Merry Christmas!

Here Comes Santa Claus!

Its a Good Day for a Picture

Well, our Thanksgiving plans had included attending the Egg Bowl Game at State while we were in Mississippi. However, the rain had other plans, and my family decided to watch the game in their warm, dry houses instead of in a wet, rainy stadium. Since we were all decked out in our maroon and white to cheer on the Dawgs, I just had to get a family picture.

I can't resist...

Posting some cute pictures for no good reason :) I'm a little behind posting, but all of the pics are when Drew was 4 months old.

Always, always smiling and content

Little Man

Getting a kiss from Big Brother Mac

Yeah, I also couldn't resist putting him in the matching hat just for a picture!

VeggieTales "Moomie"

Last month (yes, I'm late blogging this) we took Mac to his first ever "moomie" (as Mac says) at the theater. A local Springfield radio station and book store were having free showings of the VeggieTales "The Little Drummer Boy." If you have read my blog before you know there are two things we love, VeggieTales and free! :) I snagged some tickets to the show and off we went to the 9:30am movie...that's right, 9:30am! All of the shows were early, and at least 9:30 was better than the 8:15am! It was HUGE success!!! Before the actual movie they played the VeggieTales Christmas songs DVD. Even if that had been it, Mac would've been as happy as could be. Even Drew enjoyed the show. And now, thanks to the "moomie", Mac walks around the house with his drum in hand singing The Little Drummer Boy song.

Waiting for the show to start. And don't worry, we took Drew out of his carrier to watch too :)



Watching in awe, sucker in hand and sticker on shirt

Christmas Light Spectacular

We finally had a perfect weather day to experience a Silver Dollar City Christmas

I'm holding the camera as we try to take our family pic. I almost got us all in

Someone sitting near us saw the spectacle of trying to take our own pic and offered to take one for us...much better :)

Frosty the Snowman show. See Mac near the bottom, just to the left of center?? All the kids got to go sit on the stage for part of the show. It was a hit!

Snacking while waiting in line for the carol sing-a-long train ride

Drew decided he likes seeing the world upside down

Silly boy!

AMAZING Christmas light show

Another really nice person volunteered to take a picture for us. Drew was snoozing all bundled up in the stroller.

First Time for Cereal!

Very first taste of anything other than a bottle

Not real sure about that...

He doesn't mind a messy mouth :)

Well, I think he likes it!

The other night Drew was acting very interested in our food while we were eating dinner. We have recently noticed that he watches every little thing that we put in our mouths and moves his mouth around while watching. So the other night when he started squealing while the rest of us were eating, we decided to try out some baby cereal. And I'm pretty sure he liked it! Our pediatrician recommends food at six months, so since we are almost at that mark, we will just let him try it out every now and then. My baby boy is growing too fast!!!!

Twelve Irish Tenors

Last week we were able to put another check mark on our list of shows we have seen in Branson. The senior adult group at our church was taking an outing for lunch and then to the Twelve Irish Tenors show. We aren't seniors, but we figured we sure would like to join them for a day out (and a discounted ticket :)). This was the first actual show that we have taken the boys to. I was a bit nervous about how they'd make it but had a pretty good feeling that Mac would enjoy it since he loves music. So, heavily armed with bottles and candy, we went in and came out with no problems or melt downs! Mac really enjoyed all of the Christmas music and Drew was his usual happy, go-with-the-flow self. The show was pretty good, although they should stick to music and not comedy! Glad we were able to join the group and make another Branson memory.

In the theater waiting to go in

Happily waiting for the show to start, sucker in hand :)

Someone's Excited About His First Christmas!

Can't Catch Me...I'm the Gingerbread Man!

Mac was hoping I wouldn't catch him licking all of the icing off the house! haha

The boys figuring out how to assemble the house :)

Digging into that icing again!

My boy Mac LOVES sweets, so the gingerbread house was a huge success!! We had a fun time and many thanks for the person who brilliantly decided to package and sell kits! Our gingerbread house is now on proud display as the centerpiece of our dining table. Mac can, and does, admire and talk about his great work everyday. I'm glad to add this as a fun Taylor Christmas Tradition!

Community Christmas

Last weekend Sam and I had the privilege to narrate a Community Christmas Program held at our church. I really enjoy doing things like that, and it was fun doing it alongside Sam. I just hope everyone could focus on the message of our words and not our Southern accent! LOL The boys were troopers spending consecutive nights in the nursery :) Of course I couldn't resist the opportunity to take a family picture!

Bundled Up For A Cold Missouri Evening

Getting all of this gear strapped into a car seat is quite a task!
(and notice the beautiful sunset out of the window)

*We were braving the cold to go get Holiday Hotcakes at IHop and then to the Festival of Lights in Branson. Both were a success :)

What A Process!

Getting a good picture of these two boys is no easy task! Mac will sit still with Drew for about 10 seconds...then he tries to wiggle away, and Drew is usually left flopped over somewhere. LOL Oh well, I'll take what I can get. And since I am their mom, I think they all turn out cute :)

Veggie Tales Partaaaayyy!!!!

A party's not a party without Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber :)

Ready for the "Veggie Tales Partaaaayyyy!!!"

Happy 2nd Birthday, Mac!

Party Decorations

"Peas help yourself to some Veggie Tales favorites!"

Cake balls lovingly made by my mom.

Party favor buckets filled with goodies :)

The whole Singleton Clan was able to come for the "Partaaayyy!!"

Lia and Ramsey

The kid table, which soon became the Hill Family table. LOL

Calin Thurman and Mac

(one of our play group friends we started playing with when Mac was around 6 months old. We missed you, Adam Koonce!)

Blowing out the candle

He LOVED the "Bob cake"

Digging into gifts

Two of his favorite things, a cd player and Veggie Tales...a hit!

Singing a duet...Branson family show here we come! haha

Cici and Ellie playing Bob balloon ping pong

On September 30, Mac turned 2, and we had his much anticipated Veggie Tales Party. Mac really had no idea what a Veggie Tales party, or any party for that matter, was going to be like, but the boy was so excited since it was Veggie Tales! He woke up every day for about a week asking if it was his "Veggie Tales Partaaayy." And he would draw the word "party" out real long and say the whole thing excitedly and loud :) So when the big day came, we were all excited!

I was so thrilled that we happened to be in Mississippi that week, so we were able to have the party in Monticello with all of our dear friends. We had it at the Family Life Center at MBC, and the kids had a blast running around the gym, playing balls, and chasing each other. And Sam and I had a great time catching up with our friends from church. It seemed to live up to Mac's expectations was truly a great, fun night celebrating our sweet 2 year old boy.

Now, let me just say that I know I am 2 months behind on this post...and I feel so terrible, but we've had some busy months with the boys and lots of road time to Mississippi. I cannot believe Mac is already two! It is truly just a pure joy to spend each and every day with him watching him grow and become a wonderful big boy. He keeps me and Sam laughing and melts my heart with his sweet, sensitive personality :) What a blessing the Lord bestowed upon us two years ago...and we look forward to many, many, many more years to come!!!