This past week was a week of firsts for Alexis (more on that in future postings), starting with her first plane ride. We flew from Las Vegas to Charlotte, NC and then drove down to South Carolina for Uncle Derek's graduation.
Alexis did amazingly well on the plane ride.
She started crying, hysterically, when we pulled away from the gate, but...
She was sound asleep before we left the ground.
The blue things in her ears are called
Earplanes. They're ear plugs that have pressure regulators in them. We got them at the suggestion of our pediatrician, and they were amazing. I got the adult ones for me, and they worked great! The only problem was that Alexis' ears were just a little too small, so they didn't go in all the way, and consequently, fell out a few times. We didn't have a single altitude related cranky! Definitely worth it!
She slept for about an hour and woke up as happy as can be. She had one other minor meltdown about an hour and a half before we landed, but we gave her a snack and it subsided.
I took this picture just moments before we landed. It was a very gloomy day.
We also got a
Traveling Toddler. It's a little strap that hooks your carseat to your luggage, effectively turning it into a stroller (I don't know how I managed to do it, but of the 200+ pictures I took while we were gone, I didn't get any of her riding in it.), so that you don't need to bring a separate stroller. I would highly recommend this, as well, if your carry-on luggage meets two criteria. First, it needs to be quite sturdy to support the weight, and second, it needs to have a long handle. We, unfortunately, had one carry-on with a long handle that was too flimsy to support the weight and one that was strong enough but with a very short handle, so you had to walk hunched over. We also managed to lose it when we preboarded in LV, so we ended up carrying both Alexis and the carseat (talk about tired arms!!).
The best part of the day was when we were waiting for the shuttle to go to get our rental car. I turned around and saw
Greg Kinnear standing behind us.
With teeth clenched (so as not to cause a stir), I turned to Jay and told him that Greg Kinnear was standing behind us. He looked at me liked I was crazy. Apparently, he had misunderstood what I said, and when he turned around Greg Kinnear had turned away. So, we got on the shuttle and Greg Kinnear followed. Jay then realized what I was talking about and shook his hand saying, "Mr. Kinnear". Greg Kinnear then sat down talking on the phone, and we thought we had annoyed him, but when he hung up the phone he started talking to us. He said that he had called his wife because his daughter was graduating from preschool and he wanted to find out if she had cried (she did). He talked to us the rest of the shuttle ride and when we got to the lot, he carried our big bag (since we were then carrying two carry-ons, one big suitcase, a carseat and a baby) all the way to the rental car counter. I've never been that interested in celebrities before, but I must admit that Greg Kinnear won me over with his kindness!
Alexis was definitely overwhelmed with all the new people and didn't want to let Mommy & Daddy out of her sight.
She was willing to play, but only from a safe distance.
Great-Grandma Morgan at the birthday party.
Cousins Nicole (sitting) and Morgan (standing).
Grandma with cousins Morgan and Kailyn.
Great-Grandma & Grandpa Morgan broke the rules and brought a present (they claimed they didn't know).
Alexis with a captive audience.
Up close.
Cousin Nicole and Great-Grandpa Morgan.
Hannah and Uncle Derek.
Mommy, Great-Grandma, and Grandma.
Kailyn eating lunch after a dunk in the pool.
The rest of the party making their way over to the food.
Cousins Danielle (sitting facing the camera), Kailyn (on the fence), and Nicole (sitting with her back to the camera).
Grill Man (aka Uncle Dave)!
Cheerwine, a locally made soda.
Daddy enjoying the day (cousin Morgan walking behind).
Bunny on a leash.
Alexis warming up to Aunt Christine.
Birthday girl, relaxing in the chair.
Waving.
Skeptical Alexis.
Cousin Danielle sharing her toys.
Grandma and Cousin Nicole.
Cleaning up.
