Birthday bowling

Take five kids under the age of five.
Throw them into bowling shoes.
Give them a bowling ball.
You've got Emmett's third birthday party. Also known as Chaos.

 The birthday boy (in his Batman costume, circa 1978) rolls the first ball

 Ramps and guardrails for the gutters ensure the little people hit at least one pin. 

 Shoes. As small as size 5.

But the highlight of the day was discovering Lightning McQueen on his DQ ice cream cake. He was so excited he couldn't blow out all his candles in one breath.

Shoe Shopping

Another rack of firsts

As she watched Emmett's dad successfully deliver the first bottle feeding, Emmett's mom pumped her arms triumphantly skyward, danced a dance of joy, and screamed from the balcony, "SWEET FREEDOM!"

Emmett also got his first look at a real, live uncle. Uncle John stopped in to meet his new nephew en route to a conference on the west coast.

And, perhaps most importantly, Emmett acknowledged for the first time -- amid an awesome case of the hiccups -- that the shoes do, in fact, make the man.