Flying...

Our flight TO Seattle was best flights on record. The flight attendants were great, seat-mate was so nice and even played with Sophia a little bit. Sophia flirted with everyone who walked by us, waving 'hi' and blowing kisses. She is irresistible of course and everyone was smitten with the perfectly behaved, little sweetheart traveller. There were no delays and the layover was seamless (and short!) We arrived feeling great which was wonderful for kicking off our week there.

The way home was less than perfect....a bit more challenging. We sat in the last row of the airplane (in a WINDOW seat) with two burly men (think wide and took more than their share of the arm-rest kind of dudes) who exchanged an annoyed look in the aisle when they spotted a child next to their assigned seats and both took sleeping pills upon departure (umm...hello? You really expect a mother of a 1 yr old to stay seated during a 6 hr flight?) Apart from one brief trip to the bathroom mid-flight (which I had to wake them both up for, but Sophia's diaper needed changing!), we did indeed stay in our seat the whole time. it was challenging but not too terrible. Once we got to Newark, we saw a 2 1/2 hr delay (groan) but appreciated not being confined and being able to walk around for a bit. The second flight, which was only 1 1/2 hr long, went great....after 11 hr of travel, Sophia finally succumbed to some sleep and rested that whole flight, so I crossed my fingers and sang the hallelujah chorus in my head the whole way. :)

Baby's sad airplane face

distraction to cheer her up...

The best part of the whole travel report is for the first time ever, we did not get THRUSH! Praise the Lord! I am so so so thankful. I took a very strong probiotic before I left and when I got home (thank you, Maria!) and I think that combined with prayer helped prevent imbalance. And I can confidently say, at the end of the day, the joys of being with Katie & Juliet for the week FAR OUTWEIGH any challenges that flying with a little one bring. So glad for the gift of having been able to go!

For the record, Sophia has now been on a total of 12 flights! I added the individual legs of all our trips up and all together, Sophia and I have spent over 53 hrs in the air together. That's not too shabby for a 13.5 month old!