not a day over twenty-nine

We've really got it made.  This guy is so good to us.  He fills so many roles--husband, father, friend, teacher, provider, protector--and does it all like a boss.  We love you, Kirk.  Happy birthday!

Happy birthday! Low quality pic but can't pass up those faces.

mr. clean owes me one

Let me preface this post by stating that this is a NO-JUDGE zone.  So all you people with clean houses and sticky-free kids move right on past this post.  Love me or leave me baby.  Mr. Clean and Friends will be grateful for this unsolicited shout out.

If you do have kids with dirty hands, those hands are guaranteed to drag along the walls leaving behind a tell-tale trail of PB&J, dirt, and who knows what else.   I have let those smudges accumulate mostly because I hate scrubbing walls, but also because I wanted to show y'all the power of the Magic Eraser.   

I couldn't look at the grossness of the walls anymore (plus, the terrible lighting in here accentuates the grossness--yikes).  So I bit the bullet and did some scrubbing.  But not just regular scrubbing 'cause that makes me grumpy.  It's way more fun with the Magic Eraser.  Here's the before...

various nasty walls. yuck 

...and the after!  Here's a side-by-side. Remember people, No. Judge. Zone.

before

after

before

after

before

after
Dayton cleaned this spot.  Not bad, eh?

    

Now that the walls are clean, a certain handsome preschooler will be wearing gloves for the remainder of our time here.  Like I was saying about the Magic Eraser, it's great.  Removes almost all marks (my walls had pen, jam, dirt, yogurt, old stubborn marker stains, and other normal gross stuff...it is normal, right?)

Here's my cleaning list.  Or should I say Dayton's list?  He totally loves scrubbing walls.  Anything to feel like a grown-up.  Wish I had a picture of his little hands in those big rubber gloves. 

• wash blinds (some I could take down and wash quickly in the tub, others I had to scrub with a sponge and towel)
• scrub marks off the wall with magic eraser
• spackle holes in wall from nails 
• shampoo carpets
• wipe off cupboards shelves and cabinet doors 
• sweep behind fridge, washer & dryer
• cobweb check
• rinse out light fixtures (how do bugs get inside light fixtures??)
• bathroom deep clean
• wash windows
• deep clean kitchen: sink, oven, & stovetop
• last thing before moving: spot clean, sweep, vacuum

The goal is to have everything done before packing the truck so that all we have to do after loading the truck is a quick spot clean.  This is a great cleaning checklist from Apartment Therapy if you're interested.  What's your least favorite spot to clean?  Maybe a better question is where do you find cheap labor?

emma's first birthday

This girl...so much goodness in one little package.  She turned one-year-old this week :'(

Her personality is beginning to show itself.  There's a lot of sweet with a little spunk--just enough to keep mom and dad on their toes.  She and Dayton light up for each other (may it always be so!).  Emma usually wakes up from her afternoon nap just before Dayton.  As soon as she hears him wake up, she crawls off towards his door where she sits and waits for me to let her in.  As soon as I turn the handle she pushes the door open and babbles with Dayton for a bit.  And he reciprocates the love; often the first words he says in the morning are "Emmaaaaa, wake up Emma!"  We often find him getting out of bed at night to wake her up and play with her through the slats of the crib.  Roommate problems.  :)

She is the queen of disarming smiles but is not easily tickled.  Poor Dayton has to take her doses of that in addition to his own.  Her "spunky side" comes out if I leave the room when she is hungry or tired, or if I have to take away something she wants but can't have (like power cords), it is just the end of her little world.  She gets so sad and lays her head on the floor to whimper, cry, or grunt...whatever seems to best illustrate her displeasure.  She rolls around a few times to make her point.  It is the silliest thing!  

There are so many things we love about Miss Emma.  One special memory I'll have of her baby years is her snuggles.  She's an on-the-go kind of girl, but when it's nap time she's all cuddles.  Plug in the pacifier, wrap her in the Gramma blankie, and this little mover melts into a butterball.  It's such a treat.  She also loves to join in on the wrestling we do with Dayton, climbing on top of anyone that gets pinned.  

We love what she adds to our family dynamic.  For my record keeping, here are her stats from her 1-year check up.  

height: 2' 5" (41%)

weight: 21 lbs 3 oz (71%)

head circ: 18.7" (97%)

bushkill falls, pa

Pennsylvania keeps trying to convince me to stay forever.  It's so lush and green and the weather has been so mild this spring.  And don't get me started on how hard it will be to say goodbye to all our friends.  I can't thing about that without ugly-crying.  

We spent a few days with some friends at a great house in Stroudsburg.  We hiked around Bushkill Falls, swam at the pool, roasted s'mores, stayed up late talking & playing games, and enjoyed the beautiful Pocono mountain scenery.  

Bushkill Falls hiking adventures

There's nothing like getting away from it all with good friends and unplugging from the world for a bit.  It was just what we needed.