what's goin' on in the hiz-ouse.

Some of these pictures are a month or two old, but come on...like you care. Cute is cute, even if it's outdated by a month or so.

Here's Reid after breakfast one morning and he got out a little clementine cutie, one at a time, and counted them. It was really sweet.

Dane at breakfast making spit bubbles.
Erik with our boys, seriously, could they all be any sweeter? No, I don't think it's possible. It's easy to see where the boys get their good looks from. I hope that someday one of our kids will hit the jackpot and get Erik's blue eyes.

At this point Alec still had one goopy eye, but they are both clear now. He's had issues with both of his eyes and blocked tear duct drainage systems, or something like that. He was going to have to have a small operation where they put him under anesthetic and just kind of pop out the blockage, but luckily both tear ducts opened on their own.
This is what it looks like after bathtime. Pure crazy. Limbs flying around and naked babies trying to get free and then running around while we're trying to lotion them up and get diapers and pajamas on them. It's like the most stressful 5 minutes ever.
Reid's joy in life: making new combinations of Mr. Potato Head. He does it all the time and comes up to me with a new creation, and he's always so excited and proud. It's adorable.
Most mornings the boys all get to play outside and just goof around for a while. Sometimes it's a little chilly, so they have to wear coats and hats, but it's getting warmer.
Some indoor play. Here's Dane after one of their favorite scores, finding Dad's motorcycle vest.
Big smile from Alec.
Another appearance from Mr. Duck. He's still so into Mr. Duck.
The huz had a birthday two weeks ago and turned 34. I say, 34 never looked so good. He got some more camping equipment for the many campouts he has planned with the scouts, some handsome new dress slacks, new cologne (that one may be more for me...) and lots of slobbery kisses. From the boys, of course.

Here's Erik with his cake, a Martha masterpiece.
Reid can't wait for some cake! I used this cake recipe and this frosting. It was intense, but very good. Next time Erik requests a chocolate cake, I think I'll try a different cake but stick with the same frosting. The frosting was dense, glossy, and heavenly. Of course it was, the two ingredients are cream and chocolate chips. 4 cups of cream! Crazy.

There were three layers and it was seriously huge. Ever since I was a kid and watched Pollyanna, I've always wanted to make a huge layer cake. It fulfilled a deep-rooted childhood Disney fantasy. Speaking of, Reid needs to see Pollyanna. He's seen the Parent Trap and Summer Magic, so he NEEDS to see Pollyanna.
Here are the boys enjoying a movie together. They love sitting here, each with a blanket, staring right into the TV. They last for about 8 minutes that way and then run around the room playing while the movie just kind of happens in the background.
Remember my spending hiatus? It's going pretty well, except for maybe my new obsession with Liberty Tana Lawn fabrics. Well, the obsession is not new, but the flood gate finally burst and I've been snatching up some fabrics on ebay. This is one collection of 6" charm squares that I didn't win, but wished I paid more attention to it and had won it. Look at that triangle pennant print in the bottom left! Perfection!
I did, however, pick up a little more than a yard of this gorgeous print, "Betsy" in green. This is probably my favorite, and will maybe end up as a dress someday. For my someday baby girl. I just hope she doesn't puke as much as Alec and Dane did/do, because puke doesn't belong on Liberty Tana Lawn. True business.
Lastly, have you seen this couch at Anthropologie? Like I would ever spend that on a couch, but come on, it's so beautiful! I can't even stand it. And imagine how lovely in a living room with our black piano and with my someday/dream house white glossy floors...

Then again, Alec puked all over our couch in the living room last night, and baby puke on a couch this lovely would cause me to cry for a full fifteen minutes...

So, I'll just keep this in my dream house file in my brain grapes.

picture mania.

What's up everybody! Since you're reading this, that means that you've followed us over to private blogland. Thank you for that.

As a warning, this post has probably close to a billion pictures, so I recommend getting up and going to the bathroom, washing your hands, grabbing a cold beverage and a snack, and then coming back to the computer.

The babies do not like being on the other side of a baby gate. Dane especially. Dane is our sensitive baby. He's adorable like that, he takes it very personally when he gets put in his crib or when the baby gate goes up. But sometimes the babies make funny faces, and that makes all this crazy twinness work worth it. To see their faces smooshed in the mesh of a baby gate or pack n play.

This is Alec's smooshed little face.
Big news around here. We laid sod in the backyard and it's pretty dope. First we spread around some compost soil that Erik brought in big truckloads and dumped in wheelbarrow piles around the yard. Then I would use a rake to spread around the piles. I have a lot of experience in spreading dirt. Ask my mom and dad.
The huz being all handy and hardworking and stuff.
There he is again, still at it, and now laying the sod. Our friend and home teacher Nick came by to help. It was a HUGE help. The weather was perfect and in about 2 or 3 hours all of the sod was laid.
Here's Reid the next morning, remembering that there's grass and wanting to play in it. He still had his pajamas on so we gave him a sweatshirt and let him at it. We love this grass so much. Pretty soon we'll have some friends to roam the grass, but I'll mention that later...
The babies like to chat with each other. Here they pulled themselves up next to each other and I heard both of them giggling and giggling at each other. Alec is on the left and Dane is on the right.
The gang all ready for a Sunday afternoon walk around the neighborhood.
On labor day we went to the beach for a few hours. I love being so close to the beach. There are some A+ beaches within an hour drive from our house, but there's also a B- beach that's only 15 minutes from our house. So we pick that one.
Best idea ever. I put the babies in sleepers to try and minimize the sand that seems to get everywhere. It worked pretty darn well. Plus, it reduced the surface area that needed sunscreen. Double awesome. Here's Dane checking out some dried seaweed-ish stuff.
All the boys.
Alec being cute.
Isn't their hair coming in so nicely? I love it.
Dane's cute mug.
Reid loves the beach. He's super psyched every time we go, and the whole time he has sand all over him and never seems to notice. When I give him a snack, he has sand all over his face and probably eats as much sand as he does snack, but he loves it.
Here are the babies modeling their new booster chairs. We copied our awesome friends the Crandells and just skipped the whole high chair stage and went straight to this booster business. It worked great with Reid, and our babies love it, too. Here's Dane.
And Alec.
And another one of Dane. Look at how crazy huge his eyes are! Even as a tiny baby he's always had such bright eyes.
Bathtime. After a lot of trial and error, I've discovered that the boys like the sink the best. Especially Alec. Alec hated baths in the tub, but will now endure a bath in the sink without screaming. Sometimes he even smiles a little bit.
The boys are always playing together. One morning I found them all congregated by the window.
Then by the piano.
Last Friday we had a little birthday party for me. It was a success and a failure mixed in one. A success because our awesome friends the McCunes came over and partied with us. We had ice cream sundaes and here's Reid going to town on his ice cream. Sometimes utensils just slow him down, so he takes matters into his own hands. Literally. The party was a failure because I invited like 6 families and only one ended up coming. That sucks. It sucks being the new kid all the time and not really having close friends. Then, by the time you're in one place long enough to make close friends, you move again. Sucks. I want to be like, "I'm Emily, I throw fun parties! Hello?!" Oh, and I bought enough ice cream for an army, plus all kinds of sundae toppings. Which are now in my pantry. And I've decided to go on a sugar diet. As in a diet from sugar. Not a diet made of sugar. More on that later.
The boys enjoying the grass. Check out Alec's face in this one.
And Dane's face in this one.
This year we learned from last year's cake fiasco and just went with my favorite. A classic. Rainbow party chip. Erik employed his creativity to make this beautiful cake. That's me in some cheesy pajamas in the back.
The candles are sparkler candles, and Reid wasn't quite sure how he felt about the sparks.
Yeah, he was a little bit concerned. But the cake was awesome, and the birthday was probably my favorite ever. Erik was like superhero husband awesome. More about that later.
These pictures are just cute. I gave the babies those baby toast things and Dane wasn't quite sure what to do with it.
Here's the Reidman being adorable.
Alec loved the little toasts and is modeling why I'm never buying that crap again. I forgot how messy they are. There was toast mush and crumbs everywhere. Seriously. Everywhere.

Now, the moment you've all been waiting for...

The winner of the cookies!

Reid helped me pick a winner...
and that person is...
Casey! Suh-weet! Casey and I are friends from all the way back into elementary school, and I'm so glad that weird things like facebook and blogs have brought us back into each other's life. So, homegirl, email me your address so I can send you some sugar-induced comas.
The next issue of the blog will be a full report on Monday's successful birthday-ing. The theme of which is: Erik is the best.

It'll be a good one.