The Taylor Times : First Edition

This isn't going to be a post about skiing, but there is a very high risk of avalanche... an avalanche of Taylor information. I won't delay the festivities with stories of other happenings.  Perhaps after, but first let's get right into The Taylor Times. 

Picture Day

A local photo studio came by Taylor's preschool for class pictures a few weeks ago.  Unfortunately it seems Taylor wasn't in the mood to cooperate with the whole process.  She came home with three pictures which accurately captured three of Taylor's often very creative facial expressions.  I won't post any of them here because they are group photos with her classmates, and it doesn't seem right to post pictures of other peoples children. Suffice to say if you've been following this blog you have seen the looks.  On the bright side, the people taking the pictures were able to see the sweet little girl hiding behind the scowl.  They offered us a free session at their studio to get some pictures of Taylor sans attitude.

Out of that session they gave us quite a few very cute thumbnail proofs. It was difficult, but after consulting with some interested parties, we narrowed it down to 5 pictures.  We got very few physical pictures, but I scanned them into the computer so we'll be able to print out multiple copies. Following are the pictures we selected.

This is my favorite for it's artistic flavor. We got a copy of it in 8x10 and hope to have it framed.

Passings, Parties and Personals

Pool Party!

Here’s the meat and potatoes of this blog installment.  Sometime around mid-July, I don’t recall the exact date, Taylor and I spent the afternoon having a pool party.  Earlier in the day while Taylor and Linda were away, I took the pool from its usual resting place on the back patio and moved it to the front yard.  The front yard being one of the few places around our house which boasts both grass and sunshine, seemed to be the perfect venue for a pool party.  I found a nice level spot and started the filling process.  While waiting for this task to complete, I retrieved her slide from the play area and set up at pools edge. 

Linda and Taylor returned from their outing just as set-up was reaching a conclusion.  Taylor was very excited to see her pool and slide in the front yard.  It took much convincing, but after a while Linda was able to shepherd her inside to get dressed for the pool while I finished up the final details.

90 Second Theater

We'll call this a quick and dirty intermediate blog update.  I've been currently working on a larger update (yes, I have been working on it), but during the review of raw footage I came across some video that gave me an idea for a side movie.  So, keeping with my normal laser like focus, I dropped my work on the larger movie/post and did a quick side job.  This is definitely new territory for me, at least on this blog.  Taylor gives her best performance to date...   It's a quick one, not called 90 second theater for nothing.

Well, that's about it.  Nothing a whole lot more to say in this space.  I will say that a lot has happened since my last update so this next post (assuming it gets done) should be chocked full of stuff.  Hopefully a little something for everyone?

editors note: Taylor has moved on from this harrowing experience.. It took all of about 5 minutes, just long enough for us to convince her that Morris needed to take a nap.  I apologize for no happy ending to the movie, but I had to relinquish my job as camera operator and don my "Mr. Fix-it" uniform.

The Good, The Bad and the Cuddly

Upon opening my email last week I came across a request for another blog.  My first written request. On one hand I felt bad having not done a post in a while.  On the other, it was nice to see that people (or at least persons) had missed my work.  I wanted to make a least one post a month on this blog; hopefully more, but at least one. Looking back my last post was at the end of April. It boils down to me missing one month.  All in all that's not too bad...  literally and figuratively I guess.

Seeing as how so many people told me to have a great day today, and since I've nothing pressing on my table at this moment (more on this later), I've decided to sit down at the computer and fill this blank space with something.  Not completely sure how much or exactly what yet.  I've got the rest of the day to find out.  Therefore, in celebration of adding yet another 365, in my astounding run of over 14,600 consecutive days existing, I'm going to spend the next few hours talking to myself...  I'll try to communicate the highlights of happenings since my last posting.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Aprils Fool

Well, my goal of keeping the blog up to date this year didn't last too long. I'll spare everyone my usual long explanation and apology. Suffice to say plenty has happened over the past two months report. I've just not set aside the time to complete the task. So here's a quick break down.

Hitting the Slopes (literally)  

In March, resulting from extreme amounts of generosity, I was able to make a trip out west for some skiing. My Brother, his Wife and I traveled to Utah for a week of snow filled, gravity affirming, tree dodging, mountain conquering goodness. We flew into Salt Lake City, acquired transportation and headed north to Snowbasin ski resort.

Snowbasin served as venue for the alpine events of the 2002 Winter Olympics. The place was unique from other resorts I've experienced. The facilities were amazing. Newly constructed, just as nice as you'd expect  from an Olympic venue. All set in a secluded "local" resort feel. Snowbasin lacks the lodging that you expect to find at most Rocky Mountian resorts. I consider this to be a positive. Keeps the crowds at a minimum... Anyone that knows me knows how important that is. After a couple of days skiing Snowbasin, we decided to try Powder Mountain for a couple, then one day at Solitude, before a final day at Snowbasin.

Random Thoughts...

"Daddy's Time"

It wasn't too long ago that Daddy Time was a part of life that was under my control. I'd simply pick Taylor up, plop down in a chair, situate her to where we were both comfortable, and she would lay there and go to sleep. Then time passed. Shortly after that Daddy Time could be Taylor sitting on my lap watching a football game. She really liked football, and basketball, even golf, and was perfectly content to sit in my lap. Enthralled with the suspense of what those people running around on the magic window would do next. Or it could be sitting in the middle of the floor with Taylor building with Leggo's or stacking blocks. Then time passed. Mobility showed up on our doorstep looking for a place to "crash". My grasp on Daddy Time became a bit more tenuous. Daddy Time became a closer cousin to Cat Time. Anyone that owns a cat understands what Cat Time is. Cats are very independent and non social until they decide they would like some attention, then they are all over you like static cling on a polyester shirt. Anyway, lap time slowly decreased as exploration time rapidly increased. More and more Daddy Time consisted of following Taylor around the house making sure both she and the contents both survived the day. Another version of Daddy Time is playing taxi-cab, the only rules of this game are: Don't put Taylor down; and Follow the pointing finger. The penalty for breaking these simple rules are breaking a little girls heart and replacing it with a teary eyed noise generator. Sometimes Mommy and Daddy are allowed to share taxi-cab duties, more of a tag team game. Other times only Mommy or Daddy are allowed to play. Sure there are still times where Daddy Time includes Taylor sitting on my lap, or sitting on the living room floor doing a puzzle or building with Leggo's, but these times are shorter and now regulated via Taylor's schedule.

Short Attention Span Theater

As expected, Christmas this year was a completely different experience than last year. Looking back at the pictures and, by comparison, very amateurish videos from last Christmas makes the change even more glaring than I remembered. Last year I wondered if Taylor was aware of her surroundings, this year I knew she was, the challenge was keeping her focused on the task at hand. Of course for her that is presents!

I touched on the subject of Taylor's play kitchen briefly during the "Twas the Night Before Christmas" post. Being as how it was assembled and sitting in plain view, it obviously was the first item she saw upon being toted into the living room. It would play a vital role in the recurring theme throughout the day. That being to keep Taylor focused and interested in the presents being opened instead of channeling Julia Child. Of course this incarnation of Ms. Child serves every dish in a cup, usually 4 cups and sometimes a handful of flatware. But I digress, let me stick to a somewhat chronological description of the day...