Forth of July....

July 3rd my son turned 8.  For quite some time my son has been asking for a faux-mohawk haircut. Well he got his wish on Saturday morning. Even cooler the girl who gave him his first haircut at 15 months was working (different shop but same stylist). She commented how much he has grown & changed.  When he had his first haircut (and for sometime after) my son was deathly afraid of vibrations. Since he has a lot of hair thanks to genetics, it would take forever to scissor cut his har and the clippers were much faster. We had figured out a way that I'd hold his head still & she'd clip--very quickly I might add. He screamed, but was much happier when he got a lollipop at the end. Now he doesn't mind the clipper, especially if he gets color added (usually green) to his final style. It's tough for him as he has to look straight ahead--into the mirror (not his favorite place to look).

He looks adorable. I'm still questioning my judgement, but I figure we could always buzz the strip if necessary. 

Sunday was the townwide Forth of July parade. Dogs dress up. People dress up. Bikes, scooters & wagons are decorated. The firetrucks & ambulance participate. At the end is a "comfort station" manned by the borough recreation committee stocked with themed trinkets, ice cold water & lemonade and patriotic ice pops.  My son found a few of his friends participating. He went off with the front of the pack as I stayed behind to march with my crazy dogs.  My puggle was worn out (it was 95F in the shade!) and my chihuahua (being very heat tolerant) was thrilled with the chance to strut his stuff. Since the firetrucks blare their horns & sirens, my sound sensitive son went to the front (about 3 blocks ahead of the trucks) to dampen the sound. At least the trucks are smart enough not to blow their horns near the end of the route. His bike helmet helped to dampen the sounds.  He did an awesome job on his scooter decorations (purchased the night before for 50-75% off for a total under $5).

After we cooled my son & the dogs off, we picked up a buddy and headed to the movies. We always sit in the back so the picture isn't too large on the screen and the sound isn't too much. The best part is that the elderly couple sitting in front of us looked disappointed when we sat behind them, but complimented my son and his buddy on their good behavior at the end of the movie.  After dinner at Chili's we played for a while at my mom's house.  Fireworks were tolerable, as this year we went to the beach between TWO displays. We were far enough away that the "booms" were more like finger snapping. No sensory overload or meltdowns for my son. Though I am concerned about his social skills. Due to the treatment by a few opportunistic bullies (who are slick enough to appear well behaved in school, but didn't fool the parents who lead our scout den at camp--the one other mom declared this boy a mean spirited little annoyance. I felt validated that she saw what I did without my pointing it out.) He tries to dominate his shorter friends, fortunately this buddy is pretty smart & a good sport (though he too has his crabby moments). I gave him some tips to help my son be a better friend, such as telling him exactly what is wrong like "when you call my name like that you sound like my father. You aren't my dad, you're my friend."  Social skills group doesn't start for another week. Hopefully I can undo the damage from 2nd grade at the school from hell in the mean time...