Snaggle Tooth

Look REAL close on the bottom left and you will see Drew's very first tooth! I couldn't believe it when it first popped out, and its twin is starting to make an appearance also. My boy is ready for some real food! haha This same big, wide open mouth is what you get when he leans in to kiss you, a new trick that he just started doing. Its quite a slobbery, wet kiss, but one I will take any day! :)
(I will work on a pic where you can see that tooth a little bit better.)

Bye, Bye, Loochie!

Mac has mastered every big boy skill that is out there, shooting hoops, talking nonstop, going to Awana, working the remote with perfection, and going potty :) But there was one "baby" thing Mac was holding onto, and we were letting him-his loochie (aka pacifier). That is, up until Friday! For all of you with an open gasping mouth, save some air for the rest of us and let me explain...You see, we had long ago banned the loochie from all activity except bedtime, and my master plan was to have the loochie long gone by the time Drew was born. However, he just wasn't ready, and to be real honest, I wasn't either. The transition of bringing home a new baby was quite an adjustment for everyone, Mac included. So we decided to let him keep it for sleeping for a bit longer. Well, you know how that goes, a bit longer turned into months! We just finally decided that it had to end and picked Friday for the day :)

I had an idea, and a pretty darn good one if I do say so myself, to go to Build-A-Bear and treat Mac to a new stuffed animal. The catch is, he had to stuff his loochie into his animal and say "bye, bye" forever. Then, he would have a great new toy to take to bed in place of his loochie. (Now, I must give Elmo credit when credit is due. My mom bought the Elmo DVD "Bye, Bye Pacifier" for Mac months ago to help him get ready to get rid of his loochie. And good ol Elmo did help prep his mind for the day.) We had a great time at Build-A-Bear choosing his animal and then an outfit to go along. We lovingly named his new monkey "Loochie." He was so proud of himself that he is such a big boy. In fact, if you ask him, he will quickly tell you his name is "Mac Big Boy." haha

Now, for the rest of the story that I know you are waiting to hear. Yes, the first couple of nights were a little tough. He cried and asked for his loochie, but by night 3, he was able to lay down and get to sleep without all of the drama :)

A bit overwhelmed by all of the choices...and so was I!

Putting in his loochie, a huge milestone for Mac! I expected him to quickly change his mind and reach back in for it, but he didn't. He just continued on with the process.

Stepping on the pedal, helping stuff his monkey.

After he hugged and kissed the little heart that goes inside, he gave "Loochie" a hug :)

Giving Loochie a blow dry and brush time

Mac kissing his new best friend who is sporting a great-looking NBA basketball uniform, complete with headband and wristbands, and a basketball. Mac easily made the selection of basketball gear.

Having fun! Loochie goes everywhere with Mac ever since we brought him home. You can feel the real loochie in the back of "monkey Loochie's" head.

Full view of our furry new friend.

Just letting ya know that Drew was with us too, proudly sucking his real loochie; I am sure, thankful that he doesn't yet have to give his up :)

Enjoying a big boy lunch with Daddy while sitting in his big boy booster seat.

My, oh, my, my sweet "Baby Mac" is officially baby no more. Where does the time go?!

Way to go Mac Big Boy!!!!

St. Patrick's Day Fun

The boys at the Landing

Yesterday Sam and I decided to load up the boys and get out of the house to enjoy the great weather (additional motivation was the fact that the boys and I had been cooped up inside the house for several days in a row! haha) Since it was St. Patrick's Day, I, of course, declared we all HAD to wear something green; forget the fact that I have no idea why we celebrate this day! Well, after my declaration of green attire, I discovered the only green item I had in my closet was a Burris Farm Market t-shirt. Ok, #1. It is like ten years old #2. It has a terrible fruit basket-ish design on front and equally terrible beach scene on back #3. Who the heck buys a shirt from Burris Farm Market...ummm, ME! (I love up some ice cream and strawberries!) Anyway, I went ahead with the deal and proudly sported that baby all around Branson. After lunch we headed to the Landing for a stroll. I figured the boys would fall asleep, but there were too many interesting things for them to look at. After the Landing, we hit up Home Depot and ran a few other errands. It was a nice, laid back, green day!

Mac's generous $1 tip earned the right to play the keyboard ;)

Thanks music man, you made his day!

This is Drew's first ride in the buggy without his carrier, finally. He loves it already! And there's Mac in the "front-back" of the buggy.

Can you drive anything else but a John Deere on St. Paddy's???

More interested in making faces than watching Mac on the lawn mowers

Home Depot was like tool playground for Mac and Sam. Mac had a blast and definitely felt like he was Handy Manny...safety glasses and all!

The Happiest Place on Earth!!!

Last week my entire family (minus my dad :( sad day, he was on a business trip to Dubai) had a wonderful trip to the "Happiest Place on Earth," Disney World, of course!!! It was lots of crazy, great fun, and it was soooo good to visit and spend time with Lia. I cannot imagine how wonderful it would be to live and breath Disney Magic everyday like she is able to do. Since we took nearly a thousand photos, it will take me some time to go through them all and post about the trip. I will make several posts, I'm sure. Bear with me...we use our blog to document our happenings and make into a book at the end of the year, and this is definitely news worthy stuff for the Taylor Family :) We are all still wishing we were in Orlando wishing upon a star instead of back at home readjusting to "normal" life. Oh well, we'll just have to start planning the next trip!