3 years old!

Zari is three years old today! Halloween is the best day for a birthday. We've gone to two different Halloween parties this week, plus the regular trick-or-treating tonight. We're having a very informal birthday party tomorrow night. Zari requested a soccer ball cake again. I think I'll make it out of ice cream this year instead of cake.

This morning we opened presents--or rather, a present (Adidas Samba soccer shoes, which is what we got for her last year) and three cards from friends and family. Then we looked through her baby scrapbook, made foot & hand prints in the book, and marked her height on our closet doorway. She's grown about 6 inches in the past year! I think I'll read through her birth story tonight before I go to bed. Here are pictures from her first and second birthdays.

Halloween was insanely busy again this year. Our entire street was closed off to traffic for about 14 blocks. We bought about 1,000 pieces of candy and ran out after two hours. I was glad to be done early because it was quite cold this year.

I was going to make Zari a dragon costume, as she'd requested, but then I found this used one for $3. There are wings and a tail and spikes down the back. She's been wearing it for the past two weeks. Whenever anyone would say, "oh, what a nice dinosaur," she'd reply, "I'm not a dinosaur. I'm a green dragon!"

We've been talking a lot about food that is good for your body. While we were trick-or-treating tonight, she told me, "If I eat all of the candy, I will feel sick. That's why you just eat a little." Smart girl!

Our next-door neighbors built a pirate ship off the end of their porch. Zari's standing on their porch next to the pillar.

I tried to get her to lie down in the graveyard next to the ship, but she didn't want to. She said it was too windy.

I just noticed that the kids match. I didn't do that on purpose. Their jackets (both secondhand) are even the same brand.

Happy birthday Zari!