My Baby Is A Homebody

March is here and February has passed! I'm unusually very happy about a month being over with. It also helps that March is my birthday month so that's always great.

As February was coming up I was both excited and nervous about it. Honestly I was more nervous than excited. I had a trip to Ft. Collins, Colorado planned for a close friend's  mission homecoming and unfortunately Danny wasn't able to make it because of school and work. Plus he was already taking time off for a scheduled trip to St. George for UVU the weekend after. The thought of driving eight hours with a four month old was frightening and the idea of flying alone with a baby was almost equally terrifying. Don't get me wrong I love road trips and I love planes but throw a baby in the mix and it becomes a completely whole new adventure!

I decided that flying was less nerve wrecking and it ended up being the only option anyway since neither Danny or I wanted me driving through a blizzard with the baby to Colorado. Great thing was that our friend Courtney was able to fly with me! The flight was supposed to leave at 10:30am and we were planning on landing in Colorado at noon but that didn't happen. Once ten thirty came around and no one had boarded the plane people began to question the flight crew. Apparently the plane we were supposed to be on hadn't even left ground in Denver. I later asked the pilot why it hadn't taken off and all he said was that the plane was broken so they had to switch planes. That reason was good enough for me! A lot of people were upset about this delay but mostly because of the fact that no one mentioned anything about there having to be a delay. There was no announcement or change in the flight status; instead people only found out because the time to board had come and gone. Everyone was awarded with food vouchers so that was nice and then we waited and waited and waited. Addie was pretty tired but she was surprisingly very good which I was grateful for because the only time she's ever really fussy is when she's tired. Oh and did I mention she started teething the night before? She did manage to doze off for about ten minutes but woke up since airports aren't necessarily quiet places. While we were waiting some guy waiting for a different flight started to talk to us. He started showing pictures of his baby girl and then he leans over to show an Asian guy next to him who then very bluntly tells him that he's not interested in seeing pictures of his baby. The poor guy with the pictures turned speechless after that. The blunt guy then turned to Courtney and I and asked what flight we were waiting for, after we told him he replied "good it's not my flight". His comment was directed at Addie. I guess he got his wish of being left alone because no one really talked to him after that.

We finally boarded the plane after 2pm and by that point Addie was very tired. I don't think people truly understand how much my baby loves her sleep. She kind of reminds me of a teenager when it comes to that. She normally goes to bed around 10-11pm every night and wakes up around 9:30-10:30am the next day. Anyway we had to wake her up at 6am that day to feed her before driving down to SLC so she wasn't too happy about that at first which is why I was very impressed with how well she handled that delay on little sleep. Taking off in the plane was what I was most nervous about because I thought she would cry or experience pain in her ears. My seat was near the window, Courtney was next to me and some lady was on her other side. After getting seated I leaned over to the other lady and apologized in advanced if my baby didn't handle the plane ride well. Instead of the typical polite response I was expecting she just looked back and very seriously said "I'll just order a very strong drink". Literally as soon as these words left her mouth the flight attendant made an announcement overhead about not having any food services on this flight because they planned on making this trip as fast as possible. Awkward. The flight attendant also said that we should expect to land around 2:30pm, it was now 2:10 at that time so Courtney and I knew she made a mistake but the already fuming lady got even more mad when the time was corrected over the speaker. My only concern was my daughter so the comments made by the Asian man and this lady didn't bother me, if anything I found the situation to be funny. I gave a bottle to Addie once we took off and she did great! The noise the plane made was actually soothing to her and she fell asleep during the ride without making a peep! I was so happy. She woke up right before we landed and figured out that yawning helped with descending so her ears ended up being just fine. My first flight experience with her ended up being a success despite the delay and rude people :)

We didn't get to Ft. Collins until after five and by that point Addie just wanted to pass out! It was great to see everyone but then the rest of the night I just focused on trying to help my baby get to sleep. She was weirded out by everything! She was weirded out by the new faces, loud noises, different place and the pack and play. The poor girl just missed her crib and wanted me to hold her. I ended up sleeping with her every night on that trip. Fortunately she still slept through the night but instead of her usual 10am wake up time she would wake up at 6 or 7am everyday so she was a pretty tired baby the whole time. Lots of people were in and out of the house but during those times when most of the people were out Addie would turn into the happiest baby lol. Every night I would put Danny on speakerphone or we would Skype to read our scriptures together and Addie would just start squealing with joy. I love how much she loves her daddy! She finally started to act more like herself during our last two days there so that made me happy. It had been sad to see her so unlike herself for awhile.

The plane ride home was eventful. While waiting in the security line the airport fire alarm went off. After passing security they pulled me aside to check for any dangerous substances (whatever that means) and once that invasive process was finally done Courtney and I had to run to our gate. Once we got there we realized that no one was there. Luckily the plane hadn't left yet and we got on. We were literally the last people to get on. I got a bottle ready for Addie and gave it to her for takeoff. Five minutes into the flight she did something that she had been trying to do for the past four days . . . she finally pooped! I couldn't do anything about it at that point because we weren't allowed to get up or take our seat-belts off so I just prayed it wouldn't be a blowout. Good thing I had the aisle seat this time because as soon as I was able to I took her to the bathroom to change her. My prayers were answered because that diaper change should have been a blowout for sure! She screamed during it but once we sat back down and she got her bottle back she was very content. I sat next to a nice lady who Addie could not keep her eyes off of. Luckily this lady was nice and interacted with her. When we started to descend I started to get nervous about how Addie would do but all she cared about was staring at the lady next to us. Poor Courtney was doing everything she could to not throw up on the plane from where she was sitting across the aisle. Good thing she didn't need to use the bathroom on the plane because she would've found a very stinky diaper in there lol. 

I was so happy to finally land and reunite with Danny. I think Addie was even happier than I was because she would not let go of Danny :) The whole rest of the day she wouldn't stop snuggling with him. Usually she only cuddles with me so Danny loved that she was doing it to him. That night we laid her down in her crib and she slept for twelve hours. I think we were all happy to be back home :)

Three days later we left home again, this time to St. George and this time as a family of three :). Addie slept the whole ride up. I was worried about how she would react to the pack and play again because she wasn't too fond of it in Colorado but fortunately she did great! I think having Danny with me made a huge difference! She still didn't sleep her normal sleeping schedule but at least she was accepting that it wasn't her crib.  I planned on taking Addie to the pool because she loves splashing water but the pool was empty of water so that was a bummer. The weather was amazing though and it was the complete opposite of the blizzard we experienced just days earlier. Addie and I explored the town shops while Danny gave his presentation at the conference he was at. That night we went out to eat Thai food with Danny's university professor and other lab students and then we bought a couple new outfits for Addie. I absolutely love my little family of three and there is nothing better than just being together. On our way home from St. George we stopped in Parawon to visit Danny's grandma, uncle and aunt. It was their first time meeting Addie and she loved all of them! I think she mostly loved being able to stretch and take a break from her car seat. She couldn't stop staring at Danny's grandma just like she did to the lady on the plane. It's so funny when she does that. Once again Addie was thrilled to see her own crib and familiar surroundings after we got home. She went to bed and slept for twelve straight hours again. 

From snow to heat!

I love traveling and I always have but it's so nice to finally be home and settle back into our normal daily routine. Maybe one day Addie will love traveling as much as I do but for right now she is most content at home and I am perfectly fine with that. :)