fourth of july weekend, part two

on the actual fourth, in the evening, we took bebe to her first baseball game. the pittsfield colonials kicked the state of new jersey's ass, 17-4, in the charmingly cozy confines of waconah park.

bebe had a great time. her favorite activity, which i unfortunately didn't get a picture of, was high-fiving captain colonial, the colonials' mascot, a man with a baseball for a head dressed in a colonial soldier's uniform. where on earth my stranger-shy child got up the courage to high five him not once, but twice, i'll never know. she was thrilled and spent the entire night looking for him in the stands.

she also tried on mommy's sunglasses

and daddy's hat.

and spent some time being the cutest kid ever.


there was a big fireworks display after the game, but due to the insane run-scoring of the colonials, the game didn't end until looooong past bebe's bedtime, so i took her home before it was over. luckily lots of folks in the vicinity of the ballpark were setting off their own fireworks during the game, which we were able to see through the trees, so she didn't leave disappointed.


the next morning was pittsfield's annual fourth of july parade. i haven't been to this parade in years, though it used to be an annual event for my whole family. it is very, very long, and after a while all the marching bands and big balloons and fire trucks kind of start to look the same, which is why i first stopped going. then, the jingoistic patriotism that took hold during george w. bush's presidency, wherein the display of the stars and stripes was taken as an automatic show of support for his ill-conceived war-mongering, turned me off to the whole holiday even more. however, the sacrifices of motherhood, blah blah blah. i knew bebe would love it and i wanted to see her face when she saw the fire trucks.

first, we had breakfast with some dear family friends -- strawberry shortcake, blueberry muffins, john philip sousa marches, and a dramatic reading of the declaration of independence have started off every fourth of july for almost as long as i can remember. (even when i skipped the parade, i always went to the sawyers' breakfast.) then we all walked the half-mile or so into the center of town.

we got to see some of the cool old fire trucks, lined up and ready to join the parade, as we walked.

and there were lots more to come!

it was HOT -- we were sitting directly in the sun the entire time. bebe, like everyone else, was absolutely dripping with sweat, and after 90 minutes or so i convinced her to go home with me. that heat was a bit too much for a toddler and a pregnant mama! but all in all, it was a blast. i just may be coming around on the fourth of july, now that i get to see it through the eyes of my kid.

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