Kenny Updates IV

So, here we are a whopping 2 years later & I figured if I ever wanted a recount of things, I'd better get on it!

2013 - 2014:

• Started Kindergarten
• Turned 5yrs old
• Got to be student of the week
• Decided he wasn't going to eat anything at school { then he discovered 'Lunchables' }
• Sang in his first concert at school
• Was top of his class academically
• Was a naughty boy for the rest of school { aka, couldn't behave too well much of the time }
• Had a week off for Thanksgiving
• Had 3 weeks off for Christmas { 3 weeks is a long time! }
• Learned the music game & wins!
• Took care of me for the first 3.5 months of this year
• Acted out his frustration in school
• Needed extra love & attention to bring him back around
• Got an award for best behavior
• Graduated from Kindergarten a year before he's supposed to!

TV Shows: { Moved to watching Disney Jr. more than Nick Jr. }

• Sofia the First
• Jake and the Neverland Pirates
• Octonauts
• Henry Hugglemonster
• Peppa Pig
• Olivia
• Mickey Mouse Club
• Special Agent Oso
• Handy Manny

Favorite Foods:

• Veggies & Rice
• Noodles
• Pasta { every way possible }
• Pizza
• Mac 'n Cheese
• Curry & Rice
• Chicken & Rice
• Cucumbers
• Grapes
• Strawberries
• Mango
• Wheat Thins
• Go-gurt
• Jello
• Vanilla Milk

Random Favorites:

• Marvel/Avengers anything & everything
• HotWheels cars
• Cars & Cars 2 movie & all the cars
• Stuffed Giraffe, her name is Curly
• Going to the Gardens, Zoo, Meadows, Park, for drives & trips
• Loves singing & dancing
• Wants to play sports { though he needs some coordination help — we need to investigate }
• Loves his long curly hair & doesn't want it cut, prefers me to put it into a ponytail
• Will not stop telling people they are going to eat SKIMPS for lunch { thank you Grandpa! }
• Loves reading & being read to
• Enjoys going into people's cell phones & read their messages!

Side Notes:

• He's too tall for 5T clothing, but the waist of 4T is still sort of large on him!!!
• He can give you a dirty look for days
• Likes when we go to the beach & he can run in the sand
• Doesn't forget ANYTHING, but when you ask him.. he doesn't remember { ironic, no? }

Well.. That's all I can think of at the moment. So I'll stop here.

Kenny Updates III

Kenny Update!

---

It's been a really long time since I've posted any updates, so here we go!

Television Favorites:

• Pokoyo
• Little Bear
• Little Bill
• Olivia
• The Fresh Beat Band
• Max & Ruby
• Dora The Explorer
• Go Diego Go!
• The Land Before Time
• Yo Gabba Gabba
• Team Umi Zumi
• Bubble Guppies

Movie Favorites:

• Happy Feet 2 { Kenny's 1st Movie in Theaters }
• Cars
• The Lorax { 2nd Movie in Theaters }
• The Land Before Time: The Time of the Great Giving { Though he found this a little scary }

Food Favorites:

• Chicken
• Corn
• Carrots
• Rice
• Hamburger
• Hot Dog { no bun }
• Watermelon
• Soup
• Sausage
• Pizza
• Grapes
• Strawberries
• Celery
• Spaghetti

Outdoor Favorites:

• Playing at the park
• Playing his version of "Tag" in the front yard with Daddy
• Kicking the Soccer Ball around
• Swimming in the pool
• Going to the Meadows
• Going for a walk or stroll
• Naming all the different cars he sees
• Finding signs or shapes
• Looking at the moon, stars, clouds, etc

Indoor Favorites:

• Watching TV
• Playing on the computer
• Dancing to music or youtube videos
• Coloring
• Reading books
• Playing with his LeapFrog
• Leaving toys EVERYWHERE <<< STILL! :)
• Playing with his super heros or dinosaurs or cars
• Singing to the songs on the radio or computer

Random Favorites: 

• Building stuff with blocks
• Taking things apart
• Dinosaurs
• Cars/Trains
• Super Heros
• Learning
• Playing XBOX { sigh.. }
• Numbers { with a little help.. can count to 100! }
• Alphabet { which he can do by himself! }
• Being outside and looking at plants or flowers { since the Lorax, he wants to plant trees & plants }
• Bowling

More randomness:

• At 3 years old, he has decided he wants to be a Firefighter. 
• He IS Ironman, Daddy is Hulk, Mommy is Captain America, & Grandma is Thor.. the rest of you are out of luck. Except Uncle Todd, who Kenny declared looks just like Luke Cage.... OK.. :)
• Still scratches his legs.. UGH!
• He loves his stickers!
• He loves his Squinkies!
• This wrestling with Daddy is the best!
• Favorite Color: Purple
• Graduated from a full crib to a toddler "bed" { took down the front rail & put in a safety rail instead }
• He loves traveling & wants to go back to Montreal & Las Vegas, and apparently now he wants to go to Hawaii.. I am not sure how he knows about Hawaii
• Thanks to his TV shows, he is learning how to speak Spanish, Chinese, & from Daddy, French
• K is for Kenny.
• Awesome at jumping on the bed & summersaults
• Snatching the phone and running away with it when you are trying to talk

Becoming a better family..

Currently we are working on being a better family. The process is slow, and changing bad habits takes time, and lord knows how stubborn both of us can be.. { both.. HA! all 3 of us! }. Since a dramatic, uber-fast { partial } clean-up at my parents place, stuff is ALL out of sorts here getting it together is a top priority right now. To our family & friends, I apologize for not having you over as of late. But we are working on it and trying to get everything straightened up so we can get back to socializing properly! I hope to have made much progress in the next few days!.. And maybe I can get back to blogging the way I once had!

<3 to all of you!

Family Traditions

I am big on family tradition, so when it comes to changes I don't exactly jump at the opportunity. However, without my own family being so new.. Granted, we've been married since 2007, but were apart until 2008. Right up until our son was born, leaving us the past 2 years as a true family unit. We had no traditions. How could we? So, I started trying to develop some of our own. First, we always have a live Christmas tree, no matter how small. Matter of fact, the year we spent Christmas in San Francisco, we had a Rosemary, 1" tall tree. It was small, but BIG on spirit and tradition, with all the fixings of a regular Christmas tree. Lights, decorations, garland, and presents under the tree. I brought with me the tradition of a good Christmas Eve celebration, big dinner, family, etc. My mom brought in her tradition of making soup for Christmas Eve, which may seem strangely different to some people, but we've been doing it as long as I can remember. But, I wanted more.

Ironically, for night-owls, we don't seem to stay up for New Year's Eve. So that part was out. I'm not a big fan of St. Valentine's Day either. That brings us to Easter. I love easter, waking up early to have a nice family breakfast. Which, as a child meant Easter egg hunting followed by eating Malasadas —Portuguese doughnuts. A day of cooking, typically: ham, mashed potatoes, veggies, the usual stuff. But, as Easter traditionally seems to be a day spent eating in our family, of which Jamie doesn't generally partake, I needed to find something else to make our own.

Now, there are holidays between Easter and Halloween, we just don't do much celebrating then. Until.. this year. I decided to introduce a little of Jamie's Canadian culture into our routine. We decided to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving. And why not?! We can never give too much thanks or eat too much turkey! Our friend came to join us for the event just as he does for our celebrating American Thanksgiving, which made it feel all the more wonderful. Oven roasted turkey —ah, but the twist? Turkey breast cutlets. As it turns out, trying to find a turkey breast wasn't as easy in October. Not to mention, I wasn't too excited to wait HOURS for the thing to cook. Success! It was tasty, took a fraction of the time, and made the experience just as Thanksgiving as the one we traditionally celebrate. Additionally, on the Thanksgiving note, last year we decided to do a Turkey-day rewind. What does that mean? Well, after getting together on Thanksgiving, everyone always has left-overs, and nobody is ready to stop being with good friends or family so we had a redo the very next day. This allows for everyone to do their own thing on Thanksgiving, and still show up at our place the next day for a casual day of hanging out, eating leftovers, and laughs. This turned out to be a wonderful success! I plan on doing it again this year.

Halloween, one of my all-time favorite holidays. Dressing up, trick-or-treating, looking at all the cute kiddies in their costumes, and CANDY! Who doesn't love that?! As a child growing up, I remember my mom baking cookies at Halloween and while we went out to trick-or-treat to the neighbors houses, we also delivered cookies to everyone. Since my son was born we've decided to take up that type of tradition. Last year we made cookies and passed them out while taking him around in his little puppy dog costume, which by the way he hated and was angry at me for making him wear. Nevertheless, he looked adorable! The year before that, I made cupcakes with marshmallow ghosts on top to hand out. This year I believe I will be making cake truffles, it's a lot of work, but so worth it!

Will update as new happenings become family traditions. Until then..
Cheers!

xOxOx
~D

On the job front..

It was a little tense for a while there once I lost my job. Not to mention the countless months of being unemployed. Thankfully, since Jamie interviewed, he's been told pending some final details he'd be getting a call to let him know when he starts. So, with any luck, we'll finally have a person working again. Even if it is a seasonal position, but apparently with potential to be hired on full-time. It's such a relief knowing that this could be potential income, even for just a few months. Now to figure out what I need to do to get a schedule down for me & Kenny! Oh well.. details!

Kenny Updates Part II

Kenny Says!

• Mommy & Daddy
• Grandma = Damma
• Grandpa = Dampa
• Hamburger = Hamburger, Hamburder
• Hampster = Hamster
• Rabbit = Waddit
• Fish = Vish
• Pig = Peeg
• Frog = Vrog
• Green = Dreen
• Red = Reet
• Yellow = Lello
• Love You = luh lu
• Please = Beez, Pleez, Pweez
• Thank You = Dan ke
• Dance = Deens, Danz
• Walk = Walk or Vok
• Ride = Rite
• Remote = Mote
• TV = DeeVee
• Dog = WowWow, Duggie
• Kitty = Diddy
• Birdie = Bur di
• Computer = Bu der
• Bed = Bid, Beed
• Diaper = Diaper, Di Pey
• Ball = Ball
• Kiss = Dis
• Hug = Hud, Hug
• Owl = Owl
• Horse = Hoourse
• Orange = Ornage
• Apple = Appol
• Auntie = An tee
• Uncle = Unco
• Monkey = Monke, Monkit 
• Duck = Duck, Dut
• Toys = Duies 
• See You = Seeya
• Shirt = Shyurt
• Pants = Bants
• Shorts = Sortz
• Splash = Plas
• Bath = Bas
• Shower = Shower
• Potty = Boddy
• On = On
• Off = Ous
• House = House
• 
  

Kenny Updates

Kenny Update!

---

A little random post to share some of Kenny's newest advancements.

Television Favorites:

• Wonder Pets
• Ni hau Kailan ( not sure of the correct spelling.. will update properly )
• Little Bill
• Olivia
• Maggie and the Ferocious Beast
• Wheel of Fortune
• Jeopardy

Food Favorites:

• Crackers
• Carrots
• Peas
• Green Beans
• Broccoli
• Rice
• Chicken
• Soup
• Beef Stew
• Cheese
• Cereal

Outdoor Favorites:

• Playing at the park
• Watching the cars
• Splashing in the sprinkler or water when we water the plants
• Swimming in the pool
• Playing with the ball
• Going for a walk or stroll
• Watching the animals ( dogs, birds, cats, etc )

Indoor Favorites:

• Watching tv
• Playing on the computer
• Dancing to music or youtube videos
• Playing with Legos
• Reading books
• Playing hide and seek
• Leaving toys EVERYWHERE
• Making people kiss his toys

There are so many more to be added soon!

Calgary!

Unfortunately I haven't had time to post much on here, but I am starting up again. Attempting to update all my blogs, forums, and social networks. Recently we've taken a trip to Calgary ( photos to follow ). It was a wonderful experience and a nice time. I got to meet some family I hadn't met before, we also got to go up to Banff and Lake Louise, which I would LOVE to return to and spend more time exploring. Also, I'd like to try going downtown again and this time walking around the city, looked like a real nice place to spend some time.

Will update more soon!

Montreal

First Family Trip!

So, we are going to Montreal! Packing up our lil baby and flying up to see the Canadian side of the family for the first time! I guess on the whole we are excited about it, and excited to see everyone. It's also going to be interesting traveling with Kenny on a plane, as he's never even been in a car that long. He's gone to San Diego and to Santa Barbara without event, however we've always been able to pull over and get out. And we always came home so he could sleep in his own crib. Hopefully it all goes well!

Looking forward: to seeing the family, spending some time with everyone. Looks like going to the zoo is going to be an entire family event, I can't wait! Hoping to visit some of the traditional places like Old Port, Downtown, walking on the Boardwalk, maybe Botanical Gardens. Boston Pizza! Woodland! Frank's Supreme! Sounds sooooo good to me! Blueberry frozen yogurt at the mall!

Jamie's passport is stamped for him to travel, Kenny's passport came today, and I need to scrounge up my passport at my parents place. I guess we just need a few clothing options and figure out what baby stuff we need and we'll have most everything set! Got to remember to take the cameras and video camera for lots of pictures, send ourselves some postcards, and try to get the most out of our trip.

More soon!
~d

Kenny!

Kenneth Archer

I have so many things going on, and upon returning to the blog I realized it was still "Wedding Updates." Well, times are changing, seeing as it's going to be 2 years since the wedding I feel a revamp is in order. Starting with a little bit of news. We've since moved in together here in Los Angeles, still in Silver Lake. Additionally, heehee, we've increased our family by 1. Kenneth is now 9 months old, going on 10 months come the 15th. More news will follow shortly, but couldn't help but mention our baby boy as many people have yet to meet him!

~d

Thanks to ALL!!!!

We had such a wonderful time at the wedding, I wish everyone could have been there! Photos are in the processing stage, just as soon as I get them prepared I will upload for you to check out! Thanks so much to all of you for all that you've done to make it so perfect. It was the perfect combination of casual and elegant, and we couldn't have done it without any of you. While you all deserve special thanks, I really need to thank Sharon & Tony because amidst all my running around, I never got the chance to thank them for all they really did. We can't begin to thank you for everything, but.. whenever we get the "AFTER" party figured out, I hope you all will be there and get to enjoy like you should! (And still get to sleep comfortably in your own beds!) I promise not to make you all travel to another country to celebrate this time! But here's to hoping that just maybe the rest of the ARCHER side will come out to play! :D That includes you non-Archer Canadian folks! Will update soon!

~d

Just thought I'd mention..

I've recently purchased all sorts of cosmetics, eyeshadow, liner, gloss, and the like. I will be bringing it all with me, and I have TONS.. and majority of it is all brand new, I mention it so that people don't go out to buy stuff, you can feel free to check out what I've got and use that stuff if it interests you. I did this so that if anyone wanted to match exactly or incase someone wanted something but forgot to bring it, we'd have something. I don't really have foundation or that sort of thing, as I rarely use anything besides lip gloss, but I did get some luster powder and many different lip gloss and eye liner/shadows in a variety of colours. And I'm sorry ladies, I did NOT buy any Mimi (from the Drew Carey Show) Blue eyeshadow!

Dinner On Sunday July 29!

I would like to get together with you ladies, I am house sitting across the street and they are kind enough to allow me to have guests. So if you could let me know if you are available, I would be more than happy to make dinner, but I do need to know who will be attending. Thanks! Hope to hear from you soon!

Update..

As an update, (since I haven't posted one in a while..) I got a second dress (for the reception). Should there be dancing or what have you, I'd want to not ruin my wedding gown, so I got an ivory and black dress to match the rest of you. (picture will follow later). Also, we are in the process of getting the menu together with the caterers (what a surprise the first estimate was). Also, in the process of figuring out to Wedding Cake or to Mini Cupcake Tower. I'm not sure what we will do, but that too is high on the list. I've already purchased some wedding favors, bought lots of ribbon (though I'm sure we'll need more). I've gotten the cake server and knife, a cake topper (HOWEVER, I am looking for a small castle, perhaps crystal, if anyone has any ideas..). In any event we've still got some planning to do. So feel free to give me a call, drop me an offline or an email and I'll be sure to get back to you ASAP.

Dinner.. Lunch.. Brunch..?

Hi Ladies,

Was wondering if dinner would be possible, or perhaps a lunch/brunch? I realize it's a bit of short notice, I was just thinking it might be nice to get together, and I could show you all some of the stuff going on. I want to get some maps printed and a list of some of the attractions and if we could get together it would be easy to determine what everyone would be interested in. Jamie and I are trying to figure out a good "pre-wedding" party, as neither of us are interested in bachelor/bachelorette parties, and we'd still like to have something before the wedding. So, if anyone is interested please let me know, I'd love to hear from you!

Hope all is well.

A little shopping?

Any of you ladies interested in doing some shopping? I need to get a cake topper, and the cake knife and server. If anyone would like to go do that with me, just let me know!

Oh, and Karen & Jenn, I got your dresses today, I will be sending them out on Tuesday this coming week! They look very nice, I hope they fit well.

Attire Update

I got this message from my cousin Krista:

I bought the dress from macy for me & nis online at a sale price. If it doesn't fit we can exchange at any store. Also, in case anyone is interested, I found the shoes for 49.99 at naturalizer.com Shoes. This is the cheapest i could find it.

Krista also says: shipping is free...also I'm assuming we're ordering the black leather shoe.

And my response is: Well, you can get the leather if that is the one you prefer, we were thinking that the fabric one might be more versatile, but I have no preference, so whatever you like best!

Check it out, maybe it's cheaper this way! Thanks Krista!

Check out these links!

Possible Shoes?
Shoes

Alternative Dress if the other one is not in your size:
Dress 1 *** This is my first choice if the other dress can't be found!

Dress 2
Dress 2 Different site, different views This dress is nice, I'm not sure it will be as good a match but if it works for you, perhaps we can make it work!

Check 'em out, let me know!

Actual Dress

Here are the photos that Natalie sent of her dress, and the photo of the 2 dresses. I wish we had better lighting in the store, but you know how department stores are, heat lamps and not hugely flattering either! Anyway, here they are:

<- Natalie's Dress <- Both of them together..

The dresses on the hangers don't look HALF as good as when you have them on! Hope to hear from you.

Similar Style Dress

I could not find the dress Natalie got, so I put together something similar. It does NO justice to what her dress actually looks like, but it is similar in style and pattern.

< see dresses above! >


This was my semi-pitiful attempt to throw something together to give everyone an idea. So the other dress matches well with this one. I hope you all check them out, and let me know what you think.

Shopping With Natalie!

Ok ladies, here's a little update. Natalie and I went to Macy's today and we walked in, found the dress I was looking to show her. She liked it, I love the look.. She found her size, she tried it on, and don't you know.. PERFECT FIT! It's great, I'm excited I think she's excited. It was the only one left. But NOW the situation necessitates matching dresses. So, I've found a dress that matches MY dress, and her dress, and I believe it will be flattering to ALL of you lovely ladies! It's not traditional, but hey, neither am I right? So here it is:



I am hoping to get some sort of ivory cover up perhaps, cardigan even if that would make you all more comfy. As soon as I find a picture of Natalie's dress I will post here (or maybe she will post here). Then you will see why I picked black and ivory. I have the link to Macy's so if you'd like to order rather than go there, you can do that. Macy's Evan Picone Dress

Her dress is black and ivory also, but has a floral pattern on the bottom half of the dress, so we won't be able to have more pattern because if it's not the matching pattern, we'll all be clashing, which I am really trying to avoid! Any thoughts? Please let me know. Thanks ladies!

Update On Shopping This Weekend

I'll make time to go on Saturday for anyone who is busy Sunday. ~ AND~ I'll make time to go on Sunday for anyone who is busy on Saturday! Just give me times and we'll work something out! And for anyone who hasn't thought about it yet, please feel free to jump in and join us either day!

Sorry I can't keep track of emailing everyone back and forth, so if you keep checking here every once in a while I'll be keeping you up to date with everything, and feel free to leave comments!

Information

If anyone from Los Angeles is looking for information for Montreal, feel free to ask me or Dawn. If you ask her she can relay it to me and I will do my best to answer whatever needs you may have. The day is drawing ever closer and I know people will want to have plans in place. Can't wait to see you all there and celebrate this most joyous of occasions!

Color Scheme Update

Well, I got my dress. It's the ivory/champagne one on the first page of the site I posted earlier. In case I don't get to remove the other image, it's the first one, I haven't gotten to showing the back of the dress yet. So the color scheme has to be slightly modified, where I was hoping for pink and burgundy, my dress is now ivory/champagne. Which changes a lot, however, I would still like to incorporate pink and burgundy. Since I am planning on doing my own flowers, I got ivory and burgundy ribbon to tie the bouquets. I've also found some dresses that have ivory and champagne colors that might work for everyone. Additionally, if you find a dress that you'd like me to see I'd be glad to take a look. I hope to keep updating everyone here, I've been slacking as of late, but I am trying to address all our invitations! So keep an eye out!

Here is an example of what I'm thinking might be a nice solution to everyones concerns!



What do you think? I like the look of the soft flowing skirt, and I think maybe if we find a dress that can have a matching top or a pretty little sweater it would be a very elegant look.

Oh the excitement!

I was talking to one of our friends who will be attending the wedding, and he was looking for things to do while in town. One of the things suggested was Biodome, which I've always wanted to do but never had the chance. So we are thinking one day before the wedding of taking some time to check out Biodome! I'm excited for it, I think they are too, so if you are interested here is a link to the site, check it out and let us know if you'd like to go!

Biodome

I think we could have a great time!