Happy Birthday, Daddy!

We made it in for daddy's birthday!  Mind you--this was a little non-traditional...dinner was KFC in buckets on the card tables in the kitchen, cake wasn't homemade,  but from Giant Eagle, but the love and celebration was the same!Amara got to share in the candles and cake with daddy (A Mickey Mouse themed cake) and even helped herself (Grandma snapped this pic while no one but she was paying attention, apparently!) to ice cream and cake.  Some of his favorite gifts were a photo book of Amara and daddy, and new fancy cooking utensils for the kitchen--oh and don't forget the iPhone :)After a long day of unpacking and moving, I'm glad we got to celebrate the way HE wanted to--and we had a blast.  Next year will be different still, seems no two are ever the same anymore.

Happy birthday daddy, we love you so much!

Moving day

Dirty little feet?  check!  Somehow the shoes ALWAYS come off, and now wasn't a time to argue!If these pics don't scream "moving day," I don't know what does!

We closed on the new house Friday at 3, and by Saturday morning were in full out moving-mode.  Amara woke up to all her grandparents loading up her things, and she couldn't wait to help (well, play in the truck and run up and down the ramp.  While memaw Jackie started painting the new house, memaw Young brought Timbits and the chaos continued.

One particularly funny moment was when papaw Jahn loaded her FAVORITE ice cream set into the truck--she promptly carried it right back out and said "no, no, not my ice cream."  I guess she hadn't quite figured out the concept of moving yet, but wanted to protect her stuff :)Other times she'd walk the things right into the truck herself--the guys had to keep an eye out for her that they didn't box her in with all her things :)  It was a SUPER long day, with lots of trips, and SUPER hot outside--but thanks to friends and family, got SO much done!After starting to organize the playroom a bit, Amara pulled an "E.T. moment," and crashed in a big pile of her stuffed animals.  I swear sometimes when she does that, I have to take a second to look for her. 

Old house, new house

So, this house has been our home since St. Patrick's Day 2006--that is the day we closed.  Since that time, Eric and I got engaged, married, learned a lot about being homeowners, and each other too.  We brought Amara home from the hospital to this house and shared it with many friends and family.  It was Ily's first home with us, where she learned to run off, but eventually love her fence too.  We celebrated anniversaries, New Years' dinners, holidays and birthdays.  We also grieved the loss of many family members and friends together and started to grow as a family.All things come to an end, or at the very least--change.  They say change is the only true constant and we have certainly ridden that wave, together.  

I found this house on Copper ct. on the HUD website (same way we found our last house) and we stopped by for a visit.  Immediately, Eric could NOT hide his poker face, and it was SO clear he wanted to live here.  After a weekend of agonizing over the bid, we submitted it.  Because it was the 4th of July weekend, we had to wait an extra day for the bid results, but the time paid off, and we got it!  It took a few weeks for the HUD folks to get their papers in order, but we closed on our new home the Friday before Eric's birthday.  He said he wanted to spend the night in his new home by his birthday--so with our AGGRESSIVE goal of a 2 day turnaround, we started moving.  

To get into the house even faster, one crew painted while another moved.  We had Jason's family show up to move us, our moms and dads, and Matt & Steph too.  Saturday was a VERY long day, but believe it or not, we all slept in the new house on Sunday night, so Eric could wake up on his birthday in the new place :)  Since that day--we have never looked back.  It took weeks and dozens of trips to get the Schuylar house cleared out.  Dozens of hours with my mom and dad spackling and painting, carpets being cleaned, etc.  

At long last, with many memories behind us, but with many more to come, we are ready to list our first home "for sale."

Playroom

About a year ago, Eric gave up his 'man cave/ OSU room' to turn it into a magnificent playroom for his little girl.  He took a week off of work and stayed home toiling away, not to mention several trips to the Ikea in Cincy for great new ideas. 

Over the course of the last year, we have decorated and grown into our playroom space, spending most of our family time together there, when we weren't outside.  We decorated with poster-sized photos, displays for her toys and artwork, as well as plenty of room for books and keepsakes.  We have used this room to hold parties, wrap presents, watch TV, and even have the occasional dinner/ picnic as a family.  This den/ playroom space has been admired by many other toddlers and parents alike, and I can honestly say this has been one of my favorite rooms to decorate and enjoy.Before we begin to pack it all up and move it--I wanted to try and capture things as they (rarely) looked, when things were somewhat tidy--usually after Amara was in bed for the night.  The new house has a playroom space as well, but like our house with so many memories, this will always be the first.

We are looking forward to designing a playroom WITH Amara this time, which will be fun in and of itself, but it was great doing this FOR her as well--I know it was for a very proud papa, who never looked back at his lost OSU football room.  Thanks daddy.

Help, Helllllllp!

A few weeks ago, Amara was really started to grab things off of the counter, try stepstools herself, etc.  I started telling her to just 'ask for help' anytime she needed something, and that daddy and I would be there to help her.  It's taken her a little while to start asking, but now when she does, it's not just "I need help," she BELLOWS "help, hellllllp!" at the top of her lungs!Whether she needs out of her chair, wants something high, or my personal favorite--help on the jungle gym at parks, she yells full voice "help, hellllp!" and we to help her.  The best part has become the reactions to her--the playgrounds always solicit chuckles from other parents, people in stores turn the head to make sure she's ok--and then chuckle, and Eric and I just look at each other and laugh.

Don't misunderstand, she knows what she's doing--sometimes, even by the second "help," she is already grinning or chuckling herself.  What a crackup.

"Hav'ta aks maaammy"

Considering I've been in my bedroom for the most part of the last month, I've heard some interesting things through these walls.  I can hear neighbors mowing, the garage door--or even tell who is walking in the door just by their walk at this point.

I can also hear Beanie.  A lot.  Our bedrooms share a wall--so whether it's going to sleep, waking up, or just playing, I can hear almost everything she says while she's in her room.

The other night, Amara had woken herself up.  Eric went in to change her--and they were having a really sweet conversation (she is always VERY sweet when she wakes up and she thinks she might get to come out and play, or wants something in particular).  Knowing she'd only been in bed a short while and was very tired, Eric was quick and got her back in bed, but before he could leave, she asked for "more meeeiilk (milk) PLEASE."  Sure.

I don't even remember why now Eric came into our bedroom vs. going downstairs for the milk, but he did.  Amara didn't miss a beat--she noticed that he turned right instead of left--towards our room and yelled "Daddy hav'ta ask maaaamy"--referring to having to ask me if she could have more milk, apparently, considering he didn't go downstairs as he 'should have.'

I was laughing SO hard by the time Eric got into our room, I had to put the pillow sham over my face to stifle my laughter.  I could not believe it!  Not only do we not usually say that kind of thing "have to ask mommy/daddy" to each other, but for her to NOTICE the direction Eric walked, and applying that logic to it?  Hilarious.  Eric and I were both getting a good laugh out of that one. I don't think Eric addressed her statement as he walked past.  I'm not sure, frankly, what you say to that.

Picking up the phone to call mom, I realized the genuine humor in the situation when she said "you should be very afraid of that one."  She is right.  OH BOY.  The new running joke in the house, obviously, "hav'ta ask Maaammmy."

Papaw's corn

It's that time of year...Papaw's first patch of corn is on, and B O Y is it yummy!  They brought some over to us for dinner one evening and we have a little corn-thief on our hands!

Back a LONG time ago, when we made Beanie's 'first foods,' one of the ones we made and that she always gobbled up was sweet corn.  We have been so excited at her eating habits, how she loves her fruits and veggies, and I attribute it all to those great foods.  

Now, we can't keep her away from those familiar bites.  She goes at the corn wholeheartedly, and isn't afraid to take a bite of everyone else's, or just take it off your hands for you! (I personally lost mine the other night!)  She takes these giant bites, and can't seem to get through them quick enough--always followed by an "mm mmm mmmm."  Thanks Papaw :)