Flying Solo

As many of you know, I flew back to Indy last weekend for my ten-year college reunion. After much debate with my husband, I convinced him to let me take Taylor so that she could spend the weekend at Mimi and Grandpa's. Tommy hated to go 5.5 days without seeing his daughter, but he agreed that we should take advantage of Taylor's "lap child" status on airplanes while we can (meaning that she flies for free). So, little Miss T and I embarked on our first trip sans Tommy. Taylor has flown several other times and has been a champ. I wasn't worried about her ears hurting, forgetting to pack something in the diaper bag, etc.; I was worried about holding a very squirmy 8-month old on my lap for 4+ hours. On the first leg of our trip, we flew from Seattle to Kansas City. This segment was a 3.25-hour flight. Despite the fact that (a) the woman sitting next to me needed a seat belt extender, (b) Taylor did at least 50 turns in my lap because she had to check out ALL the people, (c) I spilled applesauce all over the floor, and (d) Taylor napped for a mere 20 minutes, it was an okay trip. When we arrived in Kansas City, we had to go through security a second time. Are you kidding me? Stupid airport. My flight to Indy was just four gates down, yet I couldn't get to it without going through security again. That was fun. Going through security with a baby requires taking off shoes, throwing my purse into a bin, pulling all baby food and liquids for formula out of the diaper bag for a special screening, pulling T out of her car seat, and then folding the stroller one-handed while juggling squirmy baby. I broke a sweat both times I went through security that day!

The good news is that the second leg of my trip (from KC to Indy) was much better. The flight was not sold out, so I was able to take Taylor's car seat onto the plane. Whew! Even better, I ran into my best friend Sara's brother in the Kansas City airport (I was still sweating from the security ordeal), and he sat by me on the flight. We flew Southwest, which has open seating, so poor Mike probably felt like he had to sit by us. My exhausted daugther fell asleep on the flight (although the flight was only an hour), so Mike and I indulged in a glass of wine. Ahhh... just like the good 'ole days of flying solo. Too bad I didn't have an US Weekly with me to go with my glass of vino.

The rest of the weekend was awesome! Friday, Taylor and I had a play date with Tatum and Sara. I just love Sara and her little firecracker. I wish we lived closer and could do these things more often! Sara took some awesome pictures of T&T, so you'll have to check out her blog to see our munchkins hanging out together. Tatum is 14 months older than Taylor, so it is fun to watch Tatum and imagine Taylor doing the same things about a year from now.

Friday night through Sunday morning, I was with my college girls. Seven of the 11 of us made the trip to Indy for our reunion, and it was so much fun to "go back in time" with them. We spent most of the day Saturday back at Butler touring the new renovated DG house, walking around campus, and tailgating. Sadly, we didn't go to the football game (why go now when we never went in college?). Saturday night was our reunion in Broad Ripple. It was a blast. I truly felt as if I were in a time warp. I saw so many faces I had not seen in a decade, yet we all picked up right where we left off. We chatted, had drinks, danced, and laughed until the wee hours of the morning. Gosh, college was such a fun four years! I will never forget those glory days.

Tony, Vonder, Brooks, Me, Tom, and G in front of the newly re-colonized Phi Delt house

Touring the DG house
Ready for a night out in the Ripple!

Yes, that is a Colts Super Bowl ring on my hand!

Old friends

As much fun as the weekend was, I couldn't wait to get back to my parents' house on Sunday morning to see my little peanut. There have only been two other instances since she was born that I've gone two nights without seeing her (and ironically, both of those times I was hanging with the same group of girls!). Taylor had a great weekend with Mimi, Grandpa, and Uncle Rye. I can tell that she's got both my dad and brother wrapped, which is so cute. Her smiles, laughs, gestures, and language are addicting!

Sunday afternoon, SMAC (Scott, Mandy, Alexa & Casey) drove down to my parents' house to watch the Colts game. It is always great to see my niece and nephew; they are getting so big! We enjoyed a lazy afternoon together. This was a godsend because I was absolutely exhausted after my crazy weekend. Our time together was brief, but at least I'll be back again for Christmas.

Alexa, Casey, and Taylor - Aren't they cute cousins?

Grandpa playing with Tay

Cousins, again...

Mimi, Mandy, and I were not allowed in this picture since we weren't wearing our Colts gear.

This t-shirt was actually a gift from my brother-in-law, Brian. It says "My goal is to be as intelligent and good looking as my uncle." Cute!

A special shout out goes to Stanra and Marilyn for stopping by to see Taylor on Monday! Thank you for making special efforts to see her when we are in Indy.

Taylor and I flew back on Tuesday morning. The trip home was better because we didn't have to fly through Kansas City and I was able to bring her car seat on both flights. Phew! After 10 hours of traveling, I walked into my house with one very tired baby. It took her a few days to recover, but it was well worth the trip. Thank you, friends and family, for a great, long weekend.