It's my birthday and I'll cry if I want to.

Jonathan's birthday, as you may have heard, is on Halloween. I used that as an excuse to splurge on a really spiffy firefighter costume. We started what I think will be a reasonable tradition - we had the party, with a cake shaped like a pumpkin and presents, the Saturday before his birthday. That way, when Wednesday rolled around, the schedule was clear for trick or treating.

Theroetically, that is. Jonathan got completely worn out at preschool, excited from passing out copies of "Big Max" to his classmates and walking around the sun candle three times, to represent the three years of his life. He didn't want to take a nap but by the time Miss Randi left, he was reduced to sitting on the floor and fussing. I picked him up and cuddled him on the couch for a minute and he was passed out. We ate dinner while he snored in the living room.

The trick or treaters started coming around 6 pm as we scarfed the last of our meal. The doorbell finally woke Jonathan up and he wandered, tousle-headed, out to the foyer. He stared blankly at the pirates and princesses, but when he realized I was giving away all that wonderful candy, he got pretty upset. You could see our new neighbors sizing the situation up - here was a kid in no costume, moaning for candy. Were we some breed of anti-Halloween fanatics? And if so, why were we passing out Twizzlers and Butterfingers?

It all ended well. After a while Jonathan was quite enthusiastic about putting on his costume and getting some candy, just like the big kids. Chris and Alex manned the front door while we went out walking. All our practice paid off - Jonathan rang the bell, said "Trick or treat!" and always politely took one piece of candy when offered a whole bowl. After about five houses, he looked into his plastic Elmo head and decided he'd gotten enough loot. We turned around to go home, but as we passed each house, he cried "Oh, this is my FAVORITE house!" So he wound up with perhaps ten pieces of candy in all. He ate as much as we'd let him, brushed his teeth without complaint, and slept soundly as he turned three.