A Friend and a Fever

Archer is sick. He's got a fever and a cough and it's hampering our social life. We were supposed to go out to dinner at the Begert's house tonight and now we can't. I am seriously disappointed because I even finished my paper so we could go. I guess a baby means sacrifice.

David says this is a downer of a post. I am just expressing my feelings :).

Other feelings I have about my baby is that he is adorable and he made a friend yesterday at the Friday playgroup. Her name is Nava and she is 6 months. Her dad thought Archer was getting a little too friendly.

Here is the video of the babies:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4164156472385215653&hl=en

An Early Christmas Present!

Today I met Lindsay at the Phillips Collection. I forgot how fun museums could be. Archer was pretty quiet and we let him crawl around the museum/ mansion. Even though I was supposed to start my 10 page paper for Children's Lit, today was a tie for my favorite morning this week.

The other great morning was yesterday when I went to our Music Together class. I am not musical at all, but think Archer might be. He really likes banging things and the teacher, Nancy, said he was the first child she has had to grab the guitar and hang on to it. That means he's musical, doesn't it? Even though I sing to him off tune the songs we learn, I love the class.

I also love early Christmas presents like the kind that grandparents give their grandson and that I can put together. Early Christmas presents like a toy box! Thanks John and Karen.

Oh Christmas Tree!

David and I got a Christmas tree on Saturday - well, David actually got the tree. Archer, David and I walked to get the tree stand. Great Granny Navarin provided the ornaments. I made the paper rings. It was definitely a family effort and I think it is the prettiest tree in D.C. It is our first real Christmas tree.

Check it out for yourself.

Archer "Mohawk" Dansby Crawling

Update

I sure have been a lazy girl when it comes to posting.

Here's a quick update on my life with Archer and the dogs:

• Brandy is really sweet with Archer and lets him crawl all over her. Yes, Archer is crawling and he is crawling fast.


• I told my principal that I could not work in January because I wasn't ready to leave Archer yet. I did promise that I would sign a contract for next fall though. So we have been visiting daycare without much luck yet.


• Thanksgiving was wonderful even though bad dog Scout grabbed Uncle John's crotch.


• I ate way too much last weekend and still feel like I am 10 lbs overweight.


• Archer likes to say dye or die or di (I think he is trying to say Dad)


• The Redskins and the Seahawks are not having their best seasons. I know this because I hear the screaming from various males in my life.


• David, Archer and I are going to get our Christmas tree tomorrow :)


• Aunt Mary is visiting us in a week!


• Uncle Andrew, Aunt Nicki, Hazel, Gran and Grandad are all coming to visit in about 2 weeks!


• Christmas and Archer's baptism are fast approaching!

Here is a video of Archer playing

Granny's 85th Birthday

My granny is probably the most chic octogenarian in the history of the world. She is so sophisticated and such a lady - at the same time though she is so much fun and loves to have a good time. For example she dressed up as a ballerina for Halloween this year, got her male friend to get into a tutu too and then paraded around the streets.


Her 85th birthday was November 20th and she, of course, needed to have 2 parties. The first party was on Thursday, her actual birthday. Archer and I drove down to see Granny. All I knew was that I should show up at 'The Home' (Westminister Cantebury) at 7:00 pm at the theater. The entertainment turned out to be a man named Gary Muledeer, who was a stand-up comedian with a lengthy resume. Very funny. The theater was packed with lots of friends and family all celebrating with Granny. Then she had a reception with lots of pink afterwards.


The second party was only for family on Saturday night. Miraculously, all of Granny's children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren showed up, minus 1. It was a fun time and a great party. I love my Granny and even if she won't admit I am her favorite grandchild (just kidding Granny) she is a huge role-model for me. Although it was her birthday, she gave all her family a copy of her memoirs, a great book full of history and pictures. I was so excited to get it and read it. I have not been disappointed by the inside information.

For some reason all the pictures are coming up in this size. Disappointing. I think I will skip the pictures on this post.


I anyone wants to see the pictures in the real size you can go to my snapfish pictures.

Comparison

Here is Archer at 2 weeks old.

Here is Archer at 6 months old.

Standing Up

For the first time in a long time I went out out. Although it was hard to leave David and Archer, I knew it was good for me and of course I had a great time. I saw Lindsay's beautiful new home and then went to have dinner with Lizzie, Cassie and Abby at a restaurant called Sesto Senso.

I didn't get home too late and had a fun day with the baby. Even a second away really makes me love him even more. David had a tough time getting him to sleep last night because he kept pulling himself up in the crib. He LOVES to stand up these days. At Mommy and Me yoga he was trying to crawl himself up my leg. So here are some pictures of him standing up and then, inevitably, falling down. He looks like he is having the best time ever.

It's a 2 post day!

Because I have been sort of lazy about posting the past 2 weeks I thought I would make it a 2 post morning. I also wanted to showcase these great pictures of Archer and my parents from last

weekend.

For 60 years old, my daddy looks pretty good! Must be all the hot yoga.

In other news...Archer slept throughout the night!

The Dreaded Car Seat

We try to get out of the house at least once a day. Archer has been alive now for 6 and 1/2 months so you might think he would get used to getting in his car seat. You would be wrong. Here is what he looks like most of the time when he gets strapped in.

I really like his frog coat though. Thanks Meredith!

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Maymont, a New Tooth and a Flat Tire

I was really sad to have to miss Logan's wedding this past weekend in Charlotte, so I decided to take my mind off of it and go visit Richmond. It had been over a month since my last trip, so I was excited to see my parents, the dogs and the fall colors. (I know a month might not seem like a long time, but I had been averaging about every 2 weeks.)

My mom and I had a great time visiting Maymont. I love Maymont, especially the Children's Farm. In fact, I love it so much I really wanted to have my marriage reception there. I could just picture the guests dancing in the barn and then going out to pet the pigs and the goats in all their nice clothes. That idea was nixed.

Here is a picture of the bear we saw. He was playing with his friend in the pond.

Archer is really trying to eat everything, or at least put everything in his mouth. So as I was trying to get a leaf out of his mouth, I felt something sharp and pointy. A TOOTH!

Maybe the drooling will taper off now, but we are not holding our breath.

P.S. I got a flat tire on the way to my class tonight. I hit a curb too hard when I was parking. Smooth. I was able to leave class early though to go deal with it.

Happy Election Day!

On our walk this morning we saw Miss Carolyn Steptoe, a neighbor who is running for ANC (Advisory Neighborhood Commissions). She waved really hard and gushed, "Happy Election Day!". David replied with just as much feeling, "Good luck!". Her enthusiasm was contagious. I was excited to exercise my right to vote.

The lines at our local polling location were long at 7am. I was glad Archer and could I wait until 3pm. We walked right on in and voted for Obama despite McCain matriculating from Episcopal High School. Archer's favorite part was getting an 'I voted sticker'. It's neat that the next time we vote for a president Archer will be almost 5 years old.

A Halloween Surprise

Archer was a very cute dragon for Halloween. We went to Mommy and Me yoga and then to a playgroup yesterday afternoon. He made it up for 2 groups of trick or treaters and called it a night.

The Halloween Surprise was poo. Scout protested being shut out of the basement by going into the diaper pail and pulling out a very dirty diaper. He decided to smear that diaper around Archer's rug. The rug was an off-white color. Now the rug is a poopy off-white color. David thinks Scout is responding to a lack of attention. Perhaps he is right. Maybe Scout wanted to be dressed up for Halloween too.

Fun in a Box!

I got a little bit bored yesterday after the doctor's appointment. So I decided to put Archer in a diaper box. Watch the video to see David help Archer drive around his box!

6 Month Doctor's Appointment

Archer had his 6 month doctor's appointment today. He is a growing boy!

Here are his stats:

• weight - 18lbs 9.5 ounces (50-75 percentile)


• height - 27.5 inches (75-90 percentile)
  
• head circumference - 17.5 inches (50-75% percentile - why this is important, I do not know)
  

Here are his stats from 2 months ago:

• weight - 16lbs 2 ounces (75%)


• height - 25 and 7/8 inches (75%)
  
• head circumference - 17 inches (75%)
  

Archer also got 4 shots and Dr. Lang said he was a joy of a baby. I think he is too.

Here is a picture of him in his Halloween outfit that mom and I took yesterday. I love it when Granny Goose comes for a visit. She is so much fun! I love that she thought we should dress Archer up in his dragon outfit before we took a walk in her BOB stroller (purchased by his Boo Daddy for his 6 month birthday present. Thanks Dad! I had a very happy childhood which I will definitely write a post about soon.)

A Very Good Sunday

For the past 2 years, I have not liked Sundays that much. I always had papers to grade or lessons to prepare for, but this fall Sundays are for fun. (Just for the record, I do have some homework for my AU grad class, but it usually doesn't take too long).

This Sunday David and I took the usual morning walk with the dogs and the baby. He watched Meet the Press and I took a nap while the baby slept. Then we went to get some coffee and watched people walk dogs of all sizes. Next we went to the library. I got my books for my Children's Lit. class and Archer drooled. When we got home we carved our pumpkins that we got last weekend. David's was a sweet, cute pumpkin and mine was a scary, mean pumpkin. Finally, David watched football and played with Archer. I had to work on my homework a little bit, but I was relaxed.

I may not have been at my college 5th year reunion at Sewanee this weekend, but I feel pretty lucky. I think I am living the high life. I love my family and I especially love my husband.

New Clothes!

Archer and I have been racking up the new clothes this week. Thanks to Archer's Granny Goose and Boo Daddy, his Gran and Grandad and his sweet Daddy, Archer has lots of fancy clothes.

I also got to go shopping for the first time in 6 months with my wonderful mommy at BCBG (Bettie Cool, Bettie Good). I got a shirt and a dress for my Granny's 85th birthday party and for Christmas. I never would have been able to go shopping without my mom. Thanks Mom!!! We also got a pretzel hotdog. It was really really good.

Over the past week or so Archer has gotten...

• an awesome bomber hat


• 2 warm Christmas turtlenecks


• a pair of black corduroy pants


• a pair of green Patagonia booties


• a pair of wool Emu booties


• a beautiful and sweet Christening outfit

He will be one well dressed boy this winter. I like dressing my baby because it's like dressing a doll baby. He might not like it that much though.

Here are some pictures of Archer in his new clothes.

Sweet Potatoes

Archer has been eating solids for about a month now. He's had rice cereal and oatmeal. He's also tried avocado (something I dislike because of the texture) and sweet potatoes. Here is a picture of Archer with the sweet potatoes all over his face. David says it looks more like he is Hannibal Lecter than our sweet baby. That kind of makes me want to gag.

On another less icky note, the principal of DC Prep called me yesterday wanting me to come back to work because they have a 6th grade teaching position open. I miss teaching a whole lot. I miss talking to my friends at school. I also would probably feel better about myself if I was contributing to our finances. However, I really don't think I could leave Archer yet. I may tell the school I am not ready now, but may be ready after Christmas. I don't know if I will be ready even then though. I just feel guilty for not working. I know being a mom is a job. Right now I am having such a good time, it doesn't feel like work. I love my baby and would be so jealous if someone else were to witness him doing things for the first time. I just don't know how the money situation will hold out.

Punkin Patches

I know I said I would write everyday. So far I haven't been reaching my goal. One excuse is that Archer could nap a little longer. Another excuse is that I also had a very busy and very fun weekend with Prather.

Let's talk about the weekend. Prather, Archer and I left David with the 2 crazy dogs while we went to a pumpkin patch/ petting farm. Can life get any better for me? We debated whether to go to Cox Farms or another well known pumpkin patch, Butler's Orchard and finally decided that a petting farm really added that extra zing to the Halloween experience. We thought Clark's Elioak Farm sounded weirdly religious, but gave it a try. It was fabulous! We loved that the clientele was "a little different" than the mainstream farms.

We petted small goats, a pony, and some sheep. We saw an emu, some bunnies and a turkey. We even took a hayride through the enchanted forest to get to the pumpkins. Archer's favorite part was trying to eat the grass next to the pumpkins. Prath is a dynamite photographer and took these pictures. Thank you P!

It's time to stop reading and start writing

As soon as I had my son, Archer, in April, I started reading a friend's blog about her 2 little girls. Finally, almost 6 months later, I have gotten up the nerve and the gumption to publish myself on the web. David wants me to make a ton of money writing a children's book, but I think I will start by writing down the mundane details of my life with my 6 month old adorable son and my 2 crazy dogs, Scout and Brandy. (Both are rescue dogs and, no, I did not name Brandy). I will discuss the dogs at length later.

So, here I am world! Archer is now napping and we have exactly 43 minutes to get to Home Depot before the carpet man leaves. Will we make it...?

My goal is to write once a day, keep track of our lives and become more blog savvy.