This week we took our first plane trip as a family of 4. We went to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida to visit my grandfather, or "Grampy-man Sam," as Mudgie calls him. It was a good trip, but traveling with 2 small kids was certainly an adventure.
Our plane down there was an early morning flight, so we got the kids dressed in the their clothes the night before so we could just wake them and go. When we got to the airport with all of our stuff (2 carseats, 1 pack-and-play, 1 giant suitcase, 1 stroller, 1 backpack, and 1 diaper bag) we discover we needed a proof-of-age for Aaron! We took Mudgie on 4 different plane trips before he was 2 and never had to prove it. Fortunately, the woman at the counter let it slide (since we had nothing to show her and I wasn't about to pay hundreds of dollars for another ticket), but she made it clear we would need something on the way back. We ended up having Aaron's doctor's office fax us something so we could get home!
We got right through the security line, thanks to the 2 kiddos, but then I was randomly selected for additional screening, which really just meant additional screaming for Aaron when they took his bottle away from him for testing. Once that was over it was just a short wait before we were on the airplane. Mudgie was happy to look out the window, and Aaron was content to read books, but with no seat to keep him contained in, it was just a game of musical laps. Once in the air, Mudgie zoned out with the portable DVD player we had. He looked so cute wearing Dave's giant headphones! Aaron was pretty squirmy through the whole trip, but we brought plenty of toys and snacks to keep him occupied with, and we managed to survive the flight without a meltdown. Mudgie drank his weight in juice while on the plane, and had to go to the bathroom 4 times. I'm sure part of it was that it was a way to get out of his seat, but maneuvering 2 people in an airplane bathroom is challenging. He was squirming in his seat as we were landing because he had to go again, but he did a great job holding it until we got to the gate.
Once in Florida, we got the luggage (all of it) and the rental, and after putting the carseats in it, we were off to the hotel. Everyone was exhausted since we got up at the crack of dawn, so we enjoyed a nice nap once we got all settled in. Then it was off to see (Great) Grampy Sam and eat some dinner. Dinner was a little chaotic, as the kids were all wound up from traveling and not playing/running around at all, but we muddled through.
The next morning we took the boys to the beach to expend some of that energy. We all had lots of fun playing in the sand, but no one had more fun than Aaron. That boy was made for the beach. He was charging the waves head on, practically diving into the ocean. Mudgie, on the other hand, was running away screaming if the water touched his feet! Aaron was rolling around in the sand, covered in it, and Mudgie was trying so hard not to get dirty. In some ways, these boys are so alike, but the beach really highlighted their differences. After the beach we went back to the hotel pool to swim, since it was heated and the ocean was not. Again, the boys had a great time, and it all made me so excited for our trip to Puerto Rico in March!
After nap we took a walk on pier, where there were giant birds congregating, and Mudgie thought he saw sharks in the water. I kept joking about tying a rope to him and throwing him into the ocean to catch fish for us, and he kept joking about a shark jumping out and eating my leg. On the walk back to the hotel he told me, "I'm sorry about your foot and leg, Mommy." This kid cracks me up! That night we had dinner with "Grampy-man Sam," as Mudgie was now calling him, and spent some nice time visiting after dinner. The kids, especially Aaron, melted every face they saw in the assisted living facility my grandfather lives in. These kids know how to turn it on.
On Saturday Dave and the kids went to the beach for a bit before we went out to brunch with Grampy-man Sam and some more of my Florida family. Then after nap it was dinner and a final visit with Grampy before we headed home the next day. Aaron really seemed to like Grampy, even if he didn't want him to hold him, and he smiled and laughed whenever he looked at him. He even let Grampy feed him at dinner one night, something he almost never lets anyone do anymore!
Sunday was busy packing and getting back to the airport. Unfortunately, our flight home was right at nap time. Mudgie was fine on the plane with his movie player, but Aaron was a bit of a mess. After snacks, toys, and books all eventually failed to keep him happy, about 10 minutes of loud, annoying to everyone on the plane crying ensued before he succumbed to a nap. Luckily, he slept through the rest of the flight. It was a bit of a temperature shock when we got home and it was 12 degrees outside, but we bundled up and headed home.
While we had a great time on our trip, it was not relaxing by any stretch of the imagination, and I think everyone was happy to be home where the kids could run around and play and be loud! However, the little time that we did get to spend playing just showed us how much fun we are going to have in a couple months when we go on a real vacation!
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