Day 3, Monday
Another fun day, and this time I have a lot of pictures to show for it...
My other two roommates, first thing in the morning.
Fun in the Sun
An interesting, relaxing, and fun walk around Celebration
A Blast on the Swings
Another perfect day, minus Daddy!!!
Day 2, Sunday
Our day started at 7:00am, which so happens to be the same time they get up every morning in Chicago (but there it is 6:00am). To me, it' s amazing how accurate the boys internal clocks work, especially with the crazy day we had yesterday (see below). Anyways, the boys and I are sharing a bedroom. It's obviously pretty crowded, but the set-up works just fine, especially when this was the first thing I saw this morning.
I decided to keep the boys on their normal routine today, so they spent a good amount of time sleeping (they took a 2 hour and 15 minute morning nap and a 2 hour afternoon nap). I'm thrilled that they are able to sleep so well in this new environment!
When they weren't sleeping, the boys had an absolute blast. I would have to say that their highlight was their time in the pool. No great pictures today (I promise to do better tomorrow!), but we have splashing fights, swimming lessons (kind-of), and each boy had the opportunity to go down the water slide with Grandpa, twice!
An action shot... Grandma with Liam, and me with Connor and Aidan
We also did some walking on this beautiful day. Notice the *new* stroller Connor is sitting in. That's a story for another time :-).
The boys ended their exciting day at 6:00p.m. mass. They were a bit antsy, but as usual, a complete blessing to be with while praying.
The boys in front of the church's impressive life size Nativity set.
After church the boys went home, drank, ate, played for a bit and then went right off to dreamland. If Daddy was here, it would have been a perfect day!!!Day 1, Saturday
After Craig drove us to the airport, Rachel and her friend Alina met us at the curb side check-in. They immediately took the babies inside while I took care of our luggage. After freezing for about 15 minutes, we were all taken care of so Craig said bye to all of his boys and kissed me goodbye. Rachel, Alina, the boys and I proceeded to the security check-point. There was a 'theme park' zig-zagged line, but the babies apparently gave us a free pass, and we got to skip it and dive right in. Going through security was a hassle, as all the babies and all of our stuff had to be removed and inspected, but it was relatively painless. After that, we went straight to the gate and waited (took care of seating assignments/ car seat and stroller arrangements/ diaper changes/ etc.).
Alina and Rachel giving our boys some care, love and entertainment at the gate.
The flight went very smoothly, much better than I hoped for, and I honesty wasn't expecting much of a problem. The couple who I sat next to had Liam on their laps within 2 minutes of boarding the plane. Throughout the whole plane ride, this couple was absolutely awesome. Not only did they not glare at me when a baby fussed, but they continued to offer support the entire time. I did switch babies once during the flight, as Aidan was having a more challenging time. The poor guy never got his second nap, but despite that, the couple next to me had him belly laughing while descending. I honestly couldn't have asked for more understanding neighbors during the flight. Another quick example... Since I had so many bags, the man across the isle from me offered his space under the seat for my diaper bag. Seriously, I thought giving up additional leg room was unheard of, and here is a stranger who I never spoke one word to offered it without hesitation.During the entire flight, neither Liam or Connor made an unpleasant peep, and Aidan didn't fuss for more than 6 seconds at a time, and not more than 8 times. In my opinion, not bad... 48 seconds of unhappiness for 3 babies on a 2 1/2 hour flight. When departing the plane, I jokingly told Aidan that he earned a "B" for his behavior on the plane, and the person next to me whispered to Aidan "I give you an A". On the way off the plane, so many people commented about how well the boys handled the flight, phew!!! I'm sure they were all a bit nervous as we entered, as if the tables were turned, I would have hoped to not sit close to one baby, let alone three!
After we exited, things continued to go along smoothly; the luggage came right out and there was no wait for the car rental. It did take a bit of time to get the car seats in the van and then to pick everyone up (my rental car was not allowed to go where I was supposed to pick everyone up), but I figured out an 'illegal' way to get to them after circling the airport 2 times... oops!
The boys waiting patiently for the rental car.
As it turned out, we made it to my parent's condo within 2 hours of landing, which isn't bad considering all that we had and all that we needed to do. Honestly, Rachel and Alina were beyond awesome. They stayed so calm the entire time we were at the airports and on the plane, and that had to have helped the babies stay relaxed and happy.From our home door at 1:00p.m. to my parents condo at 8:30p.m., we didn't have one official full-fledged cry ( probably would have had about 12 if I was home by myself :-). Simply amazing!!!
When we finally arrived at the condo, Grandma and Grandpa were anxiously waiting for us in the parking lot, and looked so happy when we pulled in. And Craig sounded relieved that we made it to our final destination without any problems. I didn't realize it at the time, but I think there were some people out there that were pretty nervous for us. Kelly even wanted me to call when we arrived to hear about our traveling experience. Obviously, I was very happy to share our relatively smooth story with everyone.
I was pretty giddy when I arrived, and I think that rubbed off on the boys. I thought they would go straight to bed, but they were too excited to be in Florida.
Liam and Aidan were all smiles after a long day of travel.
Phew, what a day! I am so glad to be here and am looking forward to an amazing trip!
Thank you Craig, Rachel, Alina, Grandma and Grandpa!!!
1 comment:
so much fun!!!!!!!!!!!
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