Eli's 3rd Birthday

I'm a few weeks behind in getting this posted, but didn't want to miss the chance to share some pictures from Eli's birthday party! I know I'm going to say this every year, but I can't believe he's 3 years old!! He's officially not a toddler anymore...he's grown up so much in the past year.

After all of the fire trucks and fireman videos and fireman books, we finally had a fire station party for Eli. We invited a few of Eli's friends and some family to join us for a tour of our local fire station. Eli had to wear his fireman costume, including boots!

Here's the kids listening intently as the fireman tells them all about the tools and gear that they pack in the truck. The kids got to climb in the trucks, check out all of the equipment, walk around the firemen's quarters, and even met a talking parrot!

Eli, of course, had to be the driver/engineer. He had told us ahead of time where everyone was going to sit in the fire truck and he was always behind the steering wheel! The only thing he didn't get to do was blow the air horn. ;-)

After the tour of the fire station, everyone came back to our house for cake (a fire truck cake, of course) and ice cream cones. And it was very important to Eli that everyone have party hats. :) It's funny what makes a party in a child's eyes.

Then, of course, Eli got to open his presents. He was a bit overwhelmed because they were all sitting out on the grass when he came out. I don't think he knew where to start. He would start to open one and then run over to a different one before he was done. But, he got lots of fun things to play with - mostly outdoor toys and pool toys - which is exactly what he was hoping for.

Elijah David, we thank God everyday for bringing you into our lives. You are an adventuresome, talkative, energetic, creative, loving little boy and we couldn't be more proud to be your parents. We love you and can't wait to see what the coming year holds for you!