On our way to the hotel, Scarlett fell asleep again in the car. While she snoozed away,
Nonni crept out of the house to pick up food for us and leave supplies for our visit at the hotel. Talk about service! Creeping was necessary because Grumps still didn't know we were coming (it was a birthday surprise). Poor Scarlett wasn't thrilled to be woken up yet again when we got to the hotel, but she quickly perked up since she loves hotel rooms. Well, she loves anything/place that is new, and the room was pretty big so she had space to roam. We ate, she threw up a little bit, and Paul was able to get her back to sleep without too much trouble.
The next morning we had a snack at the hotel before heading to my parent's house. I'd had plans to have Scarlett wander into my dad's room on her own while Paul and I caught his reaction on film, but I guess Paul and Scarlett had other ideas! They started in together before I could get it together Paul and Scarlett had made enough noise to get his attention and I heard "What are you doing here? What happened?" Not what I had in mind but still a surprise! We hung out there until we went to get a proper breakfast with my dad. After breakfast and some quality time at their house, we went back to the hotel for nap time and took Scarlett in the hotel pool for a swim. As usual, she had a great time in the pool (and got to wear the new wet suit we bought her last week!). After we all showered we met my parents at the Mexican place across the street from the hotel for dinner and margaritas. We had a great time and Scarlett loved all of the decorations on the ceiling and the wide open spaces in the restaurant. It was fun to spend time together because my dad hasn't seen her since August (9 months old) so she has definitely changed since then! Also, that was the only time my dad saw her and she happened to have a horrible flu the entire time, so even then he didn't really get to see the real Scarlett. Not an issue this time!
On Saturday we me my parents for breakfast at the main building and then we left Scarlett there for some quality time while we hit the gym. We also went to Toys R' Us to get some new toys that Paul could introduce on the plane to keep Scarlett entertained. My mom spent the day cooking so we took Scarlett back to the pool. She was just as excited the second day but was perhaps even more excited about her bath afterwards. She didn't want to get out. Either time... Well, for the first time ever, after her bath as we were drying her off she peed on the floor of the hotel! Back in the shower she went. She started crying and trying to climb back in the tub when we took her out again. Then it was back to Nonni's house for dinner. The trip went by too quickly and before we knew it we were packing them up to go home.
We went to breakfast with them again on Sunday (Grumps' 72nd birthday) and after a little time together at the house, we were off to take the to the airport. Paul and I were both pretty anxious about the flight. How miserable might it be with only one parent? Would she sleep? Would she throw up? Would she be able to sit still?
I'd been dreading saying goodbye all week. The thought of 6 days away from Scarlett (and Paul) just seemed like torture. We dragged it out as long as possible since their flight was delayed about an hour but I also had to meet my coworker and didn't want her to have to wait forever. After running all over the airport and trying to make friends with a girl twice her size with a pink suitcase (I think she really just wanted the suitcase). it was time to say goodbye. Paul walked into the security line an I walked as far as I could holding Scarlett until I had to pass her to him across the ropes. She started crying and reaching for me (I started crying too but was doing my best to not have her see). I walked away as quickly as possible so that she would adjust and as I stood at the far corner of security watching, she was quickly back to normal and seemed to be ready for her adventure with daddy. It was going to be a long week and a very long 8 hours waiting to hear how Paul's trip with her went.
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Many people have been waiting for this post from daddy. Its not only the first time Shonna or I have traveled alone with Scarlett, but she was so energetic on our way to Seattle that it took 2 of us to contain her (and we could have used a 3rd...) We arrived at the airport and luckily Shonna had to wait for her coworker so she hung out with us until about an hour before our delayed flight took off. The delay made me nervous. Not only because we timed Scarlett's nap with the scheduled takeoff, but also because a small delay in the airline industry is usually a cover up for MAJOR delay. They tend to sugarcoat things.
Time flew by and it was time to go. A kiss from mommy and off we went through security. Sounds easy enough, but I was carrying a piece of luggage, a backpack filled to the brim with laptops, toys, food, and any other distracting item I could find, a diaper bag, a small stroller, and a 22lb baby. Piece of cake ;) Especially when you add things like... taking laptops out, shoes off, coats off, liquid out, and then all back in and on again once we made it through. Luckily there was no buzzing noise, no bag searches, just a quick test of the bottle. I then put the backpack on, placed the diaper bag on the luggage, put Scarlett in the stroller, and off we went to the transport train. It took a few minutes to adjust and get used to pushing a two handed stroller with one hand while pulling a suitcase, but eventually I found my stride. I received a surprising number of complements, many smiles and attaboy looks, but not many offers of assistance!
Once we made it to the gate, I immediately went up to the counter to see what seats were available. We did have an aisle seat, but in row 15, just behind the exit row with no extra leg room. The lady was extremely nice and said the flight was completely full but she would allow me, a single parent with child, to board before everyone else (well, second behind a great guy who was in a wheelchair. He sat across from me and I ended up helping him out a couple of times during the flight). We boarded the flight and I was able to put the suitcase in the overhead. I then took strategic things out of the diaper bag and backpack so that I just had a small bag with a few of Scarlett's toys in the floor, and food in the front pocket. I also took Scarlett's shoes off and put them in the diaper bag. It might sound selfish that I took up 2 luggage spots but I at least had a good excuse. Not like those folks who take precious space with Kentucky Derby hats, bulky coats, and groceries. Anyway, once we were settled, I grabbed Scarlett's bottle and took her to the back of the plane. My strategy was to get her to sleep while the rest of the folks were boarding. It was a little more challenging than I thought. First there was this "flight attendant" who was very territorial. I had the audacity to ask her for milk when I went to the back. "Sigh, I will have to find the milk, sigh". She actually had to open 2 whole drawers before locating the milk. "Here you go". "Thanks Mrs. Attendant!" Scarlett and I moved to the side away from the beverages, but that was a mistake. That is where the "command center" is located, where the important calls and announcements are made. I did my best to calculate her next move and shifted from one side to the other. The last time she was in the back, I overheard her discussing the challenge of getting 2 passengers past the man in the wheelchair (he was given an aisle seat.) One of the passengers was is in the back next to me to discuss her options. According to the passenger, the issue was that the seat arm on the aisle wouldn't go up, and so the physically disabled passenger coudn't move his legs into the aisle to let others through. The attendant said the woman and the other passenger would have to "climb over him or slide past him". She looked at me and said in an English accent "that would put me in an embarrassing situation, and the man as well. I will not". I spoke up and said that the arm does raise because that's how they got him in the row to begin with. The attendant finally made a call to the maintenance guys and said she "doubted the arm in um, um (psst 15D, I said), 15D could be raised." Sure enough they came on board and everything worked out.
Believe it or not, through all of this I was able to rock Scarlett to sleep! I then started moving towards my seat but noticed more chaos near my row so I stopped. People were trying to use the last bit of vacant space even if it didn't really exist. The lack of space didn't stop the attendant from moving things back and forth including separating my diaper bag from the rest of my stuff. I also noticed Scarlett's shoes and a food bag fell out. They weren't put back, but placed on an empty chair in a different row. That's when I had to make a move. I questioned what was going on and the attendant was so aggravated that she actually showed me her hand. I said "did you just show me your hand?" in a chuckling voice. I turned to the people around me and asked them the same thing so she could hear. She didn't answer but she then transformed into the most helpful and pleasant attendant she could be (to me anyway, I can't speak for the others). Funny how people change when they know performance evaluations could be forthcoming. I decided it was best to return to the back of the plane and let things settle. 5 minutes later all of Scarlett's items were back in their rightful place and the now helpful attendant made sure I knew where everything was. I finally sat down, Scarlett still asleep and now snoring.
Scarlett slept for about 2 hours, through all of the announcements, the chatty Georgetown grad next to me, and the initial turbulence. I could tell the guy next to me has recently had the baby discussion with his woman. He asked many specific questions and was extremely interested in the answers. The funny thing is that once Scarlett woke up, he left his headphones on the rest of the flight and didn't say another word. Scarlett and I had just under 2.5hrs left in the flight. Yikes! I decided to wait on her new toys until she reached at least stage 3 or 4. For the first 30-45 of her waking minutes, food, drink, and her old toys were fine. She then started checking out her surroundings. She starred at the row behind us until they paid attention to her. She then looked up and down the aisle to see who she could make smile. There were at least 4 or 5 takers. Only 90 minutes left! I then pulled out "the pear". She didn't eat that much to this point (which is a good thing considering her gag reflex). Because of this, I felt it was safe to bring out a whole pear. Back story- While we were in the community center the day before, Scarlett found a pear and ate it like we would... sort of . She bit little chunks off and it took her 20+ minutes to make a nice dent. It also kept her focus for 20+ minutes. Unfortunately, the airplane pear wasn't as exciting as the first pear, but it did take another 10-15 minutes off of the clock. With 75 minutes remaining and Scarlett's growing desire to run up and down the aisle, I pulled out the new toys. The first toy was the hand held like device. She was excited initially, but quickly faded. I then had to go to toy #2- the purse filled with "lady stuff". Not only did the purse have items to pull in and out of it, but it also made noise when opening and shutting, and had a front zipper that also made noise. Sounds pretty exciting!!! When that got old, I went to another toy that lit up and had many sections to push and twist. We basically went through 2 rounds of each (food, neighbors, toys), and then it was time to "turn off all electronic equipment". She used this time to reacquaint herself with the neighbors. It really was a smooth trip. She did kick the chair in front of us a few times and she knocked into our center-seat neighbor on occasion, but nothing major. After the plane landed, we stood up and Scarlett was praised by all. "Best baby award", "she was amazing", "so cute", and Scarlett hated every minute of it :) She decided to wave, smile, flirt, laugh, and anything else she could think of to get more attention.
That went amazingly well! Then I remembered I had to repack everything, grab the suitcase, diaper bag, backpack, and Scarlett, and walk down the narrow aisle out of the plane. I picked up the stroller after we exited the plane, and we were on our way to baggage claim. One other "first" during travel, I actually said "yes" to an offer from a luggage cart guy (not sure what you call them). He loaded up the cart and we went to valet parking. While I paid and we waited for our car, Scarlett decided to make 2 new friends behind the counter in the valet terminal as she showed off her climbing ability on the couches. We then loaded the truck. Next stop, home sweet home.
