V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N!

Last week, we took our first official family vacation. Derek's mom lives in Florida, on the gulf side near Punta Gorda. She has been to visit us but this was our first time flying to see her. 

 

I was curious to see how Brady would do on the flights. Not really nervous, per se, since he's very go with the flow and seems to love pretty much anything and everything. We tried timing his naps so he would sleep on the flights. On the way there, this worked. On the way back, not so much. 
On the way there he nursed during take off and fell asleep within a few minutes. His nap was about an hour. When he woke up, he was content with some snuggles, snacks and an animal sound app on my phone. 
On our way to the airport in Florida, he fell asleep in the car. I thought, "Okay. No problem. A quick snooze will hold him over until we're on the plane and then he can really conk out." The best laid plans...right? He was out. He didn't wake up until we were in the terminal, shortly before we were ready to board. And then he was awake on the flight. Again he nursed during take off and landing which seemed to help with the change in pressure but a nap was nowhere in sight. We really can't complain though. It was only a 2.5 hour flight and we did have a variety of things to entertain him. 

Here is what worked for us for smooth travel with our little companion:
1. Lots of walking in the airport before the flight. (This helped tire him out for the flight there. Like I said, the way back was a different story)
2. Snacks: enough said (make sure they are airport security friendly)
3. Books: we brought his favorites
4. Songs: I performed my most enthusiastic renditions of Itsy Bitsy Spider, etc. 
5. Small toys: Brady is really putting lids on bottles and taking them off. This was an easy item to pack. 

Here are some highlights from our trip!