Noah's first 4th of July

Our friends Jim and Nina invited us down to their house for the 4th of July. We always have a good laugh with them so we accepted their offer straight away.

The first evening we had a BBQ with Jim, Nina and family and were joined by Michael (who joined them on their trip to Gettysburg) and his family. It was a good laugh and Esme had a great time with their children. In fact, this was the first time she came out with a sentence and I think it was a result of playing with older children. She climbed up the stairs all by herself and when she got to the top, she looked at me and said "I made it."

The next evening we went to the home of Jim and Nina's oldest daughter's (Tara) boyfriend. Tara and Ian are wonderful and Ian's family was very welcoming.

I had been teaching myself how to make hair bows and this was Esme's first time wearing one of my creations. I think it looked pretty cute.




Noah wore the "Hybrid" onesie that my friend Diana made for Esme when she was a baby- we thought it was perfect!


We learned a lot about Esme this year. Our generally fearless daughter is not a fan of fireworks! The noise frightens her and she refused to be outside when they were going off. Noah, however, took everything in stride and was very well behaved.

Tara, Ian and Faith (Jim and Nina's younger daughter) were kind enough to look after Esme indoors so that mommy and daddy could enjoy the festivities outside. She had fun playing with the doggies and even had a go on a set of drums.

Our final day, the fourth of July, was spent mostly on Jim and Nina's boat at a place called Tice's Shoals. It is a really cool place where everyone anchors their boats in waist high water and just hangs out. We saw dogs in life jackets, people playing water volleyball and everyone had a great time.

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Even Noah had a quick dip


We wore Esme out...


Noah was tired, too and he demonstrated it by displaying his infamous grumpy face. He is the happiest baby but when you catch him off guard he always has a grumpy face or pouty lip ;)



We decided to drive home in early afternoon in an effort to beat the traffic. Stephen had to work the next day and we thought it best not to be on the road at night. We made it home with plenty of time to relax and play. We were able to watch the famed NYC fireworks from our parking garage roof- it was a fabulous view. Esme wasn't terrified but she did whine most of the time- hopefully she will be better next year!

Pretty girl in her festive dress from Grandma Julie and Papa Brent



Noah was laughing a lot that day- he thought his sister's new pink ball was hilarious!


View of the fireworks from our garage


The view of the city from the top of our parking garage was one of the only nice things about our apartment complex. Our actual apartment was nice (despite the shoddy craftsmanship) but we won't be sad say goodbye. We will miss our friends but will not miss Bayonne...