Along with being fun, the day of the party may have been one of the more stressful days for Sara and I as new parents thus far. For anyone who was in the Orange County area over the holiday weekend, you'll know that it was pretty warm, and as it turns out, infants are not quite as good as adults at managing their own temperatures, not to mention the fact that we have to wrap Connor in a straight jacket type blanket or he won't be able to sleep. The heat, along with all the stimulation of the party, seemed to be a little more than the little guy could handle at times, as he struggled to go down for naps most of the day and was a little fussier than normal. I think that Sara and I have been incredibly lucky with how well Connor has adapted to a schedule of eating and sleeping, but that still did not make it any easier to see him be extremely uncomfortable while we looked on somewhat helplessly. Around 8:30 Sara and I got him out of the house for a walk as the outside temperatures started to drop, fed him again at 9:30, and luckily for both his sake and ours he was able to sleep thereafter, allowing everybody to recharge their batteries a little bit.
(Every parent has been through similar times, so please know that Sara and I understand that this is all part of this new journey. We are just the most recent in a long line of parents who have had to learn how to deal with situations that are not ideal. The goal for me on the blog is to describe our experiences as parents, and sometimes those experiences won't be 100% positive, but at least the descriptions will be honest.)
On the morning of the 4th we all got up (Sara, Connor, Lara, Bart, Joni, Huck and I) to participate in the Lake Forest Firecracker 5k. The run/walk starts just a couple of blocks away from Bart and Joni's house, and it seemed the perfect opportunity to work off some of the calories that we had taken in the day before. Bart, Lara and I ran the race, while Sara, Joni, Connor and Huck walked the course. It was a lot of fun, Connor and Huck were both on their best behavior, and I got to realize how out of shape I am, which is always fun. The remainder of the day was pretty relaxing, we hung out at the house and laid low, playing a few more games and continuing to catch up. During the day Connor made a few more introductions, meeting Gary and Rosemary Miller, and getting to see Iris again. We packed up the car around 3 and headed home. We figured that for an baby boy who can only see a few feet away from his face and who gets startled occasionally at loud noises, staying for the fireworks show was probably not a great idea. Connor was happy to be back home and Sara and I were happy to plop down on the couch.
On a funny note, the night of 4th of July allowed Sara and I an opportunity to feel very old. Since I had to work in the morning and the weekend had been pretty busy, we climbed into bed right around 10pm. Now I don't know if it was my memory failing me, or if celebrations have pushed later and later into the evenings in recent years, but I was certain that fireworks shows always ended earlier when I was younger. Either way, the hubub finally calmed down by 11pm and we were all able to get some sleep.
Well, on to another week.
Your posts are always too funny - they definitely make me laugh a lot! Glad to know that Conner does have his moments (since he is such a good baby) and we have no doubt that the more those moments come, you will be able to handle them with grace & dignity!
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