"Bean Sack"

In case you didn't know, I have a little brother (D). When he was a baby, we called him "bean sack." When you picked him up, he was limp and felt like a bean sack. Now we just call him "Beaner." As a baby, D was incredibly quiet. He mostly just sat there with big eyes and stared at the world.

He hasn't gotten much bigger, but he's gotten older. And as he's grown, he's developed quite the personality and attitude.

He would not sit for my picture unless he got a cheeto. The most noticeable part of the photo is the giant bruise on D's head. He's not real coordinated, so his head almost always has a bruise on it.

Like all kids, the thing he looks forward to most is receiving gifts. He has been anticipating Christmas since last Christmas, and he's reminded us all week that his birthday is coming up. He told us he wants lots of presents and cake.

Derek's third Birthday

D is such a stinker though. He is a hoarder, and can always be found carrying a bucket, or purse full of junk. To him it isn't junk. Each little toy, each bead, each rock, each seed, each dust mite that he is carrying has a purpose and he uses them. He knows where each little thing is and he will know if it goes missing. Why he does that, I have no idea. I don't know where in the world he got that.

Most things he does and says can be traced back to someone in the house. Not only does he collect little "junk," he collects traits and phrases from people.

C loves to play video games (or watch others play really), and when he messes up, he whines and says "Freakin...." He does that whenever he's upset too. D was playing with a Sega Game Gear (yes, we own one still) in the corner of the living room. I was sitting there doing my incredibly boring homework in silence when I hear "Ugh...freakin!" I look over and D is pouting. Two seconds later, he did it again "Ugh! Freakin!" I asked him what was wrong, apparently he was messing up on his game.

D is a sucker for "tewt" things. If he thinks it's cute, then he's all over it. He loves shiny things, especially necklaces. He also loves to have his nails painted. Unfortunately, he has people who love to paint his nails! So his nails are always painted. One fine Sunday, Bishop Brooks from our neighborhood was telling D that next time he needs to say "No No, Morgan, No nail polish!" I wasn't there when he was told that, but later I asked D about it and he said "Oh yea! No! No nail polish, Mugie!" I showed him my neat nails that I had just painted and asked if he liked them. He said "Oh yes! I do! I love those!" then he thought about it a second and said "No, No Mugie! No polish!"

D is really sarcastic all the time. (Yes, that was my contribution to his life.)

Nathan is D's favorite person. He always asks me when "faithen" will be home. He loves trying to wrestle Nathan. He also loves bossing Nathan around. My favorite time is once when Nathan and I were laying on the carpet in the livingroom and D had to make a choice: go to the store with Grandma or stay home with us. He thought about it and said "Mugie, Faithen, stay here. Sleep!" Then he rethought it and yelled to Grandma "No, I'm gonna stay here and play with my horsey!" He then wanted Nathan to be his horse.

Someday, unfortunately, D is going to grow up. I can't wait to remind him of the days when he wore nail polish, wore girl panties around his neck, and choked on noodles. Thankfully, he's still small enough that I can pin him and keep him down for a good tickling.

Happy Birthday this week, Beaner!