Everyone loves a celebration...

You can even see Baby Sawyer in this one!!:)

And that is exactly what the 4th of July calls for! We had such a great fourth with our family and friends. I always love getting together with everyone and this year was no exception. Gigi, Grandaddy and Uncle Troy came up to visit and Hayden loved all of the attention as usual. He even got a long wagon ride from Grandaddy in the smoking hot heat. Lucky duck huh?!? We also had a good time swimming at the pool and eating of course. I think the best part though was letting Hayden watch/participate in the fireworks. He even held his very first sparkler... amazing huh? It was so cute to watch. We started shooting off some fireworks when it was still light outside, both because I didn't know how long Hayden would be able to make it and because I thought he might like them a little better if it wasn't so dark out. Turns out, he did stay up long enough to see some of them when it got dark outside, but he was much more interested when we first started. So, I guess it was a good idea to get started a little early! It was a lot of fun to watch his expressions as the fireworks went off, and thanks to Gigi we got some good pictures of it too!:)

This was one of my favorites... his face just says it all!!!

This picture just absolutely cracks me up. What in the world made
us do this? We used absolutely every single red, white
and blue thing we had outside! So hilarious!

Now this one I really do think is super cute...
silly Grandaddy getting in that wagon with Hayden!

Such a sweet girl!:)

This is what our silly boy enjoyed doing most of the day...
running around practicing his jumping skills! It is so
cute to see what he considers a jump!

These were the teeny tiny fireworks that turned out to be a lot of fun!

And this was the yummy dessert that got our tummies full!:)

Hayden having his very first sparkler lit thanks to Daddy and Uncle Troy.
You can see just how close I was. I am still very surprised I let
him do this, but glad I did. He had a great time, and it only
gave me a little mini anxiety attack... no big deal!!:) Ha!

Can't you just see the little wheels in his head turning as
he is trying to figure out how this is working?!?

I don't think he wanted to hold it anymore!!!

Nope, he decided to just throw it on the ground! What came after him
throwing the sparkler to the ground was the best part of the whole
thing. Both Hayden and Bryson tried desperately to blow it out!
Too funny!

Enjoying some of our yummy flag dessert, which he loved I must add!

Fun with fireworks!

Look how pumped he was when Grandaddy took him for his wagon ride!

I tried to get Hayden to wear this hat for a picture, but he was
not interested. Maybe we can add to the hat pics next year!:)

This was the kind of picture Hayden wanted to take!!!

Maybe because we had spent too much time taking these crazy jumping pics!
I had to include this pic because it proves that we literally had to jump
up in the air on the count of three holding him to get him in a good
picture taking mood! The things we do!:)

Turns out, Hayden did pretty good, but I had
a problem keeping my tongue in my mouth!!

And we all had a giggling fit every couple of shots!

The boys!

Hayden's seat for the BIG fireworks!

Although he liked this one much better!:)

So cute!

I can't believe we actually got a pic of just the two of us... I HAD to include it!:)

Like I said before, we also got to spend some time over the weekend at the pool, and it was a blast. Hayden had a great time jumping, splashing, sliding, and even his version of swimming! He doesn't exactly kick his legs hard enough to move once he is under water, but he definitely isn't afraid to put himself out there. Needless to say, he keeps us super busy at the pool, but we love every minute of it!

The first few times we went to the pool this year, Hayden wanted nothing to do
with the slide, but he has quickly done a 360. He wants to do it again and again
and again... and Daddy takes him over and over! It is almost hard for me to
take him to the pool without Matt because he doesn't understand why we
can't go down it. I love how you can tell just how much they are slipping
and sliding in this pic. Doesn't it just look like so much fun?!?

Loves the slide, but maybe not the part where he hits the water!

And one day I'll ask him if he likes that Daddy lets him do this!

Go, Boys, Go!

Some of the many faces we see right before
a big leap into the water for a swim!

This is a great example of what he looks like swimming to Daddy...

And swimming with Daddy!

And of course a swimming video...

It is titled One, Two... Swim because we spend the majority of our time at the pool counting before Hayden decides to take off and jump or swim! It is so cute to hear him count and then watch him take off. Although he isn't kicking those legs and moving those arms enough to swim on his own, I'm glad he's not scared of the water. I know the rest of our summer is going to be a blast at the pool!:) As for the Fourth of July, we had a great celebration and hope everyone else enjoyed it as much as we did!