Mills' First of Many 4th of July Celebrations...

Mills goes tubing

We awoke bright an early this morning, for Mills' first visit to the lake. E had to work...again, so I tackled the job alone. I was anxious to see how he would manage on the pontoon, and he did great. The fact that he could crawl around helped, and I took his play mat just in case he should want to take a nap.

We bought him a life-jacket last night. I had been meaning to get him one, but have lagged behind, so since today's trip required one, off we went. Mills + life-jacket = FAIL! This "oh so wonderful" life vest may as well have been a straight-jacket. The poor baby screamed his head off when we put it on him. It was way too bulky and he couldn't even move his head. We will definitely be shopping for another, as it is nothing like the one my sister, Morgan, wore when she was little. We did manage to get it on him for a few minutes of tubing. He would cry, then stop, then scream, and then we gave up and got back in the boat. Tubing would have been fine if he could have been "jacketless," but we know that's not possible!! Afterwards, he went straight to sleep. Then, we had lunch just before going back out and finding a cove to swim in. We resorted to Mills' float and he did fine.

Being that he is only 10 months old, we didn't stay as long as I would have liked, but I was not about to wear him out. So, Mills and I headed home for baths and more Fourth of July celebrating.


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Mills' 1st Fireworks

Tonight, our church, held it's first annual "Let Freedom Ring" fireworks celebration. The festivities did not start until 8:00, with fireworks being at 9:00. I really wanted to participate, but was a little worried that after a day on the water, it may be too much and too late for Mills. I was also a little worried at how he may react to the fireworks. After thinking it over, I decided to give it a try. For those of you who know me well, we have a pretty strict bed time routine, but mostly in part because Mills demands it. Anyway, I loaded him up with his stroller, bag, plenty of snacks and milk, and our beach blanket, and headed across the street for music, a wonderful message, and an AWESOME fireworks display. Mills was so good. He sat in his stroller very content, eating his puffs and crunchies, then decided that it was time to get out. So, after letting him crawl around on the blanket, we moved closer to the pond where the fireworks were to be displayed. I was waiting for reaction, and sure enough, the first ones went off, and I got the most pitiful lip and whimper ever. My first thoughts were..."oh no, this isn't going to go very well," but after popping his "pappy" in his mouth, and dancing with excitement with him, he livened up, and did great. Mills sat in my lap, very still, and watched with amazement. He was all smiles for what seemed like eternity.

I can tell you this, there is nothing like sitting on a blanket holding your sweet baby close and watching a beautiful display of fireworks with friends. I will never forget this night, and am so glad that we went. It was truly a blessing!