Yesterday we spent the day celebrating the 4th of July. As did most of America. I couldn’t help but think back to where we were a year before. Jack was just 5 months old. He was starting to get fun. I am pretty honest about the fact that I didn’t LOVE the newborn phase. I found it really exhausting and I just didn’t love it. I won’t lie. It is a big reason why I don’t want to have another baby. He wasn’t quite out of that phase a year ago but he was getting there. I thought last year’s 4th was pretty fun. Sort of. I was tired from being up all night with my boy though.

When I think about yesterday it blows and I mean BLOWS the previous year out of the water. As a matter of fact it blows every single 4th of July of my entire 27 years out of the water. I had the best time. Jack was filled with such joy. Especially watching the fireworks. He had never really seen them before.

cooling off the American way!!! mmmm

Momma and ice cream, two of my favorite things

We started out the day heading down the street to our big park that was having a little festival. We played some games and Jack and Jason ate some food. It was a little too hot though. There were duck games in baby pools and my son kept wanting to crawl into the baby pool. So we headed home to our little water park set up in the back yard.

get dada!!!!

He LOVED playing with the hose

He loved loved loved playing in our yard. It made his day. He had such a blast. It was so hot out though. 100 degrees felt like 105! The ice cold water from the hose actually felt good, that is how hot it was!

He took a nice long nap once we were done outside. My family came over. My parents, one of my brothers and my sister in law. The 4 youngens went on our boat while my mom and dad hung out inside in the cool air conditioning. We did a lot of wakeboarding and swimming in the lake. My brother and I were even working on some tricks on the wakeboard. Trying some jumps! My goal by the end of summer is to be able to get some decent air and land without a wipe out. I have been able to do smaller jumps/hops without falling but bigger air is great until I hit the water again! HA!

After we were wiped out and exhausted from all our activity we headed back to land to eat. Then we were all so tired we lounged around for a while. We were able to catch the fireworks. From our boat! We casually meandered out onto the lake, with Jack. It was dark so we drove nice and slow. Most of the boats on our lake were out there to watch the show. We weren’t going to do this at first. We thought Jack might be too tired etc. But last minute we decided to just give it a shot. I am so thankful we did! Thank goodness for spontaneity! HE LOVED EVERY SECOND OF IT!!!!!!!! He loved the fireworks. He was cheering, ooooing, ahhhhing, and making this happy growl sound that only he can make. We got it on “video.” I write it that way because it was too dark to see us but you could hear all of his reactions.  The joy he had for the fireworks was so wonderful. It made my heart swell with joy. THIS is why it was the best 4th ever. I just couldn’t get over how much he loved it. He sat so well on my lap on the boat. In his life jacket. Even with the heat. He was just so taken by the boat, the water, and the fireworks. We even had to sit there for a while before the show began. He was an angel.

enjoying the show

It is incredible to see things through your child’s eyes. I never thought experiencing something through someone’s perspective could make YOU so happy. But it is possible with your child. I have been learning that since he turned 1. He grows daily in so many ways. The way he looks at the world and the things that bring him joy are just so innocent and pure. I love being able to see all of that. Sure his tantrums grow weekly. He had a few mini meltdowns throughout the day. The heat is hard on everyone. But that was all erased by the moment above. All I will remember about this 4th of July, 2012, is this night on the boat. The happiness at each exploding firework. His reactions and cheering and laughter. The way he would grab on to my hand or leg and squeeze very hard each time he got excited. I didn’t get to see his face much but I got to feel that. The way he went rigid with excitement and then would squeal so loud! It made my heart so happy. I look forward to what joy we can find in today when he wakes up!