Halloween and Birthday

We returned from our Florida vacation with my family on Halloween...so this made for one busy day, but with an early flight we returned in time to dig out halloween costumes and gather all our neighbors, plus others for appetizers before beginning the door-to-door run...

Sadly, I don't have any good photos from the evening. Just quickly snapped a couple. Bennett, a fireman, and Elly Rose, his dalmation dog. Here she is inserting herself between Bennett and Charlotte, his spanish senorita. The kids had so much fun and we have so many wonderful neighbors.


This is about 1/2 of the children...we are missing elmo, a zebra and a hershey kiss, among others. For the 2 hours of trick-or-treating, it feels like the neighborhood shuts down and everyone opens their doors for the littles. Spooky music, children running about, great decor and yummy treats. Lead by the older children, Bennett embraced going door-to-door for candy, but we learned he does NOT like skeletons. He still asks about them!

6 days later we were gathered back together with family and friends for the occasion of Bennett's third birthday. I love looking back at all the photos. One year older, he really understood that this was a celebration for him...so precious. He loves for me to tell him about the day he was born and asks funny questions like did he go in an ambulance (which he associates with hospitals). I love telling him about that amazing day... 5:01 p.m. and what those first moments were like after he was born.

It is incredible to think about the growth and development of our little ones in the first few years. To look back and remember his second birthday compared to turning three. I love his expression!

Part II of birthday celebration came on his actual birthday (Sunday). We invited 5 of Bennett's little boy friends and their mammas to join us for lunch at Steak and Shake before heading to Firestation #6 for a tour of the trucks. The boys had such a fun time sipping milkshakes and taking turns pretending to drive the engine truck and the ladder truck or sitting in the back of the ambulance.

The firemen were so wonderful with the boys. Answering questions, taking pictures, celebrating our little guy turning 3 and making him feel special. Up close the trucks are SO big. The boys were as tall as the tires, yet here they have climbed all the way to the top of the ladder truck to check out the view from above.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Bennett! We love you all the way to the moon...and back. Or as you might say, "I love you...from the heart."