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Today is the last day of The Happy Day Project. How did you do? We failed pretty miserably around here. But we are going to keep spreading some happy…it just might take us two or three weeks instead of one to get them all done. And I don’t want to stop there. This project has got me thinking of ways that I can make blessing others a natural part of my week. What if each week I thought of just one way that I could be a blessing to someone else during the week? The Happy Day Project has given me some great ideas on ways to do just that. And how awesome to start teaching this to my boys NOW?! I would love it if they grew up with giving hearts, hearts that put the needs of others before their own…that needs to start with ME!
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I have been so blessed to receive lots of fun things in the mail recently from some of my readers. You all are so talented! And guess what? They want to share some of the cuteness with you too. So, tomorrow starts giveaway week at The Macs! Woo-hoo! Everyday this week I will be hosting a new giveaway. This is just a peek at a few of the awesome things you can win. So check back tomorrow…and everyday this week. You don’t want to miss it. Hey, maybe you can even get some Christmas ideas!
See you tomorrow!
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  • onlymehere - What a fun idea. These boys are getting bigger by the second and are so adorable!
    CindyReplyCancel

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  • The Moffats - I seriously can’t handle the cuteness in those 3 pictures. LOVE LOVE LOVE the pic of Griffin – who needs professional photos????? FOR REAL! And the darn monkey hat. I’ve wanted that forever…I may have to finally just splurge on it. It is just toooooo stinkin cute. Maybe all the little boys need those for the Colorado mountain trippin 🙂 love and hugs.ReplyCancel

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  • Sarah - Yay yay! I can’t wait! I love the idea of thinking of some way every week to spread happiness 🙂 what a great blessing! I have never won a giveaway – maybe this will be my lucky week! 🙂 Happy Sunday!ReplyCancel

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  • Rachel - We’ll be checking back, you’ve got the cutest boys & great taste!! See ya soon!ReplyCancel

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  • Joelle - omg! great!!! so excited to maybe win something!ReplyCancel

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  • My name is Amee - I can’t wait to see what the give aways are! Your boys are just too handsome! They just keep getting prettier & prettier (yep, Prettier can be for boys too!lol)ReplyCancel

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  • Anonymous - Such cute plates! Not as cute as your adorable boys, of course, but cute nonetheless! I enjoy your blog so much. I love the way you share your heart and your love for your Heavenly Father and the sweet family he has blessed you with. Everyday I look forward to catching up on my blog reading, but yours is ALWAYS the first one I go to! Thank you!
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  • songskatesang - I love the H is for Holly pattern in the grey and yellow!ReplyCancel

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  • Anonymous - Ooops! I got so excited, I forgot to follow up! I like the turquoise and orange plate with a “W” on it!

    Thanks, again! -Sherri ErnstReplyCancel

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Levi’s two favorite things this week…
daddy & ducky (or duck on a stick as we like to call him).
All of a sudden Levi seems to be noticing that his mama is a little preoccupied with his baby brother. He is not a big fan. Whenever he asks me to do something with him and I say that I can’t right now he says, “Mama feed Griffin”. That’s right buddy…feeding Griffin seems to be taking up most of my time these days. But it won’t be like that forever. I am trying to be more intentional about spending time with Levi and not always be busy taking care of Griffin, but either way he is always thrilled when his daddy comes home. He knows he will get his daddy’s undivided attention. And I am thankful for that too!
Levi loves for his daddy to draw tractors for him.
And after daddy gets done drawing one Levi always says…
“daddy draw tractor gin (again)”.
How can you say no to that?? So daddy fills the whole sidewalk with tractors and Levi admires them. Every time we go back outside he will tell me about the tractors that daddy drew.
Levi’s grandparents came back from China this week and he was so glad to see them again. They brought him this duck on a stick toy. It makes lots of noise and he drives it all over the house. It has been so nice outside the past few days that we decided duck on a stick should go outside for awhile. 🙂
Levi likes to take ducky on walks. He will tell me “ducky on a walk” and then drive him up and down our little rock path,
 through the flower beds, and all over the yard.
Duck on a stick has been great entertainment for this little guy. It keeps him occupied when mama is busy with Griffin.
And it makes the time go by until daddy comes home again.
It will be so fun when the day comes when these two little boys are busy all day playing together.
Happy Friday!
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  • Kristen {a little ditty} - Adorable! Levi is such a cutie, love hearing about what he’s up to. So sweet how he loves his Daddy so much too 🙂ReplyCancel

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  • Aimee - Ah! I love that bottom photo of Baby G! Fun day with Daddy!ReplyCancel

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  • E @ Oh! Apostrophe - I read on a blog once about a momma to two boys who would always make a point of telling the baby “hold on, you have to wait, I have to do something for [older brother] ” since the older brother was always having to hear that the other way around. I thought that was pretty genius!ReplyCancel

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  • Nancy - You have handsome boys all around!!
    Looks like beautiful weather in those pictures, too!ReplyCancel

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  • Heather - My little girls, same age apart as your little boys….only 7.5 years older….are downstairs playing together right now. It is a sweet sound!ReplyCancel

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  • Christina - So sweet! Your pictures get better all the time! They are beautiful!ReplyCancel

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  • The Lynch's - great pics..your boys are precious! love reading your blog 🙂ReplyCancel

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  • Kayla Sue - These pictures are gorgeous. My little guy sure loves his daddy too, it’s a wonderful thing to watch 🙂ReplyCancel

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  • The Dukes - Something I love to do with newborns is to tell them that they “can’t” do something or “aren’t big enough” to do something big brother can do. If the newborn is sleeping, they hear nothing. If they are alert they smile because you are talking to them. They are none the wiser and wait until you see how proud that makes an older sibling feel! This way they aren’t the only one always being told they’re “too big” (for pacies, for carrying, for diapers, etc…) Of course I only do this until the baby gets old enough to understand but it helps tremendously to smooth over some of these rough patches in the first few months!ReplyCancel

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  • The Dukes - Oops, just saw that someone already posted that idea! Sorry! Good evidence that it’s worth a try, though… 😉ReplyCancel

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  • Anonymous - When our son was born our daughter was 5 and I found the two child juggle a challenge. One thing that helped my daughter still feel like her needs mattered too was that when the baby started fussing and I was reading or playing a game I wouldn’t rush right in to get him. I would either finish or wait until the fussing turned into crying. I also love the idea of telling the baby to “hold on.”
    AlexisReplyCancel

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  • My name is Amee - That’s such a priceless pic of Levi & his Daddy… Also the pic of Griffin is just adorable. He is a beautiful little guy!ReplyCancel

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  • Lexie Loo, Lily Boo, and Dylan Too! - I love the pictures, especially the last one!!!ReplyCancel

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There hasn’t been much to blog about around here this week. And I don’t even have any cute pictures to show you. Boo. I think I have been in a little bit of a funk this week and I need to snap out of it. Monday it rained all day…one of those dreary days. Tuesday was rainy again and then it even snowed a little last night. And today I woke up feeling yucky. All that to say, I haven’t kept up with The Happy Day Project like I was planning on. But I’m not giving up! (Man that sounded like a lot of whining…really the week hasn’t been that bad…let’s talk about something a little more happy!)
The Happy Day Project: Day 1

I made some little loaves of pumpkin bread and added the free printable tag. So cute. The original plan was to deliver them to the “neighbors”. But, remember I said it was raining on Monday. We live in the country and our closest “neighbors” live 1/4 mile down the road. I thought it would be a little weird to show up on their front porch in the pouring rain in the dark with my banana bread. Plan B. So, we delivered our bread to some friends whose sweet baby boy was born that day. I still would like to do something for our neighbors, but I think I will wait until the sun is shining. 🙂

I made my mom’s pumpkin muffin recipe. So good…and so easy:

Pumpkin Muffins

4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups cooking oil
1 3/4 cups pumpkin
3 cups flour
1 T cinnamon
2 t baking powder
2 t baking soda
1 t salt
brown sugar and chopped walnuts for top

Blend eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin. Add rest of ingredients. Mix until smooth. Fill greased muffin cups 2/3 full. Sprinkle with brown sugar and walnuts. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

What about Day 2 and Day 3? My cards for day two are all printed out and ready to write in. Levi and I are going to send some notes to his aunt and uncles who live far away. We will work on that today. I haven’t bought my gift card for the homeless yet either. Hopefully that will happen tomorrow.

Although I am behind, I am loving this project. It has got me thinking about other ways that I can be a blessing to the people around me on a more continual basis. It has helped me realize that I need to be thinking outward more often. I needed that reminder.

How about you? Are you participating in The Happy Day Project?

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  • Trish - yes… i am loving how it is stretching me! i am a little behind too. but i’m not going to let that stop me from spreading some happy 🙂ReplyCancel

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  • Aimee - What an amazing thing to do. 🙂ReplyCancel

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  • The Mershawn's - Yes. And I’m moving slow too. BUT…I really love that each morning is filled with all the usuals & now also the thoughts of what to do for someone else. It’s how it should be. I’m loving it too. I will do them all!! Even if it takes 2 weeks instead of 1;)…and maybe then it will be a habit?? A girl can hope.ReplyCancel

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  • Julie @ Joy's Hope - You have plenty of time friend. Time and grace. I love that your neighbors are far. Love it. I think I have 1,000 neighbors in 1/4 mile. Crazy.ReplyCancel

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  • melissamevans - This is such a great idea. I want to start doing something like this, after I saw your post this week- it got me very inspired.ReplyCancel

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  • Melanie Martini - Hey Jess! I know what you mean…I’ve been in a “funk” lately too. I think it is the change in weather and the daylights savings switch. It gets me every year! 🙂ReplyCancel

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  • Lesley - I love the idea of happy day project!!! I think that would lift even the yuckiest of days!!! 😉ReplyCancel

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Have you heard about what Julie and Jeannett are up to this week?
They had this great idea to do something meaningful for others leading up to the holiday season. They are calling it The Happy Day Project. I think it is an awesome idea and am so excited to join them. The Happy Day Project starts tomorrow. Here is the plan for the week:

I don’t know about you, but my mind is already swirling with things to do, things to buy, things to make, and decorating to do with the upcoming holiday season. All of those things can be good, but sometimes all of those things make me start to focus way too much on myself. I can’t tell you how many times I have been blessed or refreshed or encouraged by others…many times by people I don’t even know. I want to be more intentional about thinking outward as the holidays approach. I want my family to be a blessing to others. The Happy Day Project is the perfect way to get started!

Do you want to join us? Visit Julie and Jeannett’s blogs for more information and to grab “The Happy Day Project” button. And spread the word! Thank you Julie and Jeannett for your big hearts and love for others. You both encourage and challenge me greatly and I can’t wait to see what God does through your project this week!

Now…what treat to make tomorrow??

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I have been a mama for three almost four years now. And this will be my third halloween to celebrate with my kiddos. You can see Cora and Levi in their cute cow costumes here. But this halloween was full of firsts for us.
It was the first halloween that I got to plan and make (part of) the boys’ costumes. Levi was a K-State football player and Griffin was a football.

It was the first halloween that Levi knew what he was dressed up as. He is very into football right now. Once we got through the trauma of getting those shoulder pads in, he thought he looked pretty awesome…and he wanted to tackle everyone he saw…including his little brother.

It was the first halloween that Levi was excited to go trick-or-treating and fill up his little bucket. Oh, and he wanted to show you his “biiiiiiiiig muscles”.

It was the first halloween that I had two little ones at home to dress up. And man did they look cute.

We tried really hard to get a picture of them together, but Levi wasn’t too interested. Sitting still wasn’t on his agenda…only tackling was. 🙂

It was the first halloweento go trunk-or-treating. What a great idea and so much fun! The kids got their candy and the adults got to hang out too.

 It was the first halloween with cousins.

One certain little cousin led Levi around to all the cars and made sure he got his bucket filled with candy. Levi’s other cousin is the little giraffe in the background. He wasn’t too excited about the whole costume thing.

It was the first halloween that Levi got to eat candy…

and man did he love it. In fact, he plopped himself down right in the middle of the parking lot and ate and ate and ate. And he hasn’t stopped asking for candy ever since.

It was the very first halloween for Griffin. But you wouldn’t know because he isn’t in any of the pictures. He slept through trunk-or-treat and didn’t even get to show off his cute costume.

It was the first halloween full of costumes, friends, candy, and two sweet brothers. I can’t wait until next year.

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How about a little tutorial?

I found a picture of a football onsie on Pinterest and used it as my inspiration.

Football Onesie:
Materials:
brown onesie {mine is from Hobby Lobby}
white fabric scraps
iron on adhesive {I used Heat n Bond}
embroidery floss
1. Iron fabric onto Heat n Bond (follow adhesive directions).
2. Cut strips and arrange on onesie.
3. Iron strips onto onesie (follow adhesive directions).
4. Sew strips onto onesie using embroidery thread or sewing machine (I used a backstitch).
So simple! I realized after I had already ironed on the strips that I should have stitched the middle strip first before adding the little strips. But it still worked. Using a sewing machine would be much faster but I liked the look of the embroidery thread. Also, I think the football onesie on Pinterest was made using felt…which would be really cute and wouldn’t fray. All I had was some leftover white duck cloth…so that is what I used.
 5. Put football onesie on a cute, chunky baby. 🙂

I know Halloween is over…and you are probably already thinking about Thanksgiving and Christmas. So, bookmark/pin this idea for next year. Or, make it for your little one to wear to his/her next football party!

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  • Tara - oh my goodness, they are adorable!!! LOVE the football player / football thing! so cute. and, the candy … ya … the first words out of haden’s mouth on tuesday morning were “where my candy?” ha.ReplyCancel

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  • Karina - ADORABLE!!! I love the theme – and Griffin is the best looking football I’ve ever seen. That is one hunky football player, too…Hats off to you for taking the time to put those costumes together, even if Griffin slept through the big event.

    I have never heard of trunk-or-treating before. What a great idea, especially where people live spread out or you want to keep a bunch of littles contained.ReplyCancel

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  • melissamevans - So adorable….it’s beyond ADORABLE to see your older one sitting on the ground eating candy: melts my heart. Trucnk or treat…first I’ve ever heard of this: GREAT idea!ReplyCancel

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  • Merrill - What an adorable little football player and football you have! Love that idea!ReplyCancel

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  • Meggie - SO cute! They are both adorable and you did great with their costumes!! This was my first time having 2 little boys to trick or treat with too… and my baby slept through it just like Griffin. =)ReplyCancel

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  • Bethany - So cute, Jessica! What a great pair the two are!ReplyCancel

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  • Lyssa at Living Simple in the South - So cute
    Levi and Weston are so much alike…they make so many of the same faces, funny boys!
    You are so great at capturing your two… It is almost impossible around here i think!
    Super cute onsie! Love it that they coordinated!ReplyCancel

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  • Amanda - you had the cutest little trunk or treaters ever! I think I will miss the days of getting to pick the theme for my kids and having them coordinate. Mom’s ideas are never as cool.ReplyCancel

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  • Anonymous - Those may be the best costumes EVER! How do you handle being around that much cuteness every day?!ReplyCancel

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  • Mum2twopreciousgifts - Trunk or treating hasn’t made it to Australia. I think that is a MARVELLOUS idea. Loving the pics of your beautiful kiddos Jess. As always, thanks so much for sharing.

    Michelle xxxxReplyCancel

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  • Aimee - How adorable! I’m so glad you showed how you made the football onesie! The moment I saw that on instagram, I HAD to show my husband right away! Too cute! What a wonderful first Halloween!ReplyCancel

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  • MICHELE - what a great costume combo idea! Too bad K-State didn’t fair too well that weekend. 🙁ReplyCancel

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  • Jamie - That football onesie is the cutest thing I’ve seen in ages! So simple but awesome. I love your blog!ReplyCancel

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  • Anonymous - oh my goodness. cutest.thing.ever. they are perfect.ReplyCancel

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  • Kelly - They’re so cute! I love that you did a theme with your boys! I’m all about themed Halloweens! My kiddos were a circus this year and it was pretty stinking cute!ReplyCancel

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  • Lauren - oh my, so adorable! love everything about your post. thanks for sharing!ReplyCancel

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  • Seven Bells - Oh My…Griffin is such a little Joel!ReplyCancel

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  • Stef - Jess, oh my word! CUTE! I showed my football loving 6 1/2 year old son and he’s going nuts over it 🙂ReplyCancel

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  • Ich - Extremly cute….i am a little bit sad, there is no halloween like this in Germany too. I think i have to start my own next year. You did a good job on the costumes of your boys. Thank you for share it with us.ReplyCancel

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  • Carla - My favourite line in your whole blog so far “and Griffin was a football”. Love it :-). Great costumes and photos, it looks like everyone had a great time. My little guy (20mnts)also discovered candy this halloween..he had tasted chocolate before but never seemed too enthusiastic (doesnt’ take after his mama) but last MOnday he discovered lollipops and jellies and marshmallows and all sorts of hideous junk and oh my, how he fell in love. He was on a three day sugar high!
    Thanks for the lovely post. Griffin is the absolute stamp of his daddy 🙂ReplyCancel

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  • Kristin - love the costumes!ReplyCancel

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  • Lara - LOVE their costumes!! Such a cute idea!!!ReplyCancel

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  • Rich and Carolyn Dewey - Perfect little boy costumes!!

    Our church in CA did Trunk or Treat as a HUGE community-wide event, complete with food trucks, bouncies, petting zoo, you name it. It grew into a pretty big event, attracting 1000’s of people. Great ministry event!ReplyCancel

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  • Bri!!! - I haven’t read you blog in a long time, and wanted to pop over to see how you are doing. CONGRATS on the new adorable baby boy! You seriously make the most beautiful children. What a blessed family you have!ReplyCancel

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  • Sara @ Mom Endeavors - Oh my goodness, that is SO cute! Love the coordinating costumes! Adorable! Would love to have you link it to the college football themed link party! It’s perfect! 🙂 http://www.momendeavors.com/2011/11/college-football-saturday-tailgate-football-memorabilia-collage.htmlReplyCancel

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  • Brandi - I LOVE that football outfit! It’s so cute!!!!

    I just found you from Stefanie’s blog. 🙂ReplyCancel

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  • in a world surrounded by men - And here I was thinking you used white duct tape….

    Man, you’re impressive!ReplyCancel

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  • Lexie Loo, Little Lily, and Dylan Too! - The boys looked adorable!ReplyCancel

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  • The Schilling's from Cimarron - HOW SWEET!
    Jess you are always sooooo creative! Looks like everything is going great! Just wanted to say hi!:) Tell everyone hello from the Schilling’s!:) TAKE CARE and give those sweet boys a big hug from us!:)ReplyCancel

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  • Kristy - Adorable as always. Living in Manhattan I saw a lot of K-State football players but Levi was by far the cutest!ReplyCancel

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  • Kimberlee - Now that’s the type of football I like to watch! Great costumes!!!!ReplyCancel

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  • Lesley - That is seriously the cutest thing ever!!! LOVE it! They are both the most adorable little boys!!!ReplyCancel

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  • julia - Best costumes ever.ReplyCancel

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  • Diana - FreeStyleMama - Cute football!ReplyCancel

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  • Jeffrey and Michelle - Just saw your adorable picture on pinterest…had to lol when I saw your little K-Stater! My hubby & I went to KSU for a year (he’s the KSU fan, I’m a KU fan)….and we now live in Tampa, FL! 🙂 So hi from a former Kansan!ReplyCancel

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  • Linda - I don’t know if you are aware of this or not, but the picture of Levi holding Griffin is on this website.. http://parenting.failblog.org/category/hall-of-fame/page/4/?bow I just thought you might like to know.ReplyCancel

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  • Diana - FreeStyleMama - I know I commented before but I’d love to see you link this up at Thematic Thursday. This week’s theme is Super Bowl/FootballReplyCancel

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  • Kristin - I LOVE this picture of your two adorable boys! I found it on Pinterest and I would love to take one with my two little guys and surprise my husband with it. If you could tell me where you found the pads small enough for under his jersey I would really appreciate it. I have looked everywhere and most the pads are for older kids. Thanks so much!ReplyCancel

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  • Baby Brother Picture and Halloween Costumes - - Network Panda - […] http://www.jessmcclenahan.com/2011/11/firsts-halloween-2011/ View more posts in: Fashion See also: « Previous post in this category: Vodka […]ReplyCancel

  • Super Saturday- Football Time - […] Halloween Football Costume,  The Macs […]ReplyCancel

  • grace - I have 2 boys and have been trying to figure out what to do this year. This is a great idea! What did you do to make the shoulder pads for your football star? Also, did you just buy some smaller sized sweat pants? How did you get them to stay so short?ReplyCancel

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    Jess Reply:
    October 1st, 2012 at 8:23 pm

    Grace-The sweatpants were two sizes too small…I think. I just basically sewed a little pillow (stuffed with stuffing) for the shoulder pads and safety pinned them under the shirt.

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    • Jess - Grace-The sweatpants were two sizes too small…I think. I just basically sewed a little pillow (stuffed with stuffing) for the shoulder pads and safety pinned them under the shirt.ReplyCancel

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  • 9 Favourite DIY Baby & Kid’s Costumes | The DIY Mommy - […]  Toddler and Baby Football Costume by The Macs […]ReplyCancel

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  • The Chic Site - […] check out a helpful tutorial here. Whether you have a toddler or a baby, JessMcClenahan will show you how to get them ready for the gridiron. This baby cowgirl outfit from […]ReplyCancel

  • Halloween Costumes for Brothers - […] Hook & Smee | Buzz Lightyear & Woody | Curious George & the Man with the Yellow Hat  Dumb & Dumber | Mario & Luigi Batman & Robin | Simon & Garfunkel | Football Player & Football […]ReplyCancel

  • 15 Sibling Halloween Costumes | The Jenny Evolution - […] boys can feel tough together as part of the team. This Football Player and Football costume duo even gets baby into the […]ReplyCancel

  • 14 cool, insanely creative sibling Halloween costumes - […] clever football player and his football sibling Halloween costumes at The Macs is a great way to let your little sports enthusiast be his or her favorite athlete, […]ReplyCancel

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  • halloween 2016 » The Macs - […] can see the boys’ past costumes here, here, here, and here. Football players, a football, superheros, and cows. I love boys. And oh my […]ReplyCancel

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