gruff.

Everytime I'm at work I miss Colin...I literally walk around thinking to myself, "I miss Colin." PRETTYYY pathetic.

Also, Archer's two favorite things right now are: 1) a family hug and 2) a family...chain kiss. Anytime Colin and I hug Archer crawls over and says "UP" we scoop him up, he pulls Colin close and says "awwww." If Archer sees Colin kiss me he then has to kiss both Colin and I...pretty darn awesome.

Ok, back to work, tonight has been INSANE! I am off from Dec. 12-22nd though, and then off for Christmas Eve and Christmas day so I REALLY cannot complain!

-The overnight working Kimble Mama.

big words...

I forgot to post the big words segment...

This is the list of words Archer is now saying, perhaps not always understood by the outside world---but Colin and I almost always know what little man wants.  We have been strongly discouraging WHINING and instead asking, "Archer, what is it that you want?"  Generally, he will tell us---which is super weird! We are actually communicating!!!

Here is the list (and because I do not remember what I posted previously, I am just going to write them all):

Dada (which he shouts when Colin is out of the room)

Mama 

Truck (anytime he sees a truck or hears a siren)

Dog (which he will tell you says, "ouff ouff:)

Kitty kitty (which says "meow meow hiss)...adorable by the way!

Up

Out

bath

bubble

eat

juice

cheese

ba ba

santa (super fun right now)

aunt (for his aunts...)

baby or babies (twin cousins)

hey (which accompanies many things, "hey jonezy, or hey baby, or hey dada" but hey is said in a soft high voice like heeeeeeeyyyyyyy)

bye bye

grandma and grandpa which both sound like "pa pa" (the other night my in-laws came to stay and Archer crawled back and forth between them saying "papa up" 

Eliza

Andrew

busy 

happy 

apple

(oh yes, he will hold his little finger up when you ask how old he is to say "one" grandma kathy taught cousin Brody and Archer how to do that)

hot

ball

nose (which says "beep beep")

eyes

hair

hat

bike

house (for his little playhouse)

night night

diaper (he will grab a diaper and sit on it when you tell him it's time for a new one)

shoes

socks

poo poo

potty 

pee pee (the other night he was pulling on it in the bathtub so I gave it a name...ops.he now grabs it all the time and says, "pee pee")

yuck

no no no no no (DADDY!!!)

vitamin which actually sounds like "bu bu im"....but we know what he means...

berry 

book

penny

I think that might be it...I will try to only update this list from now on.

It is soooo fun to have a talking little man!!!  This really does just keep getting better and better!

broken bones and big words...

I was just finishing the very last sentence of this blog---when our computer shut off....we have "vintage" macs  and Colin's computer has to be plugged in in order to work-so as I began to get up I unplugged it causing it to abruptly turn off.  I vowed to stop cursing last night (in lou of Archer's ever increasing vocabulary) but cannot honestly say I didn't let a few choice words out when that happened; however, this is what I was trying to blog...

On November 23rd, sometime around 5:30pm, Colin and I were outside visiting with Colin's friend Jesse while Archer sat patiently on the bottom step eating a cracker.  Soon Ellen, Kris, and Eliza arrived to deliver a wonderful loaf of pumpkin bread before heading out of town.  As we were all standing in a circle around Archer he stood up, grabbed the railing as we had told him to over and over again, and began his six inch descent to solid ground.  Somewhere between railing and cement Archer went toppling off of the step.  He instantly burst into a cry unlike any we had ever heard from him (which is when I should have known something was terribly wrong...instead I thought he was just terrified).  I scooped him up relieved that he hadn't hit his head, and decided he was simply scared from the fall.  Unfortunately the crying didn't stop, nor did it deescalate.  I took Archer inside and while nursing him searched every inch of him for even the smallest scratch that could be causing his cry, but nothing!  I think started to move all of his joints thinking perhaps he hurt deeper than the surface, but once again, nothing!  Perplexed we gave him some motrin and dipped him into a warm, soothing, bubble bath.  This seemed to calm him down quickly, we fed him dinner in the bath tub, and then cuddled into dreamland. 

The next morning is when the injury became blarringly apparent.  Archer refused to bear any weight on his right leg and when he did by accident, would become hysterical again.  He had full range of motion and no bruising or swelling, but not bearing any weight seemed to be a tell tale sign of a fracture.  I placed a call to our pediatrician and anxiously waited for him to call back....for hours.  It wasn't until I called back around 4:30pm then they then told me he was out for the day and one of the other peds would be called me back shortly.  FINALLY I got the phone call and the sweetest lady put my mind at ease saying she didn't see a need to do anything about it that night and that they would refer us to a specialist in the morning.  Now...that wasn't quite good enough so we decided to take Archer to the after hours clinic in town.  They did Xrays, confirmed a "buckle break" and wanted to cast him.  We decided to opt out of the cast at the time (he was crawling everywhere and by this point not even attempting to bear weight on that leg) and take the xrays to our ped the next day. 

Needless to say, Archer is still crawling around and recovering.  Never did I imagine my sweet little 14 month old would fracture his leg---but I suppose anything is possible!!!  He really has been quite the trooper and doesn't complain at all, just crawls around about his business.  We talked with Dr. Rao (our ped) yesterday and he said in another 7-10 days we will need to get another set of xrays to check the healing. 

That's it for now.  Buckle broken baby boy!

-The Kimble

I say this everytime but...

Archer is awesome.  

It's amazing how two years ago our lives were filled with fun, but a much different kind of fun.  I was thinking back to the night I met Colin.  My friend Tim called and said he was touring with a band and they were playing a show in Philly a few blocks from where I worked as a nanny.  He told me the bands name and I looked them up on myspace music and decided it wasn't anything I was interested in.  I instead went over to meet him and get some food then went home to study for an organic chemistry test (HORRIBLE).  I had told Tim before I left if they needed a place to stay we had plenty of room.  Sure enough, at about 12am and seconds from entering into a deep sleep there they were---literally at my door!  One by one (and there were 8 of them) they filed into our apartment.  I will NEVER forget what Colin was wearing that night and he will forever think he looked cool...but he had on a giant (pretty sure it was an XL shirt with the sleeves cut out) long baggy mesh shorts, a six inch mohawk, HUGE diamon stud earrings, and horrible shoes.  I remember looking at him thinking he was a really funny looking  and really tall guy.  In our apt. you had to go through my roommates room to get to my room which is where Colin decided to make his bed.  I was getting ready to go into my room for pj's and sort of "stumbled" over him.  I sat down next to him and we talked....and talked....and talked.  We talked about our past relationships in dept and what we had learned from them.  We talked about the future and what we wanted out of our next relationships and life in general, we talked about God, we talked and talked.  Before long the sun was coming up and it was time for me to get across the city to my 7am class.  I said goodbye and couldn't stop thinking about the nice guy I had chatted with all night-and about the amazing things he had said.

Needless to say, I was beyond busy with school, work, and living in an amazing city---so when Colin continued to ask for my phone number I was really reluctant to give it to him.  This went on for about a month and a half until the eve of my 21st birthday.  Colin IM'ed me and asked for my number so he could call and wish me a happy birthday---I gave it to him and again we talked, and talked, and talked.  This time we talked about our families and friends---it was soooo fun to get to describe every family member in depth to someone who was an interested and safe stranger sort of.  It was during this conversation Colin sort of started expressing feelings for me---and suddenly I replayed all of the times I had thought about him in the last 6 weeks.  When the sun began to come up and it was time for me to head to class again he asked if he could call me after his show that night---let's be honest, how could I resist???  So night after night we chatted into the wee hours of the morning and never ran out of things to say.  We anxiously awaited our next chance to hang out and discovered it would be 6 weeks away.  (Sidenote: Colin and I met while he was touring with Emery, then REmet with sparks in our eyes at the end of the same tour, and his last tour was also with Emery).  Six weeks honestly could not come fast enough, and thankfully it didn't have to!  One night I had gone out with some friends and came home awaiting Colin's post show phone call, but when he called it was different!  He told me he was six hours away from me and it was time to meet!  He said he had unhitched the trailer from the van and was driving towards philly, that I needed to get in my car and drive towards New York and we would meet in the middle.  WHOA!!!  So off I went at 12 like a crazy woman filled to the brim with nervousness!!!  After the longest 3 hours of my life and two cell phones going dead (at the time I was switching providers from Cingular to AT&T because I was killing my minutes talking to him so I had two working phones both of which died)---the last call I placed was to tell him my phones were both done and he said meet me at exit 163-the first gas station you see.  I sat and waited until I saw the big white van pull in.  There he was.  He scooped me up and kissed me...love.  Hahaha, it seems so cliche to type---but the feelings were soooo powerful!  

Never in my life have I known a more honest and caring person.  My husband is nothing sort of being the exact opposite.  He is a true dreamer and a passionate loving man.  He cares more about other people and living life than anyone else I know.  I honestly have yet to meet anyone who has a negative thing to say about Colin.  I am sooooo blessed to be his wife.  No, being married to a passionate, extroverted dreamer isn't always easy, but somehow it is always refreshing.  I adore that man, and envy his heart.  He reminds me to gossip less (and tries to motivate me to avoid radaronline.com--never going to happen), get out more, and stop nagging.  :)  He is indeed my bruiser for life.

There are so many awesome moments with Colin that stand out.  I remember sitting with him in a little mexican restaurant in Philadelphia on Valentines day.  This place is crammed and you sit literally shoulder to shoulder in a tiny tiny room with lots of people.  He leaned in and just started talking---I think to this day that is one of the moments I have felt the most loved.  The list goes on and on....and on.  

So now, when I babble on about how amazing Archer is, I often think back to that meeting.  It's crazy to look at a little boy who is a whole lot of love.  There were so many amazing moments that led up to Colin screaming "IT'S ARCHER" when the little bundle was born.  The cool thing is those little moments continue, and there is living breathing proof of our pure and simple love.  I'm sure having a daughter is going to be awesome, but having a mini-version of the man you love most is pretty dang cool.  

This is maybe the most random blog I have posted yet, but all in the wake of mopping and thinking back over the past few years. God is so good.

Ok, Archer's nap is over and it's time to hit up babies r' us.  

-sorry for the random babbling blog. 

The Kimbles.

Beach...

Pictures are coming soon but for now..

WE HAD A BLAST AT THE BEACH.  Archer is insane---and there is so much love in our little family--it is often very tempting to say one is fun and enough because things run sooo smoothly with the three of us; but what fun would only one be?!? BRING EM ON!

We left our house on Saturday and went to Mandeville for Halloween...so fun!!!  Archer and his cousin Brody rode together in the wagon with cousins Brooks and Harper close behind in their twin stroller.  We went to about 10 houses before coming back.  We then went to Colin's parents to sleep and I cannot tell you the last time (if ever..) Archer has slept in a room without us that was not his own.  Therefore, at 1am when he woke up screaming in the guest room across the house I shouldn't have been as surprised as I was, I actually rolled over and asked Colin what I should do.  An hour later (and after trying anything to soothe him) I relented and brought him into bed with us---this is how bad habits are formed I am sure.  Needless to say, I put him between Colin and I in the dark room and he reached up and touched me and said "mama" then reached up and touched Colin and said "dada"...and he was out!  We lost an hour of sleep (time change) and then at 6am buddy boy was up!  Colin was awesome and got up with him and suddenly I remembered the tired of having a newborn, but BOY WAS THAT MOMENT SWEET!!!

I eventually got up around 8am, had some coffee, and we hit the road.  Archer played in the car for about 30 minutes and then fell asleep for 3.5 hours, woke up and we were there!!!  We checked in and hit the beach.  We spent the next two days that way, sand, food, playing, swimming, etc.  On Saturday night we were watching the Phillies play and Archer was walking around saying, "Phiwee" and "baball" it was adorable.  Oh, my friend Ellen made a list of all of the words her daughter Eliza was saying, so I decided to do the same seeing as I am sure someday Archer will wonder what he was saying by the time he was 13.5 months old ;)  Here it is: Dog, doggy, dada, daddy, mama, kitty, apple, ball, shoes, socks, baseball, phillies, bike, book, bite, night night, up, baby, keys, that, ba ba, beep beep (while grabbing my nose), and hat.  Pretty impressive!

There were so many awesome moments the three of us had on the trip---but they all just sort of become happiness and not a clear definable memory.  I am a blessed lady with an amazing family for which I am beyond grateful for. 

That's all for now...I am in a comalikeexhaustionstate.  Oh, I did learn today that irregardless really isn't a word, disappointing because I really enjoy using it!

Love the beach exhausted/vacation is never really relaxing Kimbles

Beach...

Today is a super exciting day!  For one it is Archer's first Halloween---and he has an adorable costume!!!  Secondly, we are going to spend the night in Mandeville with family and then head to the beach in the morning!  Archer has yet to go to the beach-but always beelines straight for the sand at the park so I am sure this is going to be a super fun experience for him!!!  We plan to stay Sun and Monday night and return home around bedtime on Tuesday.  Ahhh....vacation (sort of).

That's it for now, when we get home I will post pictures.

Love the Kimbles.

A brief moment...

I have a quick moment to type out a few things--so here I go!

Archer and I had the privelege to babysit for Eliza for a couple of hours the other day while Ellen ran to a Dr. appt--we had a blast! It was crazy because Archer and Eliza really played together--ok, not together, but would follow each other from room to room and toy to toy!!! It made me really want to throw a sibling in there for Archer!

Archer is amazing...I feel like I always say that---but he is becoming a wonderfully fun toddler! I can now ask him to come with me around the house while I clean and he is proving to be somewhat helpful, for example-he will open and close the dryer repeatedly while I am loading it with wet clothes. He also helps put various things away---which has led to my cell phone being lost most of the time--he likes to put it in his dresser drawers or toybox! It really is fun though to say, "come help mama make the bed" and he will toddle behind me and pull on the sheets (or play on the pillows). I am soooo looking forward to the 2's and 3's---and lately I have been incredibly nostalgic about it. It seems like lots of our friends are having babies right now and sometimes I think about how wonderful this time is-and how happy we all seem--and I think "this is the time of our lives." While I work I often talk to patients about Archer and everyone offers the same advice, "It's the most amazing thing and it flies by." So now more than ever I am really trying to live this up! Teary eyed thinking about my babe going away!!! People keep asking when I am going to wean...and the answer is simple--when we are ready! There are days where I am beyond ready and just want my body back--but I remember, this isn't going to last forever and when it's over I know I am going to miss it.

Ok, back to work.

Love the Kimbles.