Either I stockpiled enough confidence, or Archer’s hair just got too out of control… maybe both. Point is, we decided to cut it tonight during dinner. Here are a few of the things we learned:

1. The reason you use sharp shears instead of more snub-nosed all-purpose cutters is because a sharper blade wouldn’t choke through the thicker cuts.
2. Toddlers move constantly.
3. Wow, Archie needed a haircut!

Before:

After:

Here’s a video of the funnier moments:

And a couple pre-haircut shots, because they’re fun…

Check out that cartoon-character expression

In case you missed it (who can blame you – I only gave about five seconds of notice!)… here are the two video clips I took at Archer’s holiday program. The ladies at his daycare were fantastic. I can’t believe that many kids stayed that still, to shake their shakers to the music! Archer still plays his shaker at home – in fact, since this weekend (when Arch became fond of stepping on it), that shaker needs a repair.
Archer is on the far left in this one – The resolution isn’t great

And here’s some of the party!
Archer had never seen a cookie that big before (but he didn’t want to share with Mom).

This afternoon at 5pm CST, you can view a live feed of Archer’s holiday program at his daycare! My expectations go as far as a smile or two, and maybe some of Archer’s signature dance moves: a little side-to-side, maybe a pseudo-jump. I don’t get to see Arch with his daycare buddies very often, so I’m excited. There may be “singing,” there may be dancing – most importantly, there will be fun!

At 5pm CST,
Click HERE to see Archer’s holiday program.

Archer’s Halloween was furry, fuzzy, and, of course, very cute! He visited my office for a Kids’ Spookfest with cubicle trick-or-treating, and then we visited Dad’s office just to say hello!

Here is a collection of Halloween photos, in case you missed them on Facebook. (And if you aren’t using Facebook, I highly recommend it! It’s my go-to place to post pictures.)

The last few are from photographer Rebecca E. Eden, who took Halloween photos in our new favorite place, Family Grounds Café. I’m never fast enough to capture Archie’s grin like she did! Even though we only had Archie’s Chewbacca headpiece with us, I’m so glad we ran into her.

And here’s a video clip of Arch as Chewbacca (or “Archewbacca”, if you prefer).

Okay, so I haven’t edited the first-birthday video down just yet.
“A few days”… ha! I will get to it, it just may take until his next birthday!

Until then, here are some of the excellent photos that Archer’s Aunt Kym took that day (9/12/09). Enjoy!

Quick follow-up on my last post:
Climate change is an issue close to my heart. Sticking with the status quo will not only affect my generation faster than was previously thought, it will make Archer’s life much harder (if not shorter) than mine – a parent’s worst fear.

This Saturday, 350.org is running the International Day of Climate Action. “350” refers to the parts-per-million level that scientists have identified as the safe upper limit for CO2 in our atmosphere. Right now, we’re around 390 – so we must make a change, globally. A BIG statement will show our leaders that climate change will not be ignored. After all, “nature does not do bailouts.”

So far, over 4,000 gatherings are planned in over 170 countries (that means only 25 countries on earth aren’t participating).
Find an event near you at www.350.org/map.

From 350.org:
President Obama is scheduled to give a major climate speech on Friday, and the Senate is set to hold hearings on its global warming bill on Tuesday¹. This will be one of the last best chances to make the support for much stronger efforts unmistakably loud and clear. Your efforts this weekend will be doing double duty–helping with the fight in Copenhagen and also on Capitol Hill.

Greenpeace predicts that Chicago’s event will be the biggest in the United States.
Come be a part of history:
Dvorak Park, near Pilsen’s Fisk Coal Plant (1111 W Cermak.)
This Saturday, October 24th, at 1 pm
Visit “How Green is Chicago?” for more info.

P.S. On Blog Action Day, there were a total of over 31,000 official and unofficial blog posts about climate action!

1 Samuelsohn, Darren, “Obama to Give Senate Climate Bill Push with MIT Speech” http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2009/10/21/21climatewire-obama-to-give-senate-climate-bill-a-push-wit-53858.html

Before Archer was born, I was under the impression that climate change would only affect the golden years of the next generation and beyond – and I hadn’t imagined what those effects would be.

I’ve learned, through watching The Age of Stupid (at its global premiere last month) and through organizations like Greenpeace, the Union of Concerned Scientists, and 350.org (plus many others) that some horrible things could happen if our world leaders don’t step up at this December’s climate conference in Copenhagen. It’s our greatest (and latest) chance to sign an ambitious new treaty that will save our climate.

The elephant in the room is U.S. participation. We ignored the Kyoto Protocol, and many predict we’ll do the same again. That just can’t happen. The clean air bill in in Washington, though groundbreaking, will not be enough.

The new goal, as agreed among the world’s top climate scientists, is to level out carbon emissions by 2015 – then quickly take them down. This will prevent the earth from reaching an unstable, devastating temperature.

Greenpeace tries to get Obama's attention in Martha's Vineyard

“We have already passed the stage of dangerous climate change. The task now is to prevent catastrophic climate change.”

– Professor John Holdren, now Obama’s Science Advisor, in 2006

Tck Tck Tck, a global alliance of non-government organizations, trade unions, faith groups and consumers, is showcasing stories of how climate change is already affecting us. Check out more facts from the Pew Center on Global Climate Change. Still a skeptic?

Chicagoans, stand with me on Climate Action Day:
Saturday, October 24th.

I’ll be at the demonstration outside the Fisk Coal plant – Dvorak Park, near 1111 W Cermak – 1 to 4pm. Hundreds will attend to encourage President Obama to lead the world to a new international treaty that will avert the impact of climate change. Please RSVP on Facebook or get more information.

Not in Chicago? Visit 350.org to find Climate Action Day events near you.

By the way, I posted this because it’s Blog Action Day!

Archer’s birthday party was a ton of fun! Thanks to everyone who joined in. It was so much fun to see the comments – like you were there with us!

I never knew that a ride-on cow, a climb-through tunnel, and some cake and ice cream could make a kid so smiley. I guess I’m learning new things right along with Archie!

A shorter clip of highlights is forthcoming, but here’s the whole thing if you’d like to see it. It’s around 2 hours long, so it’s not for the faint of heart.
(Stay tuned in the next few days for a much shorter highlight reel.)

Click here to see the whole show!

This is a bit wild and crazy, we know, but we’re going to broadcast Archer’s first birthday party today!
The festivities will go from about noon to about 1:15, CST. (No worries if you miss it – we’ll add highlight videos to a future blog post.)

We’ll capture a few key moments – gifts, singing, cake-eating… we won’t bore you to tears (though we are 150% certain Archer will fuss when his cake and ice cream are gone.)

Slight change of venue: Instead of streaming video on the blog, we’re using a site where you can “chat” with us in real-time!

Click here to join the party!