Into the Wild Blue Yonder...

It's been a couple of weeks now since I made my first flight with baby in tow. It was definitely an experience!

We left Wednesday morning with 5 (yes 5!!) bags and a stroller packed away. My friend Tara was sweet enough to drive us to the airport in Charlotte. I hated that it was such a long way, but I couldn't figure out how in the world I would manage to get ALL of our stuff from long-term parking to the shuttle to the terminal... and I was right. Just getting to the check-in from the door was hard enough! (And I was lucky enough that my parents bought a car seat & pack and play for Samuel so we didn't have to haul that too!)

Checking in was kind of a pain. I wanted to check my pump, but the lady thought it was "too sensitive" and that I would "have to sign a waver because it would probably get damaged." So there was one extra bag I got to carry through security.

Oh, security.

I sent my four bags through the monitor. I took Samuel out and folded up the stroller and took my shoes off and put them back on and opened the stroller back up and strapped him back in and... oh, wait! They decided to totally unpack my bags because of the baby food. They had to test everything (milk included). And apparently ice packs aren't allowed, so they took that and threw it away. Great. Never mind that it was in the bag I already tried to check and they wouldn't let me.

Once I finally made it through and got my bags repacked, we booked it down to the end of the last terminal to catch our flight. Luckily, it was running a little late. We waited about 10 minutes and then on we went! The plane was full (of course), but everyone was really nice. We sat next to an older lady who was returning from visiting her daughter, grandkids and great-grandkids in Myrtle Beach. She was super-understanding and even let Samuel play with her watch (brave lady!).

As I hoped, Samuel fell asleep when I gave him a bottle during take-off. We got up to cruising altitude, and I was feeling pretty good. Baby was sleeping. I had the iPad out playing some games. It was all set up to be an easy two hours... then the captain came over the loudspeaker. Just to say HI. Normally I would probably think that was very nice of him. But it was NOT nice of him to wake my baby!

Samuel didn't sleep any more after that. He jumped and bounced in my lap and tried his hardest to escape my grasp. I entertained him with new toys and shoved him full of cheerios and puffs. He kept trying to grab the hair of the people in front of us and flirting with the lady across the aisle. He let out a few [happy] shrieks which, thankfully, elicited laughter from my fellow travelers, not looks of scorn. All in all, I think he had a good time, and generally did well. I, on the other hand, left with several bruises from his crazy flailing about.

We made it to Little Rock, though, and were greeted by my parents who were gracious enough to pick us up. We spent some time shopping and eating with my brother, then went to their new home in De Witt. We stayed there for a day and half. It was fun to explore a new little town, and Samuel had a blast playing with his Grammy and Pappy!

First time playing on a real piano. He wasn't sure what to think!

Samuel experienced cornbread for the first time. Oh boy!

Friday we made our way back to Little Rock. We ate lunch and got checked into our hotel and Eric's mom and family friend, Shane, joined our little soiree. We hung out and played with our sweet boy and I got ready for my friend Karis' wedding. Then Eric's grandparents and aunts, who happened to be coming through Little Rock on their way home from New England, stopped by for a bit to see Samuel too. I'm pretty sure he was the most popular kid in the state that day!

Little man didn't nap much at ALL while we were there, so I put him down for a bit then went to the wedding. It was beautiful, as expected, and one of the sweetest ceremonies I've been to. :-) I hate that I couldn't spend more time there before and after! My parents brought Samuel to the reception so he could "visit." Unfortunately, it was well past bedtime for him, so he pretty much just stared blankly at everyone. I ended up leaving before they even cut the cake. Sad. We did get to visit with Karis a bit though!

Saturday morning we woke up and ate breakfast, said our goodbyes and headed to the airport! This time around we seriously barely made it. We were the second to last ones on the plane! I was kind of glad, though, because it meant we only had to wait about 10 minutes and we were up in the air. Once again, Samuel fell asleep on the way up. Once again, he was awakened, this time by the stewardess accidentally dripping cold water on his head. The return trip was pretty similar, and I was pretty exhausted by the time we landed. Unfortunately, we still taxied for about 30 minutes AFTER landing. Talk about torture for an 8 month old who is ready to move!

Isn't that face adorbs? 

Anyway, Eric picked us up from the airport and said I looked like superwoman with my baby and all my bags. Glad somebody recognized! Haha. I definitely have some serious respect for people who travel overseas or cross-country with multiple kids alone. I'm SO glad we went, but I am in NO hurry to do it again!!