July 4 Festivities

Sunday and Monday found us with busy schedules for the holiday.  Sunday morning, after our usual First Watch outing, we were off to the fire station for Blake and Evan's fifth and third birthdays, respectively.  The kids got to do a tour of the fire station which was really neat.  I missed a good portion of it because I was sitting in the car nursing Brady (while listening to part of the Casey Anthony closing arguments on the radio) but got to be there for the tail end.  We did discover on this little tour that the fire pole is rarely used.  I kind of had the suspicion that the pole was outdated and so there's the proof.  After the tour, we headed to Bruce and Jennifer's house for the rest of the party.  In typical Jennifer fashion, the place was awesomely decorated with the firemen theme.  Honestly, she puts the rest of us to shame!  We had lunch and then it was time for the numerous treats.  Of course, I'm trying to not indulge quite as much as I would like in my attempts to lose the baby weight but she sure makes it hard.

Calleigh and her pal Zachary.

After nap time, our next stop was Ron and Elaine's so the girls could get in a swim.  From there, we piled into the van (first time with seven of us in the van.  A little tight in the back, I must say) to go to Baldwin Park.  We had been thinking about going to Red, Hot & Boom in Altamonte with the Isidro's but they ended up not going and we decided we just didn't want to battle the crowds there.  Baldwin Park was a very nice alternative with WAY less people.  We walked around a little bit and then found a nice grassy spot to sit and wait for the fireworks that we to go off at 9.  The girls quickly found some little friends and our wait passed quickly.  I was curious to see how they would react with the fireworks since they've both been scared of them in the past.  Well, Calleigh is officially over her fear but Aubree freaked out as soon as they started.  She started crying and wanted me to take her back to the car.  I was finally able to calm her down by turning the Bob stroller around and put her in it so that she was facing away from the fireworks.  And that's where she sat for the duration.  Later in the car when I asked her about being scared of the fireworks she was so cute when she said "I hid in the Bobby."  At any rate, we quite enjoyed the time, despite her fearfulness, as the weather was beautiful and it was just a really nice setting.

Look at that face.

Monday morning we continued the festivities by going to downtown Winter Park where they were having a choir, band, kids stuff, and food.  We walked around a bit, listening to the music.  By golly, it was HOT.  I was sweltering.  We hit up a couple of the bouncy houses they had but after Calleigh had a crying outburst on the second one (she didn't want to finish the obstacle course and Duncan had to pull her out), I decided it was time to hightail it out of there.  So it was a short stop you could say but that's how it goes.

After nap time, in which neither girl took a nap, we were off to the Isidro's for swimming and a cookout.  I was in charge of bringing brownie delight which I was happy to do.  That went a little awry when we had a Dewey incident.  Duncan had put the two brownie pans in the van and Dewey jumped into the van and tried to get in the back, leaving three paw prints behind when he landed on the pan.  Fortunately we were able to just cut that part out and salvage the rest.  At the Isidro's, we hung out at the giant pool for awhile.  Calleigh had her usual awesome time especially with Zachary Zbaraschuk whom she seems to have a special affinity for.  We all made it back to the house just in time for the heavens to open up and it to start pouring.  And it continued to do so for the rest of the time which put a little damper on the outside festivities.  No matter.  We still had a good time inside.

Yesterday there was no story time so we went to the Magic playground so I could try to wear Calleigh out.  She was back to a few days of no naps which meant the same for me (well, except Sabbath because that's the day Duncan is in charge and she did actually take one that day).  The only reason we could hit up that playground is because there's a covering over it but it was still pretty warm.  There was no one else there so it was up to me to get her tired but sadly, I was unsuccessful.

Today we went to Amaya Papaya.  I told Calleigh first thing this morning that's where we were going and then  funnily enough, Jennifer called and said that's where they were going.  So it ended up being an added bonus that the four boys were there and I had someone to chat with.  Calleigh hung out with them for awhile but then eventually migrated to some girls and then Aubree tagged along with them too.  During all this time, Brady just hung out on my lap either sleeping, eating, or just chilling out.  I told him a couple of times that this would never have worked with his oldest sister.  She was such a pill those first few months.

All six of the kids hanging out in the sand box.

Brady has been doing very well with his night sleeping.  Since Friday night, he's slept for five to six hours straight.  Last night I was very pleased because he slept until 4:00, ate, and then slept until 7:15.  It's so nice only having to wake up once instead of twice.  I hope this can continue.  Eventually, I'll start putting him to bed a little earlier so we can stretch the time out.  He's still sleeping a lot during the day, as expected.  I'm not giving him any specific nap time or anything in the morning or early afternoon.  But starting at 2:00 when the girls go down for naps (or quiet time in Calleigh's case), I'm swaddling him and putting him in his swing and he sleeps for three hours.  That has been very nice.

As a final thought, I know I speak for many people when I say that yesterday at 2:15, I had one of the biggest shocks of my life when the jury declared Casey Anthony not guilty.  I explicitly remember where I was when the OJ Simpson verdict came down (at my apartment in Leominster when I was a sophomore at AUC) and this felt like that time again.  I just couldn't believe it.  What a travesty.