Today was a strange day. It’s weird to have a Wednesday off, right smack in the middle of the work week. All day, we were confused as to what day it actually was. It felt like a Saturday. It felt like a Sunday.
It was just weird.
We didn’t actually do much to celebrate the 4th of July today–just took advantage of the day off by running a few extra errands, spending time with our girl, and being productive around the house during her nap. We did go to my in-laws’ for dinner–hamburgers, hot dogs, beans, mac and cheese, and corn on the cob–so that was decidedly a very “American” dinner. :)
Because the holiday fell during the week, some of the surrounding towns scheduled their official celebrations–parades and fireworks–for last weekend. On Saturday morning, my brother was marching with the fire department in one of the parades, so we met my mom (who had Hunter) and my grandma there to watch it.
The parade started pretty early in the day (10 a.m.), but it was definitely warm out, even then. And the parade was no joke–it lasted an hour and a half!
The kids were so, so good. Hunter actually stayed in his stroller THE ENTIRE TIME, which was amazing considering he is 3 years old and tends to be a bit wild (he is a boy, after all). Nora was good in her stroller for about an hour but then she wanted nothing more to do with it so we let her out.
There’s Ty! He’s the one right there in front, with his hand outstretched toward us.
Nora’s first temp tattoo! :) We were given SO.MUCH.CANDY at the parade–all of which we confiscated from Nora before she even had a chance to really see it–so it was refreshing when a local swim club came by with the tats instead! Nora is obsessed with stickers so I figured she would love this, and I was right. She proudly showed it off on her arm for the rest of the weekend (I removed it with rubbing alcohol on Sunday night without issue).
Michael smartly thought to bring chalk in case we had to occupy little ones and keep them in one place for a little bit. It was perfect!
Nora still took in plenty of the parade.
And did some marching of her own.
So cute! And so fun.
It was nice timing, because we were still able to get Nora home in time for her nap–which she REALLY needed, poor kid was worn out after so much activity in the morning!
Sadly, we went another year without any fireworks. It’s just too hard for us with a child as young as Nora. The fireworks around here don’t start until 9:30 or 10:00 p.m. and it’s just WAY too far past Nora’s bedtime. Do any of you brave fireworks with small children? I just can’t see it working out well. And to get a babysitter (one of the grandmas!) would be possible, but we would feel too badly because they’d have to deal with Tessa, who barks and trembles like crazy the entire time (she hates fireworks!).
I hope you all had a happy 4th of July. Don’t forget to send thoughts–or a little prayer–up for my brother and all of the other men and women currently serving our country so that we (and others) can continue enjoying the freedom that we do.
And just for fun, check out my little Nora, one year ago today. How is this possible?
Now, back to work tomorrow. Whaaa? :)
3 Responses to Happy 4th
Leave a Reply
About
I'm Heather. I'm 33 and have been married to Michael for seven years. Together, we have two beautiful little girls we love more than anything, and a miniature dachshund who drives us crazy. I'm a full-time working mom who has very little time for my own "stuff" these days, like home improvement, cooking/baking, cake decorating, and photography. Despite the team not making the playoffs since 1999, I'm STILL a Buffalo Bills fan, which I think speaks to my loyalty AND sense of humor. I can't wait to pick up the pace with travel again some day... you know, when we're done being ruled by tiny fists. Welcome to my blog.
My son is only a few months younger, and we opted out of fireworks this year as well. I was tempted, but since my son normally goes to bed around 7, and the fireworks don’t start until 10, he would be awake at least FOUR hours past his bedtime. I think next year when he is older, we may try.
We have a 13-month old and just cannot keep her up that far past her bedtime! She played so much yesterday she was ready for bed earlier than normal, too!
However, I do wonder when we will see fireworks again (or how we will handle it when #2 comes around, but #1 is old enough and wants to go to the fireworks). Eek!
My daughter is two and a half and I can’t imagine keeping her up that late when she normally goes to bed at 7:30. However, she ended up being up last night as the firework’s noise (between the neighbors and the city) kept her awake. Ended up having to bring her to bed with me and that pretty much never happens. I think she would love to see them, but would be too scared by the noise. Maybe in a couple years…