Washington Highlight #1 : Flying

A quick note... Crystal, Dylan, and I have been on vacation in Washington for the past few weeks, so we are a little behind on the blogging. We have had a great time up here in the Northwest and decided we would like to share some specific events with you. So as not to overwhelm the reader, we will document our vacation in individual highlight blogs. Enjoy!


Flying

Until our vacation we had never taken Dylan on an extended trip of any kind, not even in the car, so the plane ride out here was an anxious time for all involved. He was sleeping soundly in his car seat/stroller contraption until we got to security and they forced us to take him out. Of course he woke up and wasn't happy about it in the least. We managed to get all of our million carry-on items through security and he calmed down shortly after that. He was starting to fall asleep again before it was time to board the plane. Unfortunately, when we got to the end of the tunnel, just before getting on the plane, he started crying like you wouldn't believe. Tears were pouring out of his eyes and he was kicking his legs like a dog trying to stay afloat in water. I don't think he quite understands fear yet, so it couldn't have been that he was afraid to go on the plane (that will come in a few years I imagine). It might have been because it was so loud with the engines running, but usually he handles noise without issues. Regardless of the reason, we had to take our screaming little boy onto a plane full of people. Oh what fun!

We encountered three types of people on the way to finding our seat. Type 1 people were the ones who cringed with fear every time our little man let out a scream. Their faces looked like someone was jabbing toothpicks under their toenails. Obviously they didn't broadcast a receptive attitude towards us sitting by them. After we had chosen our seat, one of these Type 1 people actually got out of his window seat and demanded he be allowed to change seats, despite the fact that he was holding up other passengers boarding the plane. I felt sorry for the Type 1 people because it is sad to be so afraid of a little baby, especially one as cute as Dylan.

Type 2 people were the ones that showed indifference to the screaming. They just subtly cranked up the volume on their iPods or raised their voices as they were chattering on their cellphones. I don't think they would have been pleased had we sat near them, but at least they wouldn't have made a big ado about it.

Type 3 people were the ones we liked the best. They were mostly the older ladies on the plane that had compassion for our situation and tried to make us feel better about it. They would stroke Dylan's arms as we walked by and say nice things like "Oh, here, here little baby" or "Everything will be alright" or "Bless his little heart". It was comforting to have these people on board and made it a little less painful. This is how people should react to babies. After all, they don't know any better and crying is how they respond to most situations in life.


I am pleased to say that the worst part of the whole plane ride was actually just boarding the plane. Once we reached our seats and got situated, Crystal started feeding Dylan. While the plane was taxiing Dylan finished eating and then gave both of us a HUGE smile that just melted our hearts and took the anxiety away. I turned to Crystal and said "Too bad everyone can't hear him smile." After that he sucked on his paci and was sleeping before we lifted off. He woke up as we were descending into Portland and then ate some more. Everyone around us commented on how great he was and we just smiled and nodded our heads. We think he is pretty great also!

Dylan snoozing on the plane

Happy 1/4 Birthday!

Our sweet little boy is 3 months old today! He is still growing like a weed and changing almost daily. Last week he weighed 14.6 pounds. It has become more and more of an arm workout for me each week running errands and carrying Dylan around town in his infant carrier. With how quickly he is changing and how undeniably handsome he is, Scott and I take a LOT of pictures. Scott made this incredible slide show to share how we've caught Dylan in the act over the past couple months. The music Scott selected for the video is perfect. "When I See You Smile" is mine and Dylan's theme song at the moment. The first month I was a bit delirious from the sleep deprivation, but now we usually sleep 7-8 hours at night and smile together as much as possible everyday!

Here is a list of some of Dylan's Favorite Things so you can watch for them in the video....

• Dylan's new favorite thing is to suck on his hands. Often he tries to put both hands in his mouth at the same time. It is quite entertaining to watch him focus on opening his little mouth as wide as possible to squeeze in all of those tasty fingers.
• His Paci
• Bath time
• Watching his train mobile
• Singing "If You're Happy and You Know it" (The biggest smile comes when Scott and I stomp his feet)
• Cuddling (Cousin Ashley is an especially good cuddle partner!)
• Standing on his feet and walking with Dad
  

Enjoy the Slide show!

ASCII Greetings

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This is a picture of Mr. Dylan smiling to wish you all a Happy 4th of July! He is wearing a special holiday shirt that was given to him by his Great Aunt Sue Young, whom he was able to meet a few weeks ago. He was also wearing some really cool shoes that his Nani gave him, but I couldn't get those in the picture. Remember to check back on the 10th for Dylan's 3-Month video. It should be a good one.

Dylan has faired well since his traumatic shot experience a few weeks ago, although he was grumpy that entire weekend. We are all excited to travel to Washington in about 12 days for Uncle Michael's and Aunt Mandy's wedding. They recently bought a new house and their Realtor nominated them for the TLC show "My First Home". They were selected to be on the show and they will be filming while we are there before the wedding. Crystal and I are hoping we can sneak Dylan into a few of the shots so he can get some TV exposure. We'll let you know when the show airs, just in case he makes the cut. With that cute face, I don't see why he wouldn't.