Banner's First Fourth of July...

Please note that I spelled "Fourth" F-O-U-R-T-H and not "Forth" this year. Even though I KNOW it is "Fourth" (like the number) as opposed to "Forth" (like, "Go forth and conquer"), I ALWAYS want to use F-O-R-T-H when talking about Independence Day. Drives me crazy because I know better, but I make this mistake nearly every year regardless.  My brain is such an a$$hat sometimes.

Since it was Banner's first Independence Day, we wanted to make it special and family oriented.  So, we started the morning off at my dad's house.  He lives less than half a block from the Park Cities parade route, and it used to be tradition when I was little to wake up early, decorate our bikes and watch the floats go by (and stock up on candy in the process).  Then, at the conclusion of the parade, all the kids would ride their bikes to Gore Park.  Except I only remember actually making it to Gore Park once.  I don't know if I got tired before reaching my destination, or if my parents refused to chaperone me.  Regardless, I took the bike riding portion of the event very seriously, unlike my brother who was commonly distracted by small inflatable objects (as depicted below):



Maybe I never made it to Gore Park because all I had to work 

with was a tricycle with a wheel radius of 2.5 inches.

Anyway, we did watch the parade from the traditional vantage point, but there was no bike riding to Gore Park.  This was partly because the adults in the group were hot and unmotivated, and partly because it doesn't appear that decorating your bike and riding behind the parade is still The Thing To Do like it was when I was a tot.

Sigh.  So sad.

Still, the parade was fun, and Amy and Adam brought breakfast tacos, freezy pops, water and Gatorade so there were more food and beverage options than Smarties and Tootsie Rolls thrown into the street.  And we all had fun making Amy go out and collect the candy that was thrown our way, because, you know, why not.

Banner's favorite part was the marching band.  He danced a little jig as they passed by.  I wish there had been more music in the parade this year, because he definitely likes to get his groove on.  The faster the beat, the better.



Oh, and eating his flag was a close second.

Banner was actually so captivated by the parade that he, for once, refused to finish his bottle.  I never thought my baby would turn away food.  It was pretty amazing.



Being patriotic with Daddy.

After the parade was over, we returned to Grandpa Buddy's to cool off and regroup.  My dad wasn't feeling well (bad seafood) so he was still in bed.  There is a fabulous picture of my father floating around the family, however, that was taken Wednesday morning when he came out briefly to say "Hello" before retreating back into his boudoir.  However, it is not something that can be posted on the internet.  Well, I guess it could, but my dad would probably kill me.  Sufficed it to say, though, the image exists and it is awesome.  Especially since Adam couldn't look at my father without laughing, and Amy kept elbowing and chastising her husband for not making eye contact with her dad while he talked about his long night battling fever and nausea.  And, of course, it was MY husband that took the picture in question in the first place.  The whole thing was pretty wonderful in a pantless kind of way.

Dressed like Uncle Adam.



Working on his beach modeling pose.



Gnawing on Sophie.



Lunch was at Whole Foods with RR and JLR, which was awesome (like a hotdog) because I hardly ever get to see them anymore.  I thought it had been since my wedding, but I was wrong.  It has only been 2.5 years (as opposed to three), because we went to see Eddie Izzard together back in January of 2010.  Actually, it only might have been JLR, but I seem to recall eating sushi beforehand with both of them. Regardless, I really should make seeing them both more of a priority because I miss them and they are truly fabulous people.  Plus, maybe if I saw them more, I'd stop babbling incessantly about obscure and/or irritating people from our shared pasts that none of us really cares about in the first place.

Sigh...when did I become THAT person?



I should probably send them both a thank you card for offering to spending time with me voluntarily. 

Banner posing with RR's ear.



After lunch, Trevor, Banner and I headed home to restock the diaper bag, NOT wash the dogs (because I've been meaning to do it for a week now and it still hasn't happened), change clothes and try carrots for the first time (Banner is a BIG fan).  After all this excitement, we put Banner down for a nap in his crib, but the little guy refused to dose off.  That is until I went in, picked him up and delivered him to his daddy on the couch.  Apparently, Banner likes to nap WITH us if/when he has the opportunity.  Less than a minute after being placed on his daddy's chest, the little guy was out like a light.  Point taken.

So, my boys napped together on the couch while watching The Patriot (snicker, snicker, ha, ha), while I downloaded the 2,000 pictures and videos from my iPhone to my computer.  Because, you know, I NEVER take pictures of my baby and needed to clear everything off so I could continue in my quest to document my son's life in real time.  Plus, I was starting to worry about what would happen if I dropped or lost my phone, and July 4th seemed like as good of a day as any to back everything up.



Dressed and ready to go!



We were supposed to meet at the DCC at 6:30 for dinner and fireworks, but things got pushed back a bit because my dad (cured by now from the bad seafood by eating a hamburger for lunch) didn't get in the shower until 6:45, and, well, Amy was passed out in the backyard after an afternoon at the pool drinking margaritas and paying small children $10 to swim to the bottom and fetch her sunglasses.

To be fair, Amy hardly ever drinks anymore and the 

margaritas at the DCC are wicked strong.

So, we hung around dad's house for an hour or so while I fed Banner his dinner, made fun of the guys for all wearing slightly different shades of Nantucket Red pants, and tried to council Adam on what to do about Amy. 

Poor Adam.  Not only was his wife inebriated, but he had sustained a bad sunburn while at the pool that afternoon AND lost one of his contacts while swimming.  So not only was he wifeless at the club, but he was crispy and blind to boot.

Finally, though, we got Amy relocated from the backyard to her childhood bedroom, and arrived at the DCC around 7:30.  They made EVERYONE valet park, which you knew was going to end badly (and it did), but the food and company were good.  In fact, had it not been for the extremely loud music both inside and out (OMG...I am SO old), it would have been a perfect evening. 

I was worried that Banner would freak out watching the fireworks.  After all, he liked the Flag Pole Hill fireworks on Memorial Day, but got a little unsure and clingy towards the end.  But I didn't need to be concerned at all, because five minutes into the show this happened:



That's right: My baby can literally sleep through 

bombs going off in the sky above his head.



It was actually pretty fabulous that Banner fell asleep, because it took an hour to get our car back from the valet.  A lot of the other kids around us were fussy, but our baby just power napped through it all because he is awesome and won't let a little thing like heat and firecrackers get between him and some decent shut eye.

And that, my friends, was how we spent Wednesday.  My only real complaint was that this morning felt an awful lot like the second Monday of the week.  But tomorrow is Friday, not Tuesday, which is completely brilliant.  I'll survive.