Leavin' (and returnin') on a Jet Plane

Finally, we're caught up and back on track after our trip to Miami, Dane's first airplane travel and his second time seeing my sister, his aunt B-mo. Unfortunately, Mark was on call twice that week, so it was just me and the DaneBear. Fortunately, my parents also decided to come along, so I had a lot of help, which was especially nice because of all of Dane's items. Traveling with the little guy made me realize how much stuff he has and how little of we'll actually bring on the next trip we make! I don't think we broke out the umbrella stroller once. On the other hand, we used the Bjorn repeatedly, which made me thankful for it all over again!

We started the trip heading out from O-Hare, but used an off-site parking lot, which was great, as they dropped us off right at our gate, decreasing the amount of walking with all our luggage. Dane did a great job hanging out until we boarded, too dazzled by all the people and new sights to cry much. We then got on the plane, and had great seats, with two of us on an aisle and the other in the middle seat of the same row. It worked out perfectly, as we could get up easily when we needed to. We sat by a cute older couple, on their way to a conference in the Bahamas, who gave us advice about traveling with little ones and were overall, very understanding. Thank God for that! I pictured a very crabby person, sighing out loud every time Dane made a peep. He ended up doing great, though! It was definitely in large part due to my mom's holding him. She kept him happy for most of the three hour flight, and he fell asleep in her arms for around a half hour, both of them looking very content.

We got to Miami and stepped out into 98 degree weather, record-breaking heat after our own midwest record-breaking cold. What a change! Instant sweat. We found our hotel, located too close to the airport to be in a good area, but also clean and well-maintained, and then found Bethany's apartment. After many wrong turns. Many. It appears that our GPS wasn't familiar with all the construction changes that existed, hence, it directed us onto roads that didn't exist, roads that had different names and basically, just the wrong way. Yikes! Dane was great though, busy looking around and playing with grandma in the backseat.

Bethany and Dane immediately became good buddies again, which was so fun to see. He took to her like he'd been with her since day 1. And of course, she's fallen in love with him and all his smiles and giggles, so very different from when she first met him months and months ago. Once we got settled, we were able to do a variety of fun things, from going to the beach at night, Dane's first ocean experience, to visiting B's campus.

The night of the beach visit, we went to Miami beach right after dark. It was a full moon and Dane couldn't stop kicking. He was mesmerized by the moon and by the sound of the waves, smiling and giggling like a maniac. We headed to South Beach the next morning, and Dane had his first taste of actually being in the ocean. Incidentally, it was also my parents' first time at the ocean, so it was fun that they got to share their first time with each other! I carried him in carefully, and at first he was unsure about the temperature and the movement of the water, but soon, he was kicking along and splashing like he does in the pool. After we went back to sit under our umbrella, I realized that somehow, he'd managed to get sand in every spot imaginable. (Note to self: next time we go to any sandy place with the dude, bring water to rinse him off!) He had a great time and we missed having Mark there to enjoy it with us.

We stayed in Miami for four days and got to spend some quality time with the sis, which was much needed. We headed out late on Friday, with Dane being an angel again. We sat behind a woman, who, after asking how old he was and if it was his first flight, said, "We'll see about that!" in response to me saying he did really well on earlier flight. I was happy to have him prove her wrong:) Again, my mom and dad held him for most of the trip, allowing me to read, which I was very thankful for. They made friends with everyone sitting near them; I can't remember how many "Oh, he's SO adorable!" comments we got:)

Overall, we had a great trip and I learned a lot about the beauty of grandparents' love for our little guy. I was also very encouraged by the fact that he did so well in new situations; it's given me a lot more confidence in taking him out and about. Finally, I'm just realizing how much I fall more in love with him every day. He's such a happy little guy, and really brings joy to everyone he comes in contact with. This is such a fun time in our lives with him!