Independence Day & Happy Birthday Gangy!

We toyed with the idea of going out of town for Independence Day, but that wound up being too expensive and too much of a hassle to plan last minute. Instead we went to our local fireworks show and it was everything you'd want from a small town 4th of July celebration. They shut down the main street and people were sprawled all over the place eating kettle corn and ice cream and listening to live music. They had a farmer's market and those giant inflatable kid's slides. Ezzy's not a fan of slides, but he loved watching other kids playing on them. He also loved people watching and running straight down the middle of the street, all on his own, no hand-holding allowed, while stopping every few feet to explore those yellow reflectors/lane-dividers. Basically everything was idyllic and summery and perfect. And then came the fireworks. Joe asked beforehand how I thought Ezzy would react to the fireworks. My response: We'll just have to wait and see. Well, we waited approximately 3.2 seconds before we got our answer. He didn't just cry and scream, he did the silent lip-quivering, face-crumbling, heart-pounding cry. And then he started screaming. Poor baby. Every now and then, during the quieter fireworks, he'd stop and watch and seem to like it. Then they would do more of the ones that sound like explosions and he'd freak out. So we watched the show on the move, making our way through the crowd back to our car. Better luck next year.

A lot of moms got really creative with their red, white, and blue foods. This is the best I came up with. 

We took an afternoon stroll through Ikea where Ezzy met this lovely young lady. I'm pretty sure he's in love.

Big news! Ezzy can drink out of a straw. This opens up so many doors...

Look at that sly smile...

The first 3 seconds before the meltdown.

2 months vs. 14 months

The 4th of July is also known as my mom/Gangy's Birthday Eve. Even though we have to wait a few weeks to celebrate with her in person, we celebrated with her in spirit in the way she would appreciate most: with a mini cake smash session. Happy Birthday and we love you!

We also made her a silly lil birthday video. 15 seconds of usable clips took about four minutes to film. The outtakes that didn't make it? Ezzy crumbling up the sign and throwing it to the side while crying. Ezzy sipping from a cup of water. Which he was holding upside down. Ezzy running all over the house, scattering toys in his wake. Guys, we are officially living in toddler territory. It's a strange new place for us.

I hope everyone had a great Independence Day! Enjoy this long weekend :)