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