Air travel with a one year old

Survived, and dare I say, thrived? I should probably not until we make the trip back.

Two days ago, I was rather anxious about our 16 hour day of travel with a baby who doesn't sleep anywhere but in a crib.

Last night at 9:30 p.m. PST, Annabelle went to sleep in a pack n play in a hotel room. Other than that, she had slept all of 1 hour the rest of the day. The best part? No crying, screaming, freaking out, or other such behavior. She made lots of new friends, had some moments of fussyness, and ate way too many puffs. I'm sure she picked up some infectious disease as I let here crawl all over the airport floor, but she needed to work off some energy.

The guys at TSA were awesome to us. Yes, that is what I said. Our car seat came back in one piece. Yep.

Not sure if it helped but we used these ear cover things we bought to protect her ears from loud noises (ie. Dad working on the house), and I remembered they mentioned they can help with air pressure in the plane. Other than needing to distract her from the large things on her head...they worked like a charm.

We were all exhausted by the end.

But one of my favorite moments for me was sitting next to her in the car on the way to the hotel. She would chit chat and then suck her thumb. And every time she put her thumb in her mouth, she would reach over and put her hand on my arm. For a baby who doesn't cuddle, it melted this mother's heart.

She is the best. And in 9 days, we get the joy of celebrating her birth. What a year...

memorial day weekend

Busy! Family visits, wedding, parades, pool, and finished projects galore!

Check this out... happy birthday to me! Joel amazes me over and over again with his abilities. You would never know this wasn't in the original home. What a gift! (To see the before picture: http://hintzadventures.blogspot.com/2011/05/p-word.html)

Annabelle was a trooper as we carted her around from place to place...even spending her first night away from us since she was a few months old. The sleepover at Grandpa's was a success!

On Monday, all the projects were complete and we had nothing on the schedule. We took Annabelle to the Memorial Day parade. She loved the bands, especially the flags! In the afternoon, we set up her pool and let her splash around. We have to watch her closely because she has absolutely no fear. She was crawling around in it and kept sticking her face in. As you can see by the next picture, she is getting brave with her standing but has yet to attempt that first step.

Looking adorable in her gear to go swimming...

We leave for California in 9 days!