Three Firsts on Brett's Second Fourth

We had such a fun Fourth of July this year! Last year, being Brett's first, we played it down a lot because 6-month olds tend not to enjoy staying up past 10 p.m., and they definitely don't fancy the ear-splittling noise that accompanies fireworks. This year, we figured we'd have to play it pretty safe again for our big 18-month old...but he proved us wrong! What a little champ.

For some afternoon fun, we headed down to the Salem River Front Park with Grandma and Grandpa Brown. They had a fun little carnival with rides and games for all ages...and a car show just for Grandpa. We thought it would be packed out, but thankfully it was really easy to find a parking spot and mill around! I guess everyone else decided to wait until the day cooled off a bit. On the south end of the park sits Salem's gorgeous indoor carousel. Brett absolutely LOVED it!

Then we headed home for a delicious barbecue dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's, complete with steak, corn on the cob, and home-made (home-grown!) cherry pie. Yummers! We stuck around until after dark so Brett could enjoy some little fireworks on the patio. I think his favorite were the pop-its because he could do them himself. Then on the way home, we stopped to watch lots of fun shows - some little - some illegal...:) Brett LOVED it! He was sooo tired (did I mention he didn't nap more than 15 minutes on Saturday?!), but he kept those droopy little eyes open as long as he could. After walking up and down our street for a few last "booms," Brett finally crashed at 11:15 p.m. Whoa.

So, what were his three firsts on his second fourth, you might ask?

First Fish:

First Horsey Ride:

First Fireworks: (well techinally he saw one little sparkler last year...but it doesn't count because THIS year he got to throw the pop-its all by himself!)

And just for fun...Brett has also learned to sing along: