Family Vacation

Greetings, Earthlings. Heh, I just need some way to start writing, then it flows. Seems like the hardest part is the beginning. That's one of the reasons I disliked writing papers so much. The beginning of the paper, paragraph, or even sentence. Teachers frown on starting each paper/paragraph/sentence with "so" or "this book was about..." I find myself wanting to start each post with "so..."

Since this past Thursday, the little family and I have been on vacation in Illinios visiting Mark's family, his sister and brother-in-law and their two girls. His mom and dad came down from WI (mainly to see the bambino again) and his other sister drove up from SC, as well.

We flew.

With a newborn.

(Ready for the experience?)

BAM was actually pretty good-or so other passengers and airline staff said. I'm sure the staff knows good ones from bad ones. BAM slept pretty much the whole time. And I let him. He'd have enough wake time later. He started crying and fussing really only on the last few minutes of the last flight. I was actually the one that caused the trouble. I had kept the bambino up from his regular naptime so he'd sleep better. I wore my sling with him once we got to the airport (I was anticipating lots of standing time in the security lines), so he was asleep before we even checked out bags. Note to self: don't ever worry about lines in the middle of the day on a Thursday. There was no one in line at the ticket counter. There was no one in line for the security screening. That means we got to the metal detectors in about 5 minutes from the time we left the curb. Checking in at the counter took longer than the security check.

Well, it *would* have taken longer, if I didn't have to get the third degree from the beeping wand lady. See, BamBam was asleep, and I knew if I took the sling off, he'd wake up and be fussy cause he was tired. So I left it on. and it beeped (stupid metal rings!). I was dragged away from asked to leave my items on the belt and step into their glass cage. Good thing Mark was there to watch the diaper bag with my valuables extra change of clothes in it. She waved her magic wand up and down and across and around my arms, legs, and child. I have never, ever, ever beeped the metal detector like I did that day. Of course, the sling's rings beeped. My earrings beeped (what in the world?!). The studs on both of my pockets beeped (I usually wear jeans to fly in-extra warmth!). Something between my right knee and right ankle beeped (there was NOTHING there, promise). It took about 10 minutes for her to wave her wand/pat me down before she determined that I was not carrying anything detrimental to the other passengers on the flight. I was actually more concerned about the milk I had, than anything else. I had a bottle, just in case I didn't have enough time to fully feed BAM before we had to get up and move. I might have been a little too over-zealous in letting the security guards know it was breastmilk. As the one lady led me away, I made sure to tell the guys examining the bags of milk that "It's breastmilk!" "it's just breastmilk!!" I think they got the hint...

I used it, it came in handy and did the trick of keeping him content, once when we were at the gate getting ready to board, and again on the ride to the Smiths' from the airport. I'm going to have more this time, going home, because I think BamBam's growth spurt has stopped. He eats about half of what's available right before bed, in the middle of the night, and in the morning, so I have extra to store for when...i...go...back...to...work....*sniff*

On one of our flights there was this really obnoxious guy who would *not* stop talking. He thought he was just the best thing ever. Kept trying to make all these witty remarks to make everyone laugh, but he just came across as annoying. I really just wanted to shut him up.

Cynthia, who is almost 2, just loves Brendon. She always asks "I'nna hold him?" or wants to kiss him, or "hi Brendon." In addition to all the love she's given him, I think she also gave him his first cold :( He's been really cranky and and stuffy all day. I got a huge wad of snot out of his nose this morning. If he's still cranky tomorrow (cause the doctor office isn't open today), I might call his pediatrician to see what I can do, if I can do anything. He sounds so pitiful when his nose is stuffy :'( I had to pass him off to Grandma for a while cause the crankiness was wearing off. He seems to be doing alright now. I think he's transitioning to a 3 hour schedule :) and only waking up at night around 3 or 4.

I'll upload some pictures after I feed the bambino.