April 2016

Dear friend,

This month began with the wonderful opportunity to hear from our prophet and apostles in General Conference.  

As crazy as it sometimes got with three toddlers in the room, we still really loved conference, made resurrection rolls together, and enjoyed our time as a family.  

 Elias cracks me up.  It's so funny (and sad) to watch ourselves get old.  Even though he is still crazy fit, he has started to dress like a dad who may or may not be intentionally trying to embarrass his kids.  One day I caught him headed out for a run dressed like this.  That's right...those are nice slacks, that have been cut off and painted in and are now used as running shorts.  No shame.  Like a boss.  

 Smith has become totally obsessed with Elias' guitar.  Sometimes he is that cool hipster, strumming tunes while singing along, 

 and other times he is the weirdo that gets himself stuck inside the guitar case and has to cry for help. 

He still loves his "astronaut boots".  Ski boots are tricky for anyone to walk in, but Smith is still two years old and these are a little small, so he is pretty unstable as he walks.  One day I caught him trying to walk to the park in these boots and instructed him to come back to our yard.  He tried to take a break by sitting on a rock along the way, but kind of tripped as he sat.  I was surprised when he started bawling.  When I asked what was wrong, he responded, "Hammers in my pants".  I came to find out that he had two wooden hammers in his pants that made his landing all the more painful. Poor, sweet boy.  

I do have to document the epic fit that Smith threw one day at the grocery store.  

It was probably the biggest fit I have ever had to deal with as a mother, and he total crashed as soon as we got in the car.  

 One day the boys thought they were hilarious by climbing into the dryer.  It was only a few minutes later though, that Smith climbed out, locked Boyd in, and turned it on.  Luckily I was right outside the door and could quickly turn it off, but it did flip him once, putting enough fear into both of them to never play there again. 

They really are good buddies.  

Boyd has been such a goofball lately.  He loves making people laugh. 

He loves riding bikes and one day announced that he would be riding to "Papa Peter's house" and he asked me for directions.  

He is so creative and often builds different structures to play in.  

He has shown a real love for the piano.  He can sit there for an hour just playing with the keys and listening to the pre-recorded songs.  

Summer continues to love school, 

playing with her friends, 

dancing, 

and learning about her family.  

 We were so excited to celebrate Elias' 32nd birthday this month!  I love this picture!!!

Summer takes birthday celebrations very seriously and led the boys in a birthday parade multiple times while waiting for Elias to come home from work.  

 

All of the kids took a lot of pride in the special ice cream cupcakes we made for him,

and were extremely helpful in getting him to try out his gifts.  

 Elias is our favorite ever.  The kids and I are totally obsessed with him.  As I watch the kids show their love toward him, it's hilarious to see how quickly those fun moments go from sweet to painful.  

Here's another example: 

We all agree he is best person to cuddle with,

he makes everything more fun, 

and he makes us feel awesome.  

 A major highlight this month was our trip to Washington DC.  I was a little nervous when our double stroller broke on the way into the ABQ airport.  We were headed into a huge city for a week without carseats or a stroller, but it was awesome!  From the moment the kids saw my parents at the airport they were on cloud nine.  

 The subway was an exciting adventure

 and the condo was filled with laughter and 

lots of tickles.  

 

We made a quick trip to the library so we could enjoy some books during our downtime.  

 Summer and Nana made a special dress together and Summer was thrilled.  

 Elias and I slipped away for a session at the DC temple one morning.   

 On Saturday we were able to meet up with Mary, my dear friend from college and her darling family. (We missed you Heather!)

 

It was fun going around town with all our little ones.    

 We loved going to church with my parents, exploring the Smithsonians,  

 

going swimming, 

 

riding the carousel, 

 sleeping in,  

and partying until we dropped.  

My mom is rocking the DC scene.  We saw the gardens she volunteers in

and received an official tour of the botanic gardens.  

She's pretty much my hero!

 One night my parents took the kids while Elias and I enjoyed a night out on the town.  

 We rode bikes all around the city touring the monuments, went to dinner, and even a movie.  Not to brag, but we didn't get home until 2am!  That's right.  Party animals!

The boys totally fell in love with the Air and Space Museum.  

 

My parents bought them astronaut costumes and they wore them for the rest of our trip and the following week.  

 They knew they looked awesome 

 as they took the city by storm.  

 And though it was hard to say goodbye to my parents,  

 the astronaut costumes made the flight home a little more fun.   

 Once we arrived home, Summer had the idea dressing up as Neptune.  

 So two astronauts and Neptune went around Santa Fe for a few days,

and they loved their room with "zero gravity".  

 

I don't know what inspired us, but one day Elias and I decided to attempt potty-training the boys and it has gone surprisingly well.  Boyd is funny that he still refuses to go poopy on the potty.  He will ask to be put in a diaper and then lock himself in the playroom to poop, and then promptly come out and ask to be put back in underwear.  It's funny to me, but pretty easy to deal with so I'm going with it for now.  

 

The boys have really supported each other through the transition.  With a lot of "Yay, look at that pee," "I flush mine, you flush yours," and "Summer, you've got to see this"!

 The rest of the month was filled with trips to the park, 

 cuddles,  

 nature walks,  

 playing together, 

Home Depot projects, 

making up new games on the tramp, 

 pretending like it wasn't snowing in April, 

pretending to be frogs on lily pads, 

haircuts from Daddy, 

  reading, 

helping with home improvement projects, 

 enjoying luxurious Saturday mornings as a family, 

causing trouble, 

 

 causing damage, 

and when the stars aligned...naps at the same time!

 

This isn't a great picture, but I did want to document how grateful I am that these three are such good friends.  There are multiple times a day when I am working in the kitchen and I get to watch these three play together in the living room.  They are so creative!

 One week we talked about how Ericksons can do hard things.  We all set goals 

 and celebrated with a slumber party on the tramp.  

(That was then moved to the boys' room when it was obvious that no real sleep would happen on the tramp.)

 

One Saturday we enjoyed a kite festival down in Albuquerque with some friends.  

 We checked out a helicopter, 

 and had a ton of fun making and flying our kite.   

What a wonderful month!  We love these kiddos and can't wait to meet their little sister on June 1st.   

Always,
Elias, Brittany, Summer, Boyd & Smith