Have Baby Will Travel

So I went to San Fransisco this weekend.

Didja miss me?

It was a super quick trip, so if you answered No to that question, I'll forgive you. Just don't admit it to me. (Bentley, Kendra and Daddy all missed me, so that's probably enough, anyway.) I explained this in my last post, but my oldest sister lives there, along with her husband and cute baby who I had not yet had the pleasure of meeting. AND, a friend of mine from high school was getting married, so it was the perfect excuse to finally go.

This was how I kept the kids busy while I packed!

They loved it!

This was my first time traveling alone with a baby. And because Ryder is usually so easy-going, I wasn't all that worried about it until about 24 hours before my flight when I suddenly began panicking. This resulted in me throwing five times more of everything into a suitcase than I could possibly have needed: diapers, wipes, outfits, receiving blankets, baby food, bibs. I packed everything we had. And then realized that there was no longer any room in the suitcase for my stuff and that I couldn't possibly push a stroller, carry a diaper bag and backpack, AND pull two suitcases behind me. So I took out 2/3rds of that stuff, which still barely left me room for my own clothing. I crammed the diaper bag full of food, bibs, spoons, children's benadryl (my pediatrician recommended it for long flights, so I'm okay with that) and of course, toys. So many toys, all of which would be thrown on the airplane floor. And of course, at the last minute I got worried that we would be cold, so I frantically began cramming in sweatshirts and extra pants and socks...

And then I just hoped for the best!

And actually, things went really well. Except for at night, when Ryder refused to sleep. At all. He woke up at least every two hours, would nurse, and then cry when I tried to set him back down in his pack-n-play. This alone would have been pretty frustrating (especially since we were sharing a room), but when he cried, he woke up his little cousin Eliot (who is almost 14 months old), and then the two would have a great time crying and keeping the entire household awake. So it was a very sleepless weekend for all of us.

But. Other than not sleeping, everything went splendidly! Except that I took very few pictures. Here are the ones I did manage to snap, though:

Eliot and Ryder in their Hawaiian outfits.
They actually played together, I couldn't believe it! You don't expect that at this age!

I was shocked at how much alike they looked, too! I've always thought that Craig and my brother-in-law, Brian, could pass as brothers, so maybe it's not surprising if their kids look a bit similar...?

My one good time when I took lots of pictures was when we put the boys in the swings at a nearby park. I love these pictures so much:

I was totally proud of myself for catching both kids in the frame here

Love that face. Love it. And that's Leah in the background, pushing Eliot!

Happy Eliot!

Happy cousins!

Those are all my pictures. No, I didn't take a single one at the wedding. Yes, I'm a terrible person. The bride's aunt promised to put pictures on Picassa web, so maybe I'll try to steal some of those when they're up... But I will tell you this: the wedding was lovely. My friend Elizabeth looked every bit the happy, glowing bride. I met and talked with really great people and really enjoyed myself (which I wasn't expecting since the only people I knew were the bride, her immediate family and one other person from our island-- I was just assuming I would be kind of anti-social and bored the whole time!). And, perhaps even more important, Ryder was a perfect angel the entire 5 hours that I was there.

He was also super good for me on all four flights to get us there and back.

So I guess if he didn't want to sleep a single night we were there, I'll have to forgive him for it.

It was a great trip. I missed Craig and Bentley and Kendra a lot, though. It's awfully good to be home with everyone (and sleeping) again!