The boys got to see fireworks for the first time on Friday night. (Yes, I know, it's just shameful that this was my sons' THIRD Fourth of July but only their first time seeing fireworks.) My father and stepmother live in a rural-ish area, so the boys were able to watch several neighbors setting off a variety of different types of fireworks right from the front porch swing.
AJ quickly realized that the "pop" sound the various fireworks made was quickly followed by the burst of light and colors he really wanted to see. So after firework burst, he would turn to me and sign "more" and say "more pops?"
MJ referred to the fireworks as "Puzzles! In the sky!" Very cute.
Needless to say, both boys very much enjoyed the display (and were surprised to find out that no more fireworks were deployed for their entertainment when they returned to the front porch swing the next morning). Even though they were already up more than an hour past their usual bedtime, MJ dozed off while watching (due to having refused to nap on the drive to Papa and Nana's house), but I think AJ would've stayed awake another hour or so watching if he had been allowed to.
We had a good visit with Nana and Papa for the weekend. . . apart from the fact that MJ's usual bull-in-a-china shop ways led to the destruction of three pieces of his grandparents' property (a folding door, the pull string on a ceiling fan and a figurine that is now headless) and his ingestion of half a multivitamin. (AJ, though inquisitive, was his usual quiet, docile self.) The one "upside" to the havoc MJ wreaked is that MM and I are optimistic that it may have persuaded my parents to visit us at our house instead of theirs for the foreseeable future.
I would hardly describe the visit as relaxing--MM and I had to supervise our sons constantly--but I did get to visit with an old friend I don't see often for a half-hour or so (that's when MJ bit into the Geritol pill), and it was good to see my dad. And now we are home, likely for the rest of the summer.
Back to work and the usual routine. . . .
Next year will be my little guy's third Fourth of July and, in all likelihood, his first real fireworks. He's 20 months now, and we figured that he would not get nearly enough out of the experience to make it worth keeping him up two hours past bedtime.
ReplyDeleteSo, no, not shameful at all that this was AJ's and MJ's first experience. Or if it is, I'm in the shame house with you.
"we figured that he would not get nearly enough out of the experience to make it worth keeping him up two hours past bedtime"
DeleteThese were our thoughts exactly the past two years.