The Trip Down

Passed out after our arrival at the hotel.

A close up.

The dreaded cat nap with Curious George.

Breakfast at the airport.

It all began at 3 AM when the alarm went off so we could make our 7:45 AM flight out of JFK. I don't think we will be doing that again anytime soon. Not the best time to travel with Roo. In the past, when I have flown with her alone, she was much younger and napped at least 2x a day. With one nap now, she was totally thrown off schedule. I was shocked that she didn't sleep on the way to the airport (we were running late, as usual) and she fought even harder to stay awake on the plane to Miami. We did all the stuff the parenting magazines say, wear her out as much as possible and board at the last possible moment, but no luck. She stayed awake and moving much of the trip.

One good thing, I was able to score us first class upgrades, which gave Roo a little more space, but the bad news was that it also gave her access to more attention. The doting stewardesses dubbed her "the cutest thing ever" and kept wandering over to see what she was up to. The ever-performing, attention-getting 18 month old was delighted and too excited to sleep for more than 30 minutes. By the time we got to Miami she was exhausted and fell asleep in her stroller.

Catnaps are the worst. It is just enough to give her some energy and too much sleep to get her to take another nap. By the time we boarded the bus to the puddle jumper she was in full toddler mode. Screaming at everyone and everything with delight. She was especially enamored with the college girls in front of us on the plane. She kept trying to peek through the space between the seats in front of us and get their attention. Thank God they were too busy mapping out their bar hopping plans. We spent the entire time trying to make sure her quick moving feet didn't kick their seats (having experienced this pre-child, we know how annoying this can actually be). For the most part, we succeeded. Then we started descending. Roo was not a happy camper. She was tired, hungry (regardless of the fact that she had eaten non-stop all day) and wanted out to be free to run. She was quite vocal for the last 15 minutes of the flight, but I think for the most part the passengers understood, or at least appeared to by their comments ("I think her ears hurt" was what most of them would say).

The funniest part was when everyone was deplaning. Roo's best move these days is saying "bye-bye" and giving a wave. We opted to get off the flight last and Daddy prompted Roo to say goodbye to almost every departing passenger. Now how mad can you be at a cute little blond girl waving and saying "bye-bye" as you arrive in the Bahamas? I think she made up for her whining, or at least appeared to since everyone waved back and gave her a smile. Oh, the Roo. Always cute when she needs to be.

Family Vaca

As the commercial states, "It is better in the Bahamas." And boy was it ever. I have lots of stories to tell about about our week away, so more to post later, but I did want to mention how fortunate I feel to have been able to spend a whole week with the Roo. Tantrums and all. In this economy we are lucky enough to go away on vacation (thank you frequent flier miles), but to be able to swing an almost free trip for the three of us is unbelievable. Roo was her typical hammy self (trying to get attention from anyone who dare glance her way) and strong willed as ever (making sure Daddy and I knew when she was unhappy or in need of a nap). Vacations aren't like they used to be, laying in the sun reading a book while lazily sipping a margarita, but they are a different kind of good. The kind that you get to have when you are blessed with a toddler. More to come.