It was a big day for Brendan today, he got to try something newwww. We have a rough time trying to make the best choices for Brendan. We can over shelter him, trying to keep him healthy. We could be overexposing him to the public and risking his health. We strive for a balance, however nervous it makes me.

In an effort to help Brendan to know that car rides are not always bad, we thought he might enjoy coming along on the Sunday morning grocery shopping trip. The store employees must love me because I come armed with my baggies full of cleaning products and I make these shopping carts shine like new before my boys are allowed to touch them!!

It was already really hot at 7:30am, and Brendan was a little unsure at first!

I was thinking this idea was bananas. I was sure that Trevor would not want Brendan so close to him, and I was nervous that Brendan would be scared. But they both did so well! Trevor talked the whole time, his cute long gibberish sentences made Brendan laugh!

Trevor was trying to help convince me that Brendan needed to buy a toy. They were so cute, I was very proud of them!

No problems in the car, Brendan had fun!

Trevor sweet talked his way in to a new board book

We accomplished a lot when we got home today. I reorganized cabinets in the kitchen and got all the glass bottles up out of the lazy susan cabinet that Trevor loves to mess with. We sorted some of the baby stuff and medical supplies and we purged a whole garbage can full of junk. Trevor mopped the floor in the living room for me!

We did loads and loads of laundry and worked on putting more stuff away to clear the counters and tables. The one big problem with keeping the kitchen table cleared off is that now Trevor thinks it is a new place to play. He pulls out the chairs and climbs up.

We are enjoying making time for family dinner now that we have space

Brendan was not thrilled with my attempt to get him to do some “messy play”

Trevor thought he needed some extra ketchup

I gave Brendan his grown-up fork and then the game was all new. He played with the ketchup!

He was all smiles and sticky mess, but if I tried to get anything close to his mouth, he got really mad! He did wear his PMV for hours today too and talked and talked.

I got about 4 broken hours of sleep last night so I am beat!

Today was a day of chores, errands, and trying to scratch things off of to-do lists. I didn’t get out the camera until after dinner!

First thing that happens after dinner is bath time!

They had bubbles in the tub today.

After the bath, I let the boys run out of the bathroom and they usually chase each other up and down the hall and in to their room while I clean up the toys and mess. I didn’t expect to see this when I walked out!

Gotcha! Trevor and Brendan haven’t managed to get out of the dog door YET. That was just Bill playing around after he cut Brendan a fresh length of tubing.

While we were out shopping today, Trevor bought a bag of butter mints. (He loves them after a spicy or garlicky meal!) After Trevor was in bed, I gave one to Brendan.

Sneaky camera thinks he might have licked it

“I didn’t do it. Nobody saw me do it. You can’t prove anything!”

He carried that mint around for the rest of the evening and wouldn’t let us take it away!

The last time Trevor and I went to IKEA, we were trying to get a new office chair for Bill but the one we wanted was out of stock. There was nothing going on today so we went back to see if we could get one.
Trevor loves IKEA, and sure enough – they had our chair! (looks a lot like a cardboard box in the cart)

This weekend, kids eat free in the store so we stayed for lunch. Trevor devoured meatballs, fries, and mashed potatoes.

He tried his first juice box of lingonberry juice… and liked it!

We had to get a frozen yogurt too! This video has been played about 87 times tonight, Trevor and Brendan both want to see it over and over. It is the new “Crazy”. Of course I love it too, he is so darn cute!

He loved crunching the cone. I didn’t get very many bites.

Back at home, we had a lazy afternoon. Trevor saw Bill wearing these headphones yesterday and thought he wanted to be like Daddy.

Close enough!

Monkey see, monkey do!

“Drinking” from an empty cup is serious work

Watching a show while I cook dinner

We are trying to spend dinner time at the table as a family. It is extra work, but it is good for everyone

Brendan had a tremendous meltdown because I tried to give him a bite of butternut squash. He would only calm down once I gave him a fork.

Monkey see, monkey do!