Flanagan Clan

As I write this, Andrew has been gone for 6 hours on a business trip. This morning he and I woke up early, I helped him pack his bags, and I drove him to the nearby gas station to meet his coworker, who would be taking him to the airport. Now that he is gone, I really miss him.

At the risk of sounding sappy, on this rainy Halloween/Reformation Day, I decided that I was going to talk about how much I love my husband. Andrew is such a solid character. I am able to trust him completely, he never has big secrets (unless presents count!) that he hides from me. He’s a very honest, loyal, and loving husband. He’s also a wonderful father to our little Patrick. I know that he would never, ever try to hurt us in any way, and that he only has our best interests at heart.

Andrew is my best friend. I enjoy spending time with him (and Patrick!) far above the company of anyone else. We do practically everything together, from shopping to working out at the Y, and everything in between. I know that I can talk to him about anything, and that he’s interested in my feelings and opinions on things. That’s not to say that we don’t have disagreements on petty things. He still hasn’t convinced me that the South was better during the Civil War… I’ve been raised a Northerner. But at least we can both agree that the war is over, and what is done is done, and arguing over who was better is not going to make history change itself! What is good, though, is that we never disagree on the important things, like how we’re going to raise our children, and what we believe as Christians. There is no disputes or differences of opinions there.

One of the things that I like to stress with my sisters and unmarried friends, is that it’s good to have a strong friendship with someone before you dive into a relationship. Andrew and I were good friends for a while before anything became more serious. We definitely did not have love at first sight. I feel this helps to build a healthy relationship, because the foundation was built from common interests and enjoying each other’s company instead of over looks, which do fade over time. Don’t get me wrong though, physical attraction is also very important in a relationship. I just feel very strongly that it shouldn’t be the basis of a relationship though, but more like an added bonus!!! And, in case you’re wondering, I do find my husband very attractive.

Andrew and I have gone through many hardships. I’m not going to tell you what they all are, but believe me, we’ve had some rough times. We’ve had many trials in the two years that we’ve been married. I feel like all those things have only helped us grow stronger as a couple. They’ve also helped us mature into adults. All these things have made us thankful for having each other and Patrick, and thankful that God has blessed us richly with a warm, cozy home full of nice things, a wonderful little son who is the joy of our lives, and the chance to live in Washington, my favorite state, near my family, who have always been very loving and supportive to both of us throughout our whole relationship. We may not have a ton of money, look like super models, have a large house with a view of Rainier, drive the perfect car (though the minivan is pretty close!!!), or live like the rich, but I can tell you right now that I would not trade having Andrew for any of that. I would rather live in a shack with Andrew in the lowliest part of the world than have all those other things. I think Andrew would say the same thing.

So, I just want to tell you, Andrew, that I love you so much and even though you’ve only been gone since around 5 AM this morning, I’m already ready for you to come back home to me. Have a safe trip and buy me LOTS of birthday gifts while you’re there ;-).

Oh, and two more things:

It is my prayer that someday my brother and sisters will be equally, if not more happy, in their marriages. My job right now is to try to hook them up!!! Love you, Jon, Rachel and Diane!!! Can’t wait to see you girls at Christmas. We’ll have lots of fun baking, shopping, and hanging out together!!! Can’t wait until you’re out of the military, Jon, and don’t have to go to the Middle East anymore. Love and prayers….

Lastly, thank you, Mom and Dad, for allowing me to marry Andrew, and accepting him into our family. Most of all, thank you for the good example we (my siblings and I) all saw of you in your marriage as we were growing up. Love you lots….

Patrick is becoming more confident with walking. In the nursery yesterday he kept on pulling himself up on the wall and then walking halfway across the room before falling down. Every day he seems to be able to go a little further. He’s so proud of himself!!!

Here are some more pictures, since we get requests daily!!!

He’s Walking!!!




Presents from Grandma and Grandpa Flanagan!

The day after his birthday, we took Patrick to go see the doctor. We ended up having to stay there for 2 hours, mostly waiting to be seen. Patrick was weighed and measured. He now weighs 22 lbs, 2 oz, and is 30 inches tall. He was in the 90th percentile for head circumference, a little over the 50th percentile for height and a little under the 50th percentile for weight. The doctor said that he looked very healthy and that he was developing right on schedule. They had to give Patrick four shots. I don’t remember what all of them were, but I know he got an MMR and a flu shot among them. He really disliked the shots, but he didn’t cry too much and ended up falling asleep on the way home.

Now that Patrick is a year old they want me to make a transition to whole milk from formula. So far Patrick hasn’t been too happy with that. They also want him to start drinking out of a sippy cup instead of a bottle, which Patrick isn’t entirely keen on either. However, he is happily trying lots of new table foods, and we’re slowly cutting back in the Gerber baby food mush. He is especially enjoys finger foods and feeding himself.

Another new thing going on in our household is that Patrick is walking. Well, he’s not walking very well yet. The day before his birthday he was able to walk a couple of feet, and he’s slowly getting better at it. Yesterday he walked about four feet, from a chair to daddy.

Patrick also got another birthday gift yesterday. He got an inflatable horse from his Uncle Dave, Aunt Annelise, and Cousins Naomi and Quinn. He was very excited to try out his new toy yesterday!!!

We’ll try to post some more pictures as we are able. I have been very busy the past couple of days getting ready for the company we had yesterday, but now that it’s the weekend I have a lot more free time!

Patrick had a wonderful first birthday. In the morning he got extra attention from Mommy and got to go shopping with her to pick out a new toy and some balloons for his party. Later that morning he walked about 3 feet, from Mommy to a chair, making him our new little walker. For his party we had Oma and Opa over and Mommy served London Broil, mashed potatoes, mixed veggies and a salad. Patrick got to eat peas and beef ravioli made for babies, which he enjoyed. His birthday cake was in the shape of a 3-D duck, the cake itself was Confetti flavor (white with colored specks), and it had a buttercream frosting and was covered with coconut. Patrick wasn’t sure what to do with the cake at first, but after Mommy chopped off half the head, Patrick really became excited and started smashing lots of cake into his face. Later we gave him some chocolate ice cream, which he liked even more than the cake. He made a huge mess of himself, but he was very happy!!! After cleaning Patrick up and putting him in the new pjs that Oma bought for him, we started opening presents. We made the big mistake of letting him open up his big toy first. After opening the Fisher Price Gumball Machine from Oma, he had little interest in anything else. So we had to take it away and help him open his other stuff. He also got some soap and a Patrick Veggie Tale CD (they use his name in all the songs) from the Lucarts, a very cute outfit, Busy Bear book, and cell phone from the Chambers, several pairs of pj’s, a block set, and the gumball machine from Grandma, and several outfits, a new set of big boy sheets and blankets, and a potty from Mommy and Daddy. He also got several toys from us too. Oh, and he got a Fisher Price Gobble and Go Hippo toy that he can push around the house and use to eat up blocks from Rachel and Diane. He loved all the toys especially. At one point we tried to hide the cell phone from the Chambers under a pile of his clothes and he picked up all the clothes and hurled them to the other side of the room so he could play with the new toy. What a silly little boy we have!!!

Here’s some pictures for all of you!

Good Morning, Birthday Boy!

Boxes are fun, too!

Trying on the Birthday Outfit.

There’s the Cake!

Mommy never let me do this before…

Wow, I just ate a ton of sugar!

Birthdays are FUN!

What is it???

Oooh, New Toy!

Wow, Gumballs!!!

Hi, Everyone! I know you all want to see pictures of Patrick’s birthday. I will be posting them either this evening or possibly even tomorrow. This morning I have a massive cleanup to do, including trying to get cake out of the carpet, and then at 11 AM Patrick gets to see the doctor for his well baby checkup and get another shot. Ouch!

I have so much to do… the house looks like a tornado hit and we’re having company on Friday. I have a lot of work to do. More to come later!!!!