Christmas 2010

Flynn learns to unwrap a gift

Enjoying a new toy

Flynn loves company in her crib!!
So pretty; 9 months
GP Tom came to visit!

This was the 1st Christmas Ian really understood what was going on and was excited and Flynn's 1st Christmas period so we really had a good time this year. Thank you to all the family who were so generous to the kids; it was quite a turnout!

Ian is getting more adventurous these days. His energy is higher than ever and he is now loosing that cautiousness that made him different from the other boys his age. There are several indoor playplaces up here (due to the inclimate weather!) and he goes crazy during playtime! Its fun to see him having so much fun! He got a large animatronic T-Rex for Christmas that he totes around the house and to bed with him! He also has invented an imaginary dog, Sparkle, that he is very kind to. He feeds him and puts him in the tub with him and tucks him in bed, haha! He is also warming up to Flynn even more now that she isn't as fussy and is more mobile. It really warms our hearts to see them play together.

Miss Flynn will be 10 months old in the 3rd. She is creeping all along the coffee table and couch and we have seen her take a step or two between them alone! She is all smiles these days and babbling all the time. Ian continues to be her favorite person and they can spend quite a lot of time in his room playing together, much to her amusement! She laughs and claps along when we dance or sing and loves to listen to music. she is our little garbage disposal, she'll eat anything! she doesn't want her baby food and snacks, she wants whats on our plates!

We are really enjoying the stages the kids are at right now. We try to savor each day, each milestone because its going by so fast. thanks for keeping up with them!

Flynn Crawls

We are so proud of out little Flynn lately! She said 'dada' last week very clearly; I scooped her up and ran to tell Dave in the garage, with tears in my eyes of course! And today Dave got her on video crawling for the 1st time!! Go Flynn!!

California

While I usually post these for our families in California, I still wanted to share our trip to Cali even though most of you were there! We broke the 18 hour drive into 2 days, staying with the Leibengoods on the way down and the Shaw's in San Diego. Then we has 3 days in Palm Springs with Dave's dad and Charlie and 3 days with Dave's mom and Kathy in Joshua Tree. It was scorching hot, they were having a heat wave (of course!) and we found ourselves heat sissies! Then we spent 1 day at the big D, Disneyland for Ian's 3rd birthday! My mom went, too and it was so fun to see my child enjoy a place I have so many great childhood memories of! Flynn stayed with gramma and Ian was a champ there, had a jam packed 8 hour day with no meltdowns! It was a good day to go, too; the lines were short and we hit everything Ian had been looking at on their website for 2 months! The kids proved good travelers; we had bought Ian a DVD player for the trip and he maybe watched 2 hours of it during the 36 hours in the car! Flynn was upset the 1st day being in a rear facing carseat and not being able to see anyone. So the rest of the trip she and I sat in the 3rd row together and she was fine! Thank God for mini vans; we were very comfortable and had room for all the crap we had to haul around with 2 small kids! Of course we didn't get to see everyone we would have liked but we enjoyed ourselves and thank everyone for their hospitality!!

aunt Jan loves on Flynn
Gramma Patrice
grandpa Gordon

cousins Kelsey and Emily
Mouseketeers!

GP Tom
Charlie
cousin Emily
Flynn lounges by the pool

Enjoying GP Tom's pool

Volcanoes and teeth

Ian has been super interested in volcanoes lately. I din't know what prompted this kick, but we've looked up videos online and checked out a volcano book at the library. He was so excited the day we looked up videos that when Dave came home that day from a day at the rally race, Ian said he waned to have "lava talk" with daddy! He is getting into the "why" phase and his classic line is "tell me about it." We love how curious and inquisitive he is!

Flynn has cut both bottom teeth already! she has been really fussy but I think the worst is over. Her 6 month check up was today and she is in the 90% for height AND weight!! She has always been short and slightly chubby but since her 4 month exam she has really grown, apparently! She can sit for quite a while unassisted and can scoot anywhere she wants. We had a battle of wills at the doctors office today when she keep ripping the protective paper sheet off the exam table and trying to eat it. Everytime I would take it away she would grab more and get really mad! I have never seen this cause-and -effect behavior from her before and it was amusing. We're in for it!

Flynn looking for her Big Mac
Our Irish girl! in her Shamrock shoes
theres a new sheriff in town
Ian all dressed up
Ian with Dave's hat on; he says, "I'm daddy, take a picture!"

Summer's End

As summer comes to a close, I think we can say the Haworth kiddos had fun! Daddy recently putthe tent up in the backyard so mommy and Ian could campout! We've put the new double stroller to good use, talking walks everywhere; the store, the parks, the farmers market

downtown on the riverfront. We've gone to the Zoo several times and the Children's Museum when it was too hot (too hot here is 95 degrees, haha!)

Flynn has moved on to 2nd step solid foods; combos like oatmeal and apples, rice and veggies. She loves EVERYTHING, even prunes! We are trying to do less bottles and more solids and she's fine with that! We also have moved her out of the swing at night and into the crib!! It only took 1 night of crying for about 35 minutes for her to get used to it! She is getting good at sitting up on her own. She still get s stuck on her belly if she rolls over but likes to spend time on her belly. she loves her activity center now, too and thats a real time saver for mom and dad to get some things done! There is a little video clip of Flynn at the Childrens Museum below.

Ian is 2 weeks away from his 3rd birthday! He is very excited about it and we are excited that he finally understands what the fuss is about! We are celebrating here that day with dinner and some cake but the next week we will be in California to celebrate with family!! And we're taking him to Disneyland for the 1st time, he is over the moon about that! I showed him the website and he helped me navigate around what he wanted to see. It will be so fun seeing a place like Disneyland through his eyes; a place that holds so many good childhood memories for me! We bought him a giant map of the U.S. for his room and marked where we live and where our family in California live. When asked where Gramma or GP Tom live he says, "the airport!" so we are trying to show him where California is :)

Much love everyone and we can't wait to see you all!!

Enjoying her activity center

Flynn's new bathchair makes bathtime fun!
So handsome in his hat
Daddy put up the tent for a backyard campout
Dressed for summer in capris and sandals!

A great summer

We are having a great summer here in Portland; this week marked the hottest its been all summer at 97 degrees! We have taken Ian to several different water parks in the area; playgrounds with water spouts coming out of the ground that the kids run around in. We found a great 64 acre state park, Blue Lake that we picnicked and played in the water at today. Dave also took some great pics of the kids at a park by the Willamette River. Flynn is wearing a dress I wore 32 years ago, and my sisters wore as well! Maybe she will have a girl someday and carry on the tradition!

As for Miss Flynn, she is talking up a storm! She is babbling constantly and loves the sound of her voice. She is also able to roll over to her tummy anytime, but getting back to her back is a challenge and she has a TEMPER!! We definitely know when she's frustrated! She is teething as well, lots of drool and stuffing everything in her mouth. She eats fruits and veggies twice a day along with formula now. She only wakes once in the night to eat but is an early riser between 6-7am. She is learning to sit unassisted; we saw her sit upright out of her reclining bouncy chair; go baby abs! She is in LOVE with her brother, watches every move he makes; its so sweet. One of the best things is to hear her belly laugh while she watches Ian dance or play.

Ian doesn't pay much attention to Flynn, unless she happens to be in the general area of one of his toys, ha! But he is learning to share with her and shows genuine care for her when its important. I am still so proud of him for learning to be patient when mom and dad have to tend to the baby before him sometimes, he's taking it in stride. His vocabulary is off the chart, he can communicate anything he needs and more. Everyday he comes up with something that leaves us cracking up or shaking our heads in wonder of, "where did her get that??" He is still very into cars but his interests vary from moment to moment it seems; Cowboy, sword fights, army men figures, dinosaur figures,the action hero toys from McDonalds, rocks, blowing bubbles and squirt guns are a few faves of this summer. We call him our little tornado!

We are getting super excited for our trip to California in Sept/Oct!! We can't wait to show off the kiddos and take Ian to Disneyland for his 3rd birthday! Take care and enjoy the pics.

Flynn's 1st food!

Hi everyone! Things are going great. We're enjoying a much cooler summer than we're used to! Ian finished 3 weeks of swim lessons and did pretty darn well. It was mostly getting the kids comfortable in the water and getting their heads wet and blowing bubbles. After 3 weeks Ian was getting a little bored but toughed it out! The community pool here is so fun and family friendly. Flynn is "talking" and smiling all the time. She's rolled over a handful of times from belly to front! She tried her 1st taste of sweet potatoes today and loved them! Pics and video below.

A relaxing morning
Miss Flynn
such a good big bother!
Daddy and Ian
yes, he's naked. and a cowboy.

Flynn playing with the spoon at her 1st feeding!
Flynn loved her 1st taste of sweet potatoes!
The Cowboy rides again
Swimming with daddy!
Flynn's 1st bating suit!
Flynn learning to sit in the Bebe Pod