The Flinn Family

The best time of the year.

2009-12-18T13:01:00.002-06:00

I dont have many pictures to post from the rest of fall ( who really wants to see pictures of rain, rain, and more rain?) and I am a slacker that didnt get any pictures of Thanksgiving, but we were too busy enjoying everyone's company. I am vowing to do better at Christmas. We are almost ready in this Flinn family. Tonight is Brayden's Christmas program/Family party at Staci's, we have been put in charge of the special Happy Birthday Jesus cake. And Brayden has learned the motions to my favorite Christmas song " Away in the Manger" and his mommy couldn't be more proud. We hope to catch this on video to share. The rest of the weekend includes baking, wrapping, enjoying family time, and date night for mommy and daddy. This is my favorite time of the year and I hope to make it my sons as well. I think we are off to a pretty good start. I hope everyone is enjoying this time of year as much as we are. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Hello Fall...

2009-11-10T12:36:00.006-06:00

Our fall has been wonderful. The weather hasn't been great but we have definitely made the most of the beautiful days we have been blessed with. We have made several trips to the pumpkin patches and we were lucky to make the trips with the grandparents. Aunt Brooke and Uncle Zach were even able to join us for our last visit on Halloween. Brayden's second Halloween was great---he even got the hang of trick or treating by the time we made it back to grandma's where Zach and Brooke were handing out the candy. I cannot wait to see how adventurous he is next year!

Good Bye Summer---

2009-11-10T12:25:00.004-06:00

We ended our summer with a great vacation to Destin Florida with some of our family. It was a blast! We had perfect weather, an amazing house, and awesome family time. It was sad to know it was our last big summer fling--but it was so relaxing and fun it made it easier to come home and head into our busy fall. Our friend Patti captured some great memories for us and we are so appreciative!

Look Who is 1!!!!!

2009-09-13T12:15:00.006-05:00

Our beautiful son turned 1 on August 17th!! Life is going by so quick and we are enjoying every minute of it!!

Happy Birthday Brayden!! Mommy and Daddy love you more than the world!!!!

Random Summer Pictures

2009-09-13T11:55:00.004-05:00

Here are some random pictures of Brayden from over the summer--they are in no particular order---but you can see how he has grown out of his baby look over the past few months. He has accomplished so much as well---he finally got teeth--he has 6 of them. Went from barely crawling to taking his first steps. And is expanding his vocabulary daily. God has truly blessed us with a healthy HAPPY little boy! Stealing bites of Grandpa's Sweet Potatoe at Daddy's family birthday dinner with Grandma and Grandpa Nusbaum Daddy playing barber--look how good little Bray is being.

My little man after his haircut

Bad Hair Day before the first hair cut :)

Are we seriously in the car again Mommy and Daddy?!?!?! Brayden loves to swing at Grandma and Granpa Nusbaums

10 month picture of Brayden eating Pancakes---YUM!

9 month picture of Brayden at Touch a Truck.

Cohen Turns 2!!!

2009-09-13T11:50:00.003-05:00

Our nephew Cohen turned two in July--and we had so much fun helping him celebrate at his Farm Theme birthday party. I cannot believe how much he has changed in a year---take a look! Cohen at his one year birthday party.........

Now Cohen at 2 years old!!!

Daddy's Birthday, First Zoo Trip, and Daddy's First Fathers Day

2009-09-13T11:30:00.003-05:00

All three of these things were packed into one relaxing fun weekend! Our weekend began on Saturday where we got up early and headed to the zoo --after that we headed to Truxton to celebrate Nathan's birthday with some of the family, and Sunday we spent the morning of Fathers Day with Grandpa Flinn, and the afternoon with Great Grandpa Reese. It was such a busy weekend was also one of our best from the summer!

Brayden and Daddy on the train at the Zoo

Brayden loved looking at the chimps---he was right at their level !

Aunt Brooke, Bray and I cooling off in the penguin house---Brooke joined us at the Zoo---it was one of her last weekends in St Louis.

Family Picture at the Zoo

Grandpa Flinn holding all three of his grandsons!! We absolutely LOVE this picture!

Brayden's Baptism

2009-09-13T11:17:00.004-05:00

On June 14th, 2009 our little boy Brayden was Baptized. We enjoyed a great weekend with family that included a cookout, the baptism service, and a nice brunch.

After the service with Pastor Gary---Brayden did great during the service and loved it when Pastor Gary introduced him to the congregation.

Godmother---Aunt Brookie Brayden before the service--he looked like such a little man!

Baby Maggie

2009-09-13T10:56:00.004-05:00

We started the summer with a visit to Missouri to celebrate another baby in the Flinn Family. Jared and Nici were expecting their first baby--a little girl in August. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed watching them enjoy the excitement and preparation for their new addition.

Fast Forward to August 23rd----Miss Magdalene " Maggie" Elizabeth Flinn was brought into this world weighing 8Ibs 4 oz---and she is Beautiful! We cannot wait to meet her!!

Summertime!!

2009-09-13T10:50:00.002-05:00

Finally Im updating our blog!! We have had a great summer!! Full of fun activities and milestones for Brayden. In the past three months he is went from our baby to our little toddler-and we LOVE IT!

Easter 2009

2009-05-03T10:26:00.006-05:00

Brayden's first Easter was great. Enjoy the pics we took to prove it! We had a little photo shoot with grandma a couple of weeks before. Easter was pretty relaxing we woke up bright and early to see what the easter bunny had brought, then we headed to church and an afternoon at Nonna and Pa's. It was so nice to be able to enjoy the beautiful weather, Brayden, and Family.

Easter Pictures 2009

Easter Day Pictures

The last two months...

2009-05-03T09:41:00.004-05:00

Have been so busy and fun! Brayden has changed and grown up so much. I feel like he is losing his little baby look and looking like a little boy. Here are a few pictures of him from the past few weeks.

Lovin his Great Grandpa Reese

Loves his sippy cup.

Getting sneaky :)

Hanging out with Daddy.

Being Cute as always.

Baby Food

2009-02-25T20:39:00.003-06:00

Our first bite of baby food---we decided to try carrots first.

MMmm--this could be good.

Nope its definetly not--yucky...

Okay, I'll try again....

Ewww--still yucky--too bad Im going to have to try these a few more nights

Since then we have moved on to sweet potatoes--and he loves them. Friday we get to try green beans, and then peas, and then we move on to fruits. More of the faces to come.

6 Months Old

2009-02-25T20:33:00.003-06:00

Brayden turned 6 months old February 17th. We had his sixth month doctor appointment last Friday. She gave us the go ahead to start baby food, and said Mr Brayden is looking great.

He weighed in at 22 pounds, and is 28 inches long. He gained 3 pounds and four inches from his four month visit. Our next appointment will be for his nine month check up, where she says we can talk about table foods--yay :)

Look What Brayden Can Do.

2009-02-25T20:06:00.004-06:00

Brayden is doing something new everyday. It is amazing to us how much he has changed in just 6 months. The dr said at his appointment that the next three months we will notice the most changes....now is definetly when we need to babyproof the house completely! I can tell he is going to be getting into everything before we know it. We cant wait!

Here he is sitting up, we have been practicing, and then one morning he could do it, every day he sits up a little bit straighter and longer.

He also loves to be on his tummy and pull up as far as he can so he can see everything that is going on.

Playing with mommy with his George in a box. He loves this toy, and even more now that he can sit up and grab for George as he is jumping out of the box. You can kind of see in his face how concentrated he is on this.

Brayden has also become very independent. He likes to hold his bottle, and will barely let anyone else hold it but him or mommy. He is the same way with his pacifier, he has decided that he doesnt like it very much, and when he does want it, only he can put it in his mouth, if you try, he will spit it out every time.

He is still very cuddly. Here he is very tired after an evening of playing with daddy. They were both sitting there watching tv and sleeping...oops mommy woke daddy up taking the picture. Here is our sweet angel sleeping---his sleeping pictures are still my favorite!

Happy Birthday Grandma!

2009-02-25T19:59:00.004-06:00

Grandma (mommy's mommy) had a birthday in the beginning of February. So daddy helped me make a special birthday card while we were waiting for mommy to get home from work, and had mommy get the pictures of me making it printed. She loved it and it was fun eating pizza and playing Wii to celebrate. Arent I cute--and look how big Im getting? Hope you had a great birthday mawmaw!

Congratulations Nick and Jesie!!!

2009-01-23T21:34:00.004-06:00

Proud parents Nick and Jesie, welcomed our newest nephew into the world. He is a healthy baby boy--8 pounds 12 ounces, 21 inches long-Beau Micheal is the newest addition to our family. We are so happy for them, and so blessed to have another healthy baby in our family. We cant wait to meet him!!!

This makes three boys for the Flinn family---as most of you know my husband has three brothers---I think history may be repeating itself, and we can look forward to a lot of trouble and playing in the future with all of these boy cousins within 18 months of eachother!!! We cannot wait until they are wrestling and running around!!!

So Far in 2009...

2009-01-23T21:18:00.003-06:00

So far in 2009 we havent done very much. Brayden has been sick on and off since New Years weekend. Its the winter crud, and we cant get rid of it completly. His nebulizer treatments have helped so much, and we are glad he is feeling better, we just hope he is 100% soon! Nathan and I both decided that little babies shouldnt get sick. We feel so bad when they are so helpless. In between not feeling well, he has grown so much, and has gotten so strong. He loves his cereal and his exersaucer. And today he FINALLY rolled over from his tummy to his back. I am so glad he decided to do it on my day off so I could see it----he is always such a good boy to his mommy :)

Braydens First Christmas

2009-01-23T11:02:00.005-06:00

Brayden had a great first Christmas and we enjoyed it with him. Christmas was crazy, but we are very thankful that we got to visit with all of our families. Here are a few pictures of our Christmas celebrations.

Picture of my family at Reese Christmas--this was also grandpa Nusbaum's birthday---Happy 50th Birthday Grandpa!!!!

Getting ready to go to Grandma and Grandpa's house on Christmas Eve.

Picture of Bray looking at one of his gifts from Santa. We thought he wouldnt be that into the presents this year, but we were suprised when he couldnt take his eyes and sometimes hands off the paper and the presents. We loved it!

Brayden posing with another present from Santa---and another one of his faces--- :)

Christmas Day we went to Nonna's for Nusbaum Christmas, Nonna bought Brayden a special little people's nativity, here they are checking it out! All of the Nusbaum cousins. About every three years, all of the Nusbaums get together and celebrate, it was so nice to be able to visit with our Colorado family, we definetly do not get to see them enough.

Aunt Brookie snuggin with Bray as he takes his afternoon nap.

Friday after Christmas we hopped back into the car and went to Missouri to celebrate the Flinn Family Christmas weekend. Grandma Flinn made us pizza at her house Friday, and Aunt Amanda and Uncle Jesse had the family to their house for an all day Pajama Christmas on Saturday. As you can see with our ever growing family--we take up a lot of room...I can only imagine how next years pictures will look. We are very lucky that we get so many opportunities to be able to spend time with them.

Here is Cohen---17 months old...I wonder if he is thinking..."when are all these people going to leave?"

I know its late, but I hope everyone had a great Christmas and has a great 2009!

Merry Christmas

2008-12-24T16:52:00.003-06:00

We hope you have a blessed, healthy, happy, Merry Christmas.

Love-Nathan, Ashley, & Brayden

Baby Jesus

2008-12-24T16:36:00.003-06:00

Brayden's sitter did christmas party with all of the children's families, the kids had been practicing the christmas story program. It was very cute, and some of the little ones got stage fright but it still turned out so well. Brayden had the leading role as Baby Jesus ;) After their play, we had dinner, and then we celebrated by having a Baby Jesus' (the real one) birthday party. I love that she teaches the real meaning of Christmas to all of them, and what a better way to get it through 3 and 4 year olds than to have a birthday party!!!!!

Its Cereal Time

2008-12-24T15:47:00.003-06:00

Brayden got his first feeding of cereal a couple of weeks ago, and he loved it. Here is a video of his first feeding. Soo cute, and I cant believe how well he took to it his first time, and he has only gotten better from there---well as long as he isnt too tired to eat from the spoon.

We are Behind!!!

2008-12-24T15:32:00.003-06:00

I know I know...its been a long time--who knew the holidays could be so busy. I honestly thought with the Bray being here we would be less busy, but I was obviously mistaken. But I love it, and with Christmas being tomorrow I think I am more excited than when I was little, especially now that the bad weather seems to have passed. So I think I havent updated pics from Thanksgiving---oh wait I didnt get many pics of thanksgiving or the weekend to follow. I dont know why, I guess it just flew by too quickly....I did get a few though, and one of my favorites is the cutest picture of our little nephew Cohen lovin on Brayden. I cant wait to see how they are together this coming weekend. I promise I will remember to take more pictures!!!

Cohen lovin on Brayden

Cohen is helping Aunt Jesie open up presents for the upcoming newest little addition to the Flinn family---three boys---we cant wait!

Before we headed back to Illinois we had to stop and see Aunt Brookie, so we met at the Mills for some dinner and to get a feeding in for Bray and it gave Brooke some time to snuggle with our little man.

What Brayden has been up to---see how he has grown!

2008-11-20T08:18:00.008-06:00

Sorry for not posting more pics lately. Brayden is three months old now---and boy has he grown, and he has learned his voice and is making the cutest coos, he barely cries anymore! (knock on wood) If I can learn how to post video I will post his little conversations he has been having with mommy and daddy. He has also come to have very good schedule and is only waking up once during the night and its to eat and back to bed he goes Here are some pictures over the past week or two. This weekend we are off to Missouri to have Braydens first thanksgiving with the Flinn Family and Jesie's babyshower to celebrate the upcoming arrival of our newest nephew :)--so stayed tuned for pics with the fam.

One of our new faces.

Our little guy is all smiles, almost all the time.

He still loves the bath.

Our new way to sleep

All cozy in a really cool fleece wrap that our nonna made for him.

HELP--Im going behind bars for GOOD!!!!

2008-11-18T15:03:00.003-06:00

THATS RIGHT---IM GOING TO JAIL FOR GOOD! A warrant has been issued for my arrest! Tomorrow I am going to be "Locked Up" to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association...and if I cant raise $ 2008.00 bail by tomorrow at 10 am, they are throwing away the key FOREVER! PLEASE VISIT MY WEBPAGE TO HELP PROVIDE HOPE FOR KIDS AND ADULTS WITH NEUROMUSCULAR DISEASE---did you know that just my bail alone will help someone with a wheelchair or leg brace? And $85 dollars funds one minute of research? They need all the money they can get!!! My webpage is https://www.joinmda.org/bloomingtonnormalil2008/ASHLEYFLINN

Brayden's First Halloween

2008-11-01T08:56:00.006-05:00

Happy Belated Halloween!!! We had so much fun carving Bray's first pumpkin, going to his first halloween party and parade, and ofcourse his first Halloween night and the weather was beautiful!!!!! We hope everyone enjoyed their Halloween activities as much as we did. Another perk to being a parent...you dont have to feel silly about being excited about pumpkins, costumes, and candy.

Daddy carving Brayden's first pumkin.

Brayden with his carved pumpkin and his soft pumpkin Nonna and Pa gave him.

Brayden's first Halloween parade and party. Arent all the little kids so cute? The party was so much fun, even if Brayden was too little to understand, Im pretty sure he still enjoyed it. I cant wait for next year!

Bray and Mommy enjoying his party.

Our little lion :)

Trick or Treat!!!

My sister, her friend, Katelynn (my brother's girlfriend), and my brother, getting ready to enjoy the halloween party Alexanne threw at my parents.

Brayden weekend Pictures

2008-10-30T21:49:00.007-05:00

Random Pics from the weekend.

Getting our bath before our long weekend away.

Hanging out at Aunt Amanda's and Uncle Jesse's--thanks for letting us stay with you to break up our trip. It was fun seeing Cohen play with Bray!

Brayden got to hang out with Aunt Alexanne, Uncle Joe, and Grandma while Mommy was getting ready for the wedding and Daddy was helping the wedding family. Dressed up for the wedding

Watching TV with Dad in the hotel room. Doesnt he look like Nathan so much here??

Meeting Uncle Jared and Aunt Nici

2008-10-30T21:44:00.002-05:00

While we were in Columbia over the weekend, Brayden got to meet his Uncle Jared and Aunt Nici. They drove over from Kansas City and met us for lunch. It was so good to be able to visit with them, we miss not seeing them.

Congratulations Tori and Tim!!!

2008-10-30T21:32:00.003-05:00

This weekend was Tori and Tim's big weekend. We had a lot of fun decorating, spending time with friends, and seeing the happy couple celebrate their special day. Thank you guys for asking me to be a part of your day.

Also Congratulations to Tori's grandparents. On October 25, Tori's grandparents have been married 40 years--so Tori and Tim will share their anniversary with her grandparents..how neat! 40 years--wow---I cant wait!!!!!

More Fall Fun

2008-10-30T20:58:00.007-05:00

I think I may have mentioned before how much I love fall. I could go to the pumpkin patch or on a hayride, or on a walk through the park everyday of fall if I had the chance, and now that we have little Brayden fall has taken on a whole new kind of fun, many fall and halloween pictures to come. A couple of weekends ago, Jesse, Amanda, and Cohen came for a visit on the same weekend we do my family trip to the pumpkin patch, so we thought it would be fun for them to come with us. Cohen was so cute and fun, and it makes us look forward to pumpkin patch trips with Brayden next year, I think next year we will have to do a trip to the pumpkin patch in Missouri too, with all of Nathans family, where there will be three boys to bring along! YAY!! That means we can look forward to three trips to three different pumpkin patches next year! We are so glad Amanda, Jesse, and Cohen made the trip out to visit, we loved having them--hurry back!

When we got there we all thought it would be fun to start the exploration with something sweet. Here is Aunt Brookie sharing her pumpkin ice cream with Cohen. Here our the Flinn boys!!!! I love this picture. Isnt he the cutest? We hope little Brayden grows up to be this cute! Family Pics Even Bray got to do the how tall this year---wont it be fun to see how tall he is next year.

Aunt Alexanne posing Top Model style with the snake gourd.

Brooke and Alexanne picking their pumkins and gourds.

After such a long day the family decided since we were in Amish country to stop at the Amish buffet....I know buffet normally equals GROSS--but this is homecooked actually very good, especially the dessert ;)

Wedding Weekend

2008-10-23T10:24:00.005-05:00

Hi all, I have gotten behind on my blogging, and we have had many things to blog about. But for now we are focused on this weekend and my friend Tori's wedding. Getting our blog updated comes next week. Two weekends ago we made the trip back to Missouri (family pics to be added later) to celebrate Tori's bachelorette party and shower. The weather was beautiful--a perfect Saturday for the wineries. Sunday we had the bridal shower. The whole weekend was great, and it was so fun to get to be able to catch up with some of my friends, which I rarely get to do when we make trips home. You may be seeing that as one of my goals in a new years resolution blog in the future! Because I am craving to blog, and have little time I thought I would keep with the upcoming weekend and share some pics from the pre-wedding festivities.....Here are some pictures of the bride and her bridesmaids--you might see a pic or two of Baby Bray as well---I couldnt resist.

Mommies need to have fun too---right? The bride looking beautiful!

Half of her bridesmaids have little ones----all boys!!! How time flies when your having fun!! Ofcourse my little guy--Baby Brayden!

Our little pumpkin

2008-10-16T10:22:00.004-05:00

Last Friday my sister and I took Brayden to the pumpkin patch with his sitter and the other little ones. We decided to dress Bray up in his little pumpkin outfit. Another trip may be planned in the very near future with daddy....stay tuned!

Brayden cant wait to be old enough to play...but mommy can! Mad little pumpkin Aunt Alexanne found a pumpkin!

Homecoming with Aunt Al

2008-10-02T18:56:00.003-05:00

This past weekend was the Homecoming dance for my sister and brother---so we thought it would be cute to take pictures with Brayden and them, unfortunately by the time my brother got back from dinner for pictures Brayden was sleeping so we included a picture of him and his girlfriend Katlyn anyways. We also enjoyed a great evening with my parents and my sister Brooke who was in town for the weekend. The weather was wonderful...the perfect start to my favorite season--FALL!!!

Random Pics

2008-10-02T16:28:00.002-05:00

Here are a few cute pictures from the past couple of weeks. He is getting so big, Nathan and I cant wait to see what he weighs at his next appointment. We have been doing trying to do a lot of relaxing before I have to go back to work...unfortunately that day is coming a lot sooner than we would like. But we have a lot of fun activities planned with the sitter so Mommy has lots of excuses to take off work!

More of Brayden's Many Faces

2008-10-02T16:23:00.002-05:00

One Month Check Up

2008-09-18T11:39:00.003-05:00

We had our one month check up yesterday and little Brayden weighed in at 10.5 pounds and is now 21.5 inches long!!! We cannot believe how fast this month has gone, but we enjoy watching him change and grow everyday. God has truly blessed us with the best job ever---being parents!!!! Hope everyone is having a great week and enjoys this beautiful weather this weekend.

Some of Brayden's Many Faces

2008-09-15T11:06:00.004-05:00

Brayden with Mommy and Daddy

2008-09-15T10:59:00.002-05:00

Being silly with Daddy

Snugglin with Mommy--excuse the mess--Mommy was blogging!

Week 2 and 3

2008-09-06T14:42:00.004-05:00

We have been very busy the past couple of weeks, which is making my time off work fly by, that part Im not happy about one bit, but spending time and watching my little guy's every expression is priceless.

The past two weeks Brayden had his first bath, first time meeting mommy's friend Amanda, first playdate, first trip to El Torrero, cookout at mawmaw and papas, walk in the stroller, his first shopping trip to the outlet mall with mommy and mawmaw (he was WAY better than daddy is shopping ;) ), first afternoon at nonna and pa's, and grandma Flinn and great grandma Harke came to stay last weekend. The past two weeks mommy had her first experience with the baby poop explosions--with the diaper off, first time sucking boogies from baby's nose, first day out running errands, first smile at mommy (well atleast I think it was--it may have been more gas--but we are going with the first ;) ), first time sleeping five hours straight!!!! Here are a few pictures from the past couple of weeks. Will post more soon---ENJOY!!!

Mommy's friend Amanda was in town--so she met us at mawmaws and we had a great visit!

Mommy's friend Kerri had baby Blake five weeks before Brayden was born, so we set up our first playdate last week---they pretty much slept and ate--but the mommies got to catch up--it was soo much fun!

First Bath

2008-08-28T16:54:00.006-05:00

Brayden was able to get his first bath last night. It was so much fun, even if it did make him mad. After he was soooo relaxed and is still sleeping great, only wakes up to eat and get his little diaper changed. We are hoping this lasts!!!!

Daddy finishing bath time so Mommy could snap some pictures.Bathtime is over---now he is happy!!!

My sweet little boy----He really likes the robe grandma got him....isnt he the cutest?!?!?

Week 1

2008-08-23T10:35:00.007-05:00

Here are a few random pictures from the week. Its so hard to believe one week has already passed by---he is already growing up too quickly for momma!

Meeting the Family

2008-08-23T09:39:00.008-05:00

Here is some of Brayden's family meeting him for the very first time. Ofcourse he hasnt gotten to meet everyone yet, but we look forward to when they do. They are all already spoiling him so much---we look forward to many more visits soon! Thank you for all of the emails, prayers, visits and gifts, we appreciate everything everyone has done for us.

The Grandparents

Aunts and Uncles and Cousin Cohen

Baby Brayden

2008-08-22T14:05:00.004-05:00

Hi all, here are a few pics of our week so far. I cannot believe how fast time has flown by. We are cherishing every day, hour, and second with him!!! He is doing well, after his little overnight in the bili bed, everything is looking great. Its amazing to see how much he has changed in just five days! I have a lot more pictures but here are some really cute ones with daddy.

Look whos eyes are open!!!!! I love this picture!!!

Look whos here!!!!!!

2008-08-17T11:06:00.004-05:00

BRAYDEN REESE!!!!!!

Our little guy was born this morning at 12:28 am---he weighed in at 8Ibs, and 19 inches long!!!

Only 4 weeks early

More pictures to come soon!!!!

The Crib

2008-08-14T06:45:00.000-05:00

My dad Bret is making the crib and it is in its final stages of being finished as we speak. We love it, it looks like something out of a custom baby furniture shop----I had given him several pictures of what I wanted, cribs I had found at pottery barn, babies r us, etc, but this turned out SOO much better. He ordered the parts that have to be to code and once they got there got to work on this great piece of furniture. The best part is he made it so the back will come off and we can use it as a headboard once he is in a big boy bed. This is one of our presents given to us by my parents and it is so special that it is handmade and designed by him. Thanks again guys!!!!

Look for pictures of the stained finished product SOON!!!! Then we will post pictures of his room and the quilts my grandma made with the farm theme print.

Baby Bunco

2008-08-14T06:20:00.001-05:00

Last Friday my sisters threw me a baby shower and for the main shower theme we played baby bunco. Last year one friday a month I played Bunco with my mom and some other ladies from the neighborhood, so my sisters invited them along with some of their daughters and my friends. I dont think I got any pictures of us actually playing, but my sisters made the cutest onsies as gifts for the baby. His aunts are already so crazy about him! It was great to play with everyone again, and everyone celebrating for us and showering me with gifts was so appreciated. All of the work my sisters and mom put into made it such a nice and relaxing evening. It was a much needed girls night!

The aunts posing with baby and I the night before at dinner

Arent these personalized onsies made by my sisters the cutest?!?! We got so many other cute outfits and great gifts, I cant post them all, but be sure to look at upcoming pictures once he is here, because he definetly will be displaying them. My mom got us the cutest little slugger outfit, we are thinking depending on the weather and how big he is, that may be his coming home outfit.

Birthday Dinner

2008-08-14T06:00:00.000-05:00

My parents took our family out for my sister Brooke and my birthday. We went to my favorite restaurant MIKOS---a great Japanese teppan restaurant. It was great having my sister home, we havent had a family dinner with all of us in forever. BIRTHDAY GIRLS!!! My sister and I are 10 days shy of being a year apart, when I was little I couldnt wait to turn a year older so that I still felt like the big sister---these days I dont look as forward to rub it in her face that I am a year older--I can only imagine how the tables will be turned when we get older---LOL. This Saturday is actually my real birthday and I am hoping sometime this weekend Nathan and I are able to celebrate a little---maybe we will have one more date night before baby gets here?!?!? But thats not a hint to the hubby or anything ;)

33/34/35 Weeks

2008-08-07T07:00:00.000-05:00

The Flinns have been pretty busy the past couple of weeks. Last weekend we moved to a townhouse giving us more room for baby and ourselves, and the best part is I am closer to work, YAY for not as much $ going to gas---my biggest pet peeve for the moment! Yesterday we had a doctors appt where everything is still looking great! Next week we go for another ultrasound and some other tests to make sure he isnt getting too big in there and were both healthy. Then one more week and we are considered full term....I cant wait to meet my roly poly little boy. For now we are almost completely unpacked, besides the items we had in storage---and we are working nightly on getting ready for baby....here is a picture of daddy tackling one of the many "baby gear" items that needed to be put together. I will have more pics after this weekend, my sisters are throwing me my last baby shower where we will be playing "baby bunco", and hopefully we will have pictures of all of our hard work we are planning on doing--- where our goal is the have the car seat installed, the rest of the items put together, the laundry done, and all the remaining needed items bought = shopping---my favorite part ;)

32 weeks and counting.....

2008-07-24T17:45:00.003-05:00

Here is the latest update and picture of our little guy...still remaining nameless, although mommy and daddy think they may have it narrowed down.

Here is the little guys hand...getting bigger!

Here is his feet, both of them one propped on the other.

Dr said he is looking great, and getting very big....they estimate his weight at just a little over 5 pounds, which means he could be between a 7-9 pound baby and the ultrasound tech said he has lots of hair on that beautiful head of his. We cannot wait to hold our roly poly little baby----less than 51 days!!!

Look Who Is ONE already!!!

2008-07-24T17:20:00.001-05:00

One of Cohens very first days....

Happy First Birthday Cohen---a little late, but I still cant believe how fast this year went by. It has been such a joy to see him grow even if we had to watch sometimes through pictures and his little coos I got to hear over the phone! We cant wait to see the changes he makes this next year.

Look at him now......the perfect little one year old

Baby Shower, Baptism, Birthday

2008-07-24T05:30:00.000-05:00

We recently had another very busy, but very fun weekend back in Missouri. With it being our last weekend we could really travel that far until the little guy was born, it was nice to have a weekend full of visiting.

My sister in law Sarah made one of the coolest centerpieces for the family shower---a Diaper Cake!!! It is a very cool idea, and Im sure took way more patience than I have to make! My sister in law Amanda brought the real cake---sooo yummy. Nathan and Cohen spending a little time together Saturday evening after dinner---we dont get to see Cohen as often as we would like---I loved this picture of the two of them and had to share! Cohen being baptized Sunday morning. Cohen's first birthday party later that afternoon, the weather was great, and it was so much fun watching him enjoy his party---and the cake.

Nusbaum Family Fishing Trip

2008-07-01T19:31:00.007-05:00

Nathan just got back from a week of fishing in Vermillion Bay, Canada on Eagle Lake with the men in my family. He had so much fun, and caught quite a bit of fish considering the warmer than average temperatures. Here are a few pictures from his week with the guys. He wanted to make sure we gave a great big thanks to Nonna and Pa for such a great Christmas present!!!!

Fishing and Friends

2008-06-24T22:09:00.003-05:00

Nathan left for his big Canada fishing trip with my stepdad, brother, grandpa, uncle and cousins husband. My grandpa does this every other year as a christmas gift to all the men in my family. They are staying at Stanleys Resort, so they have comfortable living conditions, but still have access to the great outdoors. http://www.stanleys.com/ . He sounds like he is having so much fun, although its unusually warm there for this time of year they are still catching fish, and he said he is taking pictures so I will be posting shortly after he returns.

While Nathan was gone last weekend I decided to ride the train to MO and visit with my girlfriends from Warrenton. It was fun to see everyone and plan my friends bachelorette party and bridal shower, she is getting married October 25th, and I am the matron of honor. So the bridesmaids and I decided we better get some of this planned before our baby arrives.

Here is the future bride and her bridesmaids--there are two more bridesmaids but they live out of town, so they werent able to make it.

Baby Shower and Father's Day

2008-06-24T21:29:00.009-05:00

These are pictures from our couples shower that was thrown for us. We had so much fun, and it was so great to be able to see our friends and siblings. My sister in law Amanda decorated her house and outside area with our Farm Nursery theme, it looked so good, and made us even more excited to start decorating the babies room.

We got to meet our friends Mark and Angie's little guy for the first time...Tyler is SOOO CUTE!!! Here is a picture of him and Cohen playing together. The weather was so nice they got to play together outside. Look how handsome Cohen is getting---we still cant believe he will be 1 in three weeks--life flies by.

Sunday was Fathers Day, so we continued the great weekend at Jesse and Amanda's and had Fathers day breakfast with Nathans family. Here is a shot of Jesse cooking us some yummy breakfast---checkout that camo apron!

We then headed to Warrenton to visit with my family. We dont see them as much as we would like, so it was great to visit with everyone and honor my grandpa on Fathers day.

Baby Flinn

2008-06-24T21:11:00.004-05:00

Meet our little guy!! We still dont have a name yet, so we are thinking it will just be a surprise to everyone. We have less than 12 weeks until we meet him and cannot wait, as you can see he is getting bigger and bigger, these are our favorite ultrasound pics. We thought we would spare you the boy part pictures---but he is DEFINETLY a BOY :) 6 weeks15 weeks21 weeks

What else we have been up to!

2008-06-02T14:47:00.004-05:00

This past weekend we came back for one of Nathan's dear high school friends wedding. Laura and her now husband Jesse got married at New Town in St Charles, that is an awesome place, I had no idea how big it had gotten or how much was back there, and the wedding chapel is beautiful! The reception was held at the Heart of St Charles, and there Nathan got to catch up with several of his friends he hadnt seen in forever, it was so fun to hear about all of there adventures!! Hopefully Miss Diana will be sending us some better pics to post---never the less here is a good one of Nathan atleast.

Congratulations Laura and Jesse!!!!

Sunday my grandma from Texas flew into st louis, so we met her and my aunt and cousin at Dave and Busters for lunch before heading back to Illinois...it was so nice to get to see them, and they surprised us with baby gifts ;) My cousin or Nathan didnt get into the pictures, but it was nice to get one of the girls, my aunt connie, my gma, my sis, and me (i know i know--Im huge---after this weekend I think I may need to clarify--there is only one little guy in there and I am aware the baby may be big--have you seen my husband??? I think our little boy new he would get a lot of attention this weekend, because about Saturday morning he decided to move his little body out front and center--oh well I love it, its great to know he his growing healthy and happy in there.)

Last Chance in Hawk Point

2008-06-02T14:11:00.007-05:00

As many of you know Nathan is in a band, and in April his band made a trip to Hawk Point, MO for a show. So many of our friends and family came to watch, it was great to see everyone. Here are a few pics from the night, including some of my sister who lives in STL, we dont see her very much and she hadnt seen the growing baby bump yet, so she decided we needed to take some pretty funny, yet great pics together. And ofcourse we got to see our favorite little nephew while we were in town (not at the bar ofcourse--lol--nana watched him while his mommy and daddy came to watch uncle slim play the drums)--he is getting so big, he has become the highlight of our visits to Missouri. Look for updated pics of him too!

Getting Started

2008-06-02T13:17:00.002-05:00

Hello!! My name is Ashley and I am a blog-stalker.......JUUUUSSST KIDDDDDING! (That is the way my dear husband thought I should have started this, lol---) I am so excited to be in the blogging world, so many of our MO friends have one and its soo fun to see how their kids grow and what fun things their families have going on in their lives. We thought this would be a great way for our family and friends to keep up with us, and because we do live further away it will be a great way for everyone to be able to see many updated pictures of our little guy once he arrives. I was going to wait for him to actually get here, but we have so many fun things planned this summer and I thought this may keep me from going crazy as I wait for him!!! So here we are are!!!!!!