Our little clan was made up of a fireman, Yoda, a last-minute butterfly, and an honorary member of the vampire secret society (I don’t think I’m allowed to post any pics of that costume.)

From Wednesday night. My darlings all costumed up.

I feel happier just looking at these amazing images by Courtney Brooke.

I give Kai a watering can to water the plants. He makes a mud puddle for him and Dax instead.

They were in heaven.

We just finished watching all the Arrested Development DVDs, and now I have that feeling you get when you finish a really good book — like you’ve just said goodbye to a dear friend. As dorky as it sounds…I’m sad! These episodes had Ryan and I practically ROTFL every night.

And some Michael Cera for ya:

Watch more here if you’re missing out.

We enjoyed:
Sugar. Lots of it.
A cape-decorating workshop. (Each child was given a package that included a cape, mask, and a stencil of their initial to trace onto felt).
Great weather.
Great friends.

And that’s a special dairy and egg-free cake for Dax, in case you were wondering. Kai’s cake was a spectacular mess of chocolate and meringue buttercream that did not survive direct sunlight. Those pictures didn’t make the cut. But this is what I had been dreaming of.

A few more pictures here.

Update: Answers to FAQ
1) What material did I use for the cape?
Unfortunately, I can’t say. I bought the cheapest black fabric I could find at a local discount fabric store. I want to say it’s a polyester blend.

2) How did I get the letters to stick on?
This fabulous thing called sticky-back felt! Found here.

3) What material did I use for the masks?
Also felt. But of the stiff variety. Found at Michael’s.

4) How did I get the masks to stay on?
I punched a tiny hole on each side of the mask, threaded elastic band though, then knotted it. The elastic is also from Michael’s, in the jewelry section.

5) How did I get the capes to stay on?
I glued on Velcro dots using fabric glue. Not recommended. It worked fine, but you have to consider finicky toddlers who like to switch from citizen to superhero constantly. Fabric glue is strong, but not strong enough for all the tugging off and on. I suggest sewing on Velcro.

Hope all this helps. Feel free to email me if I missed anything, and good luck!

Kai turns 3 on Friday. Dax turns 1 next Monday. And the party (of which I’m probably thinking way too hard about) is this Saturday. I’ll probably be gone for a few days. So let me leave you with San-Francisco-based Scissors for Lefty.

{Photograph by Jen Gotch}

Is that we’re closing down that portion of the store permanently. It was a fun endeavor!

I’ve had some inquiries about the Prop 8 button on my sidebar.

Yes, I designed it.

And yes, you can copy it to your blog! Save it to your computer, then upload and place in your blog sidebar.

Here are some pro websites you can link to:

preservingmarriage.org
supportprop8.com
yesonproposition8.com

Taking a break from the usual content on our blog to lend our support to Proposition 8. Proposition 8 will assure that “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.”

I urge you to take just a couple of minutes to watch the video below.

And, from preservingmarriage.org:

Unless Proposition 8 passes, California society will soon undergo a profound change in its basic understanding of marriage and family life.
That will affect everyone in numerous ways. Over time, greater acceptance of nontraditional marriage will be demanded of all people. This could impact the ability of any religion to teach and practice its beliefs.

Proposition 8 will not hurt gays and lesbians.
In California, the law provides for marriage-related benefits to be given to civil unions and domestic partnerships. Proposition 8 does not diminish these benefits.

Failure to pass Proposition 8 will hurt children.
If same-sex marriage remains legal, public schools will put it on equal footing with traditional marriage. Children will likely receive “age appropriate” information about sexual relations within heterosexual and homosexual marriages.

Failure to pass Proposition 8 will hurt churches.
The court’s decision will inevitably lead to conflicts with religious liberty and free speech rights. Society will become more and more hostile to traditional beliefs about marriage and family.

Thanks for reading.

So glad I never sprung for a Kleen Kanteen, or even a Sigg, because I’d rather spend on one of these!

Buy at Doe.

Because it’s Friday. And we do take-and-bake pizza from Valentino’s on Friday nights ($6!!). Hurrah.

Flashing some tummy. Just to prove he’s half-white.

Come over any given time of day, you’ll find a baby attached to my hip. And me running the home one-handed (even snapping photos — mad skills here, people). D has been much more needy lately. Actually, I just realized this is the neediest he’s been his entire 1 year of life. But I think my arm will soon fall off.

Looking forward to live-in nanny my sis-in-law visiting next Friday.

Gorgeous 2009 calendar by Good On Paper.

Magnetic calendar. Via Smashing Magazine.

And the ubiquitous Helvetica in a tidy calendar. (Bummer, no 2009s available.)

These pictures buoy me up at a time I feel particularly bogged down. I seem to have a zillion projects hanging over my head. And those projects don’t even include housework. But they may include catching up on Heroes and The Office.

Oh, and before I sign off. Tonight, at the critical hour of 7pm, Kai was winding up and up (as usual) and being his crazy self. Dancing around the living room he sang,

“Deeee-DO! Dee-Do!”

On and on (we kind of tune him out after a while),

“Deeee-DO! Dee-Do!

Then,

“B!%CH!”

Silence. Then again,

“B!%CH!”

Ryan and I nearly died trying to hold our laughter in. After we recovered, Ryan casually asked, “Wow, Kai. What was that? What did you just say?” We braced ourselves for his response, but Kai just sang out,

“Dee-Do!”

And that was the end of that.

Neat idea on encouraging literacy:

What I like is how this can be easily tailored to children of any age. I think with Kai, we can focus on simple objects that all begin with the same letter. And I bet he’ll get a kick out of “sticking” things.

{via swissmiss}

Kai thinks this is hilarious.

Earlier today, he presented himself to me with a crayon shoved up his nose. I imagine his feelings to be of accomplishment and satisfaction. And, discomfort. I hope. Conversely, I am feeling anxiety, and apprehension as I await the next thing to go up there.

(And pic above — that’s a tiny ball up his nose. FYI.)

I love this guy.

Lucky me, I won this beautiful handmade bag from Cakies. I love it and adore it. And, so does Kai. Today, before we headed out the door, we were literally playing tug-of-war with the bag, because he insists it’s his. Even after explaining that it’s for mommy, and for girls only (I hate saying that because I don’t really mean it), he still wasn’t appeased. We finally negotiated that I get the bag, and he gets to wear a backpack. Now, shouldn’t this type of thing happen only between sisters?

Stayed up way too late last night tinkering with the blog stylesheet, but I’m happy to have created a new space I feel centered and cozy in. I often get asked about our blog design. It’s actually a free WordPress theme found here. You’ll see that we’ve departed quite a bit from the original, but the download is a good place to start. There are ton of clean, modern styles out there. You just have to sift through the ugly stuff. And there’s a lot of ugly stuff. Lastly, if you don’t mind paying a montly fee, check out Squarespace. They’re adequetely described as ‘WordPress and TypePad on crack.’