Saturday, September 3, 2011

The Parade: Fun vs Fear

Every year at the end of summer our city hosts a 3-day festival full of activities, food, games, a 5k run/walk, shows, music, rides, art and craft fairs, and much more. It's something that the whole family can look forward to, because there really is something for everyone.

And even though I typically don't do that great of a job documenting my kids and our daily ventures, when I look back at the few photos that I took over the course of the weekend, they do make me want to do a better job remembering to share them with our family and friends.

How can I keep the best shots to myself when they show the humorous times that my kids provided?

For instance, Big Sister E tried something new and participated in a few of the games for kids and found that, although she didn't win, she had fun putting a lot of effort into her first gunny sack race.

That's Olympic-level determination right there

When all is said and done, however, what stands out most from the festival is always the parade. From the local businesses to the dance teams to neighborhood schools, there are always plenty of nice people to wave at and, Big Sister E's favorite, more than enough candy being thrown.

But as much as the candy is a big draw, even that isn't enough to break Little Sister B of her aversion to loud noises and her fear that one of the many firetrucks might blast their siren at any moment (which they don't).

Even though this time we tried something new with a pair of Magic Noise Quieters, i.e. earmuffs, she spent the majority of the parade with a very worried look on her face over the possibility of a loud sound.

So while Big Sister E was giving high fives to clowns...

...or kisses (don't ask me why) to a U.S. Cellular phone...

...Little Sister B quietly kept to herself and did her best to block out anything that frightened her.

As evidenced by the stick from the sucker, she did still manage to take part in the fun of the candy

One day I know I'll show her these pictures and we'll laugh at how she used to be scared (even though after the parade ends she talks about what fun it was). But until then I'll just have to share them with our family and friends so that they can also smile at her sweetness. Who can resist wondering what goes on in the mind of a 2-year-old?

Do your children enjoy parades? Better yet, do you have any innovative solutions to try to get us through this phase of being scared by the thought of loud noises?

3 comments:

Jenny said...

Abby is 7 and still scared of loud noises. She gets so panicked when there's a siren. She has started her Christmas list and put ear muffs on it! That's what she calls headphones.

LeeAnn said...

Awwww. Poor little B. I'm glad the "magic noise quieters" seemed to work for her and she wasn't sitting there crying. My kids love a spectacle, so we don't really have issues like this one. My issue would be trying to keep my kids from trying to be a part of the parade! ;-)

Rylie and E would probably be such great friends! ;-)

Anonymous said...

Cute pictures, looks like a fun weekend. Zoe hates loud noises and looks just like little sister B. She get's frightened over any loud noise and like her she will say how much fun she had.