Posts from — January 2009

Hi, Archer,

Well, it’s been a big month, though that’s no excuse, really for the super delay in getting this posted (don’t even get me started on the fact that Xmas thank-you notes haven’t gone out the door yet. Your dad (aided and abetted by your mom on occasion) is a master of procrastination).

So first things first: your eyes are doing great! The doc is very happy with your healing and her own steady hands. For the most part, your eyes look spot-on except for when you’re looking at something up close, and even then they’re not far off. And they don’t go wonky randomly like they used to. This is the first time I’ve really thought about it, but it’s pretty amazing that it’s been less than two months since your surgery!

Shortly after your eyes got fixed, we got snow! And not just piddly half inches of snow like Portland usually gets, but stuck-in-your-house white stuff falling from the sky for days. While the upside of this was that your pops got to work from home even more than usual, the downside was that we all went a little stir-crazy (and we almost had to cancel our trip north for Christmas!)

Fortunately, though, we got a bit of a thaw on Christmas eve and were able to make our way up to Seattle in time for a little — well, not so little, really — family celebration. You got to hang out with some of your grandparents and great-grandparents, your aunt and uncles and cousins in Sammamish and Seattle, and you also got to meet some of your aunts, uncles, and cousins on the eastern Washington side of the family, which was pretty great! Oh, and there were presents, but you didn’t really care about those, opting instead for the always-a-winner gold ribbons and empty boxes.

You’re getting much more communicative as you get a bit older — and not just in the amount of whinging you do when you don’t get your way! You’re a major babbler, and we’ve even got you howling at sirens, just like the dog. And speaking of the dog, I’m pretty sure that’s going to be your first word. You’ve got the “da” part down and say it pretty definitively when looking at the big mutt. And you’re doing a lot more imitation of sounds and signing just about every day. Some of your new signs include “more” and “food,” seen here:

…and most recently, “dancing,” which you throw down with any time you hear the beat. and which you learned from your parents acting like total jackasses and bouncing randomly around the room.

Archer’s newest sign from jonashpdx on Vimeo.
It’s amazing how powerless we are already when you want us to do something… it’ll be pretty scary when you can better articulate your whims and desires. Your favorite bands/songs right now are the will.i.am and daft punk in the post below, a couple tracks off the most recent death cab album, AC/DC, and just about anything with a good drum beat. you’re not so sure about the metallica or the sleater-kinney yet, but don’t worry, we’ll get there. For now we’ll just keep you happy with your other new favorite thing, the swing!

Which reminds me, the other big event that just happened is that we have a new president! Your mom and I are pretty excited about this and what it might mean for our (and your future), and I’m sure we’ll be reminding you for years to come that you were a witness to this little piece of history:

We’re hopeful that President Obama — still gives me chills to write that– will work on getting the country back on track and maybe even get something done in the healthcare arena, ’cause it could definitely use some improvement.

So welcome to 2009, kid. I’m sure it’ll be one for the record books.

love,

your pops