Another year, another holiday where we get to see how much Owen has changed over the last 12 months. Last year, I remember celebrating the 4th of July at Nana's house with the whole Collis family. Owen wasn't walking yet, he was still taking 2 naps a day (and I ended up driving him around Gig Harbor for his 2nd nap since he was not good at sleeping in foreign beds.) There were no fireworks and Owen enjoyed being the center of attention.
This year, we started the day by taking Nana out to a birthday breakfast at Wild Wheat in Kent. This was Owen's first breakfast at a restaurant and we found out that he likes eggs and he loves fruit (we already knew these facts, but now I have a better idea of what to order at our next breakfast dining experience.) My omelette was pretty good too and Nana said her Challa French Toast was excellent. We chose this restaurant because A: it was one of the few places open on the 4th and B: there are train tracks that run right next to the building and I knew it would be a great distraction for Owen. Unfortunately, no trains came while we were eating but we took a short stroll through the nearby park and right when we were calling it quits and walking back to the car, we got to watch 2 trains zoom by. Starting off our day with yummy food and choo-choos was the right way to get things moving.
After breakfast, we headed down to Tacoma to Kelly and Tim Mulligan's house. They were nice enough to invite us over for the big Tacoma air show which is directly in front of their house. They have the most beautiful view of the Port of Tacoma and the planes flew by us at eye level for 2 hours. I wasn't sure how long they would hold Owen's attention, but it turns out - they held his attention for 2 hours (he would have sat there all day if the show hadn't ended.) He LOVED it. Like all air shows, they started off with the smaller planes doing lots of acrobatics. Owen learned how to say "upside down" and shocked me by recreating the plane's path with his hands. It looks a little Tai Chi-ish, but he was very deliberate in using his hands to reenact the acrobatics.
After the smaller planes, came the LOUD planes. A couple fighter jets were included in the show and I have to confess, they were the reason I love air shows. I love the fast and the loud so I was determined to make sure that Owen thought they were cool and not scary. I didn't have anything to worry about...I think he was intrigued by how excited everyone else was about the planes, but when the loud engines roared across our heads he looked at me - I shouted YAY! - and he clapped. This turned into every time the jet passed in front of us, he would clap and look at everyone else to make sure they were clapping. He did make me laugh by needing to be sitting in the plastic green chair whenever the jet came close. He would get down and someone would say, "Look! It's coming!" and Owen would say, "sit? sit? sit?" and he would run to the chair like it was game of musical chairs and he would be "out" if the plane came and he wasn't sitting.
The end of the show closed with a C-17 doing slow flybys which Owen decided was tame enough for him to eat a little watermelon snack while he watched (there was definitely no time to eat during the jets!) It is always a great time with the Boyd/Mulligan family, but the addition of the airplanes was a big time bonus for Owen. We also were able to get the first picture of Owen and cutie-pie Finn together! It's only taken 10 months, so hopefully we'll beat our record the next time.
After the air show, it was time for Owen's nap so while he slept - Nana went to the store to buy groceries for dinner. Yes, on Nana's birthday she shopped for her birthday dinner, bought her own birthday cake, cooked her own birthday dinner and did all the dishes. I do feel a little guilty but I also know that my laziness due to new mommy-ness is temporary. I would have happily ordered takeout!!!
The perfect end to the perfect day was that Steve made a surprise appearance home. He was supposed to come home 2 days later, but was able to come home for just that evening to help us celebrate. He was happy to get a 4th of July burger and to experience Owen's first fireworks. Unfortunately, the fireworks were kind of a bust. Owen could care less about them. Maybe they weren't big enough????
Planes, Trains and Birthday Cake. All in all, a busy but great day. Happy Birthday, Nana!
Owen is a little like his mom in the sweets department. Likes them, but isn't ruled by them (although lately, I have found myself back in the sweet saddle.) However, we have found his sweet kryptonite. Ice cream! Owen loves him some ice cream. Nana came over for dinner a few weeks ago and as a treat, we decided to take Owen to Baskin Robbins for dessert. 
Nana said it was "her treat" so I didn't even take the diaper bag (foreshadowing) and we jumped in the car and headed out. We got there and the place didn't have any high chairs. Turns out, ice cream keeps Owen sitting in a big boy chair until the very last lick!
We got him one of the clown cones which is actually kind of gross, but it was frozen so hard, it was easier for Owen to eat. He was definitely a dainty eater -- he never really went in for the kill. We had to teach him how to lick the cone and even then, he took baby little licks. He ate so slowly that eventually all the ice cream started melting...and dripping...and falling. Right about this time was when I realized I didn't bring the diaper bag which means I didn't bring any wipes to clean up. Have you ever been to a Baskin Robbins? Do you know the teensy tiny little napkins they have there? Like barbie doll size? This is what I had to use to mop up all the drippy melty ice cream. They didn't have a bathroom either, so lesson learned on this one.
