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....