Thirteen Months

 

 

Archimedes has begun his second year in great fashion.  His vocabulary has EXPLODED this month, he learned “blueberry”, “raspberry”, “down”, and invented his own sign language for “outside”.  He picked up the ASL for “cracker” in about 10 seconds flat… can you tell he’s a bit driven by food??

20140714-202348-73428312.jpgGrandma Cassy gave Archimedes this art for his wall for his birthday — it’s all made of the numbers of the Fibonacci sequence!

 

20140714-202349-73429796.jpg‘Meeting’ Abe Lincoln downtown.  Mom has been taking Thursdays off so the two of them get some time together, which is wonderful.  Archer is a new fan of slides, and a sometimes fan of swings.

20140714-202347-73427683.jpgMeditating in the garden, helping the sunflowers grow.  Archer is a big help in the garden, where he loves to imitate what the moms are doing.  He has a hard time distinguishing weeds from seedlings, and beds from paths, but he’s a very dedicated assistant!

20140714-202346-73426842.jpgMatchy-matchy with Grandpa John!

Twelve Months

Archer’s 12th month was full of moments where his moms looked at each other and said, “he’s such a kid!”. A toddler for sure, no more an infant at all! Archer has opinions, plans, and the physical ability to carry them all out: he stays busy ALL. DAY. LONG. Now that the weather is nice, he spends a lot of his days with Grandma outside in the back yard, where he busily moves sand around, de-mosses rocks, and helps feed the chickens. He loves to play chase, eats like a teenager, and is diligently learning to use a fork and spoon.

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In early May we flew to LA to visit good friends. Archer did so well on the flight, hardly fussing at all and generally easy to entertain clicca per info. Mom read him a book… briefly.

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For Mama’s birthday in mid-may, we went to a plant nursery in the heat of the day. Archer enjoys hats, so we made him one from a small fabric planter. He got to eat ice cream from a cone this day, and loved it. He uses “more” very well in context now, but also understands that “all done” means there is no more to have… even when it makes him sad.

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Most mornings we let Archer choose what clothing items he wants to wear. He’s a fashion maven for sure!

One Year Birthday: OHSU

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Archimedes turned one this week, and to celebrate, we took the above photo-within-a-photo on the observation deck balcony at OHSU. The tram behind us, and the hospital, were at the center of so many events in the story of our lives together suivez ce lien.

After years of discussion, and several months of doctors appointments, injections, and lots of hopes and wishes, Archimedes was conceived in a test tube (assuming they still use those) in a lab on the lower OHSU campus.  Five days later, complications from egg donation brought Talina to the OHSU ER at the top of the hill.  While we were sitting in the ER, we got the phone call that the eggs had divided sufficiently and were ready for transfer to Megan.  So Megan left Talina in her ER room, took the tram down to the bottom of the hill, and met Archimedes for the first time.  About 45 minutes later, Archimedes, his ill-fated twin, and Megan headed back up in the tram to reunite with Talina, and the four of us spent the next four days hanging out together in a small hospital room while Talina recovered from Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome.

The upper levels of OHSU has this lovely balcony near where the tram departs, with a small garden, and statues, and seating areas.  Megan and Talina and the very tiny new family members took several visits to the balcony to get some air while waiting to be able to leave the hospital.

A few weeks later, our little family got a little smaller when we discovered that the second embryo had taken a walkabout too far, and settled in a dangerous part of Megan’s uterus.  To save the life of Megan and Archimedes, we had to say goodbye, with the help of some amazing staff from the OHSU Fertility and OHSU Perinatal practices.

8 months and two weeks after meeting, Megan, Talina, and Archimedes returned to OHSU’s ER after Megan woke to some poorly timed bleeding.  An induction, a night in a very nice hospital room, and a few hours in a tub later, Archimedes joined our family on the outside on May 8th, 2013.  Complications left Megan in the ICU overnight, and we stayed another four days in the hospital for observation. No one was allowed to leave the wing with the baby, but this balcony was a refuge for family members needing a break during the long wait to go home.

OHSU has figured centrally in every significant event in Archer’s short life, so it was only fitting that we revisit this balcony to celebrate the culmination of his first full year here in the air.

Happy Birthday, Archimedes!  We love you so much.

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Eleven Months

Archer’s eleventh month was such a busy adventure!  So much walking and exploring to be done, and so many new thoughts and opinions.

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There are new kids on the farm younger than Archimedes now.  They’re okay.

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Opinions: he has them.  He spent a week deciding he didn’t need to go to sleep at all ever… his godmother got us this pillow in a miracle of foresight!

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Smoothie time!  Gotta use up last summer’s berries before this summer brings us more.  Archer had some great berry lipstick going on in the sun.

 

We are seeing a lot more use of sign language; he uses “more”, “food”, and “up” frequently, and has just started using “all done” in correct context.  He’s very good at climbing up and even better at being safe getting down, which is great!  He’s still very attentive and usually complies when asked, although he does love to run away when you mention a diaper change, he is pretty good at being still for the change itself.

So hard to believe it’s almost been a year…

Ten Months

Archer spent his eleventh month becoming such a toddler.  He is an expert walker now, and is learning to get down stairs, as well.

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Grandpa John came to visit from Arizona for a little while – this time, Archer seemed to recognize him, and had a lot of fun hanging out with him.

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We had a big work party in late March, and Archer was a big help outside.  He hung out with his Tia Ana…

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And really loves playing on the front patio. Like a boss.

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Mom took him for a walk at Miller Woods and he did a great job hiking the trails!

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One more month and we have a one year old on our hands… he’s already walking and talking so much, we just want things to slow down a little so we can enjoy them!  Archimedes is such a happy, fun-loving kid already, we are excited about a summer together.

Nine Months

For his 9 month birthday, Archimedes walked!

A goal hard-won, we are so proud.

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Grandma’s birthday party – Archer loves his Grandma very much viagraindian.com.

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Old enough to interact with other lifeforms, some human, some not.

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Lastly, the big snow came this month!  Archer was not actually a fan, and he had trouble with his cheeks getting too cold, but we were glad to get to introduce him to the phenomenon (and a little downhill sledding).

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Eight Months

Lots of developmental changes for Archer this month.  He’s crawling like a racer now, cackling and asking to be chased, sticking EVERYTHING in his mouth (and turning his back to try to hide from us when he does).

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After this photo was taken he took several steps away from Grandpa to try to get his green toy.

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It’s so hard to believe this perfect little human face is the result of so much science and hard work.  His nose is red because he just did a face plant into a bookshelf… more science and hard work required yet, I think.

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FOOD!  After wavering in his interest, Archer rediscovered food this month and he is in LOVE.  Rice, especially, is the best thing, but potatoes are also his favorite.  He eats a banana regularly at Grandma’s house for breakfast, too.