OSWEGO, N.Y. -- Four-year-old Lorie Smith was so proud that she had picked out the perfect pumpkin for Halloween.

But after a man stole the girl's pumpkin from her family's porch in Oswego last weekend, she cried.

Her dad, Brett Smith, replaced the pumpkin Wednesday.

But early Saturday, someone else had stolen Lorie's new pumpkin, as well as her 6-year-old sister Ivy's pumpkin.

"She was pretty heartbroken," Brett Smith said of his youngest daughter.

The family's video security cameras clearly captured both pumpkin thefts.

When Ivy, the older of the two girls, saw the video of the second theft her parents said she shouted, "You bad guys" and talked about hanging a sign that read: "Why would you take little kids' pumpkins? It's not nice."

Brett Smith said he posted both pumpkin theft videos on Facebook. Friends and neighbors shared the posts.

"So now we've lost three pumpkins, about $20," he said. "It's not a big deal the cost. We want to live in a place where we don't have to worry about this, where people respect each other and you can decorate."

The family headed to the Oswego Sub Shop for lunch Saturday after watching the second pumpkin theft video. While they were eating lunch, two Oswego police officers walked in to order food.

"We should tell them about our pumpkins," Ivy told her parents.

The girls then walked up to the officers, but became shy.

"They want to tell you something," their father said.

Ivy then told the officer that someone had stolen their pumpkins the night before.

The sub shop became quiet, with the attention on the girls and the officer who took them very seriously. The officer took out his notebook and asked the girls for their names and address, and reassured them he would watch for any pumpkin thieves that night.

Brett and Tessa Smith said they didn't file an official police report about the pumpkin thefts and they never told the officer they had cameras rolling outside their home.

Instead, they watched how Oswego Police Officer Brian Thompson interacted with their daughters. He told them how he would be working near their home that night on the west side of the city about a dozen blocks from the State University College at Oswego.

And he made a promise to the girls:

"I'll watch out to make sure no one steals your pumpkins," Brett Smith recalled the officer telling his daughters. "And if I catch the people, I'll let you come yell at them."

Both Ivy and Lorie were very excited, their parents said.

Before they left the sub shop, a couple gave Ivy and Lorie $5 each to buy new pumpkins. Brett Smith said he tried to decline their offer, but they insisted. The girls were thrilled.

When the Smiths returned home, they caught a neighbor trying to drop off six pumpkins on their porch without anyone seeing.

The Smiths carved two pumpkins and placed them across the upper step before they went to bed Saturday night.

As soon as they woke up Sunday morning, the girls went to make sure their pumpkins were still on the porch.

What they found next is something they will never forget.

Next to the pumpkins sat two Minnie Mouse baskets filled with goodies and a note from the officer they met at the sub shop.

"Here are a few treats to make up for your pumpkins getting smashed on my watch. I'm glad you could replace them, they look great! - Officer B. Thompson, City of Oswego Police Department."

Ivy and Lorie were "ecstatic," their parents said.

Ivy, who plans to dress up as a fighting princess named Star Butterfly from Star vs. the Forces of Evil, immediately asked her parents if she could be a police officer next Halloween.

Lorie, who plans to dress up as an evil wizard Ludo from the same cartoon, told her parents she wants to be a veterinarian and a police officer next year.

"This is exactly why we're proud of why we live here," said Brett Smith, a Navy veteran who is now an operations instructor at Nine Mile. Tessa Smith runs a blog. The family moved to Oswego two years ago.

"Our daughters could have made a negative association with Halloween, but now they'll remember all the nice things people did for them," he said.