fourth of july.

i feel like i'm late. i feel like i should have joined the other mommy's on the internets and posed james with an american flag before the fourth of july. then had the post ready to roll and scheduled to go live on the actual holiday. welp, i didn't. you know why? because i was having too much fun! this was a long weekend away from the office but so busy with fun-filled activities and food. yes, i said it. food. i never realized how great the food is over the fourth of july. i cannot narrow it down to just one favorite but let's just say i got my fill on hamburgers for a while and i was more than happy to indulge in some homemade banana pudding. you know, the kind with nilla wafers? it was delicious.

well, besides all the fun and food, i really spent the past four days with family and friends. it was so nice. we went to the bouncy barn to practice for james' big birthday coming up. we went to two lakes, to grandma's, to the splash park, and out to watch a fantastic firework show. james loved the fireworks. i was so surprised that the loud noises didn't seem to bother him. he didn't care for the loud ones without pretty colors, but i don't either. with the 100+ temps, we decided to stay inside for most of those. until, i decided it was photo shoot time. loud noises, really hot temps and being out at a new place made it challenging to get some snaps of my little man. i think i got some keepers though. what? i'm not too bias.

on james' daily reports, i've noticed they've been practicing by waving flags and marching.

james, wave your flag for mommy.

shake, shake, shake. can you see his little hiney waving too?

i couldn't get him to march, but he did like saying one word over and over....

boom!

after all the loud noises james would say boom! and smile.

after all the pretty fireworks would explode and fade, james would immediately start saying and signing "more" to let us know he was ready to see more fancy firecrackers. unfortunately, once the sun went down and our own little show was beginning, james was tired and started saying "nemo. home." over and over again. let me interpret james' two year old, toddler language for you. nemo has been in my jeep dvd player for too long. now he associates a ride with nemo. he was letting us know he was reading to watch nemo and go home. and as you know, what james wants, james gets.

this weekend was so wonderful. i need a nap to recover from all the fun.

let freedom ring!!!