Happy Halloween

Not much has changed since the last entry, we still are loving our little eating, pooping, sleeping boy.  We attempted the whole scheduling thing (I'm pretty sure I happily blogged about it last time) but it seemed to blow up in our faces.  Our once happy, peaceful-sleeping five hours at night boy became an angry little guy who was up for 4 hours straight at night.  We quickly realized that his "tanking up" in the evenings ensured wonderful sleep for mom and dad, and that trying to schedule him and denying him those frequent feedings before bed promised that he would instead ask for them all night long!!!  He stays pretty scheduled throughout the day and takes his long afternoon nap (which I LOVE) but the evenings are a different story.

In other news, Colin has really started to enjoy his job.  Instead of considering himself a "probation officer" he tends to lean more towards the "social worker" side.  I anxiously wait for him to get home from work everyday (not to mention Archer's nap is usually from about 3:30pm-6:30 pm with Colin getting home at about 5:00) so he can tell me about what happened out in the crazy places he works.  It is sad, but it is nice to know that there are people like Colin who truly care and are out there attempting to help.  

School is going ok...it is very interesting, but tons of information.  I have my first test on Tuesday and I feel like I am on schedule as far as being prepared goes.  

That's it for now.  Halloween happens to be Colin's favorite holiday-so I am waiting to see what he has up his sleeve for tonight.

Hope everyone is well.

Love the Kimbles

Daddy twin.

I had to post this picture...it's almost unbelievable! Last night Colin and Archer were watching a movie (well mostly Colin) and Colin looked down at Archer and said, "THIS KID LOOKS EXACTLY LIKE ME!" Quite frankly I'm not sure what took him so long to notice....

P.S. these naps that Archer has been taking are AMAZING! Up until this point I have basically held the little guy nonstop, anytime I would put him down he would stir and fuss and wake up---so I would feed him...he would fall asleep again..stir, fuss, wake up, I would feed him..a terrible cycle that exhausted me (Gary Ezzo author of On Becoming Babywise is my HERO).

Here is proof the apple does not fall far from the tree...

the man of many talents...

Hello family and friends...

Things here have been crazy. I have some pretty dismal news, I did not pass my last class. I feel horrible about that, I ended up getting a 77.6% and in nursing school you need at least a 79.5%. I had enrolled in the class thinking that I would be able to complete two tests (out of three) by the time the little guy got here, but Gustav came and school was closed for two weeks, which left me taking a test a week after Archer was born (and obviously not scoring the best). All of this to say, we will be in Baton Rouge longer than expected because I will need to complete the class I am in right now, which is OB, and then re-take the class I did not pass (AND make up the 120 clinical hours I had already completed 9 months pregnant-doing 12 hour night/weekend shifts--yehaw). I am determined though, and I will make this work!!!

In other news, Archer continues to grow and surprise us daily with new fun things. Two nights ago he was wide awake and Colin and I were talking to him when he just started smiling and cooing back...which makes your heart melt with joy!!! It's so nice now to see him smile at us and to coo at us letting us know he is indeed happy! Today I also put him under his playmat and he spent some time cooing at his toys and unintentionally batting at them with his hands-which Colin wonders..will he ever be able to control them? We have also started to "Babywise" Archer...almost unwillingly-but we are doing it nonetheless. This basically means he can eat every 2 1/2 hours-but not before that...which makes for a fussy angry guy who was used to being at the mom buffet all day. We started for real on Monday (had some attempts before that) and I am pleased to say, it work like CLOCKWORK! He wakes from a nap, eats for about 20 min., is awake and plays for about 45 minutes, then gets fussy and falls asleep for the duration. Very nice!!!

Colin is starting to have better days at work, he has a caseload of about 50 kids that he has to chase around and have meetings with. It keeps him pretty busy, between chasing kids and going to their court hearing-and typing up dispositions. He asked his boss if he could change his one hour lunch break to 30 minutes in order to get off at 4:30pm and beat the nasty 5pm traffic, which has been really nice for both of us! I love him getting home that tiny bit earlier and he comes home much less stressed out!

Well, that's all for now, I am attaching a little video of the guy on the move (I apologize for my annoying baby talk-but I was attempting a coo or smile for you to see). He pulls out almost all of his tricks-from sneezing, to yawning, to a small coo, and a half smile...sorry guys he is still working on it!

Love to everyone.
The very sleep deprived Kimbles

one more thing...

Interesting, I was worried about not posting often enough, and now my concern is overkill...I suppose that's the proud mom part :) However, I did think this was cute, and in need of posting! I was getting ready to take a picture of the little guy when he went from one stage to the next, isn't it funny how quickly things can change (and how peaceful they are with they sleep).

Hanging out with grandpa.

It has been such a joy to have Keith sleeping at our place every once in awhile (he works out of the Baton Rouge office now). It is so nice for Archer to spend the evening with grandpa, and this is his favorite way to spend it (at least it appears that way).

a BRIEF moment of reflection...

These pictures were taken just days before Archer arrived-oh the joys of being 9 months pregnant...

Go Saints.

One of the many Saints outfits his daddy makes him wear on Sundays...

First of many...hopefully...

Hello to anyone reading our new family blog. Hopefully this will be the first of many posts...

Basically our goal is to try to keep everyone updated seeing as we are all spread out. My goal is to update once a week, or at least every other week with pictures of the little guy and the happenings. I was sending out emails before, but this seems like a no brainer way to keep everyone updated at once.

For today...it amazes me how much our lives have changed, and how it seems like FOREVER since Archer's arrival. I suppose that one sleepless night just kind of blurs into the next making our days twice as long. We actually really should not complain, this little guy likes to "tank up" from about 5pm (sorry daddy-the second he gets home we have a fussy/hungry little boy) to around 10pm and then he usually gets his last feeding around 11pm or 12am before falling asleep until around 5am..sometimes even 6am. HOPEFULLY I DID NOT JUST JINX US!! He then wakes up and thinks he needs to be fed for three hours to make up for all of that sleeping, but we are working on this :)

It's strange, you always hear people saying, "I just cannot remember what life was like before he/she got here...." and thinking about it, I remember, I just can't seem to imagine that at this point. I would love to say that having a newborn around is enjoyable...but I think that would be the wrong word to use, don't get me wrong I am beyond OBSESSED with my son, but it is proving to be a sufficient amount of work! We are looking forward to the days where he will laugh and be interactive...only to remind ourselves and one another that we will miss the little snuggly bundle we have now and to slow down and simply enjoy this beautiful creation!

Archer has really taken to his daddy...he looks and looks at him, and also gave him his very first smile, a big happy grin. He continues to smile often at daddy, and thinks that he is super (while I get emotional watching my son stare at his amazing father). Anytime that I attempt to interrupt and try to get Archer to smile at me, he seems to remember that he is hungry....

That's it for now, I have to get back to studying for my exam on Tuesday (please keep this in your prayers-as I took my second of three tests a week after Archer's arrival and did not score as well as I should/could have, which puts a whole lot of pressure on this third exam). No pressure or anything :)

Also, this could be an inspiration for some of you to also start your own blogspot... hint, HINT!

Love the Kimbles.