Season Opener

Football. We look forward to it every year... wishing, hoping, knowing that this season, the Buffalo Bills will turn it around.

We got all decked out yesterday, pumped for the first game of the season. We headed over to my sister-in-law's mom's house for a little party, arriving just in time for kickoff.

And then it got ugly. And they lost. Blah.

But hey, we had fun. We had lots of food. It felt like fall. And we took lots of pictures.

Nora ate three deviled eggs all by herself.

Bryce got some snuggling from Grammy and his aunts.

Nora randomly climbed on a scooter and I pushed her around while she balanced on it like she was a skateboarder. Awesome.

Hunter thought that these goggles were on correctly. Bwahahahaha.

Nora somehow knew that this toy screwdriver was to be used on a screw. I have no idea how. She amazes me.

The kids "fixed" the scooter.

Bryce slept most of the time. We oohed and ahhed over his cute little shirt and the adorable football socks. We laughed at his jeans. :)

Nora took a turn with the hat and the goggles. And proceeded to get this tool set added to her birthday list.

Nora had fun playing with her daddy in a broken bounce house.

So hey, it wasn't all for naught.

Nora ended the day playing the drums... surprisingly well. We always had visions of her being a piano player because she was born with such long, dainty fingers, but the girl has some talent on the drums. Hmmm... who knows. :)

Better luck next week, Bills. We're not giving up on you just yet.

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Goodbye, Poppy

We said a final goodbye to a wonderful man today.

Michael's grandfather--known to all of us as Poppy--passed away on Saturday. We actually found out about it in the middle of our family photo session. We had missed calls and text messages from family and feared the worst. Unfortunately, those fears were confirmed.

It was sudden. Although Poppy was 82 years old, he was seemingly in decent shape (all things considered). He was still largely independent, lived alone, and still drove himself around to locations within reason. But on Saturday, Poppy died from a heart attack at home.

Poppy was the sweetest, kindest person. He was quiet--never said too much--but always greeted and departed us with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. In trying to describe him to people, I've been telling them to think about the stereotypical "cute old man." Poppy was the epitome of cute old man. Seriously, they don't come any cuter than he was.

As his son-in-law (Michael's uncle) said in his eulogy today, Poppy was a true family man. He loved his wife--who sadly passed away in 2006--and his children, grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. I will never forget the way our nephew, Brendan, would run to him yelling, "Poppyyyy!!"

I will always remember the sound of his voice on the other end of the phone. "Michael? It's Poppy!" He would end every conversation with Michael by telling him to "give the girls a kiss for me" (meaning Nora and me).

Every time we saw Poppy, he would give us a "care package." He did this for all of his grandchildren. Rolls of paper towels, windshield wiper fluid, laundry detergent, nightlights, random tools that he picked up on sale at Big Lots. Thinking about it now just kills me because they were the simplest, least glamorous "gifts" to give--just compilations of items stuffed into a Wegmans bag--but could there be any greater expression of love? He thought of us when he bought that stuff. He planned ahead, putting together the bags in advance of seeing us. He took great joy in handing it over, knowing he was helping take care of us. I just... I... wow.

To say that he will be missed and that his absence has already been felt profoundly--it's just not enough. That is a gross understatement. We know how lucky we were to have him for as long as we did, but it doesn't lessen the sense of loss. We take comfort in knowing that he is reunited with his beloved wife. We joke that she must already be giving him hell--he had six years of peace and quiet after her death, but no more. :)

As he got older (and after he lost Nana), Poppy truly became like another child for Michael's aunt and uncle. As I mentioned, he was still independent in many ways, but he needed and appreciated his daughter and her family. He did funny "old man" things--wandered off in the store where no one could find him. Left his car running during an entire dinner out at a restaurant. Accidentally got into the backseat of a stranger's car. As a result, the "Sibby Stories" were the source of much laughter, and Poppy was the butt of the joke. These stories would be recounted right there in his presence, and Poppy would do nothing but laugh with us. Even he thought his antics were funny!

Poppy was a volunteer firefighter for 37 years, a member of his fire company until the day he died. (You may remember that I made Poppy an insane fire truck cake in celebration of his 80th birthday in 2010.) Actually, he will forever be a member of that fire company. One of the most impactful things that we experienced over the last few days was to see the love and respect bestowed upon him by his fire family. To see all of those people in uniform, saluting and honoring Poppy multiple times--it was awe-inspiring.

We followed Poppy's casket into church today as saluting firefighters lined the sidewalk on both sides. The funeral procession from the church to the cemetery included numerous fire trucks, and a ride past the firehouse, where two fireman stood at the edge of the street, saluting--a chair with a fireman's gear between them to represent their lost comrade.

It was so incredibly touching.

It comes as no surprise to me that he was loved by so many, because Poppy was not difficult to love. He was the type of person who was cared for and remembered by people who had only met him once.

I loved him like he was my own grandfather. I feel privileged to have called him "Poppy."

Poppy, I would say "Rest in Peace," but we know that with Nana by your side, that's just not possible. :) We also know that you wouldn't want it any other way. Much love from all of us who you left behind. We'll miss you deeply.

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Ketchup Day

It has been a really, really long time since I've done a "Ketchup Day" post. But as I sit here and think about what it is that I want/need to write about, it is a hodge-podge of stuff so I was having trouble coming up with a title. Then it occurred to me--it's Ketchup Day. Because I'm catching up, you know.
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We made the leap and ordered CORK FLOORS for our entryway, kitchen, and half bath. I am still so nervous about the whole thing, because this wasn't an easy decision. It is the largest investment we've made in our home so far, and I just really, really want to love it when it's all said and done.

Obviously, in an ideal world, I think we'd all love to have gorgeous, continuous flooring all throughout our homes. But we're not dealing with a new build; our house is 40 years old. An "open floor plan," we do not have. We wouldn't have been able to match our existing hardwoods in a way that was satisfactory or affordable for us, so we had to look at other options. We couldn't get behind the idea of tile, so... we're taking a chance on the road less traveled with the cork.

And, well, I'm shaking in my boots about it. It's just such a huge change. But I haaaaate the current parquet, so I figure that at the very least, it has to be an improvement. Right? I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but nothing really is.

Here are the photos of the floor I shared when we were going through the process of debating and deciding:

{Cork with our existing hardwoods--which are staying--in the dining room and formal living room/playroom. There will be a transition strip here, just as there would be if we had done tile.}

{Cork next to our carpet that we have just in the family room}

{Cork with the white of our cabinets and with a peek of our countertops}

The floor is scheduled to be installed (by a pro) the week of August 20th. We have a lot of prep work to do leading up to it, including as much demo of the old floor as we can manage on our own. Every square foot of it that we rip up ourselves saves us like $2 or $2.50 so YEAH.

Here's hoping that the cork is everything we dream it will be!
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The Olympics have made me a completely worthless human being. Seriously, if I'm not working or taking care of/playing with Nora, I have my ass parked on the couch in front of the boob tube. It's addicting; I can't turn it off.

I have always loved the Olympics, especially the summer ones. I still vividly remember watching the '96 games while we were at my dad's for the summer. I was 14 and just obsessed! It was so cool back then to have them in the States here; I'd love to have them back again. The worst thing about being in a different time zone from the games is THE SPOILERS! I feel like I can't go anywhere without seeing something Olympics related so I've been staying away from all news sites. And I find it to be completely obnoxious when people announce stuff on Facebook.

I can watch pretty much any event, but my favorites are swimming, gymnastics, diving, the track and field events, and volleyball. I have to say that I'm pretty sick of hearing about the decline of Michael Phelps, but it's nice to see the other American swimmers succeed. And the women's gymnastics last night? Incredible. I cried.The lack of sleep is surely going to catch up with me at some point but for now I am hanging in there. So far, the late nights have been worth it!
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We had a mini family reunion of sorts on Sunday. My cousin and her husband were visiting from Shanghai (where they currently live), so my mom invited a bunch of our extended family members over to her house for a barbecue.

We had great weather and my cousins brought all of their kids, so it was a lot of fun to see all of them run around together. There are five kids who were all born within 20 months of each other, and it was hilarious to see them all interact. I get such joy out of seeing my girl with other kids, because she just seems to love them so much.

{Jake, 18 months & Nora, 22 months}

{Nora, 22 months & Logan, who will be 3 in September. I love the way Nora is looking at her!}

{Ring Around the Rosie}

{The Toddler Club + Michael}

{We also did a big birthday cake for my grandma, who turned 80 in April}

It was one of those perfect summer days that for some reason reminded me a lot of my own childhood. Kids running around outside having fun all day... I didn't want to go home!
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On a final note, I can't believe it's August already. I love summer so much that I'm not ready to begin even thinking about the end of it yet. But I know that before we know it, we'll be welcoming football, apple picking, and crisp mornings and evenings back into our lives. I do love fall; I just don't like what comes after it.

Here's to making the most of the rest of the summer. Cheers to tank tops, shorts, flip flop tan lines, bare feet, sidewalk chalk, cold beers, and sleeping with the windows open!

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Bryce

It's really been a whole week since I last posted? I guess it makes sense; it's been a busy one.

It all started on Friday of last week when my brother called to tell me that he and his 9-months-pregnant wife were heading to the hospital to be "monitored" again for potential pre-eclampsia. As it turned out, Marie DID have pre-eclampsia (severe pre-eclampsia, actually) and she was admitted to be induced.

I was on call to be there to take photos, but things moved very slowly from Friday night through the whole day Saturday. Tyler finally called me around 7:00 p.m. on Saturday to say that things were picking up, so I decided to head down to the hospital. Unfortunately for them, things continued to move pretty slow... and long story short, the baby wasn't born until nearly 9:30 a.m. on Sunday. It was a looooong night for everyone, but especially Marie! I got about an hour of sleep on Saturday night, so I was pretty dead to the world on Sunday (as was everyone else in our family).

Without further ado, here's a little peek at our newest nephew. His name is Bryce.

My dad drove up on Saturday morning to get here for the birth (needless to say, he made it with plenty of time to spare!), so he stayed with us all week. He just left this morning. So this week, we've just been busy with family--hanging out with my dad, going to the hospital, working, etc.

It's always sad to see my dad leave at the end of a visit, since he loves seeing Nora (and Hunter, and now Bryce) so much. But we've been doing a lot of eating out and running around and generally being out of sorts, so it'll be nice to get back into our normal daily routine. Too bad we're heading into a super busy weekend! We have a wedding and then a family party for my cousin who is visiting from Shanghai.

Hopefully I'll be able to get back into the blogging groove!

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Daddy's Day

I can't start this post without calling out the fact that this is my 1,000th post on Heather Drive. Whoa! Sorry I didn't plan a celebration. At the very least, I could've brought cupcakes. Forgive me.

We had a busy--but really great--day today. I love weekends like the one we just had. Perfect weather, plans with family, fun activities and play time for just the three of us.

We decided a few weeks ago that we were going to get Nora her birthday present a bit early--almost two months early, in fact. It's tough because she doesn't really ever have the opportunity to be given "outdoor" stuff. Her birthday is in September, so it's late to be gifting bikes and sprinklers and pools and stuff. And at Christmas, we're all freezing our butts off and summer--although longed for--is not top of mind. We knew that Nora would L-O-V-E a playhouse of some sort, so we figured we'd get her one for her birthday. But why wait until September, when she'd only have a handful of weeks left to play in it? She's young enough right now that she won't know the difference when we don't get her anything "big" for the actual day.

Anyway, we settled on a Step2 Neat and Tidy Cottage, and when we saw that it went on sale at Toys 'R' Us last week, we planned to buy it. But then by Thursday night, they sold out. And we were bummed because we had really wanted to get it at the discount, and also have it for the weekend. I did some quick Googling and found that Kmart actually had it on sale on their website for just $10 more than the TRU price. Not ideal, but they had it available for pickup at our local store, so we figured $10 was worth not having to monkey with it anymore. But then I Googled last minute for a coupon code, and what do you know? There was one, for 10% off. And it worked. So we ended up getting it for a few dollars CHEAPER than Toys 'R' Us. Thank you, shopping gods.

We got around to putting it together on Saturday night, after Nora went to bed. We cracked open a couple of beers and set out to work in the soft evening sunlight. A perfect evening to be outside enjoying it a little. As we built it, we kept talking about how much our girl would love it.

And then Michael and Tessa tested it out a little. And then we waited anxiously until morning.

We started our Father's Day with some strawberry pancakes--just like for Mother's Day--and then it was time for the big reveal (for Nora, but don't worry--there were gifts for Michael, too). Nora spotted it back there under the trees before we even opened the back door. So when we finally walked her down the deck stairs and let her loose... she made a bee-line right to the little house. (She's still in her pajamas, in case you were wondering.)
To say she was thrilled would be an understatement.

Once she was in, she wouldn't get out.

Michael had to pick her up and carry her inside, which resulted in a massive tantrum. Unlike some of her other tantrums, I actually felt badly about this one since she was just having fun and wanted it to continue. BUT... I'm also wondering how long it'll be until some of the novelty wears off and we'll be able to get her back inside without issue. This week should be fun! ;)

Once we got ready, we were off to the strawberry patch. I've actually never been strawberry picking before--funny, since I love apple picking so much. You'd think I would've broadened my horizons before now! So, it was Nora's first time, too.

Nora was a natural. At picking berries off of the ground, and popping them directly into her mouth (stems and all!), that is. God made dirt and dirt don't hurt. And green stems are extra fiber. You know.

It's a good thing that this patch was OK with "taste testing," because Nora was covered in the evidence.

Michael's sister met us there for a little while, too.

It was hot out there, so we filled our quart container and headed back home. Nora went down for a nap, and when she was up again, we went to my mom's for a very early dinner, then to Michael's parents' house to spend some time with them, too. A good day.

Once we pulled in back at home, we stopped to take an official Father's Day pic before getting Nora to the bath immediately. :)

Happy Father's Day to Michael. Nora couldn't ask for a better daddy!

Stay tuned tomorrow for my "Day in the Life" via Instagram recap post. Don't know what I'm talking about? Check it out here. And, if you didn't participate yet but want to, feel free! It's not time sensitive. And I gotta say, it's been fun! :)

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