I hope everyone is getting to enjoy some family time today, and that you are braving the fireworks with your little ones! 🙂 I know it can be a daunting task to keep your schedule happy babies out past their bedtime, but it is so so worth the memories!
Last year, when Caroline was 7 months old, we took her to see the fireworks. Our plan was to put her to bed at her normal time, then wake her up and head out to the fireworks. That plan got changed last minute, and we made do on the go instead! And, long story, we didn’t even get to see fireworks from where we were sitting LOL! We did have a lovely night out, however. To see what we did last year, here is my post from last year: “PLEASE DEVIATE FROM THE SCHEDULE AND ENJOY THE MOMENTS”.
This year, we have a 19 month old! We are definitely going to make sure she sees fireworks this year, and even bought some sparklers to show her! We are hoping to actually go on a much bigger outing this year, so hopefully everything works out well. Check out our plans for this year below!
While everyone else is hoping for a hot sunny day, we are doing our rain dances! If we get rain as the forecast says we should, Daddy will get to come home early and enjoy more of the day with us!
We then have about a 20/25 min drive to where we are going. This 4th of July festival has a country music stage going on all day! Our plan is to show up around 5 so we can see the last two performances, and then hang out for fireworks. The festival also has a kid zone with free pony rides, a free petting zoo, there is a community pool that opens up for a few dollars right on site, and they even have inflatable slides, rides and face painting for nominal fees. Caroline is going to have a blast!!!!
We’ll pack a picnic to take a long as well, so we can keep Caroline full and happy! Mama and Daddy will be munching right along with her 🙂
My only concern- we just recently potty trained Caroline. This means that we are going to have to endure many MANY trips to the porta-potties. I avoid these at all costs for myself. I won’t be able to get away with that today. I know Caroline will need to go, so we will just have to tough it out and use them. And hope she doesn’t touch anything!
Aside from that, Caroline will most likely enjoy staying up late. She can handle the extra wake time now, and she will be thrilled to do so. To set her up for success, I am going to try and shift her day a bit. If I can get her to sleep in a little, and/or take her nap a bit later than normal, it will help her make it through on the happy side!
I am so excited for our adventure today! I know that no matter what happens (meltdowns or pure happiness the entire time), we will make memories to last a lifetime that we will always cherish.