4th of July Fireworks vs. a Toddler

Watching fireworks sparkle and shimmer over the water while sitting on a beach is my idea of a great way to spend the fourth of July. After playing all day in the park and on the beach, sitting back with my toes curled up in the sand watching the sky light up is a great way to kick back and relax.

Unfortunately, my toddler’s idea of relaxing and watching fireworks does not coincide with my own. My toddler usually goes to sleep around 7-7:30 pm. So staying up until 10pm is a big deal. When my son is tired he does not go to sleep like other children do. Nope he runs around like a madman until he is put to sleep in a bed. The more tired he is , the crazier he gets.

My son decided that once the sky grew dark and the fireworks started going off he was going to run circles around our little group. Then when running laps around everyone grew tiresome, he wanted to play hide-and-go-seek with mommy and daddy. When mommy and daddy did not whole heartedly join in the game of hide-and-seek he decided to play what I like to call “William hot-potato.”  This is a game my son likes to play where he sits in someone’s lap for a few seconds and then hops onto the next person. He never sits for very long. In fact the only way we were able to get him to sit still at all was with bribery.

In order for my son to sit still in a chair we had to bribe him with treats. He loves popcorn, so if he sat in a chair he got to munch on a bag of popcorn. When he got up, the popcorn got put away. Then sitting in a chair and eating popcorn got thrown into the rotation of ways to entertain William.

Normally I thoroughly enjoy the fireworks and wish that they would last longer. This year the fireworks could not be over soon enough. Once the fireworks were over it was bedtime for everyone.

Needless to say William was passed out within seconds of his head hitting the pillow. I was not far behind.

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