Last week was our first real family vacation. This included flights to and from Florida - which were not easy! The amount of coordination involved with traveling with two lap children is amazing. First, we had to figure out what was allowed through security (powder formula, bottled water, pureed food, etc). Next, were a couple calls to US Air to determine what could be carried on vs. gate checked. Turned out that we could only gate check one item per baby, so this meant a choice between two car seats or the stroller. We opted for the stroller, as this was more important, and rented the car seats with our rental car. Next, we had heard through the grapevine that you can not have two lap children in one row. Of course this was after we booked seats sitting together. When I called US Air to investigate this rumor and change our seats, I was assured that this was not the case. Well, it was. And we only learned of this when we boarded the plane. What did this mean? That people were asked to volunteer to switch seats with one of us. Who would voluntarily switch to sit next to a 9 month old baby? I'm sure you can imagine that we were not very popular. Plus, the guy that volunteered was several rows up and in a window seat, so Jack and I were far away from each other and unable to share diaper bag contents. Luckily, Andrew slept from take-off to landing (Yay him!) and needed nothing. Paige on the other hand requiring pacing in the aisle for about an hour on the way down. She was perfectly seated awake for two hours on the way back. All in all, they were great on the flights. We are very grateful for that!
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| Waiting to go through security |
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| Playing in the terminal! |
Car seat rental worked out okay (after trying 6 car seats until we found ones that latched properly!) and we rented highchairs for the condo for the week. Pack-n-plays were sent down with bags of toys, diapers, formula, etc. with the grandparents who were thankfully driving! All of the organization and planning that was needed was a lot of work but worth some of the memorable moments down there....
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| First day at the beach. We'd rather eat our sunglasses and squint then wear them appropriately! |
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| We liked the beach much better this time with our baby pool! |
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| Plus, cookies make everything better, too:) |
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| Andrew even put his feet in the ocean! |
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| We LOVED our first pool experience! |
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| Paige screamed with excitement the whole time |
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| And Andrew splashed and laughed! |
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| We had fancy dinners out to celebrate Grandma and Grandpa's 30th wedding anniversary! |
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| And cuddled during stormy afternoons in the condo |
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| We ate a lot and tried new things (like frozen yogurt!) |
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| And drank out of big boy and girl cups! |
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| Paige even discovered her voice and never stopped talking and screaming the rest of the trip....this is her new "excited face!" |
We did plan a day trip to Orlando mid-week to visit my college friend and sorority sister, Pamela, and her husband and newest edition, Jane! They just so happen to work for Disney and offered us park tickets for the day. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate and it was a pretty constant downpour the entire day:( We even tried to venture out when the rain lightened up a little bit and got stuck in the monorail station and never made it into Magic Kingdom...let's just say our day wasn't so magical. But it made for lots of funny memories and stories for Jack and me. And when the kids ask to go to Disney one day, we can say that we already took them there:)
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| Our day at Magic Kingdom that never came to be... |
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| But we had a fun dinner with Jane! |
The best part of vacation was that we got to spend 10 whole days with the kids. Being back at work with busy schedules and limited weekday time really makes us appreciate being together as a family. I mean, how can you not want to be around these two all the time?!?:)
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| Our very happy girl! |
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| And adorable guy:) This face is perfect for this shirt! | | |
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