Before I say anymore… I have to remind everyone that on July 1st, Abby turned 9 months old. Can you believe it?? I really feel like time moves faster as each day goes by. Its a little nuts if you ask me, but I guess its something that parents have to get used to.

The 4th of July was a pretty quiet and relaxing day. Time was spent with family and friends but we also had the chance to spend some time together; just Shaun, myself and Abby. Abby had the chance to try some new foods and boy was it an adventure. She had her first taste of mashed potatoes and boy was she in heaven! Abby loved them but more importantly, she loved picking them up in her fingers and playing with them. Mommy also had the bright idea of letting Abby try to eat her peaches with a spoon from her bowl… HA! As you can see that turned out to be a mess. Luckily, we had time to take a bath before we had to be anywhere!

After a well deserved bath, we headed off to Zoe’s house to watch some 4th of July fireworks. Shepard of the Hills church in Porter Ranch puts on a very nice fireworks show and it seems to be quite popular with the locals in that area of the valley. Luckily Zoe’s house sits up in the hills of Porter Ranch and the area in front of her house is still a dirt lot, for now, so we had a fairly unobstructed view. Emerson, Jackie, Matthew, Jacob and Emily all came up as well to enjoy the show and I have to say that it was nice to finally spend some time with them. Emily has grown so big! The fireworks were received with mixed emotions when it came to Emily and Abby. Both of the girls were celebrating their first 4th of July. Emily didn’t seem all that pleased with the noise while Abby was completely engrossed with what was going on. Its amazing how different babies can be! I have to say that it was a fun night had by all!

While its fun to celebrate, watch fireworks and eat great food please don’t forget the reason we are celebrating. As citizens of this wonderful country we may not always see eye to eye or have the same views, but instead of yelling and screaming at each other lets remember how wonderful it is to be able to share those differences with one another and express who we are. Lets honor our freedom, our independence and the beauty that is America… God Bless America! To everyone out there… Happy 4th of July!