Wrapping up 2011

-So my hand, it fits into my mouth!

Holden has discovered that he has hands and fingers, and that they fit quite nicely into his mouth and eyes. He's very good at faking us out...nope not tired just trying to move my eye over to make room for my hand! He will spit or pull his pacifier/soother/binky or whatever you call it, out to immediately shove his thumb and a few fingers in.

-Shots! Shots! Sh Sh Shots! (now has a completely new meaning around here)
Being 2 months old means shots time!! Holden had his buffet of vaccines and took them like a champ. Which for a 7 lbs, chicken leg baby is awesome.

-Animal Planet

Lately the animals on his play mat have become enemy #1. Lay him under that orange monkey or blue elephant and it's on! Those animals never stood a chance, getting smacked and batted around by an infant learning to gain hand eye coordination. On a side note whenever Holden is playing on his jungle mat, Maggie will bring one of her toys over to Holden. Sometimes its to share other times it just to chew next to him.

Happy Holidays!!
He might have only been a very mature 10 weeks old, but the Holidays were quite the hustle and bustle in the Flynn household. Being a religion mutt, Holden gets to celebrate all holidays.

It all started when he helped Nicole light the Hanukkah Candles. Very uncooperative. We tried to explain how awesome and cute it would be if he held on of the candles out as if he was lighting the Menorah. No go, so this forced shot was all we could come up with.


An attempted visit to Santa at the Millennia Mall left Mom and Dad finding alternative avenues to sneak a pic with Ol' Saint Nick as the end of the line was clearly marked with a 120 minute wait. Dad's yule flask wasn't full enough to put up with screaming, bored children for two hours. We caught word of Santa making a quick pitstop at the Bass Pro Shops. Ten minutes in line, a photo with Santa was taken, and despite the stench of cheap bourbon and vomit baby's first Santa photo was a success.

For some reason we wrapped his gifts. Why waste the paper? Do we hate Earth that much? Who knows, but the kid probably would have been content with a tree side chair as it glistened with all sorts of bright colors. That thing is like crack for him, but he imbibed in the unwrapping festivities, or was forced to do so at least.

What about the Christmas feast? Sensory overload. He lasted about 5 minutes, and subsequently voiced his displeasure. My family spoke all night about he looks a lot like my grandfather...he always hated crows himself.

Happy Holidays

- Flynnseseses

And because you read through all this and really just wanted to see some pics
 

Thanksgiving Dinner



New "tv" chair

See ya in 2012!!

  



Mom. Dad. I'm Know. I'm Like 1 Month Old Today. Gosh.

Most of use remember our month old birthday. The relentless gas. Sitting in your own filth. Hunger pains at all hours. The only thing you got going for you? It is one of the few times in life that you can actually boss your parents around. It's like...

"Mom, Dad, I'm hungry. I don't care if you just fell back asleep, I want a bottle. Like now. And to prove my point I'm going to hit 123 decibels."

But all that hype about a kid changing your life? Overrated. Lots of things have come about in my life that have required the following.

- 24 hour attention, devoiding one's self of any and all personal time
- The joyful handling of another's feces
- A combination of Earplugs, Tylenol 3, and an IV drip of crude grain alcohol to get through it

We wouldn't trade our first month with Holden for anything though. The highs have been great. He's somehow achieved head control during tummy time, the ability to Mutumbo smack the hell out of his orange dangling thing what hangs over his floor pad, and most of all the recognition of one's hands, a discovery that rivals fire, electricity, and Burrito Bros. Taco Company.

His Halloween was filled with sleep. He literally slept through the peak hours of Trick Or Treating. That was through a number of door knocks and screams, supplemented by the victorious bark of Maggie, who somehow found a 4 year old Spiderman to be the equivalent of Jack the Ripper. He still dressed for a part, twice.




I am not mid-fart in this picture


We had our first appointment with the cardiologist on Monday. While there were no answers about what is to come, we do know Holden has gained a pound since birth, and he's doing about as well as he can. You can't complain with that, now can you!

For now,

Trey

Scouting the Newly Acquired Holden Joseph Flynn

Heyyyyyy World



As with anything the statistical breakdown tells the story.

Name: Holden Joseph Flynn

Nickname: The Tin-Man

Birth Date: 10/11/11

Time: 7:46AM

Length (at birth): 18 inches

Weight (at birth): 4 lbs 13 oz

Hair: Strawberry blond (Has more than his dad)

Eyes: Blue/green

Average feeding: 2oz delivered from Le Boob de Nicole

Diaper size: Newborn. (we ran out of Premmies)

Average dooks per day: 4.2

Average weight per dook: N/A (mom wouldn't allow me to do it)

Split second uncovered wang during diaper change firehose pees per day: 1.3

Head control: Swivelly

Hands: Edward Sissorhands-ish

Foot control: Kicky

Sleep: Holden's sleeping pattern can best be described as deep. He probably wouldn't notice an A-Bomb if it detonated 3 inches from his ear. He generally sleeps anywhere from 2-4 hours at a time. If he wakes up it is usually because he's hungry or he has farted loud enough to shake himself awake.  

General likes/dislikes: Holden likes to feel confined. I'm guessing elevators shouldn't be an issue in the future. He also likes attacking his own face, and if swaddled will find a way to get his hands free to continue his own special grooming. His only real dislike is in the form of socks despite the fact that his feet are ice cold without them. It helps that he has such long and narrow feet, likely inherited from his mom, because the majority of dad's family has every wide, somewhat hobbitish feet.   

Overall Roundup: This kid is a stud, like his father. 

Flattering, very flattering



Born'd



Trey's Diaper Party

So Paige came up with the idea to have a "diaper party". She told Trey no its great all you do is have your guy frineds over and tell them to bring diapers. Trey poo-pooed the idea, then it dawned on him how many diapers we could get. So he made some BBQ, dropped a keg and put on football...1583. That's right we got 1583 diapers and close to 4000 wipes. Thank you! Yah we kind of feel bad, all these clueless guys thought they were getting a steal of a deal, just bring diapers and get free beer and food? HA! Sticker shock I'm sure. AND all the diapers we got were for babies-boy babies, not pull ups, and NOT adult diapers. Very classy gentlemen- again Thank you!

PS- This is only part of the supply! Couldn't fit them all in one picture!

Shower

Thank you to all the lovely ladies that helped my shower so great. Special thanks Paige and Tiffany for putting together an amazing afternoon. You girls are awesome!! Tin Man got some really great gifts and is already spoiled. Thank you to Allie for the Tin Man cake, very cool. I'm so glad that people were able to share my day with me. Patti thank you for painting such an amazing mural on Tin Man's wall, we love it, it was a huge hit and we know Tin Man will also love it.

Next up Trey's Diaper Party

Update

As some of you may know already, we had a bit of a scare over the last few days when I developed a blood clot in my leg. That has had no effect on the baby from what we’ve been told and won’t in the future. I’m doing well and am resting at home, driving myself nuts, ready to go back to work already!  Regardless, after Trey and I spent a weekend at the Winnie Palmer Hospital, we discussed the real cause for concern and letting our family and friends know. Very few people can absolutely remember the worst day of their personal lives. I didn’t have one I that could recall, Trey had always said September 1989 was the worst day of his life (Hurricane Hugo), well that changed for us on June 6th.  Trey and I excitedly announced that day that we would be having a boy, what we didn’t tell people was that there are some complications. That day we also learned that that our son was going to be born with a very rare and serious congenital heart defect.

Since then, we’ve had several visits and tests that have discovered that the heart is his only issue. While it’s an issue we certainly wish didn’t exist, it quashed fears of it being a sign of something much more complicated. The baby is very safe right now, there is no immediate threat in the womb. Upon being born though, he will require a series of operations to repair his heart. We’ve been told by doctors that once it’s fixed he’ll go on and live as any normal child would. Is he the next Derek Jeter? Probably not, there will be limits to the amount of stress his body can take, but I think the fact that his parents stand a grand total of 10 feet 6 inches put the Major League dream to rest long before conception.

How are we doing?  Without a doubt the last two months have been very stressful, deflating, and uplifting at the same time. Those of you who have seen or talked to us probably haven’t noticed, (or maybe you have) we’ve done our best to keep it at bay. Not 5 minutes has gone by without a thought of our son popping into our heads, but that’s not always a bad thing. I’d say we’re now more excited for him to join our family, then we ever have been.

Many of you knew Trey’s grandfather and his adoration of the Wizard of Oz. While every character in the movie (and books) was declared to be “his favorite”, the Tin-Man always seemed to stand out when he’d talk about it. Maybe it was the physician in him, I’m not sure. The Tin-Man made his way to Oz in search of a heart, only to be told by the Wizard that he had one the entire time.

“A heart is not judged by how much you love; but by how much you are loved by others.” – The Wizard of Oz

We’re not writing for sympathy, we’re writing for support. Trey and I know that the very friends and family who have been there for us through the good and bad (mostly good, thankfully) will be there for us again. October and the months following are going to be stressful, and while we’d give anything in the world to change that, the support our parents and siblings have already offered us over the last few weeks has suggested that we’re going to get through this, as will little “Tin-Man”. We are, however, going to need our family and friends more than ever during those weeks.

With everything we know in mind, we invite family and friends to join us on September 24th for the MiracleMiles Run at Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children. There is a walk, a 5K ,and 15K.  The proceeds benefit the Alexander Center for Neonatology at Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies. Luckily for Trey, the baby, and myself, we have one of the BEST facilities in the country right here in Orlando. Trey will be attempting to break the landspeed record that morning, built only on emotion. If you’re interested, let us know or click here

I know, in a few years, we’ll look back on this and be able to say, “Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Tin-Man*, you really scared the crap out of us back in 2011.”

Thank you for everything now and into the future,
Love
Nicole and Trey

* We promise, Tin-Man will not be his real name.

Welcome

Hello and welcome to Tin Man Flynn’s webpage. Just thought this would be an easy way to keep everyone updated as to Tin Man’s Journey.