Brotherly Love

We had a serious punching problem at our house today. I'm not just talking about a playful little jab to the arm...I'm talking about an all-out punch to the nose! Ugh. I don't think I'm ready for this. I was talking to (lecturing) Isaac about it tonight before bed and this is what he told me:

Me: You just can't punch your brother in the face. You guys are supposed to love each other and treat each other kindly.
Isaac: We DO love each other, Mom. But sometimes brothers just punch each other!

What!? Seems crazy to me, but I'm not a brother,
so I guess I will never understand it.Good thing they are so cute, huh? :)

He Speaks!

My sweet little Trevor is talking! Well...you might not understand much of what he says, but I am thrilled at his progress. And he has just about the cutest voice I have ever heard! :)

Here are a couple of our latest conversations:

(Isaac was at a friend's house and Trevor was really missing him.)

Summer Field Trip

We were able to visit a fun new aquarium last week
with a bunch of people from our ward and the boys loved it.

Here are some of the highlights:

Touching the starfish and shrimp

It took a lot of work to keep Trevor from swimming in it!

Checking out the starfish

I love this picture...they are just SO into it!

This was the best part. Very cool!

Trevor was so enthralled that he had to lay down
right smack in the middle of the ground to check it out.
He totally stopped the flow of traffic for a couple minutes,
but I just couldn't resist the photo op! :)

What silly little boys!
(They must get it from their daddy.)

Pacifiers Anonymous

Hi. My name is Trevor and I'm a "binky" addict.
As you can see...I recently relapsed! :)

We have a rule that Trevor can only have his binky at bedtime. Unfortunately, he has outsmarted us. :) He hides his pacifiers in his room and gets them out whenever he is sad or tired. This week, he disappeared and was quiet for a few minutes (which every mom knows is not a good thing). And this is how I found him. Silly boy!

Just what I needed...

Tonight as I was singing Isaac his bedtime songs, he stopped me and said, "Mommy...I am smiling because I love you!" I was totally blown away. How did my sweet little 3-year old know just what I needed to hear? These are the moments I live for. :)

I love this boy.

Poor Trevy!

Look at what we've been doing this week:Little Trevor came down with what I thought was a nasty cold on Wednesday night, but by Thursday evening,
we were in urgent care...trying to get him to breathe.
Apparently, the virus that he got quickly turned into bronchitis/pneumonia. We had a rough couple of days, but he's doing lots better now. What a little trooper! :)

Party at the Allens!

We recently started a date night swap with 2 of my sisters and it is FABULOUS! It is so nice to have time away from it all...where Derek and I can just kick back, relax, and remember why we like each other! :) But we've discovered that the nights we have all the kids at our house are pretty fun, too. There are 8 kids all together and they have a blast! Here is a little look into what date night looks like at our house. P-A-R-T-Y!

The "big kids" decorating cookies

Isaac LOVES cookies...he gets that from me! :)

Derek showing off his "magic tricks"
(Chandler was determined to figure out the secrets.)

And last, but not least...
Here is Derek dominating the pillow fight!