Kid's Fun Night

Mac and Drew have been waiting and waiting for Kid's Fun Night to arrive!  I mean, excited!!  In fact, when we would see a banner or sign around town they would always excitedly shout "Kid's Fun Night!!"  And Drew was usually the first to spot them and start the shouting, though the little guy had no idea what to expect :)  Well, the day finally came and it did not disappoint.

"Trick or Treat" at Trunk or Treat

They both had the trick or treat business down, and Mac made sure they both practiced earlier in the day.

 

The church sets up "Treat Street" indoors for the younger kiddos.  It's so cute...the classrooms are decorated like front doors and they get to knock to shout "Trick or Treat!"

This little pirate and parrot were lucky to have some very sweet, generous ladies fill their buckets up over and over!

 

Showing off their loot.  Their buckets were about too heavy for them to carry, but they both refused to dump some in a bag and you could not pry their little fingers loose from the handles!

Drew wanted to spend every free second digging around in his candy to see what he had gotten.

Pirate face :)

I'm still in shock that we all took a really good family photo!

Is this not the cutest pirate couple that you've ever seen???  Mr. Loy and Mrs. Dorothy are just precious and always so sweet to our family.  The boys loved their treasure chest they had set up.

 

Digging through the candy when we got home to each pick two pieces to eat before bed.  And in perfect Mac fashion, he sweetly said "Thank you so much for letting us eat two pieces of our candy.  We are so lucky!"  I love his sweet heart. 

A Pirate and His Parrot

Mac was so excited to be a pirate this year for Halloween.  Mim gave him the costume which was an instant hit with this Jake and the Neverland Pirates lovin' little boy.  And since I like both boys to coordinate in their costumes, I decided Drew should be a parrot.  Both boys thought that was a great idea!  Mac agreed with "Every pirate has a parrot!" I had to get creative to whip up Drew's costume but when it was all said and done I had a very happy "Jake" and "Skully."

It just so happened that our pumpkin even matched the pirate decor this year. 

 

Sweet Drew...I had asked him to put an arm across him in front so we could see his feathers, and he faithfully complied in almost every picture.

Those are some mean pirate faces right there!

 

They were sooo excited to have picked out Trick or Treat buckets at the store today.

If that's not the perfect pair, I don't know what is :)

It's That Time...Potty Time!

Last week I decided it was time to start the potty training business with Drew.  Our trip was over with none scheduled til Thanksgiving, so my excuses for postponing were gone :)  He's expressed some interest and is always ready to be a big boy like Mac.  That, coupled with the fact that Baby Taylor 3 will arrive at the end of January, meant it was time to get serious. 

I picked a day to start that Mac would be at school and I'd be home with Drew all day.  And our weekly calendar was pretty empty.  We go straight from diapers to underwear, so when Drew woke up, right into underwear he went.  And the timer was set.  He had a couple accidents on days 1 and 2 but by day 2 was totally frustrated with having to go and the whole this is how you tee tee deal was totally not clicking.  He and I were both frustrated and I wanted so badly to give up. 

But we persevered and Day 3 was a new day!!  It suddenly clicked for Drew, and we haven't had a tee tee accident since (the other is a different story at this point...)  He is so proud of himself and LOVES getting "M-a-M's" after each potty break.  Mac has been a terrific big brother offering encouragement and help throughout the whole process. 

This right here is a proud little boy of his underwear!

I love that chubby little hiney and legs :)

A Little of This and That

Enjoying some after-the-rain playing in their underpants and boots

This is just priceless!!

The boys' favorite breakfast is currently cinnamon rolls, and they just love to sit outside on the back deck.  I reserve cinnamon rolls just for the "weekend" so Daddy is always home to enjoy the special treat with us. I get asked many times during the week, "Is it the weekend yet??"

A little Target fun.  Of course no trip to Target is complete without a stop in the cafe for a blue icee!

My little handymen

Fixing the wall...They love pretending to be a combo of Bob the Builder, Handy Manny, and PePaw, the best combination ever!

Aunt Cheryl sent us great bathtub crayons and water color tablets.  The boys sooo enjoy bathtime and this has been an added bonus and sometimes bribe :)  I decided it was also a great way to practice our Awana verse for the week. (Yes, those are lots and lots of Smurfs from McDonald's Happy Meals...don't judge!)

Passing the time running while waiting for Dr. Hampton at our 4 and 2 year well checks.  So incredibly blessed to have two healthy, smart, growing boys!

Practicing their jumps to show Dr. Hampton.

Cars Party Part II

Just a few more party pics that wouldn't fit on my earlier post...

Some fun Cars decorations.  We even had the Cars movie playing on the big screens.

More Cars...

Fun party-themed treats:  dip sticks, spare tires, nuts and bolts, tow cables, stoplights, and coolant

Sweet treats bar

Amy made all the kiddos fun racing flags

A mother's love one truly can never explain.  You can only begin to understand it once you have the privilege of being a mother yourself.  My heart bursts for that little boy.  And it was a joy to make his Car's party dream a reality!

Mac's 4th Birthday Party!!

A VERY special little boy recently celebrated his fourth birthday!  And the party theme was easy to figure out this year...pretty much as soon as Mac's third birthday was over he began talking about having a Cars Party when he turns 4.  So, he's been inviting and telling others about this Cars party for almost a year!  Talk about some pressure as a mom...trying to make a party live up to a year's worth of expectation made me a little nervous.  However, thanks to Pinterest, I think we pulled off a pretty spectacular party.  Mac was not at all disappointed!

Mac and Jonah getting ready to race some cars on the racetrack that Sam made.
Jonah is Mac's very good friend and has a birthday pretty close to Mac's.  So, Amy, Jonah's mom, and I decided to join forces this year and hold a dual, doubly fun party!

Drew playing with the tire beanbag toss

Kiddos making their treat bags for the pinata.

The kids ran a footrace and received a medal when they crossed the finish line.  It was by far a favorite activity.  And having Sam serve as the race announcer just added to the fun.

Mac was soooo proud of his medal.  He said "Are you so proud?  I knew I would win a medal!"

Drew hanging out in the Winner's Circle

Pinata time!!

Some friends taking a turn...it was a first experience for most kids and they loved it.

Grabbing for some loot!

Oh how this family loves Big Boy Mac Taylor...can't believe he's 4!

I'm pretty sure Drew had as much fun as if it were his own party.

Mac wanted a cake with Mater and McQueen...and CeCe did a fabulous job making an awesome Cars cake!!  Mac was very proud of that cake, and he helped bake it!  (post about that to follow soon)

Blowing out his candle.  He very specifically requested a "4" candle as opposed to four traditional candles.

Mac and Jonah standing in front of their cakes.  Jonah's grandmother made his cake too, a big Mater cake.

Every kid's favorite part...presents!  Mac got so many wonderful gifts.  He was so very excited.

Mac was especially excited about his Angry Birds Racetrack.  When he was done opening gifts, he said, "OK, I'm ready to go home now so I can play with this."  As his friends went about playing more games and running around, he sat forever, all alone, looking at the box, thinking about being able to open it up.  :)

CeCe and PePaw came all the way just for the big party.  PePaw wasn't even in Missouri for a full 24 hours before they had to go back home.  That's a lot of love for this little boy.  Thank you, CeCe and PePaw!!!

The Birthday Boys

Letting balloons go after the party was over.
What a great fourth birthday!!