Party Time

When deciding on the theme for Connor's birthday party this year, I turned to the birthday boy for his input. His response was, "a red party." I had been debating whether he was too young for a fire truck themed party, but decided to roll with it. After all, fire trucks are red. The past 2 years we invited our friends, so this was the first year we invited some of his friends. I sent out the invitations, made the plans, bought the decorations, etc. all ahead of time. I was pretty impressed with myself.

Since I had done so much ahead of time, I really didn't think there was that much to do today before the party. Boy, was I wrong. What seemed to be simple tasks took me twice as long. Luckily, Connor was able to go play at Aunt Tin's house while I ran my errands. Grandma came over a few hours before the party started to help out as well. It was a BIG help! I don't know what I was thinking that I could do it all myself. Connor went down for his nap on schedule and took a good, long one. Yet at 3:15 I had to wake him up so he would be ready for his guests at 3:30. He's not a very happy camper when he gets woken up, and today was no exception. He was sure cranky! His first guest was his best friend Rita. We couldn't even get him to go downstairs to say hi to her. He was being such a stinker!

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We waited a bit to see if his other friends showed up. Most of my family was able to come, but unfortunately Rita was the only friend that ended up showing up for the party. We soon made the walk up the street and around the corner to the fire station. I had set up an educational tour for the kids. However, as luck would have it, we heard the high pitched squeal of the truck's siren as we rounded the corner. Yep, we arrived just in time to see the crew leave on a call. I was warned ahead of time that this was a possibility. I had been hoping it wouldn't happen though. We hung out at the station for a bit just in case they came back, but ended up trekking back home to continue on with the party.

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As we arrived back home, so did the pizza delivery. The timing actually worked out real well. While we ate, Daddy called the station to find out if the crew had made it back yet. They had, so when everyone was done eating, we headed back to the station. We were given a mini-tour inside, then moved out to the garage. The firemen let Connor and Rita crawl all over the inside of the truck and gave them each a hat. My heart sank when I heard the dispatcher tone in on the loud speaker, thinking it was going to be another call. However, instead what we heard was, "The fire crew from Station 18 want to wish a very happy 3rd birthday to Connor." Very cool. A few minutes later, one of the firemen asked if it would be okay to take the kids for a ride around the block on the truck. Hello! As we were preparing the kids for the ride, however, the dispatcher was on the loud speaker again, this time with a call. We marched outside and watched as the crew got ready to leave. As they were pulling out, the driver stopped and talked to Daddy. He noted that we had walked to the station and asked where we live. Daddy told them, and then they were off. We headed back home to continue on with the festivities yet again.

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The kids took turns batting at a fire truck pinata. The pinata itself turned out to be stronger than the hook that was attached to it. After a few hits, it was on the ground but still intact. Mischa finally broke the pinata open after it had fallen to the ground. The kids squealed with delight when they saw the candy, fire truck memorabilia, bubbles, balls, etc. spill out from inside.

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After we had divvied out all the pinata goodies, we headed inside for cake and ice cream. It was while Connor was stuffing cake in his mouth that I heard the rumble outside. It took me all of a second to realize what the sound was, and I went dashing outside with camera in hand.

There, sitting in front of our house, was the fire truck. They had come to give Connor his ride around the block. Connor didn't hesitate climbing on board.

Daddy said that as they drove around the block, Connor waved at everyone they passed. I don't think we're going to be able to wipe the smile off his face for a long time. As one might imagine, we created quite a stir on our block. As the truck pulled away, we saw some neighbors standing across the street on the sidewalk. They have a boy just a few months younger than Connor, who is apparently obsessed with fire trucks. He was standing there in awe. If only we had known . . .

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After the excitement of the ride, we headed back inside to open presents. As usual, he got spoiled with presents. The party went a bit longer than anticipated and I was a little disappointed his other friends didn't show up. But all in all, I think Connor had fun and that's what matters most.

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