for quite awhile now. When he didn't, most night, especially since he starting living with us, I would lay with him and sing songs...and we would tell stories together. I would start a made up story and then it would be his turn to continue it etc...same with songs, or I would sing our/my favorites. Last night, he was bathing and I was in his bottom bunk (after shoving to the side, dozens of cars to make room for me). He was doing his usual singing and noises in the tub..then he let me know he was washing his penis..lol...and then bath time ended and I let him/taught him how to dry himself off..then he went and got dressed. He knew I had been on his bed and he was excited to join me. He went to the top bunk..got his pillow..then went up again and got his blanket. For about 20 minutes, we sang and shared our long lost bedtime routine.

So busy and getting so smart

2010-05-16T16:00:00.000-07:00

So Derek will be starting kindergarten this fall and turning 6 at the end of September. He has caught up so well with everything since being 2 1/2. He still lacks some socialization often though. We just have to stay structured with defined expectations and bounderies. Our daycare is still awesome and exposed him to so many fun adventures like OMSI, the zoo, parks, cheese factory and fun crafts at their home. Daycare mom Jenny has preschool for the kids and this will have given him such a headstart for school. We can tell he soaks up a variety of things from movies and TV as well..mostly good things..lol!

His mouth gets him in trouble mostly and his selective hearing/listening..pretty typical for a five year old...except his mouth runs on bossy mode too often and he ALWAYS has to comment after being given directions or told "no". This gets very exhausting all the time. His will is strong and I hope it serves him well as an adult..honestly though, it scares me at times as to what he will be like as a teenager and adult. If all of us adults can stay on the same page, he should be fine. He is generally happy and silly...he is healthy and has a great appetite thank goodness....play is the most important thing to him....lol...he is loving and very funny. He loves all animals, people..but hates spiders..that is my fault..we have those huge Hobo spiders at our house and they are horrible..

What?

2010-04-12T19:12:00.001-07:00

So Derek and Steve were talking about the girl Maddie next door and Derek marrying her and so on and so on..funny things of course from Derek..and how Derek likes living here and Steve says "Yep, you can live here until your 18 and then we're slamming the door on your butt" and Derek says "What", then he says "You're joking right"?

My God, the table conversation tonight is soooooooooooooooo dang funny. I have to buy a recorder. Oh, now I hear a meltdown cause he has been messing around with dinner the last 10 minutes and Steve took his plate...and Derek meltsdown. Well, so much for that huh? lol...its bedtime...7:14pm...bath..bed...books.

Just so you know

2010-04-12T18:42:00.000-07:00

Steve was going to make waffles and Derek said "I'm 5 and five year olds don't like waffles"..then we decided to make some tonight with whipped cream and berries to see what he said and he says "Well, I like those kind of waffles, but not the ones like I used to have with butter" lol!

Of course it worked

2010-03-24T09:31:00.001-07:00

So in the mornings we give Derek a 10 minute time to wake up..yesterday I did that and went back upstairs. I told Steve that I bet if you got all excited and told Derek there was a deer in the yard he would get up quickly! Later, Steve was downstairs and hollared upstairs.."It worked"...lol...he told Derek there was a deer in they yard..but when they looked "the deer had already ran away"...then Derek say "I saw a zebra"...lol

OH, you are funny Derek

2010-03-20T18:15:00.000-07:00

Today Derek had gone out in the backyard and I was going in and I saw his envelope of notes from Grandma Titus on the floor and I said for him to pick it up and that I wasn't his maid and he says "You're my woman"..then he laughed....so did I...

Earlier he was eating an apple and pointing out areas on the apple and naming them, like "this is Oregon" and then "this is where the bad guys are" and other stuff..and he was munching on the planet...and after all his labeling of things on his apple, I say "oh, are you eating the earth"? He says "no, I'm eatin' and apple"...funny.

We went out on the boat today for a test spin...nice to be out in the sunshine, but the boat had a few issues yet before it works well..nice though to go nice and slow. Derek was good and enjoyed it. I almost forgot...Derek and I were walking back from parking the boat and trailer and this guys passes us. Derek asks "Whats your name". The guys says "Hi, its Steve". Derek says "I'm Derek and this is Liz". My father is on the boat and his name is Steve too. About died laughing...

Random Randy strikes again

2010-03-11T15:31:00.000-08:00

During preschool at Miss Jenny's they were saying the alphabet and Derek starting singing it like a beat box or rapper style. She says "what are you doing Derek?", and he says "I just came to Miss Jennys and kicked Derek out" And Jenny says "well, that's not very nice, where is Derek now"? He says "at his house now, he is fine". Jenny asks "well, who are you", Derek says " I'm the song maker Sportstene.

Derek n Oskar

2010-03-06T10:58:00.000-08:00

Well, Derek has a new cousin..baby Oskar. Born 2-20-2010.
Derek loves babies...he is great with them and there are a couple
at daycare. I think he and Oskar will have fun in a couple of years.
How funny is that to think Jenn and us will be taking our kids
to different places to play? It's awesome actually.

Noodle for noodle

2010-03-03T19:33:00.000-08:00

So Steve had put some ketchup in his mac and cheese and asks Derek to taste it. Derek made this "face", like ewwwww...then with some persuasion from Steve he did try it. He took ONE plain mac noodle from his own bowl and ONE ketchupy noodle from Steves bowl...lol...getting a visual aren't ya? Well, he couldn't have gotten much of a ketchup taste, but decided he didn't care for it..lol

Oh.....my.........God

2010-02-24T15:03:00.001-08:00

We have been watching Jenn and Chris's dog Oden for the last week, which has been lots of fun. He is a goof and very sweet. I think he is about 10 months old..not sure. Derek and Oden were playing in the house, Derek was laughing and then he says "Oden, you're a pretty swell dog". Funny..then later...uhhhhhharghhhhhh..I see Oden humping Derek and say "Oden, get down, Derek don't let him do that OK?" And Derek says "OK", then he says "Oden was doing the Cha Cha"..OMG...hilarious!

Mantra's for Derek

2010-02-16T08:22:00.000-08:00

So, over the weekend, Derek stayed the night at Jenny and Nathans. We find out yesterday..and them too..that Derek had gotten up in the middle of the night..got into their drawer and got their iron out. He plugged it in and burnt their carpet real bad. Then he covered it up with a bag and put the iron back. Needless to say..he was in deep shit. He broke these rules:
1. If it's not yours, don't touch it.
2. DO NOT touch electricity.
3. Don't be sneaky.
4. Stay in bed, unless it's potty..then go back to bed.
He was in restriction for a couple of days and ALL toys are in bins. We explained that he wouldn't have toys if they got burnt up in a house fire and that anything hot can start a fire.
This morning I had him upstairs saying the above outloud over and over and over. We get in the car this morning and we ask Derek to tell us what he was to remember. He did a couple of the statements and then I started with "I will not be.." and he was supposed to say "sneaky" and he says "a jerk"!!! Funny as usual. I had never used the word jerk in his "mantra's"...lol
The pic of Derek is him "working to pay for the new carpet". He is picking up pine cones...lol

TMI (too much information) lol

2010-02-06T19:35:00.000-08:00

Derek says his ravioli was trying to come out of his butt.
And then he was a bit constipated and I said to relax a bit and then try to push again. He say when he relaxes, the poop goes back up inside..I have to buy a recorder, because for the 15 minutes he was trying to poop, he said so many many funny things.

Not funny? Yes...it was

2010-01-23T18:30:00.000-08:00

Steve was in the garage today with Kenny working on Kenny's car and had Derek out there sitting in his wagon..well, true to form, Derek started making this noise over and over and over..Steve gets all excited and says "Derek, come here quick"...like it was going to be something cool..he leads him to the door that goes into the house..then he keeps up the excitement and says "Come here and look"!!! He pushes Derek into the house and shuts the door!!! Derek yells "That wasn't funny Steve"!!!
God, so funny.

About died laughing at this one

2010-01-22T19:54:00.000-08:00

Derek had cut a banana in half to share with Kenny. Steve says he had cut it in half and held one half up and said "this is Kennys, and this is mine", then Derek's half dropped on the floor that he had designated as his own, and Derek says casual like "oh, Kenny's dropped on the floor"!!! OMG...Steve and I were dying laughing..wasn't gonna be Derek's half was it?!!!!

Cheese

2010-01-22T19:42:00.001-08:00

Derek asks for some cheese a minute ago...then he says " I like cheese like rats" lol

Nose

2010-01-17T09:57:00.000-08:00

Derek woke up with a bit of a bloody nose. He say "my nose was moving too much, so it got bloody". Funny
New nickname: Random Randy...when he says stuff that is totally off the subject we are discussing.

Captain Sneaky VS The Warden

2010-01-10T08:19:00.000-08:00

Sunday morning: 6:24am and I get up in anticipation of Derek waking. Steve is sleeping on the couch and I want to let him sleep in. I know Derek will be up soon. I go back to bed after turning the baby monitor on so I can hear Derek in the downstairs area. About 7am, I hear him. I go to the middle step and sit..and there I see Capt. Sneaky over by the crafts bag in the dining room. I say "What are you doing Derek"? He says "Going over to Cora". I say "What are you really doing"? He says "Going over to see Grandpa". I say "I know what you are doing, so now tell me what you are really doing". He says "Getting the Glitter Lava". I knew that was what he was doing of course. Last night we broke out an xmas gift of this gooey Lava Glitter and he was told not to touch it without adults...but, by God, he WANTED it. I am realizing, and always actually knew, that children at young ages want want want and know many times it is wrong to get things without permission, but they have no self-control at all. This will change with age..but it is hard waiting!

We went upstairs and had a talk about wanting things and breaking rules and being sneaky. The plan was to have him upstairs watching TV until Grandpa woke up..and that is what we are doing.
Another sneaky story: Steve caught him some months ago in the goodie drawer. Steve approached him and asked Derek "Are you being sneaky"? Derek had replied "No, you are being sneaky, sneaking up on me doing something inappropriate". Nice vocabulary...and it is always growing. Also, this morning Derek says he is going to Disneyland tomorrow....lol

Gift of Fields

2010-01-07T11:13:00.000-08:00

"Bring him and they will come". Our Field of Dreams came in the form of our daycare family with the last name of Fields. In early 2008, Derek started living with us and I had to find daycare. For four months he was at a very populated daycare in town. It was just too much stimulation for him. I thought, what am I going to do now? How am I going to find the perfect in-home daycare for Derek that will meet his needs. I called a few homes offering daycare. The first two were awful, like Robin Williams pranking his wife on Mrs. Doubtfire. They sounded stupid on the phone and one of them DHS said "no"...prior issues with them. And then it happened. I called the home of Mrs. Fields. The first sentence out of her mouth I knew instantly...this is the one. She sounded loving, caring and experienced with all types of kids. Steve and I visited and were sold. This was a home with just a handful of daycare kids and they had two teenagers of their own. Derek was in the best home we could have hoped for.

Mrs. Fields took wonderful care of Derek for a few months and then I heard they were moving to Hillsboro...thought I was going to crawl in a closet and curl up. Then she tells me her son and soon to be daughter-in-law were moving in and taking over the daycare business. After meeting the next family of Fields, I was at ease. The transition was over about a month where the first Mrs. Fields left and the new took over. Perfect. Derek stayed in the same house, had the same rules etc. He was fine and I love my Jenny and Nathan so much. They are like our kids and we would do anything for them. Jenny does preschool for the wonderful small group of kids and they take the kids to all sorts of places: OMSI, parks, Cheese Factory, ZOO. I love my text and video messages from Nathan while I'm at work. So funny. They also have two sweet children of their own, Sammy who is about 15 mnths and Adrianna who is 3mths. How could we have been so lucky. I am positive that any other daycare couldn't have given Derek what he needed. We love our Fields.

You Weren't Listening

2010-01-02T20:25:00.000-08:00

So Derek had to go to bed around 7pm...no nap day...and he did the major meltdown....he was super overtired..and it didn't help we had a houseful of older boys playing the Wii loudly. He finally finished the meltdown...we read a couple of books...he was happy and hugged and loved before I put him to bed. Steve had been in his office and I was upstairs watching TV..kids on the Wii. It's been about an hour..Steve comes upstairs and tells me as he was in his office Derek kept calling "Grandpa, Grandpa" for a few minutes from his bed...he had heard some messing around noises too..Steve ignored the calling. Then he hears the voice coming from under the door "Hey Steve I need a drink"..OMG!! Funny shit...he did get a drink....from "Steve"...and then Steve tells him "my name is Grandpa" and Derek say "Well, you weren't listening". He is clever huh?

Just a little something funny

2010-01-01T11:41:00.000-08:00

So at breakfast this morning Derek wasn't listening to Steve about getting in his chair..jokingly, Steve says "Get in your chair or I will knock your lights out"! Derek says "No, the lights are going to stay in my body".

This morning Steve went into Derek's room and slept on the bottom bunk. Derek wakes up and whispers to the lower bunk "Hey, Kenny, Kenny". Steve says "No, its me Grandpa" then Derek says "No, only Kenny is sleeping on the bottom bunk".

Poop List

2009-12-29T19:12:00.000-08:00

So just now Derek is telling Steve that I said he was on the "poop list"..that is putting it mildly...and I did use the term "poop"..although we all know what I meant. And even after today, at the dinner table he was messing around and I said to get down..he says "No, I will not get down"..needless to say, he did get down and was put in timeout. He just got put in bed and I was standing in his room..it is pitch black..after a few minutes he says "Get out of my room, get out". I really don't think he knew I was in there..I was silent. After that remark, he got pulled down from the bed and we had a little talk about his mouth. Incredable..the loud alarm is on for each night now. There must be a new name for his decisions today. Let me think..how about Big Balls Bernie.

The Most Incredable Case of Nerve

2009-12-29T09:15:00.000-08:00

Tuesday morning: I am in bed and I hear noises outside our upstairs window. It was rumbling and I thought it was the neighbors or something. Steve comes out of the bathroom and I ask him to look out the window. He says "Come here and see". I get up and look out the window...what do I see, but Derek pulling his play kitchen across the deck in his PJ's. He had gone outside, gotten into the shed and had retreived his play kitchen. It was out there because he hadn't played with it for months and was taking up space in his bedroom. He had asked for it a couple of times lately, but he has PLENTY of toys in the house and was told "no". What he did was get up and ask his Uncle Kenny who is visiting from California if he could have it...and the answer was yes from Kenny, not knowing it was outside in the shed.

Now, Derek knows full well the rules in our house and the rules in general...no touching outside doors, no going outside without permission, no going beyond a certain area in the backyard and no shed!!!!! He had also gotten up and touched the knob on the gas fireplace, gotten into Steves office and retreived the flashlight!!!! I WAS PISSED. He is on restriction in a chair for the day. He pushes the boundries way too much. We are back to the very loud alarm on his door I guess. We do smile about how incredable it was that he thought he could just do what he wanted....seeing him pulling that kitchen on the deck made us both open our eyes very wide with amazement..giant set of balls he has already. I fear for the future for sure.

Curse words....

2009-12-27T10:13:00.000-08:00

Since Derek came to live with us we have had to really stop swearing! He was periodically repeating what we would say. He has repeated most swear words at one time or another. When my old cat K.C. was peeing on everything, one day I was in my office and Derek was in his bedroom and I said "God damn cat". Then later I heard Derek casually say "God damn cat"..just like it was nothing..lol

Then another time the cat had got done peeing on my rug, I said "Fucking cat" and Derek was in his highchair and asked me "Did you say fucking cat"? I was like.."uh, no...I said trucking bat"..don't think I convinced him.

One day when he was in his timeout chair, he was really pissed and said "I'm gonna break this fucking chair"...oh my...so needless to say, we have really had to correct our choice of words and expressions.

Spiders and Tomatoes

2009-12-26T21:02:00.000-08:00

Just a random memory of about a year ago when Derek would start having issues with not staying in bed and he would get up over and over....so I would have him stand in his room and say to him "well, you wanted to be up..now you are up". He was most unhappy with that. I would lie in his bed and say how warm and comfy it was...hoping he would get the hint. Well, that is when the "creative, mean talk" would begin. On one occasion, he is standing there and he is trying to get me upset by saying "You're just gonna fall down in that box of tomatoes and the spiders are gonna eat ya"..it was all I could do to not laugh outloud. And the same time he says Grandpa is going to mess up my office.

Legs and Spiders?

2009-12-26T20:55:00.000-08:00

Steve brought Derek upstairs to kiss me goodnight and on his way back down the stairs, Derek says "My legs are old to go down the stairs" and then in the bedroom he tells Steve that "Grandma isn't putting him to bed because her legs are broken". OMG..funny..

A couple of months ago we had given Derek these plastic spiders and Steve went into his bedroom and Derek says something about the spiders were climbing and trying to get on his bed "So I subsequently broke their legs"...total correct context...that was one of the best use of words from him...we work on his vocab constantly....guess its paying off...

At dinner tonight Steve was saying that he was almost done with his soup, meaning he was going to eat Derek's and Derek crosses his fingers over his bowl and say "negative, that means no". We love it when Steve teases him about stealing his food and Derek does the "prision cover" with his hands over his plate...poor kid..lol..we give him such a teasing time so often.

Christmas 09

2009-12-26T07:25:00.000-08:00

So...Derek awoke at 3am and Steve put him back to bed..then EJ woke him up with bells and stomping on the roof around 6:30am. Derek says he is still resting..he had put his pillow and blanket by his door of the bedroom! lol

He comes out and starts opening his gift (the train) and says "Hey, its that train from the store"!! He was very excited! He and Steve put it together and then he went to the garage to get this other gift (a huge red wagon with wooden sides)..that was a hit too. Come on warmer weather...gotta get that thing outside! lol

We had a great morning with everyone that came over...Steve and I made a breakfast buffet and goodies..yum yum..then we opened presents..after Dereks meltdown cause wanted to go outside...after he opens a gift, all was good..he cashed in on lots of cars, trucks, books, misc stuff...he is one busy child now. This Saturday morning today started off well...he snatched a couple of M & M's from the living room...lol

Christmas Eve 2009

2009-12-24T21:35:00.000-08:00

Derek was pretty excited today on the eve before Christmas. He mostly had a good day. At the store last night, he had a meltdown about this train set he wanted sooooo badly! He and Steve went out to the car to call Santa to let him know Derek had been a good boy and he wants the train set. I, of course, was purchasing it in the store for him. He and I read "The Night Before Christmas" around 9pm, put cookies and milk out for Santa. Steve and EJ just got done putting together this aweseome Radio Flyer wagon with the wooden sides. Derek will be opening his train set when he first gets up and that will keep him busy before family arrives around 9am to have breakfast and open gifts! At dinner it was funny, Steve kept stealing Dereks green beans and Derek says "turn you plate around so he doesn't get your stuff"..OMG..so funny. Merry Christmas everyone.

The Name Game

2009-12-23T07:01:00.001-08:00

For about 18 months we have been assigning names to Derek according to his behavior and or moods. The first was "Professor Piss N Moan". Everything was about being pissy and he was to whine about everything. Off and on we would ask the Jenny and Nathan at daycare, "So how was the Professors day?" The next name was "Last Word Larry"...he had to have the last word in when he was being told to do something he didn't want to do. Next is "Harry Horses Ass"..enough said...butthead butthead butthead. Another is "Babbling Billy"...this is a good name because he came to us at a little over three years old, he had the language skills of an 18 month old and he is so great at talking now. Another is : "Dr. Two Cents"..always having to put his "two cents worth" in with every discussion or request..ended up having to tell him "no comment" when he was asked to do something...lol..and then there is "Babbling Billy"..this is an endearing name because he never stops talking now. His vocabulary is so huge and he is so smart. I am sure we will have several new names for him in the future.

BLAH BLAH BLAH

2009-12-23T06:58:00.000-08:00

For quite awhile now, when Derek is being a butthead with his mouth and attitude, Steve would start saying to him "blah blah blah"..ooooooooooo...that didn't go over well with Derek. It would really piss him off and he would say "Please do not do the blah blah blah". OMG..hilarious..

Can he get any funnier?

2009-12-23T06:54:00.000-08:00

A couple of months ago Steve had given Derek a piece of candy. Steve was on the couch and Derek was behind him near the stairs. Steve asks Derek to come and Derek says "Oh, I don't need you right now, don't talk to me"...with that Steve gets up and walks past Derek and snatches the candy from his hand and pops it in his own mouth! Derek hollars "You don't take candy from a mans hands"!! And of course the crying starts...everything is about crying when you are a little boy and don't get your way. Steve then explains about how he hurt his Grandpas feelings with his "I don't need you" statement. And no, he didn't get another piece of candy...lol..he did later.

"We Got A Runner"

2009-12-22T09:09:00.001-08:00

Derek has talked and giggled in his sleep since he has lived with us. It's pretty funny. He went through this "sleep walking" phase many many nights...although mostly he was awake messing around.

His giggle is do darn infectious at all times. I just laugh listening to him laugh. This past Saturday, he was napping...he was asleep for sure...Steves hear's him whisper "Hey EJ" in his sleep.(EJ was asleep in the next room.) Too funny. Another day at daycare he was napping on the couch when he suddenly sits upright and states "My favorite color is yellow"...then falls back asleep. When we were sharing a bed with him at Grand Wolf Lodge a few months ago, he was giggling during the night..cracks us up.

Early on in 2007, due to Derek not being raised with a very stable bedtime etc, he would have gone to bed and then would appear at all hours of the night in different areas in our house...some on his hot wheels bike or just messing around. He would ride into the living room or come upstairs and say "Good morning". OMG...does he know its the middle of the night? I don't think so! The foster mom had to finally put up a baby gate at his door because he would wander...and that wandering continued at our house for a very long time. He just would wake up and decide it was time to play. His entire life now is constant preoccupation with play..that's a five year old for you.

We finally put up a baby gate at his door, a motion detector alarm, bells on the gate in the middle of the hallway and nowadays an alarm hooked to his door! Safety was such a concern as time went along. We didn't want him hurting himself or getting outside. I would find him playing with the dishwasher, toys, in our face upstairs saying "good morning" at 3am!! At least he never got into something bad...thank goodness! Here is one last story that will stick with us forever..you have to get a visual on this one now:
We had gone to the pet store to get some fish suppies for our large tank. We found this little tank toy that sits at the bottom of the tank. It was a Patrick (a starfish character) from Sponge Bob Squarepants show. He was attached to what I think was this hamburger shell kind of thing and it would bubble open to expose Patrick periodically. We were in bed and I kept hearing this clacking noise..I went downstairs and Derek was by the fish tank. I took him by the hand to get him back into bed...I wasn't happy...and I noticed his whole arm was wet...and the sleeve was pushed way up to his shoulder...he had been fishing for that damn tank toy and had it pulled out of the water..that is what was clacking..and Derek had dropped it back into the tank when he heard me come down the stairs...I was like "OMG...(sounds of the angry teacher from Peanuts cartoon voice)...What the Hell Derek? Needless to say he got to sleep with a wet arm for the rest of the night..."sleep walking", I don't think so...there are dozens and dozens of nights he was out of bed doing something...we would hear him and say to each other "We got a runner"!!! Too funny now..and many times funny when the episodes happen...and sometimes not so funny when we were very tired. He is much better now..he is really settling into a great bedtime routine.

Just Now

2009-12-22T09:08:00.002-08:00

I have to share this one that just happened tonight..lol

Steve hollars to me to wrap Jennifer's xmas gift and Derek says "Jennifers present is me"! OMG..he is so funny! He has had a great week at daycare and home. He mostly has great days..when the bad ones happen he is just a butthead with behavior. He is downstairs laughing and playing with Cora and the flashlight. They BOTH love the flashlight or laser light play. He and Cora get along so well and Cora is so sweet and patient with Derek.

Derek Meets The Warden

2009-12-22T09:08:00.001-08:00

When Derek started visiting us in late 2007, he did pretty good at bedtime. Before bed, he went potty & brushed teeth etc. Steve and I would be in the living room and Derek would call out "have to go potty", one right after the other, ABOUT 50 TIMES I swear...he was testing us. Other than that, Derek was right at home with us. We were having lots of fun with him.

For the first few months bed went pretty well..then..he started getting up immediately after going to bed and opening the door. Getting a tad tired of this, I would just stand at his door and wait for it to open..and it did..a little bit at a time....he was no fool. He was carefully trying to open it quietly. I'm standing there and I hear him breathing at the door,then a quick "eeeeh" sound of the door with each small pull from him. He did that about 4 times, then the door opened and he would look up at me looking at him. And my look to him was: Meet the Warden of your cell block Bobby. (Bobby is one of his many nicknames Steve & I have given him. It doesn't mean anything...its just Bobby..cause thats what we do..and it gets a reaction from him that is hilarious)

I would then have to explain about bedtime again..and this happened..again and again and again...he has refined his "no going to sleep" techniques many times and it is mostly good, but Derek will always be creative and determined..I hope this serves him well in life. There are many stories related to bedtime I will share….many many many.

Yellow

2009-12-22T09:07:00.001-08:00

"Yellow is my favorite color" says Derek since I can remember. So needless to day, he has lots of yellow things...from toys to bedding, from clothes to boots and jackets. We can't fail buying something yellow. I remember taking him to the Fun Center this last summer and he and Grandma Titus were heading to have him ride this kiddie ride with planes. I thought for sure he would pick the yellow one. I glance down and then up again to take a video of him as the ride started. I was freaking when I didn't see him on the yellow plane....he decided on the blue one he explained later..go figure...lol. Another time Derek had gone shopping with us and we got this yellow car. Steve stashed it away when we got home. Derek, who was just beginning to talk better and with more words, asked later in a real casual way: "Say.....what happened to that yellow car we got?" We cracked up..good memory..and we are happy about that.