C.S. "Pop" Doan

The invitation for the celebration

The tickets to Saturday's events.  I'm pretty sure I won't ever have a basketball ticket that indicates "FLOOR" seating again.  Unless they're free :)

From the ceremony program

My great-grandfather was a math professor at Purdue in the 1920s.  He was friends with the athletic director, and one day stopped by to visit.  The AD was in a ticket mess; tickets were everywhere, and he didn't know what to do.  He turned to his friend, the math whiz, for help.  Pop's response: "I'll take care of it, as long as you go home."  That decision turned into Pop's being the first athletic ticket manager in the Big Ten, a position he held for over 40 years.  During that time, he only missed one football game (I would love to know the reason behind that miss).  He and his wife Hazel hosted post-football game parties at their house after every home game, where my Dad got to meet people like Red Mackey and Duane Purvis.  Pop also strung the "P"s onto the Old Oaken Bucket, which is awarded during the Purdue-IU football game; and, family legend has it, the Bucket used to sleep under my grandfather Joe's bed, so as to deter those crazy Hoosiers from stealing it!  Pop became friends with most every athlete who crossed the sacred Boiler Country, and passed that love of Purdue onto his only son and his oldest grandson, who both played baseball at Purdue.  The Purdue defensive & offensive players of the Purdue-IU game are awarded the "Pop Doan" award, and until the recent Mackey Arena renovations, there was a large photo display of Pop's newspaper articles, photos, etc.

All of that leads up to the phone call my Dad received during the six days he was home between his hospitalization for pneumonia (December 3-9) and his scheduled surgery on December 15, 2011.  He answered the phone to hear, "Hi, this is Morgan Burke (for those uneducated Boiler fans, Burke is the current and awesome Purdue Athletic Director).  I'm calling to tell you that your grandfather has been elected to join the next class of Purdue Athletic Hall of Fame inductees, and we will honor the class the second weekend of April.  We hope you and your family can join us." (Okay, I have no idea what he actually said, other than mistakenly calling Pop Dad's father.  Anyway, you get the drift).  This was SUCH a fun, exciting thing to hear under normal circumstances - throw in the emotional turmoil our family was going through with Dad's illness, and it just became something for him to work toward.

We slowly got the word out about this incredible honor (for reference, people like John Wooden are in the Purdue Athletic Hall of Fame), and we had a nice cast of characters there for the induction ceremony.  Mom, Dad, Julie and I.  Uncle John & Aunt Vi from Washington, DC.  Bob Starbuck (Pop's great-nephew) from North Carolina.  Nial & Susan Henry (Pop's great-niece) from Wilmington, Ohio.  Chris & Cari Van Pelt (Pop's great-great-nephew) from Cinci/Indy.  Pop would have been pleased, I believe, at this event that brought many of us together for planning (Susan's brother David Gregory was also a huge help in getting photos, information, etc, but was unfortunately unable to join us).

This Purdue grad was very grateful to celebrate this occasion with my family; realizing that I am a third-generation Purdue grad, all starting with a NON-Purdue grad starting an amazing legacy at Purdue nearly 100 years ago, was pretty humbling.

BOILER UP!!!

Happy Birthday Grace & Aya!

We celebrated Gracie & Aya's fourth birthdays with a joint party at Interactive Academy on the 14th. These two are part of the fab four group (with Melanie and Ellie) who have been having play dates in the Westons for several years now.   Aya moved across town last fall, but their friendship hasn't wavered!  Since Aya is expecting a new baby sister any day now, she and Grace decided to combine their parties, and a great time was had by all!

The two birthday girls

Melanie out of her comfort zone, down on the floor without Mommy.

Getting ready for her turn on what ended up being her favorite activity.

Balancing!

I'm still surprised she is down there on her own.

Mel with Gracie the Birthday Girl

Still marveling at the fact I'm upstairs.

Knocking over the blocks.

Okay, now I'm back downstairs with her.  

Happy Birthday Gracie & Aya!!!  

Happy Easter!!

Poppy is smiling on the inside.  Maybe Joey is too.

Plucking eggs from the trees

Joey was out on the patio helping the men grill.

Let the Egg Hunt Begin!!

Action shot!

Joey was slow to get started.  And apparently didn't know the word "bucket," as he kept trying to put the egg in his pocket.  Once we got that ironed out, he was a little quicker.

Another action shot

Joey went off in his own direction, deciding not to battle the girls for the eggs.

Nice big sister, sharing her eggs.  Okay, only since she ran out of room in her basket.  But still :)

Okay, this pose may have come at a cost - bribing them with a cookie!  And it might be strategically cropped so you don't see that they're wearing tights - no pants - with their shirts.

The closest I could get to getting a picture of the two of them smiling for the camera

Joey's Easter basket included tools and protective goggles.

Whoever had the goggles on was the "Superhero," resulting in many laps up and down this path

A rare still moment.  I love looking at Mel and Poppy's hands.

Easter was a fun day in Frankfort.  We headed to town for the "late" church service, and Melanie and Molly were in the nursery together.  If only they could go to church together every Sunday, I might be able to actually sit through services!  Joey fell asleep about 3 blocks from the church, so Jeff decided to drive around with him, get the car washed, etc.  So I went to church with just my Dad, Mom, and sister; just like the old days!  After church we headed back to Mom & Dad's for the Easter egg hunt and a yummy dinner (it kept confusing Melanie that we were eating "dinner" at 2pm; we had to keep adjusting our choice of words!)  When we headed home - around 4pm - both the kids were asleep before we even got to 421 (within 10 minutes of leaving Gigi & Poppy's) - and stayed asleep for at least an hour once we got home.  Big day!!

Getting Ready for Easter

Coloring Easter eggs with Molly.  They showed amazing patience with the process!  This is one of those projects that definitely sounds better in theory!!

Melanie was waiting in the driveway for her friend Ellie to pick her up, because I was at a funeral and Joey was asleep (so Jeff couldn't take her).  She did an excellent job leaving with her friend!!  And, she ended up taking a normal basket, not her trick-or-treat bucket :)

Waiting for the egg hunt with Ellie!!

After the neighborhood egg hunt, and before Easter Sunday, we kept our skills sharp by collecting pinecones in the backyard!

Goofy Kids - Practicing Emotions

Surprised

Goofy

My favorite

Mad

Sad

Proud?

I got my camera fixed on Friday, and was testing it out after dinner.  The kids were hamming it up for the camera, trying out different emotions as I called them out.  I'm not sure what they all are, mostly just goofy.  This was about a quarter of the pictures I took, they were being such goofballs!  As you can see, Joey just wants to mimic anything & everything his big sister does!!

MGW & JPW

The kids' new favorite place to eat...the front porch

We had a busy March, and I know I put way too many pictures up to chronicle our adventures, but, again...this is the only place I really store them.  So bear with me :)

The kids are both doing great.  They are in the 4 (Chickadees) and 2 (Cubs) classrooms at school, and continue to enjoy their class.  They are practicing for the "Spring Fling," the annual school singing show the Friday of Mother's Day weekend.

Joey is still not talking a ton, but will repeat ANYTHING his sister says.  He's started focusing on names lately, and is especially obsessed with yelling "PAULA!!" at the top of his lungs from our front porch.  He has shown a lot of interest in potty training, although I'm not pushing it at all (for my own sake).  Every time he says he needs to go, he actually does go.  So I'm contemplating having them focus more on it at daycare.  He still loves cottonballs, can be soothed by watching Elmo, and is a good cuddler, unlike when he was a baby.  He throws frequent tantrums, but the aforementioned cotton balls (he pronounces it "nyanya") and a good Elmo episode calms him down.   He also loves to dance.

Melanie has really been practicing writing her letters.  She writes her name unassisted, and loves activities where she can practice writing.  Melanie's biggest personality trait is her "fashion sense."  She chooses her own clothes, and loves to layer.  She changes clothes MULTIPLE times a day, and always has a specific idea about what she's going for.  Sometimes that involves polka-dots with stripes, sometimes that involves wearing 18-month shorts.

Sad to say, nearly a month after the time change, both of the kids still have a bed time about an hour later than previously (we went from 7:30/8:30 to 8:30/9:30).  That part would be manageable - but when it's Mel's bedtime, she screams and cries after we leave.  Last night (Monday) was the first time she didn't, and incidentally, I wasn't home.  So we're going to try a few nights of my being gone during her bedtime.

Melanie has gotten more outgoing in certain situations.  She went to dinner with my friends and me last Saturday night, and made a friend at the restaurant, running around and being independent with her.  She's been talking more to our friends, and seems to be gaining that independence.  This is counteracted with her behavior a couple of weeks ago when we tried to drop the kids off at Parents' Night Out at ZHS, and she threw such a fit we just decided to take the kids home.  Joey, too, doesn't do a good job being left.  When I have church daycare or Sunday School duty, I take the respective kid with me.  Neither is good with me just co-existing with them and other children.  They are allllways with me in those classrooms.

The kids are becoming little partners-in-crime, and it's fun to see the things they come up with.  Of course there are always fights; but it's interesting to see them work things out and learn when to pick their battles and when to give into one another.  It's also interesting to see them watch out for each other around other kids, or even in the house.  If Melanie has two of something, she'll immediately offer the second to Joe. While driving tonight, I looked in my rearview mirror, and saw Melanie looking at Joey, grinning from ear to ear.  I had to turn around to see Joey - his expression was mirrored by hers.

Happy Birthday Ellie!

Present wrapped, princess dress loaded in, let's go!

Making their personalized tiaras

Melanie's friend Ellie turned four this week, and Mel had fun celebrating with her friends at a Princess Party!