Flanagan Clan

This weekend our church is having their annual couples’ retreat. Every year they have it at Lake Quinault Lodge. Last year was the first year we had the opportunity to go, but I had incredibly bad morning sickness, so there was no way we were going to make it. Also, I think Andrew might have had business travel at the same time. Well, we have no more hindrances and so we’re going this year. And we’re leaving the boys with Oma and Opa Feucht. This is going to be the first time that I’ve left Sammy with someone else overnight. For the past few weeks, I’v been really looking forward to this little getaway trip. However, this afternoon I started packing the boys’ bags. And I began to miss them ALREADY, and we haven’t even left yet! It’s so strange… you get all excited about having a break from the kiddos, yet when it comes right down to it, you end up missing them terribly. Andrew always jokes with me because sometimes we’ll go on dates, and an hour after we’ve been gone I’ll start complaining that I miss my little ones. I’ll start talking about Patrick’s new words and accompishments or Sammy’s incredibly soft little head. It’s hard not to though… Most of my time is spent with them, and they bring so much joy and laughter into my life. They are a TON of work, but when it comes down to it, having them was one of the most fulfilling thing that I’ve ever done, right after to getting married to my wonderful husband, Andrew.

And so I sit here, trying to remember all the little odds and ends that the boys need for the weekend… diapers, their clothes, their pack ‘n plays, blankets, Patrick’s DuckDog (he won’t sleep without it!), Sammy’s bottles, baby food and formula, their towels and bath stuff (just in case!), teething gel and all that other stuff that kids and babies can’t seem to live without. I’m going to really miss those little guys, but I hope that Andrew and I will be able to finally have a chance to unwind and relax this weekend, and have the opportunity to get to know some of the other couples in our church better.

The past week Sammy had his first flu. We were knee deep in vomit, diarrhea, a 100.6 degree temperature, dirty, leaking diapers, and a TON of messy laundry. Thankfully today he actually felt a lot better, and he was very happy and smiley for the first time all week. Here’s a few pictures I was able to take!

It’s a basket baby!

Patrick wanted to join the fun and be in the basket

I’ve got a basket full of cute, adorable little boys!!!

Sammy gets ready for his trip to Costco. We needed more baby wipes… guess why!!!!!

Patrick ready to get his shoes on, so he can go to Costco too!

The Way Mommy Likes Patrick to Wear His Hat

The Way Patrick Likes to Wear His Hat

Sammy finds hat wearing to be silly. He’d rather eat.

Andrew and I have had a Canon camcorder for three years now… it was a gift to me for our first Valentine’s Day. Yesterday Andrew bought me a special cord so that now we can take all those movies stored on all those little camcorder tapes and convert them to digital movies on our computer. As a result, I’m going to be able to start posting MOVIES of my sweeties on here! Here’s a little movie to start out with . It’s just a test. It’s of Rachel trying to kill my mom’s cat, Katze (or maybe it’s the other way around, who knows…). Hopefully this will work!!!!

When Patrick got his first tooth, he was 8 months old. He hadn’t been particularly fussy, so I didn’t even know that he had gotten and of his teeth until Grandma Flanagan happened to take a look in his little mouth, and there it was!

My Sammy is an entirely different story. He’s been FUSSY. And today he was particularly fussy. He wouldn’t take his nap this afternoon, and his crying was really angry sounding. Sammy is a lot fussier than Patrick ever was, but he usually doesn’t sound angry when he cries. But today he did. Finally I got tired of trying to coax him to sleep in his swing and went to see what was wrong. I stuck my finger in his mouth and immediately felt something sharp. There they were… not one, but TWO sharp little teeth poking out of his gums. I immediately ran upstairs to grab the Ora-gel and Tylenol to try to cut down the pain, but he’s still really fussy. He’s not a happy baby today. I stuck a teething ring in the freezer. Hopefully he’ll like the feeling of that. Patrick was never, ever fussy when he was teething, so I don’t know exactly how best to make my little Sammy happy. I really hope he’s feeling better by tomorrow, because he’s scheduled to get his professional pictures from Yuen Lui.