Daddy's Birthday Week Part 2!

Mommy and I decided to celebrate the end of daddy's birthday week with a surprise party for him. Daddy is a pretty smart man and we think he was on to us. It could have been mommy accidentally slipping up earlier in the week, or all the cooking that mommy did the day of the party or that Uncle Mike and our neighbor Chris invited daddy out to drinks that night to get him out of the house. Either way, daddy played along and allowed us to "surprise" him! Lots of fun people came to the party including mommy and daddy's friends, cousins, neighbors and co-workers. Here is a picture of daddy with his friend Rob.







My Aunts both came to the party. Aunt Shannon and Uncle Matt drove all the way from Long Island for daddy's birthday. Aunt Carolyn and Uncle Mike didn't have to travel so far (just down the hall) but Uncle Mike played a very important role in daddy's surprise.

Here is a picture of mommy with Aunt Shannon and Aunt Carolyn.










Mommy's friend Sandra is so much fun! She came early to help mommy get ready for the party. As you can tell, there was no chance of me going to sleep while a party was going on!

















Daddy's cousin Erin and her boyfriend Jeff were also at the party.


















Mommy and daddy made sure that there were friends for me to play with too! My cousin Lorelai and Rob and Sheri's daughter Madison kept me entertained. I stayed up until 12:30 when the party finally ended. There were so many people to see and things to do that there was NO chance of me going to bed early!!! I'm already a party animal.


Love, Oliver

Daddy's Birthday Week-Part 1

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!

On March 10, daddy turned the big 3-0! Mommy and I decided that since it was such a big occasion, a weeks worth of celebrating was in order. It all began the day before his birthday when mommy, daddy and I met up with Nonna and Papa halfway between Mashpee and Beverly for dinner. We had a great time and I was on my best behavior because I knew we were celebrating dad. We even got to meet the owner who was the head chef that evening. We had a lot of fun.


The next day was daddy's actual birthday. Mommy wanted to make sure to do something special for him so she invited Grammi, Dziadzia, Uncle Mike and Aunt Carolyn over for dinner and cake. As you can tell from all the pictures, I had a great time. I really felt that daddy needed my help opening his cards and presents and tasting the cake. Someone had to make sure that it tasted okay, why not have it be me! Mommy made King Ranch casserole and bought a strawberry shortcake cake for daddy.




I stayed up the entire evening. It was too exciting of a time for me to sleep. Plus, as I mentioned before I was daddy's big helper. I was secretly practicing for my birthday in July.

I think daddy had a good time at his birthday dinner.







Dad may have thought his birthday was over, but mommy and I had another surprise up our sleeve...

Remembering My Great Uncle Tony

My Great Uncle Tony passed away last Tuesday morning. From what mommy and daddy told me, he was a pretty incredible man who had a significant impact on everyone he encountered. I met him at Uncle Dan and Aunt Erin's wedding in January. He made me smile when he held me in his arms. According to Aunt LouAnn, he thought I was the "bee's knees". I'm not sure what that means, but it sounds pretty special. He was daddy's Godfather and he did a reading at mommy and daddy's wedding.

My Great Uncle Tony was born on March 2, 1943. He married Great Aunt LouAnn on June 27, 1970. He received a bachelor of science degree in biology and chemistry from St. Francis University and a master's in microbiology from the University of West Virginia. He went on to receive his medical degree from the University of Tennessee Center for Health Sciences. His specialty was internal medicine and addiction medicine. He was a member of the First Baptist Church where he served as a deacon and was part of the church council. He also enjoyed hunting and belonged to Ducks Unlimited, was a range officer for the Cape Girardeau County Gun Club, NRA, Bootheel Boss Gobblers and Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. What an accomplished man.

This past weekend we flew in to Nashville and drove to Cape Girardeau for the wake and funeral. The wake was on Friday night. The number of people who came to show their support was incredible. Mommy and daddy could not believe how many people's lives Great Uncle Tony had impacted. There were hundreds of people at the wake. On Saturday we went to the funeral. It was such a beautiful service. Charles and Phillip gave very touching speeches about their father.

We were able to spend time with so many relatives this past weekend. We saw GG, Nonna, Papa, Great Uncle Mike, Great Aunt LouAnn, Aunt Margaret, Uncle Tom, Grace, Ryan, Aunt Erin, Uncle Dan, Charles, Andrea, Isabelle, Phillip, Great Aunt Jackie, Great Uncle Bill, Julie, Tim, Linda, Tony, Erin and Teri.

We will miss Great Uncle Tony.

Love, Oliver