4th of July 2014

We had high hopes for the fourth of July this year. The past two years, our strategy has been to get Cohen in bed before the fireworks start. This year we were hoping that maybe Cohen was old enough to "get" fireworks a little more and that he might think they were cool. We borrowed a pair of earmuff headphones. We talked about fireworks! and his friends! and his cousins! And we watched firework videos on youtube.

We showed him his earmuffs and put them on him. He loved them so much he wouldn't take them off, which we took as a good sign. He loved doing the pop-its and made it through some of the early (LOUD!) daytime fireworks but after about an hour or two he had had it.

We had planned on putting Ezra to bed and keeping Cohen up but it ended up the other way around. Poor little fellow was shaking as we were putting his jammies on. We put a blanket over his pack n play so he felt closed in, turned on two fans, shut all the windows and prayed he would go to sleep. I think he used up so much energy being terrified of the fireworks that he was exhausted. He went to sleep and didn't move until we picked him up to take him home.

 I have to admit, my heart hurts a little that what should have been a fun experience was so hard on Cohen. He has always been so sensitive to noises and easily startled/overwhelmed by them (he had a startle reflex until he was almost 2). I hope someday my boy can enjoy things a little more without it having to be so scary and overwhelming.

Ezra, on the other hand, took a power nap in the Ergo and then stayed awake for the whole fireworks show. It didn't phase him at all, he didn't even jump once! Such a difference.

Overall, we had a good day celebrating America's birthday!