Flanagan Clan

Hi. I’m Patrick. My close friends and family call me “Pat-Rat”, but I’m starting to catch on that being called that is not a good thing… hm.

So.. what is up with this Sammy stuff? How embarrassing!!! Do all of you really believe what he has to say?

Sometimes I don’t even want to be seen with him… he is that ridiculous!

Well.. despite whatever Sammy said in the last post, I would like to declare that I, in fact, I have been a very good boy.

I am teaching my aunties a very important life lesson on how hard it is to have kids… in hopes that I can keep down the amount of grandchildren. That way I can always be the spoiled grandchild!! (muwahah! Don’t tell them!)

On the grandparent note.. I have been taking good care of my Opa Feucht, because I hear he is not feeling too well. 🙁 So I make sure I behave around him to help him get better. I love you, Opa!

I guess Sammy also is trying to help him feel better too…

but Sammy doesn’t matter.

Anyways, Auntie Rachie and Auntie Dee-Dee found out my secret… I am obsessive compulsive!

Every night after my aunties tuck me in, I secretly turn on the lights, and line my blocks up in my bed in a unique and orderly fashion.

Since my blocks are on the bed, I sleep on the floor. Yes, I was caught on camera:

Why do I do it? I’ll never tell.

I really don’t mind sleeping on the floor anyways. As long as I have my Duck-Dog I’m happy:

Well… since the weather has been cooler lately, I can’t play in my pool. It makes me grumpy, and when I’m grumpy, I get spankies. Spankies aren’t any fun.

Speaking of spankies, I’m probably am going to get one if they catch me playing on mommy’s computer.

But just remember, I am just as innocent as the little suck-up Sammy:

(Look at his shirt! It says “brown-noser” all over it!)

(If you’re having trouble reading it, it says “With this smile I can get away with anything!”)

Well I hope this little misunderstanding is sorted out. It ‘s time for me to go to “sleep” aka block-arranging. Unfortunately, Auntie Rachie cleaned up my room so I have to go find out where she put all my blocks. GRR.

hi my name is sammy.

perhaps you have heard about me – my mommy loves to write about me on this blog.

well my mommy and daddy left me… for hawaii! how could they do that to me!

at first i was a little sad… that’s for sure. but then i found out that i get to stay with my two favorite aunties in the whole wide world!

rachel had a friend over for a few days. her name is laura and she was nice. they let me play in my brother’s pool for awhile.

later that night rachel and laura made sure that my brother and i got our baths. i love baths. here is laura and me:

i’m being a very good little boy. my brother (on the other hand) has a severe case of seperation anxiety. he sent these pictures to my mommy and daddy the day they left:

he got a bath too… but i’m pretty sure he needed it a lot more than i did.

maybe he enjoyed it a little too much…

auntie rachie and auntie dee dee make sure that patrick and i get fed – it takes a lot of eating for me to keep my fat rolls looking as good as they do.

well, i better get going before auntie rachel and auntie dee dee realize that i’m playing with my mommy’s expensive computer.

to end, here is a picture of me and my two aunties. oh – and my brother displaying his cranky side… er… i mean his separation anxiety:

just kidding. we are ALWAYS happy.

well, mommy and daddy we miss you, but don’t worry! auntie rachie and auntie dee dee are doing a super job of keeping me and patrick happy.

love, sammy aka mee-mee or the samster

We have a chart on our refrigerator called “Wise Word for Moms” by Ginger Pullman, which lists different types of situations where you need to reprimand your children. It also gives verses that you can teach your children while dealing with common issues such as conflict resolution and anger. We haven’t actually used it with Patrick, since he still isn’t communicating very much, but it has been helpful for me! One of the issues is coveting and contentment. The charts asks “What do you truly need that you don’t already have?”. I’ve thought about that question a lot. Invariably, my answer is always “nothing”. Of course there are little day to day needs, such as food, that will always be there, but on the whole, we seriously take for granted all the blessings we’ve been given already! It’s so easy to be discontent, to always be wanting something bigger and better, but I’ve learned that in the long run, it doesn’t really matter. We don’t need it… and we’re doing very well with what we already have. That one little question has really helped me in the past months… it helps me remember that I don’t need new clothes, new shoes, new items for the house, new this and that, because I’m fine just the way I am right now. Now a baby girl would be nice… but I guess I don’t really need one of those either ;o).

Today the temperature hit 80 degrees… the hottest day we’ve had so far (please don’t laugh, all our TX, AZ and CA friends!). I took the boys to the park in the morning, after slathering them down with lots of sunblock. We walked around a lake and then Patrick played on the playground with some other children for a while. Afterwards, we ran to the store to buy popsicles! We came home, ate lunch, and Andrew turned on the sprinklers for Patrick. After he got bored of that, I filled up the kiddy pool and he played in that for a while. Here’s just a few pictures from today (and some from a few days ago!)

The Flanagan men before church

Sammy enjoying the warm weather

This morning Sammy was pulling his head and back off the floor while holding on to the underside of our coffee table.  This is the first time he’s attempted pulling up. Doesn’t he look like a little muscle man?

The boys at the park. Patrick was pulling down the visor on his hat so I couldn’t take a picture of his face. Typical two year old!

Patrick finally looked at the camera, because Mommy offered him another M&M. Unfortunately, he already had M&M all over his mouth!!!

Here’s a game that we have played when I was pregnant with both Patrick and Sammy. Anyone who is interested in playing may leave us a comment giving us your guesses as to what you think the gender of our new baby is, along with guesses as to the baby’s birth date and weight. The person who is the closest to having the correct gender, birth date and weight when the baby comes will get a gift card from Starbucks (or somewhere else if you’re like me and dislike coffee!). I’m so excited to see what everyone thinks, and very interested to see who wins this time. Last year, my mom got the birth date AND the weight exactly correct for Sammy, although she guessed he was a girl! Sorry, Sammy!!!

Here are our stats, to give you a little help! Both Patrick and Samuel were born 3 1/2 weeks before their due date. Patrick was induced, while Sammy actually just decided to come early. Patrick weighed 5 lb, 4 oz, and Samuel weighed 6 lb, 3 oz. My due date is set for November 26th. We will be finding out the gender of this baby in mid-July, so if you plan to play, we must have your guess by the date of the ultrasound.

Have fun guessing!!!