World Traveler

Dear Abby - As of 2 weeks ago, I officially declared you a world traveler. Granted, you only went to Houston, but, you did take your first plane ride!! And what a plane ride it was. We (me & you) went to see Aunt Lizzy and your cousins Sarah and Emery (and Aunt Lynnie met us down there) in Houston. I was pretty nervous about the flight because it was just you and me, and the 150+ other lucky travelers who graced our presence. We got to be one of the first people on the plane (thanks to my quick checking in skills), so I grabbed us a seat with no one else around, that way those who sat by us did it by choice, not because I picked them out and thought, you deserve to have a baby sitting beside you. So, the second we sat down, the tears started flowing. It was awful, I'm just gonna throw that out there. We weren't even close to taking off and you are screaming. I am pulling out all the options - bottles, sippy cups, Glowy, your fancy silver rattle, a wet wash cloth - NOTHING is working. It's been 10 minutes and I'm about to have a nervous breakdown and people are still loading the plane. This man behind us, bless his heart, even offered you a kleenex. Clearly he doesn't have children, nor common sense, but it's the thought that counts. I actually got a little offended but was too occupied with you to even give a dirty look (which I will never teach you, btw). Then, by some grace of God (actually, Papa Rob did say he was praying for us as we were boarding), the lady beside us starting unraveling her sandwich and you became completely engrossed in the noise of it all. Then you just stopped crying and stared at the sandwich. For like 20 minutes, or until the lady finished. It was weird, let me just say that, but I was not complaining. Finally we took off, you drank your bottle, no ear issues, and then played in my lap the rest of the 2 hour flight. I say 'play' lightly. You were indeed all over the place, which is hard on a plane, but you were happy. I was worn out. Little did I know, I was really about to be worn out with those Sawyer kiddos!!
We did all kinds of firsts for you on this trip. Sarah had swim lessons so we went to the pool with her and you swam for the first time! you loved it! And Emery and Sarah loved playing with you. They even had a waterfall and I'm pretty sure your Aunt Lynnie took you under it. Btw, you were too cute in your bathing suit and sunglasses! You also were introduced to a dog, for the first time! A big black lab with a voracious tail. You didn't seem to mind the tail, or when it knocked you down though. I think you are going to be like your daddy with your love for animals. We also went to the zoo! I showed you a real monkey, too, and you seemed to enjoy it. Seemed meaning you didn't cry, and then you took a nap!! All in all, a good trip to Houston. Oh, and the plane ride home, you fell asleep in my arms as the plane was going up and did not wake up until it landed! No tears at all! Thank you sweet baby for doing that - Mommy needed a rest, bad!
Once we got back from that trip, we had to head to Cookeville to babysit Uncle Martin and Aunt Amy's kiddos! Yes, another crazy bunch!! See, your Uncle Martin pulled out all the stops for their 10 year wedding anniversary and surprised Aunt Amy with a trip to Quebec. She had no idea, and he had set up a long time ago for us to come watch the kiddos. It was quite the undertaking, but we survived, thanks a lot to Aunt Steph and Auntie Jill, and Alexis too. Alexis was such a good cousin to you. She wanted to constantly feed you, or hold you, or even just run up and down the bazillion stairs to get me diapers or wipes or towels or whatever! On Saturday you stayed all day with Auntie Jill and Alexis. They showed you off to all their friends and even took you shopping. I foresee a lot of days spent with the 2 of them!! All in all, the kids weren't that bad, and we survived. I did give them lots of junk food and tv watching on Saturday, so I think that helped a lot! You were great, other than a little issue with sleeping the first night, and your cousin Ellie was a rock star! She's getting so big now, it won't be long before the 2 of you start playing together. You are very curious in her, you like touching her hair, or eyes - a tad scary right now. But still cute! We're back home now, and exhausted. Back to normalcy, if at all possible (or at least until next week when we head to Memphis!!). Love you baby girl. Thanks for putting up with all our traveling adventures!!