A Christmas collage…

"Never worry about the size of your Christmas tree. In the eyes of children, they are all 30 feet tall."
-Larry Wilde

Christmas arrived at the Flinn household this year to find an extra member of the family, and the same was true for Aunt Lisa and Uncle Jeff (Merry 1st Christmas Ben and James!).  Instead of wasting valuable space on the blog with words, here are some pictures from the many events surrounding Christmas.  Thanks everyone for making this a holiday to remember!

Merry Christmas everyone!

It was the week before Christmas…

“I stopped believing in Santa Claus when I was six. Mother took me to see him in a department store and he asked for my autograph.”
-Shirley Temple

Note that this is not the Christmas blog.  We had some good pictures taken during the week leading up to Christmas, and I don’t have all the Christmas pictures gathered up from everyone yet.  This is the “week before” Christmas blog instead. 

Ashlyn and Baby James are getting closer as brother and sister.  I’ve heard stories of older siblings who become jealous of new additions, but so far Ashlyn has been very supportive of her new baby brother.  James, for his part, is fascinated by pretty much everything Ashlyn does.  We’re crossing our fingers that they grow up with this same attitude towards one other.

As for James himself, he’s still happy to be with just about anyone.  Everyone is a friend of James, whether it’s his cousin Ben or a doll on top of Ashlyn’s head.

This is the first year that Ashlyn had a concept of what Christmas was, and what it means in the way of presents.  So when we got out the wrapping paper, she was excited to jump in and help.  Mostly she just put tape on the paper and occasionally put it in a spot that actually kept the paper together.  After we were done she had a good time with the cardboard roll.

I mentioned James’ introduction into solid foods in the last blog post.  This time around, we decided to put a video together of James learning to eat.  The clips are in chronological order from feedings over a week period, so you can see how much he’s learned in that amount of time.

Tune in on Sunday for the Christmas pictures.  Until then, here are two happy kids who are ready to make their Christmas 2012 debut.

One makes food, the other eats food…

"I always wondered why babies spend so much time sucking their thumbs. Then I tasted baby food."
-Robert Orben

This week’s theme is food, for two reasons.  The first reason is Ashlyn’s increased interest in helping with the cooking.  If she hears anything that sounds like we are trying to make something, she’ll come running into the kitchen yelling, “I want to help you!” before even seeing what we’re doing.  This week started out with stew.  Mom did the cutting, Ashlyn did the stirring and seasoning.

As for the second reason, James starting to eat food.  Mom found this new theory out there called “baby led weaning”, which is a fancy way of saying “if they’re old enough to pick food up and chew on it, they are old enough to start eating solids”.  So we tried it.  What could we lose?  If he couldn’t do it, he’d still have fun playing with the food and would be learning motor skills.  The first few bites did not get a warm reception, but by the end of the weekend he was happily throwing food everywhere.  We’re pretty sure a couple of bites made it into his mouth though, so it’s a start!

Mom and Ashlyn also made cookies this weekend. Ashlyn did a fine job helping with the measuring, pouring, scooping, and general mess making.  The cookies were good though.

And these pictures have nothing to do with anything, other than I wanted to capture a few moments in the life of Baby James.  Such a hard life indeed.

Birthdays and beams…

"Most people do not consider dawn to be an attractive experience - unless they are still up." 
~Ellen Goodman

I’ll start today’s blog with what we want to remember most about James at this age.  He’s still quick to smile and is curious about everything that comes close to him.  This includes Nala, who persists in coming near James even though she typically leaves a fist full of fur in James’ hand.

And this is also how we want to remember him, calmly sitting in the carrier while peeking out at the world and sleeping in his seat.  These are the two sides of James that we want to hold on to, the smiles and the sleep.

We had visitors this weekend, and the kids got to the chance to play with the grandparents.  Ashlyn played and laughed, James watched and smiled like always. 

It was also a birthday weekend for both Uncle Bruce and Cousin Heidi.  We celebrated at BJ’s Brewhouse and had a great time.  As always, Cousin Heidi was a big hit with Ashlyn.  Happy Birthday you two, thanks for letting us celebrate with you!

This is the part of the blog where I get to brag.  Ashlyn has always been afraid of the beam at gymnastics, and I can’t blame her.  If I compared heights, I would be on a beam close to 5 feet off the ground.  So while this may not seem like much to some people, we were both very proud of Ashlyn as she walked the beam without assistance for the first time.  Way to go little one!

And this is art by Ashlyn.  I think it’s a Chicken Nugget man.  Enjoy!