4th of July with a new baby...and his big brother!

So, as I continue to go back in time to recapture and catch-up with this blog...


As we arrived home with our new bundle of joy, we were so excited to be home as a family of four!  As we pulled in our driveway, William said "mommy, I made a surprise for you and colored something for Griggs and we put balloons everywhere!"  He was so excited to show us his surprise for his baby brother.  It was adorable.  We noticed our Welcome Home banner on the front door and I began to cry a little as realized William truly was excited about his new baby brother.  He (and Gram) had colored such a sweet banner for us and hung it on the door.  I scooped William in my arms and held Griggs in the carseat in the other arm for a quick picture.  We went on inside and William quickly and very excitedly showed us the balloons he'd picked out.  He then pulled us  upstairs to show us the banner he'd made for his brother.  Again, I cried.  He was just beaming!  I held my tiny baby in my arms and hugged my other baby.  I felt truly blessed.  I was so ready to rock my newborn baby! I spent a while in the nursery rocking Griggs and singing to him while William ran off downstairs to play with Philip for a while.  I finally put Griggs down in his crib and went to get William so I could put him down for a nap.  I was looking forward to cuddling with him a while.  He was happy to crawl in bed and read some books with me.  We snuggled and sang until he drifted off to sleep.  That's when I found Griggs with Philip and decided I needed to take a nap too.  I crawled in my bed and fell asleep cuddling with Griggs.  It was heaven!  I slept like a log.  I did not realize how exhausted I was.  I slept for about 2 hours until Griggs decided he was hungry again :)


Once I woke up and finsihed feeding Griggs, I went down to visit with my parents and Mr. Jim and Mrs. Sharon.  They'd all made it back over to visit.  My dad had just come down to bring my mom b/c she was going to be staying with us to help me out with all the "girl stuff".  (let's face it...sometimes you just need your moma!)  Grandaddy (that's my daddy) couldn't get enough of Griggs.  He held him for the longest time until he had to head back.  Philip spent the afternoon cooking dinner for us.  Maggie (my mom) and Gram and Grumps were going to be joining us for dinner.  I spent the afternoon watching William play and snuggling with Griggs.  I can remember walking around holding Griggs in one arm while doing things with and for William with the other.  I remember wanting to make sure William knew I was still there for him and could still take care of him, while caring for his new baby brother.  I was determined to focus my attention on both boys!  haha! 


That 1st night home, William wanted Mommy and Griggs to sleep with him.  He gently wrapped his arm around Griggs and sang to him while he fell asleep.  It was a very sweet moment!  I loved snuggling with my boys!






The next day was July 4th!  I love July 4th!  It's a special day and full of relaxing times.  We look forward to our local Seaside 4th of July parade every year.  We can walk from our house to 30A and watch the parade.  This year, Philip and I decided I would stay home while he took William.  So, that morning, we woke up and got W ready to go to the parade.  Philip and William were so cute walking down the driveway, heading out to watch the parade.  I spent that time soaking in a bubble bath and napping while my mom took care of Griggs.  They took a nap downstairs on the couch for a while then she walked him around the yard for a while.  It was a relaxing morning for all!  I think they were gone about 2 hours :) I loved hearing William come running back up the steps saying "Mommy, I got prizes at the parade and I saw lots of things!"  He dumped his little goody bag on the bed and we plundered through all the candy and goodies.  He wanted to tell me all about seeing the big firetruck and hearing the music and catching the candies!  Philip said they had a blast!  I knew they had a fun time together and I was so thankful for the extra quiet time to catch up with some rest.

After the parade was over and we all settled in from the excitement, we spent a little time visiting with Gram and Grumps before they had to leave. They came over for a short visit after the parade to get some more snuggles on Griggs. I can remember how relaxed she looked, sitting on the porch, rocking my sweet baby as he slept. She helped me do an impromptu photo shoot with the boys in their 4th of July red. William was just so very proud to be holding his tiny little brother.. He had the biggest smile on his face. We said goodbye to them and sent them on their way and all went in for a long nap. It felt so good to sleep and hold my baby in my arms. I was so grateful for having my mom there with me during the first few days to help with me because let’s face it, sometimes a girl just needs her mom! She was an angel and helped care for me as I recovered.







One of my most favorite things about the 4th of July are the fireworks!! Since Philip and I have been dating, we’ve not missed a fireworks display here on 30A. There is just something about a fireworks display on the beach that is beyond description. (on a side note, even when we’ve had friends in town on the 4th, Philip has gone down to the beach with me to watch the fireworks…knowing how much it means to me). So, this year, would be no different. Even though I’d just given birth 2 days ago and just come home the day before, I WAS DETERMINED to make it down to the beach! My mother was wonderful and helped make it happen. I also did not want to miss out on William’s experience of the fireworks, given this was truly the first year he would appreciate and remember them. So, after dinner, we sent Philip and William on ahead of us to walk down to the beach. Moma and I hung back and let Griggs finish his little nap so I could feed him again. Once he’d finished feeding, she and I loaded up in the car and drove the one block to the beach. Needless to say the parking lot was packed, so she laughed and said “I’ll park here in the handi-cap and dare anyone to say anything to me…I do have a daughter that just gave birth 2 days ago!!” We laughed and laughed and laughed. She’s something else and she means the world to me. We gathered our blankets and Griggs and headed down the boardwalk, with me leading the way with my 2 day old in my arms. She was right behind me, silently giggling at everyone’s comments…. “Look at that brand new baby”, “Wow, I can’t believe she’s out here with a baby” and the best “Hey, everyone, here comes a tiny baby, you better watch out”. I was oblivious to everyone. I was focused on getting down to the beach and finding William, whom I could hear laughing and calling out to his daddy. Once we made it down the long and winding boardwalk, Griggs was still sacked out in my arms. William saw me the same time I saw him and just burst into excitement! He screamed “Hey mommy, look at the sky!” I joined Philip and felt so thankful to be sitting on the beach, next to my husband, holding my new baby while watching my other baby run in the sand and roll in the sand, while fireworks went off over our heads. My mom just laughed at us and became the “instant photographer”. I was so very proud of myself for getting out of the house (in the severe pain I was in) and getting down to the beach to enjoy the fireworks with my family. I know it might sound silly, but it was a tradition I didn’t want to miss out on and wanted to continue right on with, even with our new bundle, our little Griggs!