6-13-06
Jack,
Well! We just got back from your first vacation this weekend! We flew to Colorado to attend my cousin Jason's wedding - it was a blast! You had SO much fun traveling on the airplane! We traveled in coach, so it was no picnic because the seating is so scrunched and you me and Daddy were in a row with a man seated at the end of our row, so we tried to keep from bumping into him too much, but it was unavoidable sometimes. He was very nice and patient, so we were lucky!
You were thrilled with the plane! There were TV's in the back of the headrests of each seat in front of us, which you were so excited about. Plus, you loved the little air blowers that blew cool air on us from above and the plane that we flew on going down had a picture of a cat on the wing that we were seated to have the perfect view of and a picture of a raccoon on the wing for the trip back. Daddy also setup the laptop so you could watch your "Curious Buddies" DVD during the flight. You were so happy that you would stand up to look around and squeal loudly and excitedly. Your Daddy and I thought this was cute and laughed and made half-hearted attempts to calm you down (because we were both enjoying your excitement). You had trouble when you tried to fall asleep though because there wasn't much room to stretch out. I could sympathize. On the way home, we were luckier. The plane was emptier and Aunt Kelly convinced the lady sitting next to us to move to a different row so you could stretch out on the seat between us ( - THANK YOU AUNT KELLY!!!!!) - so you slept well on the way home and Daddy and I watched cable. I learned about Lucky Luciano and the mob, so if you are ever interested in knowing anything about him - I might be able to tell you something... :)
But the best part of the whole trip for you were the escalators and the moving sidewalks. I decided you were old enough to go up and down them on your own holding someone's hand as long as you let us help you at the end with the getting off part. You LOVED them. Actually, that may be an understatement. We had SO MUCH FUN on the moving sidewalks going down and the escalators coming home. On the moving sidewalks, I would walk with you and we would run away from Daddy who would wait on the sidewalk until we were about 50 feet away and then he would run after us. Because the sidewalks are moving along with our movement, it made Daddy look like he was running faster than a speeding train and you would scream with laughter and excitement and grab onto my neck and kick at me with your little heels to go faster, like I was a horse and you were telling me to "giddy-up!!!" We must have taken that moving sidewalk back and forth like 50 times. Someone even stopped us to comment "I can't believe SOMEONE is having FUN at the AIRPORT!" :)
On the way home, we found an escalator that not many people used and we traveled up and down it repeatedly - again about 50 times - and you LOVED it, too. We missed preboarding because I had taken you on it - ONE MORE TIME - (must have been the 51st time...), but you couldn't get enough of it. Oh, the simple joys of UP and DOWN and being big enough to do this "grownup" thing... :)
Colorado was a lot of fun. Your "Poppa" Dough found some prairie dogs when he was out running, so we all went together to check them out. We were both driving rentals and Poppa Dough was trying to figure out how to lower the window on the car, when he hit the alarm button and ALL the prairie dogs scattered. We got to see a few brave ones from a distance, but didn't get to see too many as it turns out. Still - you heard them barking and pointed at them so I know you saw them. :) It was fun!
Your first adventure in a swimming pool ended in vomit, but you DID have a good time.
At the wedding, Kathy gave you a little airplane with a removable pilot that you could play with to commemorate your first airplane ride to attend their wedding
and we played with a couple of little girls that thought you were adorable!
We had one more day left in the weekend when we got home so we spent a family day - you got to eat your first Happy Meal and we tried to take you to your first movie: Cars. You watched the previews and were very content. You rested in the movie chair and snacked on popcorn while drinking milk from your bottle until a tall couple sat down in front of you and broke the spell. We ended up leaving shortly after that, but it was a lot of fun.
Yesterday was the first day that you went without a bottle. This is a big step and you are doing a fantastic job of it. I did give you a bottle at bedtime, but this was the only time all day, so I count this as a "no bottle" day. This morning, you took your sippy cup and are with Grandma Dough today. I miss you, cutie! Looking forward to family time tonight with you and Daddy! I love you!!!
Love,
Mommy
P.S. - your first vacation to the Ocean is coming up in 2 weeks! What will you think of that?
