I saw this idea on a TV show and thought Matty would really enjoy doing something similar. And I'm hoping extra Matty company will make his story's updates easier to finish. All familiar characters belong to Janet. Mistakes are mine alone.

Adventure 1 - Store Payout

Steph's POV

"Okay, I've got Ty's bag, your snacks and truck, and my shoulder bag. The stroller is already in the car from your weekend in Newark, do you think we're finally ready to go make some people's day?"

The only difference between Matty's grin and his Daddy's, is Matthew is way more willing to let them show on his face.

"We make da evvy body happy," he told me.

I cupped his face in my hand and met eyes that are so innocent yet know more than I do most days. "You and Ty make me and Daddy happy every day. We really shouldn't hog that feeling." His smile got wider. Ty and I leaned forward to kiss him and then I turned us to face the four-leggeds. "Sorry, Boys and Girl, this is a human adventure. You'll have to wait until the Big Boss or this little Bossman gets back to go running around."

The three sets of eyes made me feel a little guilty even though we're planning to put Matty's plastic ice cream money to good use.

I sighed, which blew Tyler's hair in the wrong direction. "Sorry, little man," I told him, trying to will the dark strands back into place. "Mama is feeling judged by your doggies."

"We gib em treats?" Matty asked.

"You are definitely my kid. Yeah, maybe if we dig out three," I held up three fingers, "bones … they'll be too busy chewing to be mad at me for taking you boys with me."

He ran down the hall to the kitchen and waited for me and Ty to join him to unlock the dog treats. Those suckers are more protected than Fort-freakin'-Knox. Having three big and scarily intelligent dogs means we've learned to get creative when we want to keep them out of the goodies.

Matty counted out the right number, two teeth-cleaning bones in one hand and one in his other. Pup-Pup and Buttercup waited patiently for their treat. Migo, basically being a canine teenager, was dancing in place while trying his best to wait.

"You two are rubbing off on him," I told Pup-Pup and Buttercup. "Good dogs. And good attempt, Migo." I gestured towards the hall. "If we hurry, we can probably make it out of the apartment."

I was wrong. Ranger was coming in as we were nearing the door. "Did you think you'd be taking two kids under three and an obvious wad of cash to a store on your own, Babe?"

"Yup. Everyone's dressed," I said, though I shot a quick glance over Matty and Ty and then myself to make sure I was telling the truth. We almost matched, being in jeans, T-shirts, and sneakers … just in different colors and styles. "We're all fed. Naps are handled. And I really want Matty to have this day."

I received one of those rare grins from my hubby and got a kiss as he slid a hand over Ty's head to include him in the affection. "I wasn't questioning your intent or your competence, I was stating that you're getting backup. I know you can take care of yourself and watch over our boys, but this mission may require more hands on deck."

"That's why I left the stroller in the car. It can fit one or two Manosos if I need two hands to do something."

"Daddy's coming wiv us!" Matty said, punching his fist up in the air in what I know isn't a premature victory.

He's not even three yet, and he recognizes the way these conversations about safety always go.

"I am," he told our son, reaching an arm out to get a hug from him. "Are we taking the elevator or the stairs?"

"Elevator," I voted. "Ty can't make it down the stairs under his own steam. He's little, but he's sturdy."

Ranger held out his arms and Ty was happy for some guy-time since Ranger had an apprehension to do about an hour after he finished his workout in the gym. "I'll carry Ty, you wrangle Matty," my hubby suggested.

"Alright … you asked for it. I now say stairs. Matty and I are going to beat you down to the lobby. Aren't we?" I asked my mini man.

"We go suber fast! Like my plane!"

He punctuated that by sticking his arms straight out from his sides to mimic an airplane in flight. I didn't have the heart or the time to explain aerodynamics to him, and why his arms are working against our end game.

Ranger opened the door and let me and Matty get a head start. When he was parking the Cayenne in the toy/baby store's parking lot, I was still pouting over the fact that Ranger was buckling Tyler into his car seat when Matty and I burst out into the underground garage. Of course, Ty would find it absolutely hysterical for his Daddy to turn all 'Flash Gordan' and engage his superspeed superpower. Tyler's amusement pushed BatDaddy into showing off more than normal.

I elbowed the defeat into the back of my mind and focused on the job now in front of us. When I unbuckled Matty's car seat, I gave him an impromptu rundown of what we'd already covered over breakfast.

"So, you remember what we're going to do in there?" I asked him. "You tell me where you want to put the 'money bills', and I … or Daddy too … will figure out how to hide them inside the packages without anyone knowing or seeing them until they're opened in their new home."

"I'm sure we'll be violating multiple store policies by doing this," Ranger unhelpfully pointed out.

"That just makes it more fun. They'll be fine with it. We're here to give their customers a little pick me up. I guarantee finding random twenties and fifties in their purchases will up the store's Yelp reviews."

"You have a point."

I smiled at him and Ty. "Thank you. I do make sense on days that end in 'Y'."

I'm convinced he regretted his decision to join us at this point, but he didn't complain at all to Ty as Matty and I walked up and down every aisle, pausing whenever my little man pointed to a remote-control car or package of baby food where I'd origami the crap out of a twenty-or fifty-dollar bill so it could fit inside the box or plastic covering. If my nails were painted, the polish would've been history after the third item. I love Matty even more for not just camping out in the Dump truck or robot aisle. The fact that he picked up on how many diapers we've already gone through with Ty, made me the proudest Mama walking when he pointed to a few boxes of those so whoever grabs them will get an instant 'cashback'.

His fake ice cream stand's profitable because it's centrally located in a building full of doting Uncles, but after twenty-eight minutes of wandering around the store, we did run out of charity money. Matty was having such a good time, Ranger and I had personally added to the bill count just so he could keep going. I don't even have to picture the faces of parents when they get home and discover that a toy store fairy added a monetary boost to what they just spent their money on. The joy Matty was experiencing as he purposely debated baby socks, dinosaurs, and cartoon pajama sets in order to pick 'the right' product to tuck his money into, is something I'm sure I'm gonna smile about even after I'm dead.

Growing up in a house and a neighborhood that values appearances more than anything else, I love that our kids already understand that having a good life shouldn't happen at the expense of others.

"The money's alld gone," Matty told us, sticking his hands deep into his jeans pockets as if the dollars may have regenerated inside them.

"It is," Ranger said. "But now you'll be extra good at raising more so we can do something like this again."

"I can do lotz stuff," he said with a confident nod of his little, needs-a-haircut again head

"You are talented. Over dinner tonight, we can come up with a few new things to try," I offered. "Maybe we need a Rangeman store where we can sell the pictures you've painted or drew. I may have been a bit selfish wanting to keep all of them."

"I helb the babies."

"You did do that today," I promised him, remembering how he chose diapers, formula, and onesies to tag along with the toys. "Some families aren't as lucky as ours is. Like Daddy always says, it's important to do whatever we can to help people, and babies, who really need it."

A/N: A quick opinion question for 'Toddler Times' readers who'd like to answer. Shorter chapters of the story so they may get posted more often? Or stick with writing the extra-long and involved updates?