Beckett's Campfire Third Birthday Party!

One week from today, Beckett will turn THREE. Three, guys! THREE. It has become readily apparent recently that I have an almost three year old. Not only is he becoming more vehement in expressing his opinions, but he is also becoming more independent, more aware of others' needs, and a LOT more fun to interact with! This teeny tiny human is AMAZING, and I'm so grateful he's mine.

This week, my baby brother & SIL came into town from Dallas, which created the perfect excuse to celebrate Beckett's birthday early! WOO!

Brian and I did a big bash for Beckett's first birthday, and recently had a fabulous garden party for Charlie's first birthday. However, we both agree that large parties are not something we're interested in doing every year of the kiddos' lives. So for the in-between-parties years, we'll have a small family gathering to celebrate another year. And we LOVE IT.

Of course, that doesn't mean we skimp on the party-factor. I still love cuteness. Last year, Beckett had a "things that go" party. This year, we decided the amazing fall weather was a great opportunity for a campfire party! It was perfect.

We kept it super simple by decorating with stuff we already had, and serving all of Beckett's favorite foods, with one caveat: He requested steak at his birthday dinner, but with a dozen hungry mouths to serve, we went with hot dogs -- a close second in the hierarchy of meat favorites. Uncle Devin baked cupcakes, I decorated them, and VOILA, we've got a party!

With so many family members in town (and with Nana & Papa faithfully shipping gifts), there was definitely no shortage of present to open. He is one loved (spoiled) little boy!

Mom & Dad decided this year Beckett would get a bike for his birthday. So after most of his other gifts were open, Dad wheeled it around the corner. Of course, Beckett was busy reading his new books so he wasn't immediately interested. HA! He's totally his mother's child. :)

Once dad pointed out "bike" in his new dictionary, Beckett jumped up to check out his own. I'm not even kidding. These are actually photos of Dad pointing out "bike" in the dictionary and Beckett's surprised & excited face when he connect the photo to his real life bike.

Don't let the pictures fool you. He's still a bit intimidated by his new adventure, and he obviously has some growing to do before it fits him well. We're hoping that by spring when it's time to be outside, he'll be ready to go!

Once presents were done, we sang Happy Birthday (while Beckett danced & clapped), ate cake, and hung out around the fire. It was a very enjoyable and mostly relaxing evening (considering neither of my kids napped). Thank you to our family who came over! We love you. And HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BUCK!!!