virtual scrapbook entry

so, she is now 7.25 months old and if i had a scrapbook, i would likely have a page that talks about what she does now that she didn't used to do (right Pam?).

So, let's consider this a scrapbook page:

• she stands up whenever given the opportunity- she will use the couch, the table, your leg, your face, a strand of your hair- basically anything as a climbing tool. She has serious leg strength. As we speak she is ROF -rolling on the floor (but not laughing).
• she walks with help from your hands. When my friend Jody babysat last week she told me the day afterwards her back was killing her and couldn't figure out why? Although Autumn weighs about 16.5 lbs. now- it was the leaning over and walking with Autumn that resulted in back pain.
  
• she loves lampshades. if she gets a chance she will reach out and try to touch it and will giggle the whole time.
• eating is getting interesting these days- rice cereal and oatmeal, mixed fruits and vegetables, the occasional corner of bread with cream cheese, cantelope... we are slowly moving into solids- i am nervous about her choking- she just keeps eyeing my dinner with lust in her eyes. I will try harder
  
• she loves apple juice - white grape is next on the agenda .
• she is moments away from crawling. She gets into the hands and knees position- and by the looks of things she might skip crawling completely and move right into walking.
• if mom is wearing a necklace- there is no need for other toys. she loves mom's necklaces.
  
• she doesn't like her feet to be covered when she is falling asleep (neither do i for the record)
• lucy is still her favorite friend to roll around on the floor with. romeo is a close second, although her love for him thus far is unrequited.
• favorite toys are things like- plastic spoons, mirrors, balls, chewable blocks, the alphabet letters and numbers used in the tub, remote control, anything left on the floor (scary moment this morning- she had a pig ear in her hand when i walked into the living room- note to self: don't leave doggy treats on the floor-- E-YUCK!!!)
• she looks super cute in denim
• her hair is coming in and seems to be coming in at all different angles- it sticks up on the top of her head and somewhat out near her ears. She looks adorable - but i can see some people telling me she might need a haircut soon... i will ignore them, i think.
• she has a personality and she seems to be pretty mellow, easy to amuse, full of laughter, energetic, fun to be with and social. So far- so good.

As of Saturday morning, February 10th- all is well and the girl is perfect. She is currently reaching for my toes - so back to business :)

Health Care for Autumn?

To begin:
47 million or so Americans have no health insurance in the US. According to this page (it's a PDF), half of them are children.
America spends more per person on health care than any country in the world. According to this page (another PDF), in 1998, the US spent $4,178 per capita on health care. The next highest was Switzerland, which spent $2,794 (knowing that, see point #1 again.)
Wal-Mart is the largest employer in the US.
Wal-Mart wants you to have health insurance.

Here’s the deal. In order to keep costs down, Wal-Mart doesn’t pay their associates very much money. This was an okay strategy, except when employees get sick. So, Wal-Mart offered their associates documents for obtaining free health care from the state they lived in. Well, the states noticed, and they took steps to stop Wal-Mart.

On a different timeline, other people noticed that Wal-Mart’s low prices had a high cost to municipalities – both from the aforementioned cost to give them health insurance, and the closing of stores in small towns.

Anyway, this bad PR has an impact on Wal-Mart’s business. The stock suffers. Wal-Mart even attempts to recast itself as a fashion retailer, taking out ads in Vogue.

None of it seems to work. Thus, here they are: big business getting together with labor unions to pressure the government into offering health care. The point is this: the US Health care system is employer driven. Big companies are responsible for health care. When they don't fulfill their responsibility, it hurts their business. Thus, they wonder how to fix it. Bingo. A state sponsored health care system. Large corporations that already offer health care could save billions if the government simply picked up the tab. Of course, the massive insurance companies and HMO's who currently call the health care shots will have something to say about all this. But they're fighting he largest company in the world. And Wal-mart doesn't lose.

Meaning, I predict, before Autumn is old enough for it to matter, this country will have health care.

Stock photos, a love story

Here's what you need to know about advertising: many of the 'people' you see in ads come from "stock photos".

Meaning, an Art Director (the people responsible for the pictures and the look of Advertising) looks at stock photo websites (getty, corbis, istock, etc), and picks a person who might best represent the brand. It's not the best way to do advertising, but it's useful on brochures, collateral, and regional ad campaigns. (On bigger campaigns, you hire talent, take their picture, and use that likeness).

The stock photo images are royalty-free, meaning you pay for them once and you can use them over and over. Rights managed photos cost money depending on usage -- one never owns a rights managed photos.

Are you still with me?

Well, the issue with royalty-free shots is that anyone can buy a royalty free image. Even the one you're using. And with so much low-cost advertising in the world, more and more people are using these cheap, royalty free images. There's a good chance that the royalty-free picture you pick will be picked by someone in Utah or something.

Which brings us to a fun little website called Cockeyed.com. It's a fun website offering all kinds of neat information, but the best is this, a love story based on the use of a woman's stock photo. She goes from shopping, to dating, to single, to Christian, to married, to pregnant.

Readers help chart the life of this woman based on ads companies do with her likeness. I wonder if Yahoo wanted to be ridiculed this way when they set out to advertise? No, probably not. So be careful of the stock photo choices you art directors. Your ad might end up being parodied.

Just so you know, this isn't a royalty free image.

a jump a jump

a jump a jump, originally uploaded by MRHames.

Autumn loves to jump. We put her in the little jumper, and she's smiling and laughing th whole time. It gives us a break as well.

More than a boatload of money

You've heard the term, "a boatload of money' right? Well, how about the term "a plane load of money". The US Government sent 363 tons of cash to Iraq between December 12, 2003 and June 22, 2004. 363 tons of cash is over 4 billion. Just to give you an idea of how much that is, to count to 1 billion, saying one number every second, would take 37 years.

That's a lot.

Frankie Laine

Flashback 20 years to a Saturday morning at the Hames household. Breakfast has been eaten, papers have been delivered, and in the background Frankie Laine croons to songs like Jezebel, I Believe, When You See Me Coming, Lucky Old Sun, and My Way.



My dad, Autumn's granddad was and still is a big fan of the deep-voiced singer. So much so, that he would throw on two records, and play them all the way through. Then he would flip them, and play the back. Or sometimes, he would yell from upstairs or downstairs for me to flip the records. My sister Tracey and I can, to this day, sing the songs mentioned above all the way through. Anyway, Frankie Laine died yesterday at 93. He was a big part of my life growing up.

"St. Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go, I owe my soul to the company store."

Annoyances

I'm home today with a little sick girl. She's still coughing like a long-time smoker, so we're off to the doctor today. We'll keep you posted.

But because I have to do some work, I pulled out the pack and play. It's better containment. Of course, she sort of looks like she's in jail.



Anyway, I'm listening to the radio and I hear two things this morning that sort of bug me. The first, I think, is an Americanism. Tuna Fish Sandwich. Why the word fish? Is it because people weren't sure? If it was just Tuna Sandwich, would they find themselves slapping their heads when they find out Tuna is a fish? Or is it because of the people nicknamed Tuna. Would they think they were eating Bill Parcells sandwiches?

The second is when in hockey, a player commits the offense of going offside, and Buffalonians say he went offsides. It's singular. If he continues to be called offside, it's perfectly find to say, wow, Danny Briere has committed a lot of offsides in this game. But when it happens once, it's singular. That was offside. That's it.

Google Earth

If you've ever played with Google Earth, you'll get what I'm saying in this post. If you haven't, then you really should look into it. It's that cool. For the last couple of days, I've been exploring the earth, looking at people's pictures. Anyone can post an image up to google earth, and I think I'll be doing so in the future.

But last night, after listening to a story on This American Life about the guys who guard the border between Mexico and the US, I decided to check out the border.


I think it's so neat that there are buildings on the border. Now, admittedly, this is the same on the North side of the border. Check out this guy's place. His driveway begins in the US, and ends in Canada. This is North Dakota and Manitoba.

But that's just me being weird. Because if you want, you can look at small towns in the coast of Spain, which some people would say is more fun. This is a turned on it's side view of Malaga, Spain. Look at the mountains in the back. And the beach in the front. Wow.


Anyway, here's the link to Autumn. Because of a link up with Wikipedia, and images built right in to Google Earth, we plan to do a country every night before bed time, when she gets a little more aware. Spain. Iceland. New Zealand. Cameroon. Where would you like to visit? We plan to explore the world with Google Earth and gain an appreciation for it. Then, maybe we'll hit places we really love. Like that beach in the above shot. Check this out:

Cool.

home sick

Autumn is home sick (again). You might remember last Monday we got the call from daycare. Well, today we made the call. Saturday she was vomiting, Sunday she was sneezing and coughing and today she is just still a bit off. She is not eating , but rather drinking juice and formula. She is getting better, but today is another sick day for her (and thus for me). Tomorrow if she needs to stay home it is dad's day. Hopefully though she will feel better. The good news is- even if she is sad part of the day- as soon as she sees her reflection- she smiles and laughs.

State of the Union

A few weeks ago, after the State of the Union , I wrote a post about it. But recently, I saw this, a word cloud on the State of the Union Speeches. A word cloud is this: it takes all the words used in the speech, and gives a size to them based on the amount they are used. The biggest word was the most used word.

Here then, is the word cloud for Ronald Reagan's 1987 State of the Union Speech, his last.


Freedom really stands out, as does families. Soviet is big, because they hadn't yet collapsed, even though when he died, Reagan was given credit for their collapse.

Next we have Bill Clinton in 1997. The budget is balanced. The country is essentially in peaceful times, so Families are the most important. Freedom is small. Education is bigger. Welfare is interestingly large.


Jump another 10 years, and you get this:


Foreign policy dominates this word could. Iraq. Terrorists. And the complete lack of the word education. A tiny families. Freedom much smaller.

If you actually go back to the source, it's neat to see the words that come in and out of the State of the Union Speeches. I think that next year, Iran will be the biggest word.

a young woman emerging

can't you just look at her and imagine her older and beautiful.

Willow passes.... enter Tavish.

Willow is gone...a cat my parents loved and cared for for the past 15 years. A few words about Willow... they would tell you that Willow was 'my' cat, but truthfully once I came home from college and left again for Colorado, the cat became theirs. They like to tell me that i left Willow with them which is true for a couple of years, but when i returned east and wanted to take Willow with me to my new apartment- they couldn't part with Willow... which was fine. If you have a pet you know how much love they bring to a home and love in my parents home is a good thing. The cat was given fresh ham from my dad and babyfood from my mom. I got Willow when i was in college, my friend Melissa and I went to a farm and picked out kittens. She got CLYDE, and I selected Willow. A pussycat named for the white tip on her tail making her officially a pussy-willow, or Willow for short. Willow had thumbs on both front paws and although she wasn't the traditional loveydovey cat, she loved and was loved to distraction by my parents for the better part of her life. They were both absolutely devastated when she left the world, but they have wonderful memories and took great care of her until her last moment.

After enough time had passed, grandma and grandpa realized how much they missed Willow. So, they went together to the SPCA and found TAVISH, a new cat to love and care for. Tavish is a tiger cat (like Willow) who was in a bad fight and was hurt. Tavish has a little bite out of one of her ears and his front leg is still healing. He is very very friendly and can jump from the floor to the counter and then up to the top of a refrigerator! Tavish likes to sit in the window and watch the sunshine and the people go by. He comes when you call him and lets you pick him up and pet him. He is lovey and he is dovey and he is just the perfect cat for grandma and grandpa!!! Welcome Tavish.

Major Freakout

Freakouts are things we'll most likely have a lot more of in our life. So last night, we went to a friends house to watch the hockey game. The Sabres won, and Autumn went to sleep at their house. We piled her up and took her home. Nothing weird so far. She was in her crib, I was in bed. Fast forward to 11:00PM.

She started wailing. Now, she's done this before, there's nothing new here. Sometimes she gets worked up because she's on her belly, her binky is somewhere else. It usually just means going in, putting the binky in her mouth and rocking her a bit. No problem. Only, and this is the weird part, when I looked in her crib, she wasn't there.

Cue freakout.

It turns out, our little roller managed to kick the crib wall, the part that slides up and down, off just enough for her to squeeze through. Meaning, last night, Autumn fell to the floor from about a foot and half off the ground. If I seem somewhat clinical in my description right now, it's because she's okay. In fact, last night, she went back to sleep within a few minutes.

Tonight, when I get home, I will take a serious look at the crib. Suffice it to say, we may need a new crib. Hopefully we simply need a few patches to the existing crib. We'll see.

And, she's okay. It's our job to come to her rescue, and we did. As soon as I said "oh my god", Rhona was there. She could tell by the tone that things weren't savvy. But, in the end, they were. This morning, Autumn was zipping around the house in her little walker, and things were normal.

Still, a moment of pretty intense fear.

My first.

Autumn has socks that say Baby Hanes

They say it's hard to pick a name. But it wasn't hard for us. We were walking down a gorgeous Buffalo street in the fall, a little bit after we knew we were pregnant. (I get to say we, even though Rhona did all the work.)

It was Autumn, the season we were married, and the leaves were showing off shades of red that were mind-blowingly dazzling. We thought, if we have a little girl, we'll call her Autumn. We never deviated.

We were right; her smile and laugh are also colorful and dazzling.

Lunchtime visit

I visited Autumn today at lunch. She giggled when she saw me. Then, we played in the mirror. There's a little bar, like a ballerina bar, with the mirror. It's about a foot off the floor, because it's for babies. Anyway, we sat there laughing hysterically at our faces in the mirror. Then, I rocked her to sleep. When I left her, she was dreaming about something or other in her little crib.


When I see her at daycare, I am struck by how tiny she still is. The picture in this post was taken with our Mac yesterday. She's tiny.

Random thought: close to 2 out of every 5 people on the planet are Indian or Chinese.

Her first sick day.

Autumn, originally uploaded by MRHames.

Last Friday, she got a flu shot. That's the first thing you should know. The second thing is that Rhona visits Autumn every day at lunch. On Monday, just before mom was set to leave, she got a call from the daycare. Autumn had thrown up and needed to be taken home. Mom left work and picked her up. I met them at home. She seemed fine, but we watched her all afternoon (with me trying to get some work done).

Not to get all sentimental and shit, but I am going to spend the rest of my life trying to make life go as smoothly as possible for Autumn. And she'll have countless days where she's sick, and not feeling well enough to go to school. On those days, I'll try to make things comfortable. Yesterday though, we just got a free afternoon, because she seemed fine.

So call it a day to call in well. I look forward to many more of those.

Nanny and Autumn

Nanny and Autumn, originally uploaded by MRHames.

Here is the other picture from Saturday when Nanny was over. Actually, I think this picture might be from Sunday morning, just before the family watched curling on TV. Either way, this is what she generally does now for the camera.

Nanny, Granddad and Autumn

Granddad and Autumn, originally uploaded by MRHames.

She's at the point now where she loves the camera. What you don't see, is the first picture I took of Autumn and Granddad. In that picture, she'll looking at Granddad. But she recognized the flash, and turned to smile. So I clicked again.

When granddad comes over, he generally fixes thing. Right now, we have this little issue with our heat. He took a look, and we decided things were good.

Next, the reason Granddad has time to fix things is that Nanny usually has Autumn.

Flu Shot, and a flipping reaction

Friday, we took Autumn for a flu shot. This is when they stick a needle about the length of my arm into her little tiny thigh. Someone once told me that it actually gets worse. At a certain point, she's going to equate the doctor with needles and pain. At that point, getting her into the door will most likely be a test of wills. I can't wait.

Anyway, there we were in waiting room #4. Autumn, all 16.4 pounds of her, is trying to roll over. I think she knows that rolling over thrills the peanuts out of us, because every time she rolls over, she has a huge smile on her face. It's like she's saying, "look my and dad, I can roll." I'm guarding her, and Rhona is waiting beside me. In comes the nurse with the aforementioned needle. I hold Autumn and prepare the inevitable moment when her thigh lets the rest of her know that it's been compromised, when all of a sudden, nothing happens. No sound. No cry.

She did, for a moment, stop trying to eat the paper she was trying to eat. You know the paper, it's that stuff on a doctors table that's like wax paper, but isn't. After a slight pause, she went back to the paper.

Where we felt the needle, I think, was in the sleeping portion of the story. After 13 consecutive nights of basically sleeping through the night, the streak was broken Friday night. Sleeping through the night entails not having to feed her. We might have to get up and flip her back on her back. Remember, she's a flipper these days. Sometimes she gets herself on her belly in the corner of the crib and gets stuck. Mom and dad have to come to the rescue, but she doesn't wake up.

On Friday night, she had to be fed. We chalk it up to the flu shot.

Coming soon, Nanny and Granddad come to hold Autumn and fix things.

Subliminal Advertising

I think, after once running a marathon, that I could give you about 20 reasons why you shouldn't eat at a McDonald's. You could watch "Super size Me", or you could simply not eat there because they are using sketchy advertising techniques to sell burgers on the food network. I watched this the other day. A guy who was watching Iron Chef America, and noticed a quick flash of red. His DVR recorder was slowed down. Take a look.



There have been a lot of studies on subliminal advertising over the years. Movie theaters apparently used to do this extensively, showing popcorn for a single frame. I don't think this was official policy, I think it's most likely a rogue brand manager. But, if you needed a reason to not eat at McDonald's, here it is.

Autumn

Autumn, originally uploaded by MRHames.

True, this was taken last year. But, here's the thing: our camera is on the fritz. The shutter doesn't open fully when we turn the thing on. We're looking into it. We still have the two macs to take pictures. And we could go old school and take film shots. Either way, we have to solve this issue. We'll keep you posted.

I've been tagged

Claudinho, over at a great blog called "sparking curious mind" has tagged me. Sparking is a blog I check often because he has a lot of great thoughts about advertising. Here at Autumn Created, I have posted about advertising and politics, but mostly I keep it to Autumn. Anyway, when you're tagged, you're supposed to write five things people might not have known about you. Here my five.

1. I figure skated until I was 13. Yes, I landed a double sow cow, but have no idea why it's called that.

2. For the longest time, I wanted to be a pilot. I realized later my stomach didn't.

3. In university, I had a call in sports talk show. In almost three years, the number of calls I got was 8. My partner though is now an on air Canadian sportscaster.

4. I played the drums in high-school. Still have a drum set in the basement of my parent's house. My dad often wonders when I'll take it home.

5. I hated curling for the first 6 months I did it. My parents signed me up when I was 16 and I thought socially, that my high school popularity would have a hard time taking that kind of blow. Plus, my first skip was an idiot.

I think I'll also do five about Autumn.

1. She loves the color yellow. It makes her smile.

2. She holds her breath when our dog Lucy licks her in the face.

3. She's had some spice. We place a little cinnamon in her apple sauce. Here's hoping she loves spices.

4. We're not sure if the cat likes her. The dog loves her. The cat, we're not sure of.

5. She's 7 months, and we have almost 1000 pictures of her taken with the Mac photo booth on our home computer.

Matt.

Is 2007 the year?

This could be the year that people stop calling Global Warming a theory, and start seriously considering it a fact. There are countless things on the net one could look at to see the effects of global warming. This little picture show, in German, tells the story in such a dramatic way that I wanted to share it.

Matt.

State of the Union

I watched parts of the State of the Union speech last night, in between watching the skills competition of the All-Star game. I must admit, there's some good solid audacity in the NHL to put their all-star skills competition up against the State of Union. Since it was covered on all the networks, and all the cable news networks, one would think most of America, which has seen 6 SOTU's to date, might have looked elsewhere. Especially since its easy to find clips of his speech. It's also easy to find other clips.

Below are two clips. One is a hilarious send up of the SOTU. Way more entertaining. Plus, the Democratic response is hilarious (and a sneek peek at some of the satire we'll see in the next two years).

However, before you watch the jokey thing, I should point this out: I stayed on to watch Jim Webb respond to the State of the Union. Each year, the networks allow a "Democratic Response". This year, they asked Jim Webb, the former Secretary of the Navy for Reagan to give the response. It was one of the best speeches I've seen a politician give.



Now, the Real democratic response. Spoken without the polish of a politician, and yet, with the passion that sometimes seems missing.

Autumn's report card #2

Here then, the long awaited part two of Autumn's report card.



I should point out that Autumn was there at the parent teacher conference, and while it was all positive, she was humble, staying quiet throughout the entire 10 minute meeting.



In all seriousness, it was a nice moment. We're a little family, and this is an important part of her life. Involvement in a child's education is the best way to ensure she (or he) gets a good one. I have some issues about education in this country, but that doesn't mean I can't or won't get involved in every aspect of her learning.

Parent Teacher conference

That's right. A little while ago, we had a parent / teacher conference at Autumn's day care. She was even given a report card. Yes, she was less than 7 months old. Still, we went to talk about her, and how she's adjusting to day care. The bottom line is, she's doing great. The parent teacher conference is all about us. About how we're doing. So, here, finally is her first report card.



This is the cover. Click on it to make it bigger.

Here's page one.



A highlight: "Autumn is right on target". I should add that this morning, she was rolling around like a little ball. Belly, back. Belly, back. She'll be crawling before we know it.

Coming tomorrow, page 2 of the report. A highlight: "Autumn is right on target".

Autumn gets bigger

Yesterday was her 7 month birthday. Yesterday morning, it really became apparent how much bigger she is.

I remember posting posting about her getting bigger. I also posted once about how she's my little heater. The little heater post was about how she would snuggle into me in our bed. She could get in close because she was so small, and she could tuck up under my arm. Yesterday morning, mom brought Autumn in to see me, as I slept in. She didn't fit anymore. She still laid down beside me, but she could get tucked in. Plus, she is a lot more squirmy these days.

I know there will be a lot of moments in our lives where I'll realize she's no longer not my little girl, so I don't want to dwell too much on this. But I will say, it was nice having her fit under my arm. I appreciated it. And I'll appreciate all the other little moments we'll have as she grows up.

marriage vows

so you promise to love, maybe honor, stay with in the case of sickness and health, good times, bad times....but what about bad pants?

if you haven't yet promised yoruself to someone- you might give serious thought to spelling out your wardrobe expectations at the start of a committment/marriage.

Matt has been wearing a pair of trackpants (americans read sweatpants) since we met. Now, initally they were cool. Pretty standard stuff- black pants with a white stripe up the legs. I know you have seen the type on 3 out of 10 guys walking their dogs, running in your parks, maybe even renting a movie on a Saturday night at your local video store.

Fast forward five years and these pants are a bit worse for wear. And by this I don't mean they are full of holes or are threadbare. No- their fate is much worse for all of us.

they have shrunk.

and shrunk so more.

My husband is walking around in floods. And I mean BAD FLOODS.

Now in most cases, I look the other way when he walks out of the house in something less than the current fashions. But these pants kill me, there really is no excuse for them.

This morning as he put on his black short short (and tight!) trackpants, brown/greenish socks (fully visible due to the floodfactor), a navy jacket and nasty old dirty red ski hat - all i could do was laugh. I did ask him to wear a sign making it clear that I did not condone nor support this choice in active wear....but truly what can i do?

So, if you haven't committed yourself to someone- you might give serious consideration to included a clothes-clause in your vows. Either that or get a hooded jacket and a really big pair of sunglasses.

For Fun

Since we haven't posted in a while, thought I'd throw up a 'self-portrait', taken with the work computer. No additional commentary, except the ease in which we can take and share pictures now makes this such a great time to have a little one. Soon, we'll use that camera to catch her in video. It's gonna be fun.

winter hits hard, and it hurts

Indeed. It's winter in Buffalo. True, we were hit with a massive amount of snow back in what seemed like late Summer, but after the snow, relative warmth. But alas, with freezing temperatures killing the oranges in California, you just knew it was gonna get chilly. This morning, with the thermometer hitting 19 (now), it was Autumn's coldest day. Mom hooked her up in the baby bjorn, with hats, gloves, her snow suit and a blanket and took the girls for a walk, only to discover it was really too cold. And, methinks it will get colder.

It's indeed time to crawl up with a good book, snuggle, and wait it all out. So, stay warm (unless you're living in Hawaii or something) and read something good.

Aunt Tracey baby sits

So last night, mom and dad went to the Sabres game to watch them lose their third straight home game. There has been some whispers about the ice at HSBC Center being choppy. Passes don't appear as smooth, and the high flying Sabres don't seem that high-flying lately. Maybe it's just a simple mid-season slump. They could use the All-Star break.

Anyway, Aunt Tracey came to visit and babysit. It was nice. We appreciate it -- it's a long way to come. Autumn appreciates it. And Lucy certainly liked it.

Earn it like Beckham

David Beckham is bringing his Spice Girl to the US. This is big. If you're reading this for the first time on this blog, then let me break the news: David Beckham signed with the LA Galaxy (a team I hadn't heard of) for around 250 million over 5 years. Outside of the US, Football (Soccer) is a passion.

“Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it's much more serious than that.” said Bill Shankly.

This is the passion he'll try to foster: this YouTube clip is of a pre-game anthem played before every Liverpool Game. Admittedly, Liverpool FC has been around for 100 years. But watch it (stay with it, and look for the tear in the Liverpool players eye):



The closest thing to this here is college football, but I would argue that a lot of the passion comes from the people attending the school. This is complete brand passion. Incredible.

I wish him the best. I'll consider going when he comes to Toronto. somehow though, I don't think I'll be alone.

Some new pictures

I took these pictures a couple of days ago. She was in a great mood.

This is Autumn in an expressive mood.  ... See my Tabblo>

Back in the Saddle again

I have been back at work six days now and I am just getting around to posting about it.
...
being back at work.
getting dressed in the morning.
working in my office.
coming in at 8.30 and staying until 5pm.
sitting at my desk, workin'
workin'
...

I can't say that I am super glad to be back at work and at the same time I can't truly say it makes me unhappy. There is a part of me that feels like i am on autopilot, I see an email, I take a phone call, i talk with a student and i respond. Sometimes it takes a minute, an hour, a day to remember what I am supposed to do- but i am getting back in the swing again. I am making progress, i am learning what happened during my maternity leave and I am catching up.

I don't have anything profound to say about being back at work. I enjoyed being at home and spending all day with Autumn. I will say this- regardless of your job working outside of the home is a hell of a lot easier than staying at home all day. Being a stay at home mom is wihtoutadoubt the hardest job there is. Sure, you might have a 20-40 minute window where your child is napping,but you likely need to use that time to throw in a load of laundry, change out of the clothes covered in spit-up, think about taking a shower, sit down and catch your breath, unhook the jolly jumper so you don't run into it everytime you pass through the doorway, something. There is always something to do.

Here at work, I am busy (don't get me wrong)- but it is somehow controlled busyness.

So, I am back. I will say this, I am excited to get paid again.
So, I guess it is good.
for now.
to get paid again.

for being back at work.

Grandmaster Flash in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

The message. White Lines. Classic rap tunes from Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. This is what gets them into the Hall of Fame. It's been 25 years since their first album, and they were the groundbreaking group that helped bring about rap. Some might think this was a bad thing, but when you listen to the message, you hear exactly that -- a message. Take a look. I think it still resonates. Even with the bad uni's.

on sleep (UPDATE)

Just last night I was lamenting that Autumn couldn't read. And what does she go and do? Sleep until 7:30AM.

Let me repeat that, 7:30AM. I was up before her. Now, mom did get up at 5:30AM and give her the binky, but everyone got back to sleep. It wasn't enough of a deal to even get Lucy up, who often takes the opportunity of an up baby to demand to go outside and do her business. So, essentially, I got a night's sleep.

Boooyah.

Sleep

the books have differing opinions on the whole sleeping through the night thing. At 6.5 months, some of them suggest Autumn should be sleeping through the night. It's too bad she can't read then, I guess. Or even understand. Because we could show her the place in the book where it says she should be sleeping through the night and go, see?

Anyway, we're soon going to experiment with the whole letting her cry it out. In theory, it sounds good. You let her cry, she eventually goes back to sleep (or cries herself to sleep) and she stops waking up. The thing is, her cries break our hearts. Her little head, her red sobbing eyes. Not easy. The instinct is to make everything better. But the time is coming to give it a dervish. So we will. We'll let you know how it goes.

Another freedom gone

In a signing statement recently, President Bush asserted the right to open any American’s mail, for any reason he choses, at any time, without a warrant.

Maybe this blog shouldn’t talk about politics. It’s about Autumn. Or about how the Buffalo Sabres beat the Toronto Maple Leafs.

I’ll counter with this: this is meant to capture the time Autumn is alive. And I think it’s a good time to take stock of her rights:

She doesn’t have the right to privacy in her mail.
She doesn’t have the right to Habeas Corpus. Meaning, she can be arrested and detained without hearing the charge.
She doesn’t have the right to a defined treatment. In other words, if she’s arrested, the current government says they will not torture her, but they are allowed to define what torture is. Thus, if they say it isn’t torture, it isn’t.

I should point out, Autumn is a US Citizen. Her dad isn’t. Her dad has even less freedoms, because along with all the above, he can simply be asked to leave at any time, for any reason. That's compliments of the Patriot Act.

Democrats took control of the House of Representatives and the Senate on Thursday, Jan, 4. Will they muster the political will to take away some of the powers the current president enjoys? Consider this: Brian Higgins, my representative, voted to repeal Habeas Corpus. This was in a vote in which the Republican party had the votes to pass without his vote. He could have voted no and it still would have passed.

Strange days.

The Family

The Family, originally uploaded by MRHames.

Here they are, the girls. I've taken the referring to Autumn as "The Girl" in conversations. As in, "the girl didn't sleep a wink last night, she had us up 12 times." Or, "the girl had a really solid poop this morning". That kind of thing. Then my sister pointed something out to me. My mom had two sisters that lived in Brampton,Ontario with us. One sister had three daughters, the other three daughters and a son. After my sister came a long, that meant 8 girls and one boy. To my cousin Robert's chagrin, they referred to him as 'boy'. Not when talking about him, when talking to him. As in, "Boy, eat your vegetables." When I came along, I doubled the boy tally, but we were still outnumbered 8-2. So, they would occasionally call me 'boy'. Which I hated.

To me, there's a difference between calling Autumn "The Girl" when talking about one of her adventures. However, it's semantic. Thus, out of respect for what I hated when I was growing up, I'll work on using Autumn when talking about her adventures.

This is cool

Here's a site that offers you the chance to have a woman say whatever you want. She's not really a woman, she's a computer animation. And you can give her a man's voice. But if you want to hear a computer say something like "Autumn is the cutest baby in the world", then here's the link. Really. Have some fun. It's 2007.

R.I.P. JB

James Brown. Mr. Dynamite. The Godfather of Soul.

Not many people know that JB has a bridge named after him in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. "The James Brown Soul Center of the Universe Bridge" Bridge was named by the rabid, petition-starting, funk-soul fans of the Yampa Valley. It was named while I lived in Steamboat and James himself came for the ribbon cutting of this simple, small, plain looking concrete bridge located west of town. I don't remember the bridge really 'spanning' anything- but if you are a recent college grad living in a ski town and working a mindless job(s) in a t-shirt shop- an impromptu James Brown sighting at 9am was cause for celebration (not to mention Bloody Mary's). The town lined up to catch a glimpse of James as he stepped out of his limousine to address the crowd with a solid "I feel Good!!!"

This YouTube video really is spectacular and was recorded at the T.A.M.I.(Teenage Awards Music International) show in 1964, James was 31 and following his appearance the next act was the Rolling Stones... Keith Richards has said it was the worst mistake of their lives to follow James Brown. Quite a performer. I seem to remember reading that he had three costume changes at his various funeral/wake/viewings. Papa's got a brand new casket. Rest in Peace.

2007

It's 2007. I know this seems to come from the Department of Stating the Obvious, but it bears repeating, because sometimes I can't believe it. It's quint now, the memories of the year 2000. But if a new year is a time to look back, then when I think about my life 7 years ago, and my life now, it's hard to believe how different they are.

I live in a different country, one I am contemplating becoming a citizen of. I'm married to a wonderful woman, and we have a great little family. Autumn, the reason for this blog, is the cutest baby in the world. Her smile makes each morning better than the last one. And the way she makes her mom laugh makes each day better. Seeing Autumn with her mom, both of them laughing, making funny noises at each other is a sight I'm grateful to be lucky enough to see.

I read once that a pessimist looks at New Year's because they want to see it go, while an optimist looks to New Years' because they can't wait to see what happens next. I have no idea where I'll be when the clock strikes 2008, but I can't wait for the trip.

Hope everyone is having a happy new year.

Dad and Autumn at home

at home, originally uploaded by MRHames.

Dad is home with Autumn. We have some things to do, but the point is, mom's at work, and dad is home. Alone. With the little peanut.

Neat

So, I found this this morning. (Scroll down to the middle). It's some of the new shots placed in Flickr, placed on this japanese web site.

That's cool.

Also, Autumn is to be found in the blogging baby baby shots today (you have to go a couple of pages in).

Hope everyone had a good new year!

A new year, a look back

Her first New Year's. In the first year of life, Autumn saw a lot of firsts. Just yesterday, the last day of the year, she wore shoes for the first time.

Her first Christmas was a whirlwind.

Her first trip on a plane made this shot possible.

Her first time at Daycare.

Her first Halloween.

Her first time eating solid food.

Her first snow storm, which happened in October!

Her first time laughing -- caught on video.

Her first shots (no pictures, who knew the needle would be so big?)

There are clearly so many other firsts littered in this blog. As the new year starts, we'll continue to show her growth, and her smile. She's really good at turning to the camera ans smiling. This has been a fun, though tiring six months. Last night, on New Year's Eve, a couple of tired parents hit the sack at 10:30. But, we're pleased to say, Autumn started the new year sleeping until 5:00AM. And that's all we can really ask at this point.

So, thanks for reading. Thanks for commenting. And from our little family to yours, have a happy and prosperous New Year.

My First shoes

My First shoes, originally uploaded by MRHames.

This is me, sporting shoes for the first time. In Canada, they call these "runners". In the US, "sneakers". Not that I run or sneak, but anyway. Have a great New Year's Eve day!

The new wheels

As promised a long time ago, we picked up some new wheels. This allows all the girls the ability to road trip together. Lucy in the back. Autumn in her car seat in the back. This new ride, a sleek black Forrester, is technically Autumn's first new car.

Think back. You can probably remember the car you grew up in. For me, it was a green Plymouth Volare (which always reminded me of the Dean Martin song that my dad played many saturday mornings, but I digress).

This will be Autumn's growing up car. As she rolls around on the carpet beside me, I'm continually struck by moments. They get corny, I know. Her first dog just licked her face. It's enough to bring a tear to your eye.

Animated Autumn

Photo 51, originally uploaded by MRHames.

So last night, the family went for a walk. And through most of the walk, Autumn was laughing hysterically. She was in the baby bjorn, attached to mom. I walked Lucy. I would walk ahead, turn around and make a noise and Autumn would just break out laughing. It was amazing. It's been so much fun watching her get more and more animated. We've truly enjoyed it. so thanks Autumn. We look forward to your continued laughter.

sleepy, sleepy, sleep

Ah sleep. Some say overrated. For the last couple of night, sleep hasn't been that regular. Good thing, because things aren't that busy at work. But still. We could use a little shut eye. Not sure what the deal is, but it could be the start of her chicklets coming in. The doctor said that her gums were firming up, and that means some teeth. It also means a lot less sleep for us. Alas. Here's a picture for fun.

Ho-Ho-Ho

So, it was a whirlwind. It starts with loading up the car. We have the four-legged girl in the back of the Subaru. The two-legged one in the car seat in the back. Mom in the driver's seat and dad in he back trying to entertain/contain the girls, depending on their leg count. The Hames Family Christmas eve tradition begins, appropriately, at a pub. In England, the pub is a meeting place. On Christmas Eve, people bring their kids, sing songs and Santa brings presents. Autumn is too small for much of it, but she did manage to get some Guinness on her little fingers.



Then it was off to Christmas caroling. This was the 30th Anniversary of us getting together to sing Christmas carols. This was at Aunt Tracey's house, and while we were into singing, Autumn was more into eating.



But then, after some bad notes were hit, and good ones left out there to suffer, it was Christmas morning. Autumn's first. Another Hames family tradition is to sit and listen to the Queen while we eat Christmas breakfast. Then, we open pressies.




Then, we gathered all the girls, loaded up the Subaru, and made the dash back to Buffalo to have Christmas #2. Autumn slept on the entire ride home, whereas the other girl had some issues about looking forward, and literally choking herself. Anyway, we had no problem at the border. We unloaded at home. And then went off to the Cadenhead Household to have dinner and open more pressies.





We sat down, had a wonderful dinner, and wonderful conversation. As I've said before, the holidays are about spending time with family, not about the gift-giving. I might be biased, but bear with me. This year, looking at Autumn smiling, or giggling at something made it the best Christmas yet. And we have lots more pictures to remember it by. Happy holidays everyone.

Love, the Cadenhead Hames clan.

Sabres Fan- Thanks Guzz.

Just a quick note to say GO SABRES! Although throughout the years I have watched hockey games and even back in high school had a crush on a few hockey players- never in all my years have I been so excited by the sport of hockey.

Pam and I went to a game last week, and although the Sabres did not win- a good time was had by the two of us. We did the whole thing- a burger and a beer before the game, ice cream during the second period and a few expletives shouted at the Montreal fans at the Arena. Next stop- a jersey for mama ! (note: Pam was decked in her old school jersey- NICE!)

Thank you Dave for giving up your tickets to us girls- we had fun right to the end!

Mom comments on Dad's 'Poop's there it is' post

Mom just wants to say that she does not feel the same way about Autumn's bowel movements. She is not comfortable posting about them nor would she ever EVER use the expression 'pitch a log' to refer to anything that came from the most beautiful little baby in the world.

clarification was needed that dad stood alone on the previous post.

Poop, there it is.

I can remember in my single days thinking that people with kids were weird. I can remember wondering about parents who talk about their kids poo like it's something important. If you could see me eating words, I'm doing it. Now

Because this is the second post about her pooping. The first one, admittedly, was more about Dad. This one is all Autumn. This morning, she pitched a log. What I mean by that, without trying to gross you all out is that she had a solid little log of poop. It was the first solid little bit of poop I've seen. I had seen some close ones. But this was solid.

Look at me. I'm posting about Autumns poop. You could argue that I shouldn't be this proud of poo. I'd listen. But here's the thing: she's gonna do a lot of things in her life that will make me fiercely proud. So this is really just a little practice. And honestly, I went up stairs and told Rhona right away about the solid log. And she confirmed, with a sigh, that it might be her first one.

So yeah, I'm proud.

Happy Half Year Birthday Autumn!

6 months today. wow. sometimes it seems you just arrived, while other times it feels like you have been here forever.

You have grown so much ! You started size 2 diapers this week. There are so many things you can do already-

• grab
• grasp
• babble
• giggle
• pop things in your mouth
• reach out
• squeeze (our lips and noses)
• smile
• squeal
• jump in the jolly jumper
• roll over when you feel like it
• hold your own bottle
• eat with a spoon (to date; sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, apples, pears, bananas, rice cereal)
• stick out your tongue
  
• stand up with help
• sleep through the night (nope.. not yet just seeing if you are paying attention)
• sit without help (still occasionally tip over)
• entertain mom and dad endlessly
• make us smile without even trying
• inspire us to be the best we can be

I can't believe you are six months old today. I think as you grow older we will acknowledge both your half and full birthdays. Happy Birthday- We love you, autumn.

Weird curling shot

I have to admit, I find this weird on many levels. Don't get me wrong, I love curling. But this is sorta silly. A fashion magazine in Canada shot this spread. More pictures here.


It kinda reminds me of when I went to the World Premier of Men With Brooms. The after party was at swanky curling club in the north end of Toronto. There was a lot of hype and hope for this movie from the Canadian Film Industry. It had one of the biggest budgets ever, and had Canadian star power. Anyway, the after party was filled with the required beautiful people trying curling. Women in very inappropriate shoes were trying curling. I thought for sure someone would go down, especially since there was booze involved. No one died. Well, except for the dreams of a successful movie.

THE HOLIDAYS

We all agree, the holidays can be stressful. Getting presents, wrapping presents, figuring out where to go for Christmas, this list can go on and on.

For me, the best thing about Christmas is hanging out with family. My favorite memories of Christmas are of hanging out with my sister, and later my brother. Of sitting in the pub (back when it was Bramalea Place) and saying hi to all the people, and singing songs. I have the memory of leaving Carol singing with my sister one night and getting a ride home, and falling into a snow bank. None of this will mean anything to many of the people here, but then again, your memories will mean nothing to me.

The presents were nice, don't get me wrong. But more and more, my memories of growing up aren't about presents, they are about moments. And those moments were with family. So this holiday season, as you get stressed about the many things you will get stressed about remember this: you are making memories.

So make the most of them. And give your family a hug.

Web 2.0

So, Time magazine says we're the person of the year. And by we, I mean anyone with an internet connection. We, the authors of this blog, wanted to create something that did a couple of things. First, it created a memory hole for Autumn. Assuming that blogger, owned by Yahoo!, manages to stay a float, Autumn can potentially look back at some classic posts like, "A Night of Pooping", "Some belly time", or "Last Night", where I make her a deal.

The other goal was to create a place for people who don't get to see her every day, but can hear about her. Like, for instance, how she slept this morning until 6:00 AM! Or, how yesterday, her poop was decently solid for one of the first times. Or, how we had a pre-Christmas celebration at Simon and Christina's (they are going to Vancouver for Christmas), and Autumn opened her first Christmas present!

Anyway, that's what we are all about. And that's person of the year, in Time's world. For having a blog, for reading a blog, for talking. For updating the people we love on the life of our little girl. But I think we're only scratching the surface. Case in point:

This is a site that plays music and shows art based on the weather in your location. Just log on. It figures out where you are, and what the weather is there. Then it shows colors and plays music based on said weather. I wonder what it will play in the autumn? That's Web 2.0.

A night out

Last night, Nanny and Grandad came for a visit and let mom and dad go out for an adventure. We finished our Christmas shopping, went out to dinner, and went to a Christmas Party. Meanwhile, Autumn basked in the grandparent glow.



Nanny brought a new camera, and took a lot of pictures. We took a few pictures. All in all, mom and dad had a nice adventure, and so did Autumn.

On the beach in Florida

I don't know about you, but this shot makes me happy. I'm just saying.

Peter Boyle passed away

Peter Boyle, the dad from "Everybody Loves Raymond" passed away yesterday. Raymond is one of Rhona's favorite shows, so it's news around here. It's also news because Peter Boyle is responsible for a couple of moments that made me laugh out loud. One was this from "Young Frankenstein".



The other is a harder thing to find, so I'll start with a description. Peter Boyle plays a mental patient who is a religious nut in a movie called the Dream Team. It has Michael Keaton, and Christopher Lloyd. Anyway, in this movie, Peter Boyle goes into a Baptist Church. He starts to talk about how 'we're all naked in the eyes of the lord." And then he says one of my favorite lines: "Get naked for Jesus." That particular line, as my wife can attest, is one that I use often. And it was Peter Boyle who said it. If you liked Peter Boyle in Young Frankenstein, or just as Raymond's dad, rent Dream Team. It's funny. Here's the trailer.



He'll be missed.

happy happy joy joy.

anyone who knows me at all knows that the holidays are not my favorite time of the year. but i just had to write today to say that i am super happy.

happy to be a mom, a wife, a friend and a woman. Happy to be the age i am, happy with all of our worldly and outworldly possessions, happy with the intelligence i have accumulated over the years, happy about the great weather, happy and guilt free with the relationships with family,happy there is a rumor in the air that an old dear friend is giving some thought to moving back to Buffalo, happy that i am running again after a long hiatus due to injury and pregnancy, happy to have our dog and cat and happy that it is Autumn's first Christmas .

today is a wonderful day and as i drive around with my new moon/sun roof open and my tom petty blasting i find myself filled with total contentment. I can take a deep refreshing breath and not feel stressed.

i am thankful for today and for everything in my life.

Autumn at Daycare

This morning dad dropped Autumn off a daycare in the new ride (pictures to come soon). The new ride is a Forrester. We can now get both girls in the car.



Looking around the day care, it's hard not to notice her smiley face everywhere. We, of course, thinks she's very photogenic, but we have a built in bias. Still, it's nice to see her all over the place. And the more we play peek-a-boo, the more she'll know we'll always come back to pick her up.

Peek a boo

There's nothing more fun than playing peek a boo. And lately, Autumn has been getting into it. Really exploring what is going on. This website talks about what Autumn is learning in a scientific analysis. If that's too much information on hump day, then this is a more simple explanation.

Peek a boo not only makes Autumn giggle uncontrollably, it also helps her build trust in her parents. Babies worry about separation. She worries that when we drop her off at Day Care, we won't come back. The simple game of peek a boo we played this morning teaches her that we'll disappear for a second, but we'll come back.

But honestly, when I'm playing peek a boo, I'm not thinking scientifically, and I'm not helping her ease separation anxiety, I'm doing it to get her to giggle. Because there isn't a better sound.

More autumn laughing

This is Autumn in a giggle-fit

She had her giggle on.

on the beach in Florida

on the beach in Florida, originally uploaded by MRHames.

It was a few seconds later that Autumn discovered sand. We'll have more pictures of that later. There are some other new ones at Flickr.

We have pictures

Yes, Autumn and Rhona were in Florida for a week. Here are the first of many.

See my Tabblo>

Drinkers Earn More Money Than Non-Drinkers

"Drinkers earn 10 to 14 percent more money at their jobs than nondrinkers and men who drink socially, visiting a bar at least once a month, bring home an additional 7 percent in pay, according to a new Reason Foundation report by economists Bethany Peters, Ph.D., and Edward Stringham, Ph.D."

From here. A Reason study. I think it's funny that people with Ph.D's are studying this. And they are doing it on the Reason website. Which is mostly a conservative website. And really, it was the conservatives who slammed through the 21 year old drinking age in the 80's -- thus ensuring that as kids go to college, they spend most of their college career (a time widely perceived to be about becoming an adult) learning how to cheat the system to get booze. Their first life lesson as an adult comes in the form of learning how to cheat.

And it turns out, they might make more.

A couple of countdowns

On the left side of our little blog, you might have noticed a couple of things. First, a countdown to Autumn's birthday. This isn't mean to be scary. Since this is about Autumn, I thought it would be nice to count down each year.

The second is another countdown. It's the countdown, to the second, of how long George Bush will still be president. It's just a countdown. Nothing political about that. Is there?

Last day alone

The girls come back tomorrow. In the week passed, Autumn had her first plan ride, her first trip to the beach, her first experience in a RED STATE, and her first Vacation.

What was the week like for dad? Tougher than he thought. Forget the notion that he shed a tear watching them leave, he thinks there's a good chance there could be a wet eye when they return.

The dog misses them. She's been acting a little weird lately. The cat definitely misses his mom. The cat has been sleeping on mom's pillow. Also, he's been bugging dad to run a bath.

Anyway, the three of us only have one more day. We're looking forward to them all coming home.

Weird Foods

This Sunday morning, I was sitting at home thinking about food. It possibly stems from that fact that I am suffering from day two of a hangover -- Friday night, I lit it up.

So, yesterday, I was suffering from Hangover Hunger. I would have eaten anything. Which got me to thinking about the things I like and don't. In terms of foods, I will try just about anything. In Turkey, I passed on the sheep brain, and I sort of regret it. In my defense, it was a grayish brain on a small plate, and I had no idea where to start.

In Scotland, I jumped right into the Haggis. The sauce it came with was a Whiskey Cream Sauce which was stellar. People seem to wonder about Haggis, but I wonder what they think of Hot Dogs. Think about the hot dog. It's clearly not 'dog' inside of it. Some claim to be beef, others 'meat'. I avoid them wither way. I do not always avoid Sausage, which can also be sketchy.

I won't touch liver or kidney either. I've never had the chance to say no to heart, or tongue, and I'm not sure if I would.

So, if you're reading this, tell me the food you will not touch. What seemingly gross food do you love? Posting is easy and anonymous.

The end of Leftovers

For us, Turkey day was Saturday. We cooked a bird, made some delicious roast potatoes, and had a great time. For the rest of the week, I had my staple turkey leftovers.
1. Turkey Soup. Boil the bones, drain. Add onion, sage, salt pepper, and generous amounts of Turkey. Enjoy.
2. The Turkey Sandwich. Eat person has their favorite way of making a turkey sandwich. Mine is this: Take a brown bun, spread mayonnaise, add salt and pepper to the mayo so it sticks, add turkey, top with lettuce. Sometimes I'll add stuffing.
3. Turkey curry. Growing up, curry was always something to do with the leftovers. We fairly consistently had a Sunday dinner. Roast beef, lamb, etc. The next night was a curry, where my mom used the leftovers as the ingredients. To me, a curry is the perfect solution for leftovers, so mine uses a lot of turkey, any vegetables, the potatoes, and all stuffing. It makes a wonderful meal.

I just finished the last bit of Turkey Curry. Meaning, thanksgiving is over. Officially.