4th of July

Happy 4th of July!

We woke up early and headed to Dundalk for a parade. We've gone to this parade for as long as I can remember, except for only a few years. My dad's aunt used to live right around the corner from the parade route, so we'd park near her house, go watch the parade and then head back to her house for a cookout when the parade was over. Unfortunately, she is no longer with us, but we all still go to the parade each year.

The parade starts with lots of firetrucks and ambulances from the nearby firehouses. Peyton didn't like this part too much, because it was very loud with all of the sirens and horns blaring. I took him around the corner where we could still see the trucks but where it was a little more quiet. He waved to all of the trucks as they went by. The rest of the parade featured marching bands, color guards, lots of politicians, clowns, the Chik-Fil-A cow, and Ronald McDonald. Peyton sat so well during the parade. He rotated between all of our laps and waved to everyone going by.

There was a fly-over halfway through the parade, and of course Peyton loved that. He even scored some candy from some of the marchers. We had a good time. Here are some pictures from the parade.

My familyThe rest of my familyPeyton and Dougie
Dougie, Peyton, and Austin Peyton and I

It was pretty hot already, and even though I put sunscreen on Peyton, I didn't put any on myself, so of course I got burned. Dummy.

After the parade, we headed back to my parents house so that Peyton could take a nap before going over to Nadean's house for a cookout. Peyton ate his lunch and then we put him upstairs to sleep. However, he did not want to take a nap! He cried for a few minutes, so we just brought him back downstairs, thinking we'd try to lay him down again a little later. Meanwhile, we ate lunch and watched the hot dog eating competition. Peyton never did lay back down, but he didn't even seem tired and wasn't cranky, so it was ok.

Around 3:30 we went to the cookout. Vester cooked on the grill and there were lots of yummy side dishes, like my favorite broccoli salad and some delicious grapes with a special sauce (might sound weird, but they were really good!). There were also lots of desserts.

Nadean has a pool, so Peyton got his swim on for the very first time. Kyle got in the pool with him. As you can see from the first picture below, Peyton loved being in the pool. I was sure that he would like it though because he loves taking baths. The water was cold and Peyton was shivering, but he still wanted to play in the water. He was not very happy with me when I finally took him out to warm up because Kyle and the boys stayed in a little longer. Peyton was very jealous!

Peyton's first time swimming

Austin
Dougie

Around 7:00 we left Nadean's house to go to the fireworks. Remember that Peyton hadn't slept all day. He fell asleep in the car before we were even off of her street! Once we got to Fullerton, where the fireworks were, we just sat in the car for a few more minutes to let him sleep. Well, we got Peyton out of the car and walked all the way to the field where we sit to watch the fireworks (and it was a very bumpy ride) and Peyton stayed sleeping the whole time.

Here's Peyton waiting for the fireworks to start. Can't you tell how excited he is?

Peyton woke up on his own about 20 minutes before the fireworks started. His eyes were open, but I'm not sure he ever really woke up, if you know what I mean... He was trying to walk around, but looked drunk because he was stumbling everywhere. He just sat with us on the blanket until the fireworks started.

Mom and Dad

Kyle and Peyton
Peyton and Grandmom

Kyle and I thought that Peyton was going to be scared of the fireworks since they are so loud. But, he did a really good job and didn't jump once or seem scared at all. I think he might have just been too tired to care. He did watch the fireworks and called them "colors." Once in a while he'd yell out, "Yellow" or whatever color that particular one happened to be. Other than that though, he sat completely still and enjoyed the show.

Of course Peyton passed out in the car on the way home and didn't even wake up when I took him inside, took off his clothes, and changed his diaper before putting him in his crib. It was a long day, but we had a really good time.