4th of July | Americas Birthday Part 2

All week Hadley has been talking about "America's Birthday". At school she made artwork with glitter and glue to make fireworks and stamped the stars and stripes. She told me that the flag is red striped, white striped and blue with stars on it. As we go through the neighborhood she is quick to point out all of the flags and that had suddenly appeared. She has been asking what day "America's Birthday" will be and when we can celebrate. This morning we had a small discussion about the "party" being today. She insisted that it was yesterday since we celebrated it early with Mimi and Papa. Once I convinced her that we were going to Piper and Tinsley's house to celebrate again, she felt better about TODAY being the official big day.

We were the first to arrive over at P&T's house. Hadley loved all of the attention and all of the snacks everywhere...cookies, popcorn and juice boxes, what else could a kid want. Once more kids arrived she was quick to tag along...always a few steps behind the crowd, but definitely a part of the action. 

She was also ok with jumping on the trampoline or swinging by herself, as long as someone was watching her and giving her some attention. Boy was it hot and muggy today....it was almost unbearable unless you were in the shade.

After a huge feast, we got out the poppers, glow necklaces/bracelets and sparklers for you and the kiddos to play with. Hadley had a ball. She loved throwing handfuls of poppers on the ground and giggling. She wasn't really excited about the fireworks, but liked wearing the ear muffs to keep the sound out. Daddy set outside with her and helped Chuck set off the display, while I set inside with Knox and watched from the window. Next thing I knew it was 10:30 (on a school night!!). Daddy brought her inside and I convinced her we were going to do something really cool upstairs so she would follow along. :) Once upstairs I filled up the tub with bubbles and your glow sticks. She was so impressed and LOVED it. I am unsure where the idea came from, but I was quick on my feet and eager to get her bathed before we went home since I knew morning was going to come way too soon. We played and played in the water until the tub ran dry. Then into our jammies and out to the car we went.

On the way home she didn't close her eyes once. She was so wound up from the day, she continued telling us about all the beautiful fireworks in the sky. Telling us they look like starfish and what color they were. That night she went to sleep in about 30 seconds. Knox did, too.