Mae Day!

Ava Mae (pronounced like May) Lynch wasn't actually born on May Day, so the title is a bit of a stretch, but hey, it's my blog. Ava was born on Wednesday, May 23, 2012 at 6:13am. She weighed in just shy of nine pounds (8lbs 15.5oz) and is 21.25 inches in length. If you cannot tell from the pictures, she has dark hair and blue eyes. Enjoy the pictures...

Becky in her hospital gown, very pregnant. As you might  have inferred
from the smile on her face, this is after the epidural kicked in :o)

This is our first picture of Ava. She came out much more purple and much
more angry than her sister Autumn, but we decided to keep her anyway

Mamma beaming after a job well done!

Proud daddy holding the fruit of his loins 

My three girls!

Trying to figure this thing out... Looking to daddy for answers

Autumn giving Ava a kiss!

Grandpa Skinner's favorite pastime: holding grand-babies

Going home outfit

Mamma still glowing, Ava watching

Apparently they saw us fit to be parents and allowed us to
take her home

Cousin Brock holding Ava and studying her intently

A quick shout out to everybody who helped out, and continue to help out, with Autumn through this process; most notably Grandma Skinner, Grandpa Skinner, April, Lou, and Ty. We dearly appreciate your willingness to help. Also, a big thank you to my brother-in-law Ryan Skinner: we came home from the hospital to find out that our computer had a crippling virus. Ryan worked on it late at night and got it up and running, allowing us to download these pictures for your viewing pleasure. Thank you again Ryan!

Meanderings of a Muddle-Minded Man

Seriously, I'm not tired...

The past few months since my last blog posting have been almost... I don't know the word. It is not uneventful, because much has happened. Autumn continues to grow into a beautiful little girl with an ever-developing personality. She has her father's persistence and adventurousness tempered ever so slightly with some of her mother's endearing qualities; she is very nurturing and has a sweet spirit. Events continue to occur, like the mini vacation to Santa Cruz which I will talk about, but still these past few months seems to be more about the things to come. Anticipation is abounding in the Lynch family future. Here is what is going on, what is to come, and some photos for fun!

Autumn was not a fan of the waves, but loved the huge sandbox

Sorry, had to sneak in one last summer photo

In mid-October Becky and Autumn, accompanied by her sister (April) and son (Brock), traveled down to Santa Cruz for a little mini vacation. While they were there they visited the aquarium and boardwalk. Autumn really enjoyed the hands on experience of the aquarium and her favorite ride at the boardwalk was the Pepsi Truck Ride. She also enjoyed the hotel's oversize hot-tub/spa and pool, which she kept running back and forth between. I was not able to make it because of school and work, but I hear it was a lot of fun....

Cruzin in Santa Cruz with her Cuz Brock 

Autumn wants to grow up to be a Pepsi Car driver

Many of you die hard Lynch blog fans may recall that my last major blog entry ended with a cliff-hanger. I will now reward your patience with the big news... We are moving... probably! :o) The move date is set for late-June or early-July. There are two major determining factors on when and where this move will occur. The first factor that will determine where we move is school. At the end of this coming semester I will be transferring to a university. I am currently beginning the transfer application process in which I will most likely be applying to three universities; University of California-Berkeley, Brigham Young University, and University of Washington. I am applying to UC Berkeley because it is close to Becky's family, and because Becky challenged me to make it in! Those who know me well know react to a challenge :o) Brigham Young University is attractive because of the large Latter-Day Saint population. But in all actuality, the school we are really shooting for is University of Washington. I have been in constant contact with a transfer councilor from UW and it is looking very promising. If accepted, we would be moving to Washington shortly after our second child is born....

Random boys are already trying to kiss her :o(

Family pumpkin carving

Yes, those of you who are stilling reading this, we are expecting another child, a girl to be exact. We are ridiculously excited for the opportunity to welcome another girl into our expanding family. If this is the first you have heard of this, please to not feel bad. It was a well guarded secret up until Christmas Eve when we announced it to Becky's family. It was hard, but we managed to keep the ever-increasing-bump a secret up to her twentieth week--half way there! Becky is due May 23, 2012. Obviously our move will depend upon when both the new addition and the mother are up to the big move.

Who doesn't like jumping into a big pile of leaves?

How can you say no to those big blues?

So those are the big happenings in the Lynch family. We have a lot to look forward to as we continue to progress and expand as a family. We hope that you have had and continue to have a very happy holidays. We miss many of you and look forward to seeing and hearing from you soon! P.S. I will have pictures from Christmas and Autumn's second birthday within the calendar year ;o)

Save me from my crazy daddy! :o)

Who Wore Who Out?

Occasionally a picture comes along that is just so precious

that it deserves its own blog posting.

:o)

Those Lazy Hazy Crazy Days of Summer

For some of our "older" followers, yes, the title of this blog posting is a Nat King Cole reference. For the younger followers, type his name into google and I am pretty sure you can read all about him on Wikipedia. Isn't Wikipedia awesome?!?! Whelp, it has been a while and I have much to catch you up on...

Easter Egg Exploration
Autumns first Easter egg hunt while being mobile was a big hit. When we first arrived outside, Autumn paid very little attention to the very conspicuously placed, atypical looking eggs. Instead, she determined that being pushed around on a big wheel took precedence over retrieving the eggs. I seized this opportunity and used it as a teaching tool to educate Autumn to one of life's greatest lessons; It is what is on the inside that counts. She was soon discarding the shiny, superfluous facades of the eggs at a rapid pace in favor of the internally gratifying substance contained inside (m&ms). She was very thorough in her education, insisting that I refill and rehide the eggs a second and a third time. I really think she learned a valuable life's lesson...

Summer Slump
Have you ever seen somebody try to start running really fast only to peel out, turf it, and eat dirt? That was kind of a common theme early on this summer for our family. Nothing worked out nearly as well as we had meticulously planned. Our lofty ambitions included weekly camping trips and daily trips to the pool (with the exception of when I was working to bring home the bread on the weekends). The first few weeks of summer the weather was far too cold and wet for either swimming or camping. Soon after summer really began we found out that Autumn did not do water under room temperature, effectively limiting pool time activities. Our first and only camping trip to date this summer ended abruptly and prematurely. About the time I had finished setting up camp and sat down to rest, Autumn began to vomit. Long story short, Autumn had another bout of Strep Throat, our three day camping trip over. The biggest blow of the summer came shortly after I got out of school. My work hours were cut to about a third of what I was working before. Lack of hours invariable leads to a decrease in monetary income which directly influences the quantity and quality of our summer activities. However, it is not all doom and gloom. Although work still remains scant, we have still found ways to turn things around and salvage the remnants of our summer.

Idaho
Our highly anticipated vacation has come and past. To our delight, the trip lived up to our lofty expectation. Overall, Autumn handled the flights, change of scenery, and unfamiliar faces remarkably well. The first leg of our trip took us to Rexburg, Idaho; the city Becky and I met and attended school. We visited the new sights and old friends (usually at the same time). I would say the highlight of the trip was hitting the new water park with our close friends Sarah and Darren. The company was great and the water was warm, even Autumn couldn't resist.

Washington
The next leg of the trip found us in Washington, visiting my family. We spent the bulk of our time at my father's house. My sisters and their families made it over when they could, but mostly it was just us and my Poppers (and chewy, my dog that lives at my father's house). Although we did not do much, it was comfortable and relaxing . Becky was very adept at extracting stories about who I was and where I come from from my father. I had to throw up a picture of my father's Kawasaki KLR650 Duel-Sport Motorcycle. My father and I had a breakthrough in our relationship and he allowed me to take it for a spin! Becky, in a momentary lapse of judgement, agreed to go with me on one of my forays. It is safe to say that I enjoyed it much more than she did. However, I was impressed with her bravery... The highlight of our Washington trip came in the form of a family barbecue accompanied with several competitive games of croquet. At the end of the day, Team James and Becky emerged victorious by conquering all challengers.


Conclusion
Although we did have a rough start to the summer, it has really turned out to be a good rest bit from school. I was so burnt out that I just kinda crashed as soon as school got over. As school is starting to draw near again I am starting to regain some momentum and motivation. Autumn continues to be the light of our lives. She is so beautiful both inside and out. I am glad that some of the most important people in my life got to be around her and enjoy her with us. There are some potentially really big events on the horizon for our family that could drastically change our lives, but I will save that for another post ;o) (And no, we are not expecting) Until next time!

And the beat goes on....

Spring Break has finally come! I get to spend my week long reprieve with two of the cutest girls around; every male college students dream come true :o) There have not really been any significant events or occurrences since the last blog posting, but that is not to say that nothing has changed. Autumn continues to grow and develop at a rapid pace. If given the time, I am confident I could post daily on the blog, solely based on the topic of Autumn and her accomplishments/growth. Cute and silly stories would be abundant. As it is, you will just have to settle for me prattling on once every 1-3 months.

Sun Sucker
As stated in previous postings, Autumn loves to be outside. She soaks up as many rays during the day as humanly, and parentally, possible. Her new favorite activity outside it being pulled behind either her father's, or mother's, bike in her child trailer. She especially loves going down hill with the wind blowing in her face. She has been known to squeal and laugh heartily on such occasions. Although she loves to be pulled around and pushed around on a big wheel, she is also an explorer. You may have heard of The Lone Ranger, well, she is the Alone Ranger. If you don't keep a sharp eye out for her she will take off, usually in search of something to climb on. Fortunately, she typically finds her way back and/or responds well to vocal-location. :o)

Baller Babe
Autumn has taken an early interest in sports. She has already learned how to place a whiffle ball on the tee, then knocking it off with a little plastic bat. Recently, she has developed and Ichiro-style batting style by hitting on the run. It is still to early to tell if the power numbers will be there... ;o) She has also shown a fondness for basketballs and Frisbees, all of which she refers to simply as "ball".

Copy Cat
Yes, our little girl has begun, in varying degrees, to vocalize her needs and wants in the form of words, or at least loose versions of the words. :o) While most of the words she has gleaned from those around her have practical use and an attached meaning, others don't. I am learning really quick to watch what I say in her presence because she is becoming a bit of a copy cat. We try our best to emphasize certain words like "please" and "thank you" while avoiding words like "no" and "mine". However, we are both human (I am much more human than Becky).

Canine Controller
A funny example of Autumn's new found ability to regurgitate things that she hears can be found in her relationship with Abby. Abby is an Australian Shepard that resides on the premises of the Skinner compound. Abby has lived the entirety of her fairly long life as an outside dog. As far as dogs go, she is somewhat of a loner. She believes herself to be an Alpha-female over those around her, with the exception of Grandpa (papa) Skinner. Abby and I constantly butt-heads in our individual attempts to assert our authority over each other. It is no surprise then that Autumn has picked up the phase "Abby NO... go!". She even says it with the same emphasis and inflection as her father :o)

Slide Savvy
Autumn severely enjoys slides. Big slides, small slides, plastic slides, metal slides, slow slides, fast slides; it doesn't matter, she likes them all. The progression from going down the slide with "mama" and "daddy" to going down by herself was astonishingly swift. Whether she is going down the fast slides on her belly, or the slow slides on her bum, she is never contented being led away from the slide.

Envy Monster
Autumn's personality and character have really begun to take shape. She wants to do many things on her own now; from feeding herself with a spoon to getting the wipes out when changing her diaper. It is so fun watching her grow up, learn new things, and do them on her own. However, sometimes it seems like she is doing it ("it" being the whole childhood thing) way to fast. About a month ago, Becky's brother and sister-in-law gave birth to a second child. Last week we went to their apartment to visit the newborn for the first time. Autumn loves when her cousins are around and enjoys playing with other children, but when Becky held the newborn, our blue-eyed angel's eyes turned green with envy. She was not having it. She was only slightly more receptive to daddy holding a newborn. Needless to stay our visit was on the short side. Although the list of things she wants to do on her own continues to grow, the trip serves as a fond reminder that she is ok with being our little girl.

As to Becky and myself, not much is going on. We are both looking forward to summer, especially the cessation of this semester of classes. I will be taking the eight-week summer course off, or at least with minimal online credits. We are planning on doing a lot of camping and bike riding with Autumn. The big event, which was alluded to last posting, is our trip to Idaho and Washington. Here is the schedule for that trip (for the sake of those affected):

Idaho: July 10-14
Washington July 14-21

Any who, I will cease my inane blathering with a wish of good luck and our expression of love to family and friends. Until next time....

Autumn Walking and Playing

Rising like a Phoenix from the Ashes!

After months of hibernation, the Lynch family blog is baaaaaack! I am sure world-wide parades are being thrown, children are cheering, and manly men are weeping with joy over this monumental news... Much has happened since last July so lets have at it! Washington Visit

Shortly after the last posting on this blog, our little family embarked on our first family vacation. Although it was not Autumn's first airplane ride, it was her first commercial flight. :o) Much to her mother's, and father's, relief, she did just dandy on the plane. Our time was split fairly evenly between my adopted family and my real family. A couple highlights of the trip: We took a trip to Seattle with Charles, Heather (w/Ellie), Abigail, Andrew, Lindsay, and Scottie. We got to check out the Blue Angels flight demonstration (loud but thrilling) along with and trip to Pike's Place Fish Market. We also enjoyed hanging out with Charles and his family at their house and enjoying stories from the past (mostly embarrassing) and the present (mostly involving young-ins).

Spending time with my father and two sisters (Nicci, Katie) was awesome! The last time we had seen my father and Katie we were packing and leaving for Autumns emergency life-flight. Thankfully, this trip was much more low key. Our time was spent grilling outdoors, croquet battles, and Autumn's first visit to the zoo. We went to the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium. It is funny how things that I have not enjoyed since before I was a teenager, suddenly take on new joy and excitement when you have a little one. My father, Nicci, Zach, Zach's buddy, Jelly (my sister's behemoth child ;o), Becky, Autumn, and I all made the trip. Mucho Fun! As much fun as the activities were, it best part was just chillin at home with the fam.

Disaster

Some of you may have noticed that the posted pictures accompanying our time in Washington, are not actual pictures in Washington. About a month or so after our return from Washington, disaster struck. My computer gave up the ghost and checked into its final resting place. OK, maybe that is being a little dramatic, but we did lose the hard drive along with every picture and video of us and Autumn. Thanks to this blog, and other sources, we have been able to salvage some pictures, but not many. It was pretty devastating. If there is a silver-lining to this story, I have learned the valuable lesson of backing up your computer...

Getting Schooled

I am not talking about basketball, nor am I making an obscure reference to fish swimming patterns... I am back in school. I am currently taking classes at a local community college (Folsom Lake College). It will not come as much of a surprise to those who know me best, but school has never been a forte nor a high priority of mine. Sticking with the "getting schooled" theme, I would summerize my college experience this way: I spent way too much time during college trying to school people in sports, and getting schooled in dating, that I had little time left for educational schooling. :o) Well, one wife and one kid later, priorities change. Although I had enough credits from the previous three college programs I attended to graduate, the grades in the classes were not impressive and the credits earned were not functional nor conducive in structure to do so. Simply put: very average grades in random course from different schools = basically nothing. So I have started over. It is hard work holding a full-time job, going to school full-time, and being a good husband and father, but I have a ton of support from amazing people.

Pumpkin Patch

We had a chance to go to Apple Hill in October with Becky's sister April. Her son Brock had a field trip there and we made some extra time to join them. Apple Hill is a local apple orchard that also makes awesome doughnuts, apple cider, and more. That time of year they also construct a hay maze for children along with growing pumpkins. The only reason this is really worth mentioning is because we got some cute pictures there. :o)

Holidays

We spent Autumns first Christmas at Becky's Grandparents house; which is about 150feet from where we reside. The highlights of the Christmas Party include Autumn playing the role of baby Jesus in the family reenactment of the Nativity.

On January 1st Autumn's turned one. Apparently it was a big deal because people kept shooting off fireworks throughout the day, and many people took the day off of work. We ended up having the party on the 2nd because Daddy had to work on her birthday and Autumn didn't really care if we waited an extra day. As you can see from the pictures provided, Autumn enjoyed her cake. She didn't really like to eat it; just poke it, throw it, and wipe it on her face. She also got lots of new toys which she loved for about two weeks...

Growing Fast
So those are a couple of the big events that have happened since the last posting. Throughout this she has been growing and developing at an astonishing pace. Those who have children or are around children a lot know what I am talking about. Each stage is just so amazing. As a parent, at least to me, it feels like your kid is the first and only kid to ever do these things. For example, crawling: everybody I know can do it to varying degrees. But there is something magical about when your child learns to do something that they had previously been unable to do. It is priceless. The biggest and most recent thrill has been Autumn learning to walk. She still staggers around and falls all the time, but each time she takes off it is both awe inspiring and anxiety inducing :o)

We are really looking forward to the coming summer. I will be taking less credits in school, which hopefully will allow us to get out more. Autumn loves the outdoors, no matter the weather. Once the sun comes out and she takes to wearing shoes (does not like them yet) we can oblige her constant yearning to be outdoors. She has cabin fever bad. We are very excited for camping and swimming. We are also in the works on making an Idaho and Washington visit this summer. We will let you know more as it progresses...