Baby Fig Newton: Hello Seattle!

Checking out our plane.

Boarding the plane...

We made it! And what an adventure it was.

Dan drove us to the airport nice and early Thursday- lucky we were early because I ended up needing a good hour at the ticketing counter sorting out the confusion with Dyllan's ticket. Apparently she needed her own ticket now to be a lap infant- and on the way over we somehow got away with it. As I was working out the whole ticketing dilemma- another check-in ~~Nazi~~ lady came over to me and insisted that I check my carry on luggage in- saying that there was no way I could carry all that stuff on the plane with me. See, I had strategically packed and repacked my carry on so that I could keep Dyllan entertained and busy for the majority of the 13 hour flight... on top of that- I had planned on lugging my carry on to the gate with the stroller- and again at LAX on my layover. But the ~~Nazi~~ lady said that my stroller wouldn't fit through the shoots at the gate- and that I had to check my stroller too! She weighed my carry on bag (that is legal size for carry on- just!) and it weighed almost double the legal limit (7kg) so she snatched it out of my hands and put it on the belt.. I told her wait a minute! I will re arrange the weight.. I fiddled with the weight- packed my purse and Dyllans diaper bag to the brim- and threw a few things in my checked luggage and viola- I cleared the weight limit (leaving my actual carry on suitcase virturally empty- it weighs about 6kg empty!!) After lots of frustration- a few tears- and such a hassle we ended up buying a last min ticket for Dyllan ($500 for a LAP infant!! nuts.) and making out way to the gate just in time to board the plane! So much for getting there nice and early with plenty of time to take Dyllan to the kids playground to get her squirms out. Ugh. BUT we made it- on time- and my spirits were lifted as soon as I we got to our seats. We were in the very back of the plane- in the bassinet row (meant for 2 babies/ bassinets- and 4 adults) which is on a bulk head. We sat down and waited for our neighbors to arrive... and SCORE no other babies were on the flight- meaning we had 4 seats to ourselves for 80% of the flight (the other 20% some girl joined us because the kid behind her wouldn't stop kicking her seat).

Dyllan tied to the seat

Ready for take off! Here we go...

Just watching some tv

..but only for a few min.

So many gadgets to play with!

The flight went just as I had expected it to. Sleepless and busy. Dyllan doesn't really sleep anywhere but her crib, portable crib, and occasionally in the car for a few minutes if she's really tired. She's a great sleeper... in those things... but anywhere else, forget it. So I really didnt expect much different on the flight. I tested out some baby sleeping medicine (that has antihistamines in it- called Phenergan) but after a few trial runs and the success rate of about 50%- (50% of the time it made her cranky and not sleep and 50% it helped her sleep) I decided not to go with it. We had a pretty good time in our row of seats... I hooked Dyllan's leash up to the seat belt on the middle seat- and she could roam the floor of our aisle without me having to get up and stop her from running down the aisle. We tried the whole kids show with the headphones on her seat's TV but all she wanted to do was take the headphones off- and not pay attention to the TV. Luckily I brought a little DVD player too. She watched Dora on her DVD player - but its battery only lasts 2 hours (I knew this when I bought it- but it was so cheap I just figured it was better than nothing!) - bummer. A few hours into the flight they came around with lunch. Dyllan had the toddler meal- spaghetti with meatballs and cheese. Ummmm- are they crazy? If I had actually let Dyllan eat that by herself- they woulda been sorry. What a mess that would have been. Instead I had to give her my broccoli- cut up her meat balls and hand her one piece at a time making sure it went in her mouth and not the person behind us..

On international flights- they serve alcohol- for free. Obviously I wanted a red wine.. but did they even offer me an alcoholic drink? NOPE. Everyone around me got wines, beers, cocktails.. but me? I think they assumed that I wouldnt be drinking because I had a baby. BUT hello?! Thats the exact reason I wanted a wine! So I chirped up and asked for one.. the flight attendant handed me my wine and gave me a dirty look. Since we were in the middle section of the plane- drink carts were coming by on either side.. the second cart came by- and the guy started to ask me if I wanted anything to drink.. and before I could even answer (yes! another wine please!) he pointed to my wine and said "Nope, you done need anything" and also gave me a disgusted look. Am I alone here?! Feeling like the worlds worst parent.. I decided not to ask for a second wine when they came around again.. instead I had an ice cream bar and a pepermint tea.. haha.

Eating the crayons- not coloring with them.

Looked hopeful.. but no sleeping..

opening and closing the DVD player..

A few of the toys I picked up at the dollar store. She's wearing her favorite- a beaded necklace with a shot glass on the end. (maybe thats why the flight attendants gave me a dirty look for having wine)

Playing peek a boo

Dyllan did sleep at one point- at the VERY end. She slept the last 3 or so hours- and unfortunately I had to wake her up to sit on my lap for landing. Dang.

LAX was a nightmare. We cleared customs- and went to pick up our bags. Remember I didn't have a stroller. All I had was her leash and a sling that a friend loaned me (THANK GOD!!). I attached Dyllan to her leash and went to get our bags off the carousal. I didn't pack much (or so I thought)- just one suitcase between us (a huge, heavy one though)- I had to ask a guy to grab it as it whisked by way faster than Dyllan was willing to walk. He grabbed it and plunked it down right next to the carousal- didn't offer to move it onto a cart for me or anything. I left it there- went to get a cart- and tried to hoist the heavy suitcase onto the moving cart while holding Dyllan by the leash as she was going off in all directions. Finally I had to let go of the leash and quickly put the suitcases on the cart then run grab her. All this excitement and I had totally forgotten I had the stroller (not that there was any WAY it would have fit onto my cart!! I rechecked my bag- and decided to check my carry on- since it was just too hard to get anywhere with my roller suitcase- the diaper bag- my purse AND Dyllan on her leash.. As I was checking my cary on in the lady asked me if I had a stroller... Uhhh I froze.. YEAH! Shoot- I forgot it. They wouldn't let me back in to get it- so they got it for me- but not in time for my flight. (Luckily Bob made the next flight- and they actually delivered it to my door today)

Free of our extra Carry on we headed from the international terminal to the domestic. Is it just me, or is LAX always under construction and always a nightmare to get around?! There were groups of school kids congregating at the door- herds of people everywhere- construction obstructions everywhere- not to mention the LONG halls to get from one place to another..slow slow SLOWEST elevators... lines and painfully slow security! Maybe its just me.

We literally RAN to our gate.. well I ran with Dyllan in my arms.. dripping with sweat for probably the 3rd time that day.. yuck. We quickly boarded the plane only to find that we were jammed up against the plane window seat squashed by the giant from Jack and the beanstalk! and next to him- another hefty man. Dyllan in my lap this time- we tried not to intrude on the giant's space. He clearly put the arm rest down on purpose- and made sure his elbows were on it so we had no way of spilling into his lap. He made small talk with me- long enough for me to catch a whiff of his bad breath and ZITS on his gums!! Yuck. He clearly didn't have kids- or really like them- and offered no help or entertainment. Dang. But the kid behind us did.. Dyllan played peek-a-boo through the cracks for a few good minutes.. before she got really tired and cranky. This was supposed to be the short and easy part of the trip- but it was probably the hardest part. the last 20 minutes she was too tired she didnt know what to do with herself.. she cried and cried and for the first time in her life- just as we were descending.. she fell asleep in my arms. Phew!!

Peek a boo with the boy behind us

Not wanting to wake her up- I carefully slipped her into the sling- and asked the giant next to me if he could get the diaper bag off the floor and onto the seat. He did. Dyllan slept the whole time. By the time we finally got to baggage claim (another LOOONNG walk!) I was exhausted! Instead of going to the carousal to get my bags- I just plunked down in a chair and waited for Sean! Luckily Sean wasn't too long- and he was able to get my bags- and help me!

plunked down on the chairs by baggage claim.. too tired to even move.

At last... the adventure was over.

Its sooo great to be home. They sun is out- the house is so nice- good food- catching up with friends.. ahhh summer can begin!