I survived!

I used to have a t-shirt that said that "I survived Oktoberfest 1998".  As times changed so do our "I survived" stories.  Yesterday, I survived flying alone with both kids.  Layla had her own seat, obviously, but Jayden was a "lap infant".  As anyone who has traveled with children knows, this feat is 25% good parenting and 75% good luck.

We had a lot of good luck and the kids behaved like angels.  Neighboring passengers described them as "superb" and "charming".  Ahhhhh, a huge sigh of relief for this mom.

For starters we were in a row that was a 2/3 split on the 3 side.  There were extra seats around us so the gentleman sitting next to me found a new one.  So nice!  I was sure relieved not to have to nurse an infant while so close to a stranger, especially one of the "50 year old man with no kids" variety.   Jayden took a bottle just before we got on the plan and promptly fell asleep for about 2 hours.  I had an extra seat now for him to lay on, so Layla and I could read and I had 2 free hands!

We had great flight attendants who lent us a hand, gave Layla milk before starting the drink service (we were at the back of the plane), watched Layla while I changed Jayden's diaper in the bathroom (which can fit three people in case you were wondering), and were in general very kind.  Our trip on American last year could not have been described as serenely.  This year on both the flight to and return trip the American Airlines staff was terrific, as was the TSA. 

We are sad and glad to be home after 8 days of sunshine.  More vacation pics to come!