March Madness--Three Months To Go!

It's March and there is Madness in the Flanagan home!

But it has very little to do with my NCAA Tournament Bracket (thanks for nothing Missouri). Rather, the madness has shifted into another gear as we've hit the third trimester and are staring at less than three months to go until The News makes his/her appearance!

I can't believe how much time has passed...it's all happening so fast!

We've worked on our nursery (I'll take some pictures this afternoon and have those up soon). We've cleaned out closets and rooms and are preparing the best we can...

We had another ultrasound on March 6 and all is well. The baby is growing like a weed and is healthy and continuing to develop!

One huge development has come in the form of our baby kicking and rolling and moving like crazy...it's a weird, but incredible, experience. It seems like every time I put my hand on Annie's stomach, the baby kicks and pushes and rolls...it's my VERY favorite thing.

Sometimes I wake up at four or five in the morning and I put my hand on her stomach and just sit there for a while feeling the baby kick and move...it never ceases to make me smile.

With the baby moving it's beginning to feel more and more real...and I wonder what the baby is going to be like.

I've been feeling like The News is a boy lately. I don't know why, but I keep thinking boy (The News is probably a girl and my intuition is way wrong :)).

But, assuming my intuition is correct, I wonder what that little boy may be like. I wonder if he'll be like me or like Annie...I wonder if he'll like baseball. I wonder if he'll like vegetables.

I was talking to my mom yesterday about all the sports and activities I was involved with when I was little and how I finally made a decision to just focus on one (baseball). I wonder, if our baby is a boy, if he'll be so encompassed in so many activities like I was.

I love this song by Brad Paisely...it makes me think...

It Takes a Village

The old saying "it takes a village to raise a child" has evolved, in my opinion.

While I still think the principle applies today, I believe that the method and way that the said village helps raise the said child has evolved greatly.

When I was growing up the village that helped raise me was relatively small--it consisted of the people who were directly in my life, every day. It consisted of my friends and my family that lived in my house or in my neighborhood.

Sure, I had good relationships with my grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles--but we were limited on our interactions because of geography and a lack of technology.

Since my little sister, Kaitlyn (cute girl with huge glasses pictured above), has been accepted to graduate school at the University of Alabama, I've been thinking a lot about the village that I will have helping raise my child.

Kaitlyn will be in Alabama and my other sister, Karissa (pictured with her family below), will be in Chicago with her family (and I'm the loser who can't quite move beyond Orem...and that's quite alright with me). Had these changes been happening 15-20 years ago (shoot, even 10 years ago), we would have had very limited interactions with them and it would have been difficult for them to be a major player in the village that would help raise our children.

But now, because of the many blessings of technology, I am so happy that both of them can be major players and factors in that village. I am so happy that my grandma (the one and only Punki) can play a role in the village that helps raise my child.

I've missed Karissa and her family a lot--and I always wish Lily and Faith were closer. But, that said, I feel like I haven't missed a single beat. I haven't missed a thing with either of them--and it's because of technology that our proximity has drawn closer, despite the fact that we live 2000 miles away.

I'll miss Kaitlyn like crazy (mostly because I am now out of family to torment), but I love the fact that technology has narrowed that distance. Kaitlyn, Karissa, Lily, Faith, and Brady can all play major roles in the development and growth of our child. They can all be a part of our village with very little or no effort on our end anymore. I'll forever be grateful for that.

I think our child will be so well-rounded because of the influence of Annie's family (about 10,000 Strong (pun intended)) around us and my parents around us--but he/she will also have the opportunity to develop a strong bond with his/her aunts and uncle and cousins across the country.

Our village is no longer those close to us. It's a digital village. And that's awesome!

Shakedown Street With Two of My Best Pals

Editors Note: This post is meant to be read while the video below is playing...it's kind of got that psychedelic flow...enjoy. 

This last summer I had the opportunity to really take a ride down Shakedown Street as I attended The Gathering of the Vibes with two of my best pals, Jared Terry and Ned Resch, in the Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut area.

Don't believe me?? Check out the picture below...that's us on the front row for our second consecutive night of seeing Further--or as they used to be known, The Grateful Dead.

I promise those two guys with me are my friends and I am with them--despite the heinousness with which I stand out. (This photo was taken by a Connecticut newspaper...probably to show how ridiculously out of place I look).

Despite how I look, I really enjoyed the festival and I really enjoyed the music and the vibes. But more importantly, I enjoyed the company--which is why I've chosen Ned and Jared to be co-inspirators to my third edition of "Fathers I Want to be Like."

Editors Note: I realize that I have yet to write one of these about my own father...it's coming. All of these are leading up to one about my own dad...I promise. 

I'll start with Nedder...Ned has two young kids. A stalwart, strong, handsome son and a beautiful daughter. After spending time in Ned's house, it was very clear to me what Ned's priorities were in life--he lives for those kids (and his lovely wife Melissa, of course), but those kids are his main priority...and I appreciated the interactions I saw him have with his kids while we were there. 

I think that when you have company from out of town staying with you and you haven't seen them in so long, it can be easy to look past those that are around you all the time (i.e. children). But Ned never did. I appreciated the moments when we were on the way out the door to go to a concert or a ball game and we were delayed by a few minutes because, without warning, Ned was playing the villain to his son's portrayal of Batman...or because he was all of a sudden holding his little girl and telling us repeatedly "look how cute she is" or "Flanny, is this not the cutest little girl you've ever seen?" (To which I would respond that she was in a three-way tie with my two little nieces...:))

The point is...it didn't matter what we had in store. If Ned's kids were there, he was 100% their dad, all the time. I respect, appreciate, and admire that attribute. I want that type of prioritization for my child. 

Now, Jared Terry will always have a special place in my life (and I'm not just saying that because he owns the best BBQ joint in Utah County...which he does, Five Star BBQ...check it out). Jared's been someone I have admired for so many years, for so many reasons. 

It was on our trip to Ned's house in Providence when I realized that Jared had qualities as a dad that I wanted--the same as Ned...that same type of prioritization. He told me on so many occasions that trip that all of his drive, all of his passion for success, comes because of his studly little son. 

Jared gets it. He understands that his little boy is everything (and of course his lovely wife, Joni...the brains behind the operation). His son is his top priority. There are few dads who are as proud of their little boy as much as Jared is of his. 

These two guys have it figured out. They know where their priorities lie. I hope I have that same commitment and drive and ability to prioritize once my child arrives. 

Also, I hope to visit Shakedown Street with those guys again soon...

"Today I Caught a Quarter With My Belly"

Editors Note: I am in no way making a reference or personal opinion about how my lovely wife's stomach is growing rapidly. This was a quote from her and a comment made from her...although she has a cute tummy right now that is rapidly growing. 


Today Annie was making some dinner and I walked up and gave her a hug. She put her head on my shoulder and then she uttered the phrase: "Today, I caught a quarter with my belly."

I didn't respond right away, but then I had to ask what she could possibly be referring to...

Turns out, while she was working at the bank, she was counting some coins and dropped a quarter. But fortunately, her belly was protruding just enough to catch the quarter and keep it from falling to the floor.

I was so proud of her and so proud of our little baby, The News...our baby is just over 13 1/2 inches long right now and weighing in at over a pound!

I'm pretty sure that the baby was pleased with the great catch he/she helped mom make of that quarter...

Three Little Birds

Editors Note: If you are a current or future employer of mine, my thoughts here don't reflect my work ethic. They just reflect my thoughts...no need to read anything into it. 


Work doesn't matter.

Ok, of course it matters. Of course I need it. Of course I need to succeed at it. Of course I need to have the personal integrity to approach each day with importance and professionalism. Of course. I get that.

But, in the long run...the ultimate long run, it doesn't matter. Why bring it home? Why worry about things that are outside of your control? Why?

The Bob Marley song, "Three Little Birds" is a fantastic tune. It's such a simple message.

The lyrics are as follows:

Don't worry about a thing, 
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right. 
Singin': "Don't worry about a thing, 
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right!" 

Rise up this mornin', 
Smiled with the risin' sun, 
Three little birds 
Pitch by my doorstep 
Singin' sweet songs 
Of melodies pure and true, 
Sayin', ("This is my message to you-ou-ou:") 

Singin': "Don't worry 'bout a thing, 
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right." 
Singin': "Don't worry (don't worry) 'bout a thing, 
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right!"


The birds had a message against worrying. I love that. I don't think birds worry. I think this little family of three birds eat, sleep, breathe, live, and even die, for each other. Their world is them. Their life is them. They exist to exist with each other. 


I don't think papa bird comes home stressing about all the drama he encountered at the bird factory. I don't think papa bird cares that Joe Bird said that Frank Bird said that Ellen Bird thinks this or that. 


Rather, I think papa bird comes home and is thrilled beyond measure that mama bird and baby bird are ok. He's thrilled that they all made it through another day and that they can now spend time together. 


Papa bird knows there is no point in worrying, cause' everything is gonna be alright. 


Yesterday, Annie was feeling pretty sick (nauseous and dizzy) and she called me on her way home in the morning...she had left work to go rest up. I was so worried about her. I was so concerned with her well-being and the well-being of our little baby. I didn't care what was happening at work. I didn't care about that trivial stuff. I wanted to be home. Suddenly, Joe, Frank, and Ellen Bird were more nuisances than anything (not that I view co-workers as nuisances or anything) but I didn't care. 


Editors Note: Everything is fine with Annie, by the way. From what I could gather, her blood pressure dipped a bit and she got a bit dizzy and nauseous. She rested, drank lots of water, and feels great today. Baby is moving like crazy too!!!


I am vowing to be the dad who leaves work at work. I am vowing to be the dad who shields his family from the craziness of the workplace. 


It's so easy to be caught up with drama at work and it's so easy for that drama to have a lingering effect on other aspects of our life. But why? Who cares? Everything's gonna be alright. 


Again, I will always work hard and will always do my best at work. But I won't let it linger with me. Part of that is staying away from the drama at work as well--another thing I am vowing to be better at. 


While I consider some of the people I work with to be great friends, and I know that my family and Annie's family will always be there, I also realize, that at the end of the day, it's just us "three little birds." 


I don't want to be the depressed, annoying bird who can't escape the drama. 


Thanks Bob Marley...great message!

Time To Prepare

In my previous post, I spoke about kicking preparation into full gear--since The News is now 21 weeks along and growing like a weed... (I've always wanted to use that old-person expression).

In order to jumpstart out preparation, I've ordered this:

That beanie should go nicely with a few of these other things I've ordered, in preparation for The News:

I'd say we are well on our way to prepared...any suggestions on other stuff to get???

A Glimpse

I'm amazed when I look at this photo...wow. That's all I can think about. Wow.

This is our baby right now--we hit the 21 week mark today. I can't believe that we are there. June seems so far away, but it also feels just around the corner. Time to kick preparation into gear...