"Born on the 4th of July!"

(I know, I am telling these stories waaaaaaaaay out of order! I was going to just go backwards, but I'm just going to get things in where I can!)


Our first Fourth of July weekend with PJ was such a blast!

I found that now that I have my son, all of the things that I loved about the 4th of July (noise, family, parades, fireworks, barbecues!) were completely intensified because we could share it with him!

It all began with Oaklyn's July 4th parade, which was held on the 3rd this year, as it was in lots of other towns so as not to interfere with church services (July 4th was a Sunday this year!). My dear friend Randi and her family joined us, along with our friend Sarah and her sweet son! The kids thought it was pretty cool that PJ's Daddy was going to match in the parade! Or, at least, the did think it was cool, until they realized that they throw candy from the floats/cars in the parade! Then it was less about PJ's Daddy and more about the massive amounts of sugar being flung at them with great enthusiasm by those marching in the parade!



Still, it was exciting when they Oaklyn Fire Department came marching down the street! PJ got to see his Daddy in his "dress" uniform (which Mama enjoys, too! ;-) ) The fire engines rode by with sirens blaring and lights flashing! And that's on top of the strings bands, cheerleaders, Boy Scouts, veterans groups, and festively decorated bikes, cars, trucks and jeeps that went by! It was a typical small-town parade that in and of itself was sweet!

The rest of the day was a quiet one, since the real 4th wasn't until the next day! On that day, we enjoyed breakfast with the Trefz Gals (and I enjoyed a creation from The Bistro at Haddonfield that consists of a Belgium waffle with Nutella, fresh strawberries, and whipped cream. It's as awesome as it sounds. Seriously. If Pete ever leaves me, I'm going to marry that waffle.)! Sarah, Riley and Emilia were all decked out in American flag tee- shirts and Ry even had a stars and stripes manicure! It was nice to spend the morning with our sister and nieces!

After that, it was off to Marla and Steve's for a barbecue! They just had a new patio put it and it's beautiful! There were lots of friends, lots of food, and lots of baby snuggling with three baby boys to cuddle and one still in a belly (Marla's longtime friend Ann is due Any. Day. Now!)! PJ got to become better acquainted with Nicholas, the adorable son of my sister's friends Fabiana and Rob! Just six days younger then PJ and an absolute doll, the boys got along famously!

And yeah. PJ's a little bit bigger then Nicholas. Kind of like how a Hummer is a little bigger then my Scion. ;-)

We bid everyone goodbye when the sun started to dip and headed back to Oaklyn for the fireworks, which we have watched with Shelly and the kids for as many summers as I can remember (save one, which I will get to later!). PJ woke up on the way there, so we decided to let him watch the fireworks! When the first BOOM started, he clung to me, but could not take his eyes off of the beautiful colors in the sky! He didn't even cry or startle- the only giveaway that he might have been scared was the death grip he had on my hand! We only watched for about 5 minutes, but it was the best 5 minutes of fireworks I had ever seen! :-) Everyone got into cars and went home. We tucked a very tired Boy-Boy into his bed and thus officially ended his first July 4th weekend!

Oh, and one more thing? On a July 4th just two years ago? This went down:



and I have been part of a More Perfect Union ever since!

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