mmmm... warm jammies!

Not sure about where you live, but here in Utah Fall nights are pretty chilly! The other day we got lucky and accidentally found a sale on warm winter jammies and slippers! My boys were so excited to find pajamas with their favorite characters on them.
Here's Lightning "McQuinton":

And SpiderMan (I think he kind of looks like the little boy on Polar Express in this picture):

The two of them were so happy to get into these new jammies the other night after their bath... and then have a photo shoot to show them off.

Deagan doesn't have a favorite character... he doesn't really tune into TV yet, but we did find his hand-me-down winter jammies from his brothers and he loves them. He is our little snuggle bug, by the way. Here is what it's like trying to get a picture of all kids:

Look at me:

Say "cheese":

"Keep your eyes open!":

Oh boy:
(Deagan does this every now and then... he puts his legs straight out and holds his breath, raises his eyebrows, shakes his hands, and then yells really loud! It cracks us up!)

Ok.... this as close as it gets. We have 2 smiles, and only 1 set of eyes closed. We'll take it. Their sure cute any way they come. Especially when they cuddle right up to you all warm in their new winter jammies!

splash park!

When we found out Spanish Fork has a new park... and a new splash pad we knew we had to dash down there before our last warm days were gone! The last Monday in September we took the boys to check it out and it was pretty fun!

Although the air was still warm, the water was cold (like always in Utah) so the boys were playing dodge the water instead of deliberately running through it.

There are splash parks like this all over in AZ but my boys hardly remember them. Looks like Q's white belly needed a few more hours in the sun this summer! ;)

Water boxing???

Deagan was fully content to sit on the grass with Grandma TeeTee and Grandpa Dick and observe.

I helped him get his toes wet, but he didn't really like the idea.

As the sun started setting Corbin preferred to dry off on the nice, warm cement before bundling up in his towel. I totally remember doing this poolside as a child.

We can't wait to return to the splash park next summer for some more fun!

park picnics

Parks. Just the mention of that word at our home immediately excites our boys. Combining the park with food.... now that is the best idea EVER! We love picnics and we love parks. Especially parks with lots of playground space, plenty of grass, and big TALL shady trees.

Corbin is always wary of strangers or his little brothers trying to steal his cheese sticks though...

Aren't these the cutest faces?
PBJ-smudged 4 year old face.

Our happy 2 year old.

Our mischievous little 10-month old....upset that he can't open mom's water bottle.

Quinton has always been a little agile kid. He started crawling and walking, jumping and climbing before either of his brothers did. Here he is on the monkey bars.... a part that the other children (older than him) struggled with, but of course he had no apprehensions....

...until on the way down. Our own little monkey for sure!

D loves grass. He's also decided his preferred mode of mobility is scooting around on his rear end. He'll get on all fours and rock back and forth and army crawl to nearby objects he wants to pick up.... but when he really wants to go... he scoots!

After a nice picnic lunch I started cleaning up and throwing trash away. When I looked up to find my older boys they had disappeared from the playground. [heart drop!] After a 360* scan of the park I found them clear across the field by a large tree digging for bugs with sticks. I love their adventurous spirits and curious minds.

This particular park has the greatest double slides. My boys love to race/do everything together. They really are best brother friends.

As well as very competitive.

On your mark, get set, GO!

Corbin: "You didn't count mom!"
Darn! I'm beginning to think the serenity of the park will never be the same again with these boys! :)

Brothers need each other....

These 2 boys have a brotherly bond that's formed in a short time....
Whenever Deagan hears Corbin laugh he comes alive. Whenever Corbin hears Deagan cry you can be sure Corbin will be at his "rescue" to sing to him or talk to him or tell him a story or give him a toy. It's pretty cute.

Quinton and Corbin are pretty good friends too. There was a time when Quinton and Corbin both had a hard time falling asleep in January. Finally one night they were silent and we went in to check on them and Quinton had crawled out of his twin bed and into Corbin's Queen.

They slept that way all night.
Sometimes, brothers just need each other...

Our "ordinary" life

Well, the last few weeks have been a blur. Feels like we haven't done much, yet we've been really busy and all of a sudden Deagan is almost 6 weeks old! He is really starting to fill out. He got a little cold this week and at the Dr. he weighed in at 10.5 lbs already! He's just like his brothers in that department... a chunk! He's starting to sleep longer at night and is awake longer in the day. He is very strong and holds his head up very well, does tummy-time happily, and even tries sitting up on his own sometimes. He also has started smiling AT US rather than gassy smiles and he coos and talks too. So adorable. I love this stage!

Corbin is still enthralled with Deagan and is such a good helper. He sings to him, holds him, and is quick to help bath and change him. Such a good big brother.

This little boy loves his hands above his head. He has to sleep with socks on his hands at night so that they stay warm!We have kept busy with preschool, library story time, play-group, play-school, and play-dates! We're lucky to have so many friends nearby.

It's been fun (for the boys AND mom) to have daddy home. There's been lots of wrestling, fort-building, car racing, "sword" fighting, and "shoot-outs" in the last 3 weeks.

Deagan is either really lucky or has no chance with these two as big brothers.

Quinton keeps us all entertained with his crazy dance moves.

We're very excited that Q gets to attend nursery next month... already 18 months old!
Quinton has also started to express an interest in potty-training thanks to the example of his big brother. It would be awesome if he picks up this habit quickly so we can avoid having 2 boys in diapers for too long!
AND...Winter is here, as manifest by our first snow 3 weeks ago. I'm really not a fan of the snow and cold, but I will admit that it's very pretty to watch snow falling when I'm curled up on the couch with a warm blanket and my newborn, drinking hot chocolate and listening to Christmas music. However I did miss the 80* temperatures of Arizona on Thanksgiving day.

These are the ages and stages that make up our ordinary life. Blissful isn't it? Jeff is still job-searching and has several possibilities and "balls in the air" but nothing has turned official yet. I have really enjoyed having him home and count this whole ordeal as a blessing in disguise. He is really great at being Mr. Mom and the boys have loved having daddy around all day everyday. I think he's spoiled us all and when he does go back to work... it'll be yet another transition for us all.

Buddies

Corbin and Quinton have arrived at that stage of playing together for more than 5 minutes at a time.... appropriately. I love watching their brotherly love unfold. They run through the house chasing each other and giggling, wrestling, reading books together, playing outside together, bathing together. When Corbin is at preschool for 1.5 hours twice a week Quinton walks around looking for him. Although Quinton doesn't talk much, they seem to understand each other just fine.... and enjoy conversations together often...

I think the wrestling/cuddling is pretty cute (at this age). I do hope it stops by the time they're in Junior High though.

The other day I was on the computer and they were SILENT... which I assumed meant trouble so I snuck around the corner into their room and found them reading books and playing together so nicely.... AMAZING!

They also enjoy watching movies/cartoons together now...

I love that they're beginning to bond so well. Hopefully their new baby brother will just be another part of the mix in a year or so...
"Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero." ~Marc Brown