Brotherly Love

Brotherly Love.....what can I say - I love mine to death!!! He is the one who used to steal my things, break into my room, borrow money (I use the term borrow loosely!) and cause havoc...although he was usually the youngest of the group wherever we were he was always the toughest and would take on anyone who crossed him (or me!)

Then one day we grew up - I went to college, got married and started to have kids. He joined the Marine Corps., the police force and became a Dad! All the while Mom would ask us about the others business because she couldn't get a straight answer from the other one - until this day she still does it! Now we are not just brother and sister, we are friends who share stories about our kids, poopy diapers and the best way to be a good parent. We have come a long way in 28 ish years (he is 6 years younger than me).

Now brother love in our house is just beginning. Every morning when the Trips get up they march into Helena's room to wake her up! They climb into her bed and run all around. Some days she gets fussy about it, but I know deep down she loves every minute of it! Preston will holler "Leen" when he wants her attention- it is pretty funny. She will play with them, dress them up, build them a tent to play in and "narc" them out in a heartbeat! She will share a snack and they are beginning to do the same with her, only theirs is usually chewed on first! They take things from her and she gets mad only to take it back and then all 4 usually have a meltdown. The other 2 are just crying for sympathy....

Now the Trips among themselves have really taken on roles lately. Parker is the sweet faced bully who is "stealthy". He loves his trucks and the swiffer (help us all!). Preston is the ladies man, resident clown and my little love bug. He will give you a hug just to pass them out, no asking required. Peyton is the mechanic of the group who loves to press buttons. Any buttons will work and if they light up or make noise the better. He also forgets every once in a while that "they cut the cord" about 17 months ago, but he will use his "woobie" to snuggle with when I am not around!

They fight with each other all of the time, they will throw a ball at another, pull hair, pull on clothes to move another out of the way, dump water on anothers head in the tub, take a toy and steal a juice cup when theirs is out in a heartbeat!

But the other night I witnessed the inspiration for this post. It was after bath and Peyton was in his crib having a meltdown while I was putting Parker in his pj's. When Parker was finished he ran into the closet and brought Peyton another blanket, when he kept crying, Parker brought him a toy, when he kept crying, Parker brought him some shirts and pants from the laundry basket until he stopped. Parker never cried or looked at me while doing this, he just stayed on the task at hand and made Peyton feel better!

Don't get me wrong, we are not the Brady Bunch by far, we have our good days, bad days and great days - but in the end I know that Brotherly Love will prevail and in time they will be the best of friends!