Last night we took Aidan to the fireworks.

I know, I know. I know what you’re thinking. It was only last weekend that we tried taking him to the drive-in, and didn’t we learn about keeping him up well beyond his bed-time?

In short, no.

Vancouver has this fireworks festival that runs every year. Three or four countries compete over four nights spaced through the end of July and early August. The fireworks (this year, they’re called the “Celebration of Light” but it’s gone through different names as the sponsors have changed) are a BIG DEAL here. Estimates are somewhere in the neighbourhood of 300000 – 500000 people watching them on any given night. We’re fortunate enough to be able to see them (almost completely) from our dining room windows, which has the benefit of being able to hear the music simulcast and see the fireworks without having to deal with the crowds. But on the other hand, it’s pretty interesting to be in such a large sea of humanity. Gwen and I, pre-baby, have gone down to English Bay and sat with several hundred thousand people on a beach, a scant few hundred feet from the fireworks barge. The five or six hour wait, followed by the several hour trip home is a bit hard to handle now, post-baby.

Aidan was pretty well prepared yesterday. A nice, long walk in the morning, a three hour nap in the afternoon, and reasonable meals all pointed to an after-hours outing that wasn’t going to be a disaster.

So, after supper, we packed up and walked down to Vanier Park. It’s not too far away … about twice the distance from our place to Granville Island (maybe 3 km total). Vanier Park faces English Bay, on the south side of False Creek. From there, we had a clear view of the fireworks barge, and the several hundred thousand people crowding the beach there. Vanier Park was crowded, but not oppressively so. There were probably a few dozen thousand people in the park.

Around 8 pm, we found a spot of parched grass and waited for the two hours we had until the fireworks were to begin. Aidan crawled around, played with the stroller, and we went for several walks with him. All in all, he behaved himself quite well.

Then, after the sun had set, we bought him his first ever glow-sticks. Actually, they were glow-bracelets, but they were perfect. He loved waving them around in the darkness. I think Gwen loved waving them around as much as Aidan did. These kept him busy and occupied up until the fireworks started.

Which they did, promptly at 10 pm. Aidan liked watching them, but wasn’t as mesmerized as we thought he might be. He watched the first little bit while sitting with Gwen, and the majority of them while sitting in his stroller. While sitting in his stroller, though, he alternated between playing with the stroller, watching people around him, and watching the fireworks. The flashes and colours seemed interesting to him, but didn’t captivate him. The explosions didn’t bother him in the least. He didn’t jump, start, or even think about crying when they went off. Gwen and I remarked to each other that he’s such a city boy. The spectacle lasted for about 40 minutes, and by the end, he had pretty much had enough.

We packed our things up and walked home. As you can imagine, the Seawall was pretty crowded, and we didn’t get home until 11:30 pm. Aidan, although flagging, was still awake. It didn’t take him too long to get down though.

For your edification, a video showing Aidan and Gwen with the glow-sticks, and a little bit of the fireworks is below:

PajamaMama has christened the next few days:
The Bloggin’ Good Blogger Days.

Your mission, shall you choose to accept it (and you will), is to go to as many blogs as you can and point out at least one good thing about the author of that blog. Do your best to give them a warm fuzzy feeling. Show your appreciation, admiration or plain old joy.
Tell them why something they did touched you, why a choice they made shows the true fabric of their moral being. Just go BE NICE to every blogger who’Â’s blog you read today. And don’Â’t be shy, either!!
Plus, post an entry similar to this one on YOUR blog and ask people to leave warm fuzzies in your comments. Spread the love, people!

Maybe if we take a week to engage in warm fuzzies, they will become a more permanent part of our daily lives, both on and off the computer.
In review:
1. Leave me a warm fuzzy in my comments.
2. Post a similar entry (or copy and paste this one, giving credit) on your own blog.
3. Leave a warm fuzzy on every blog you visit today.
4. Sit back, read your own warm fuzzies and feel, well, warm and fuzzy!
Enjoy!

All credit to her, esp for the body of this post. I love the idea, and liked how she phrased it, so I pretty much copied the instructions.

While you are at it visit a few of my favourite blogs from the blogroll. You will not regret it! Pass the good Karma along.

Well, ok, it started well. Then I realized that Tristan is a sleep moaner. A loud sleep moaner. Aidan did well and I made sure the music was on. Unfortunately the sleep timer kicked in at about 45-50 minutes of his sleep. Which for those of you who don’t know Aidan’s sleep patterns is about the time he will wake up if something disturbs his cycle. So I only go about 40 minutes to myself.

Oh well, tomorrow I will have the music playing the whole time!!!

This post on Blogging Baby was full of things that people/baby books/paediatricians should tell you, but for some unknown reason, don’t.

Things that seem like universal truths to me.

1. A tired baby will not sleep

See the previous post on the drive-in. This is one of those “no kidding!” truths. No one tells you this, and it seems like one of those things we regularly forget. Just because our boy is tired does not in any way, shape, or fashion mean that he will be getting to sleep anytime soon. In fact, the more tired he is, the more he fights sleep.

2. A favourite food may only be a temporary favourite

OK, this one we’ve heard before, but it’s so true. Will he like corn today? Mandarins? Meat? Bread? You just have to hope against hope that you’ve guessed right today.

3. Diaper changes are bad

I never thought I’d say something like this … but I’ve actually become used to diaper changes. Sure, there are some that are just pure nasty, and he still rolls and twists like a trapped animal sometimes, but diaper changes are nothing compared to having to clean up after a good puke.

4. Baby will no longer prefer his Mom

I can’t comment on this one. I suspect that there is some element of truth here, but it’s beyond me.

5. Baby will change his mind often

Kristin’s comment on this one is “Your dimpled little one, who has always loved animals, will develop a sudden aversion to squirrels.” All I can think about are the bunnies.

6. When it comes to parenthood, there are no rules

Again, one of those universal truths, but not everyone believes this one. There are lots of people who will tell you what they think are The Rules, but the truth of the matter is that no matter how much advice you receive, no matter how many books you read, no matter how many courses you take, and no matter how many blogs you visit, we’re all just making it up as we go.

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