Preparing Your Toddler for the 4th of July Horrors

I used to be one of those women who saw moms bringing their babies to the parade or fireworks and thought, "Whaaa?? You crazy." There is not one thing at either event that is baby-friendly: loud noises, flashes of light, people screaming. I'm sure that, in their baby minds, it's the apocalypse.

Yet, now that I've had my little one for a full year and a half, I think I finally get it... It's pretty much the only day of the year that it's acceptable to have your kids out past 9pm and therefore, the only night in the past year and half I'll have been out past 9pm. I feel like I'm crawling out from under a rock.

So, today, while I pick up some extra hours at work, Mark will be bringing E to the parade. I showed her these 2 YouTube videos in preparation -- one of a parade (with loud firetrucks) and one of fireworks. There were plenty of videos to choose from, but I tried to find a small-town parade. I thought about going for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day one, but didn't want to get her hopes up.

The fireworks are from a video taken in Kuwait, and they may in fact have given her the idea that this was going to be the most incredible thing she has ever seen in her life. In fact, the video is called: The Biggest Fireworks Display in All of History, or something like that. I turned up the TV volume to simulate the real sound of fireworks. I heard Mark turn on his white-noise machine in the other room. (Happy 4th, Mark!)

Then I went about packing the following things for her:
lunch box cooler (with raisin bagel, ham, cheese, pineapple, and banana)
Mama's special trail mix (Cheerios, Kix, and Cheddar Goldfish)
milk and water
sunscreen
diapers/wipes
stroller with visor (in lieu of a sunhat)
raincoat/umbrella

Um...
pepper spray (just in case the parade mascot gets a little rowdy!)
toys/baby-friendly "candy"

They're going to be throwing candy at the parade, so I'm having Mark bring her some baby-friendly snacks to keep her happy when the candy starts flying. Also, I'm quite proud of my thinking when it comes to parade toys. We went to the circus in April where we experienced some serious buyers' remorse after purchasing a cheap, plastic light-up wand (and circus tickets). I found it when I cleaned out E's room a few weeks ago, and I'm having Mark bring it to the parade/fireworks. I realize this may be the first and only year that this works for her... fingers crossed. The only problem I foresee is if they have clowns with balloons. Massive, $10 balloons (sigh).

Most likely Mark will just buy her everything she reaches for anyway. After all, he is the dad that got up at 7:30 this morning to put a new bell on her tricycle, just because he thought she needed it. <3