Fireworks Tybee Island Pier
The Tybee Island party starts early, on Friday July 3 with fireworks at Tybee Pier and Pavilion. Call 912-786-5444 for more info.

Fantastic Fourth of July on River Street, Savannah
The Fourth of July party on River Street starts at 5 PM Sat. July 4 on the plaza with live entertainment, ice cream eating contests and more. Fireworks will begin around 9:20 p.m. Call 912.234.0295 or click here.

Hilton Head Island/Bluffton area

Harbour Town’s 4th of July Festivities. Children’s activities, live music, a special concert with Gregg Russell, food and drinks with a fireworks display around 9:15 PM Sat. July 4. Free shuttle service from several parking lots throughout The Sea Pines Resort. Gate fee is $5. 843. 842.1979.

25th Annual Free Skull Creek Community Fireworks At Hudson’s, Charley’s Crab And Boathouse II
Outside entertainment beginning at 6 PM Sat. July 4 with food and drinks available for purchase. Fireworks from a barge in the Intracoastal Waterway at 9:30 PM. Free parking and shuttle service from the Boys & Girls Club on Gum Tree Road from 6-10 p.m. (843) 681-2772.

Independence Day HarbourFest at Shelter Cove Harbour. Live entertainment, including family favorite Shannon Tanner, children‘s activities, food, arts and crafts with fireworks after dark July 4. (843) 785-9087.

Check out these personalized cufflinks from tj&co that Suzanne Pablo won in a SouthernMamas giveaway in April.

Suzanne won a $100 tj&co gift certificate by entering one of our weekly giveaways. Being such a generous mama, Suzanne used the gift certificate to have custom cufflinks made for her husband, John. The cufflinks feature photographs of their children, Jake (7 mos) & Sofia (3). The children’s lovely portraits were taken by professional Savannah photographer Sarah Buck.

tj&co creates chic & stylish “mommy jewelry” using your favorite family photos or your baby’s name. Each piece is made by hand of sterling silver or 14K gold.

See, real local moms really do win our giveaways! Thanks again, tj&co for a fantastic giveaway.

We’ve told you about a lot of Savannah moms groups. But there are also moms group in nearby counties, including the MOMS Club of Effingham County.

The group meets the third Tuesday of each month, 10 AM at Rincon United Methodist Church, Savannah Ave, Rincon

Free childcare is provided at meetings. There’s often have a guest speaker on topics of current interest for moms. Membership is open to any mom living in Effingham Co. Dues are $25/year.

The group - part of the MOMS Club International organization - aims to support moms during their experience as a stay-at-home-mom. Each month, the group has an activity calendar full of fun activities for moms and kids such as playdates, crafts, seasonal outtings, and MNO (Moms’ Night Out.) Members are also active participants in community service, and choose two projects a year to do that benefit the local community.

For more info, contact Jennifer at 912.247.6655. or jenn.welch@hotmail.com.

For more Savannah-area moms groups, click here.

Looking to relax and enjoy your family this Sunday night?

Go to 912Food2go.com for kids night on Sundays 5-8 PM. You receive 1 free kids meal for every $25 towards your restaurant total from the following restaurants: Chili’s, Geneva Geneva’s Home Plate , Juarez Mexican Restaurant, Moon River and Spanky’s.

912Food2Go.com is Savannah’s premiere, locally-owned and family-operated restaurant delivery service. Whether you want to feed your family and friends at home, need to plan a hassle-free meeting at the office, or would like to plan a meal in the park, 912Food2Go.com has the perfect meal solution for you!

912Food2go.com doesn’t just deliver food, they deliver convenience. 912Food2Go.com currently delivers lunch and dinner from the following Savannah restaurants: Angel’s BBQ, Chili’s, Geneva Geneva’s Home Plate, John’s Jamaican, Juarez, Kao Thai Cuisine, Moon River, Spanky’s. Hours are Monday - Friday 10:30 AM-10:30 PM and Saturday & Sunday 4 PM - 10:30 PM.

Potty training is hard work. Which is why this week we’re giving away Pee Pal stickers to make the process a little more fun.  The idea is kids hit the sticker and potty train quicker.

Pee Pals are adhesive stickers that get placed inside your child’s potty. When you child urinates on it, a design is revealed. Then the sticker returns to its original black. A mother of five invented this product.

Just check out the rules below to enter to win .

EmmAva Photography will host several pint-size sessions from the end of July to the mid September.

Pint-size sessions are just a smaller versions of portrait sessions. Sessions are 30-minutes and cost $30.

Ashley Goss of EmmAva Photography will have the  portrait sessions at various locations including:

• July 25, senior pictures in Forsyth Park.
  • Aug. 1 , girly sessions with tutus at Dragonfly’s Hair and Nail Boutique.
  • Aug. 8, boy sessions at the Roundhouse Railroad Museum. There is a small fee to get into the Roundhouse, but it includes a tour of the museum.
  • Aug. 29, family pictures on Tybee Island.
  • Sept 5, watermelon-theme sessions at Forsyth Park.

Appointments run from 9:30 AM-1:30 PM. If those sessions fill up, EmmAva Photography will add more session times.

You will receive 20 pictures on disc in color and in black and white about two weeks after your session, with a copyright release. You have no obligation to purchase any prints.

EmmAva Photography also is available for newborn, children, family, engagement, bridal shoots and weddings.

For prices, click here or email EmmAvaPhotography@yahoo.com.

An often overlooked kid-friendly spot in the Coastal Empire area is The Center for Wildlife Education and The Lamar Q Ball Jr. Raptor Center in Statesboro.

This week, we visited for the first time and caught the 3 PM reptile show (held on weekdays) that included insects, tree frogs, snakes and more. The raptors flight show - with falcons, owls, hawks and more - is on holiday until about mid-August or September.

But even without the raptor show, the center is worth the one-hour drive to Georgia Southern University. It’s a fun, educational destination for moms-tot groups. Kids can hit the outdoor Discovery Trail which includes a opossum and skunk. A Habitat Walk includes a live bald eagle in her nest, 10 displays housing several live birds, a wetland preserve with ducks and wading birds, a playground (pictured above) and fun “Discovery Logs” (pictured above) where kids can crawl inside and see encased ladybugs, grasshoppers, frogs, beetles and more.

The center also offers several birthday party packages that include the reptile show or bird show. There’s also a Birthday Overnight Camping Adventure that sounds like a real treat.

The center is open 9 AM- 5 PM Mon-Fri. It’s closed Saturdays from June to August but the rest of the year is open 1 PM-5 PM Saturdays. For more info, click here or call 912.478.0831.

Now that Francie is six months old and starting on solids, I am making her baby food instead of relying on the jarred stuff.

I did the homemade baby food route with my son as well and IT IS REALLY EASY, even for a cooking-challenged mom like me.  Making your own baby food is as simple as pureeing steamed veggies and raw fruits.

A number of books and Web sites offer recipes for the basics - mashed bananas and avocados - as well as advanced dishes and make-your-own-baby-food tips. The resources also provide advice about food allergies and ideas for taking your home prepared foods on the road.

While convenient, commercial baby foods often contain more water, starch and sugar than homemade ones. Plus, you can’t help but wonder of those jarred strained peas on the shelf might be older than your baby is. There are other advantages to making fresh pureed baby foods.

For more how-tos and some baby food recipes, visit Wholesomebabyfood.com, a one-stop online source for any parent interested in ditching those jars. There’s also Homemade Baby Food Recipes.

UPDATE: Just for Baby & More at 7701 Waters Ave. has a new item- the Wean Machine. It is a portable, compact, self -contained “food processer” that prepares baby food. You just fill it squeeze and feed. Cost: 27.99.

Movie & A Game
Watch a movie in the air-conditioned Lucas Theatre and get a ride to Historic Grayson Stadium for a Sand Gnats game.
THIS WEEK’S MOVIES include:
“Take Me Out to the Ball Game” 4 PM Sat. June 27
Preceded by family-friendly animated movie “Baseball Bugs”
Package includes a movie ticket, roundtrip transportation, baseball game ticket: 17 dollars
Discounts available with SCAD ID
912.525.5050

Critters to Go - Petting Zoo @ The Market at Trustees Garden
1-2:30 PM Sat. June 27
Bunnies, Chinchillas, Snakes, Turtles, Exotic Lizards and more! Kids can visit with the animals while you shop at the Farmers’ Market.

Summer Film Series: Back to the Future @ Trustees Theatre. 216 E. Broughton St.
7 PM Sat. June 27
$4-8. FREE with valid SCAD ID
Presented by the SCAD Cinema Circle
Tickets can be purchased online, by phone at 912-525-5050, at the SCAD Box Office window, 216 E. Broughton St., or at the door 1 hour prior to the event.

The following isn’t a children’s activity, but we wanted to remind you about it anyway because SouthernMamas readers receive a discount:
Restorative Yoga Workshop
June 27, 11am-1pm
Telfair’s Jepson Center for the Arts
$15/member, $20/non-member; $13 FOR SOUTHERNMAMAS READERS!
This workshop, instructed by Savannah Yoga Center director Kelley Boyd, emphasizes muscle tension release and the increase of flexibility rather than strength development and aerobic capacity.

Free Youth Drawing Class at Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum
10 AM-noon Sat. June 27
For fifth graders and older. Bring own drawing materials.
To reserve a spot, call 360.477.1495 or email priscillapatterson@wavecable.com

Saturday Explorations at The Aquarium (SEA) Programs, UGA Marine Education Center and Aquarium on Skidaway Is.
10 AM-noon Sat. June 27
Reptiles presented by John Crawford. Gators, snakes, turtles, lizards.
For all ages Cost: $10 per person.
Program fee includes admission to the aquarium.
Pre-registration required.
30 Ocean Science Circle
912.598.3474 or email fish@uga.edu

Triple T Show at Skidaway Island State Park
2 PM Sun. June 28
Turtles, Terrapins and Tortoises. See live ones.
$5 parking
912-598-2300

Cinderella @ Savannah Children’s Theatre, 2160 E. Victory Drive
Tickets $12; $10 for students and military
Shows 7 PM Fri. June 26, 1 PM Sat. June 27, 3 PM Sun. June 28
912.238.9015

Hilton Head Is./Bluffton area

Freedom Fest at Jasper County Farmer’s Market
Celebrate the market’s newly-renovated facility. Fest includes inflatable slide and rock wall, mechanical bull, face-painting, family games and races. Fresh product, baked goods, arts and crafts.
11 AM-4 PM Sat. June 27
9935 South Jacob Smart Blvd. on Hwy 17 in South Ridgeland
843.726.8126

Tracy Wood!

Congratulations, Tracy.

She wins a $50 gift certificate toward any Sillydilly the Clown Party Package (except Spidey-Man).  Sillydilly does sparkle face-painting, princess parties (pictured  here), animal balloons, silly singing and dancing, unicycle shows, silly magic, storytelling and games.

If you’re interested in booking Sillydilly for a party, call 912-356-1214 or email Sillydillytheclown@comcast.net . Click here for various Sillydilly package info and rates.