Back in the USA

Well, we are back from Mexico and quite travel weary. So forgive me if this post winds up on the short end of things. Jet lag is a crazy thing, especially with a baby in tow! But I can safely say that Finley was a fantastic traveler on her first big adventure.

When I last left you, The Princess had just discovered the glory of the Lazy River. And, no day at the pool was complete with out two or three trips to her new favorite place. She would smile from ear to ear the entire time and do her latest noise, which is a hearty laugh, almost fake in its delivery, like she is saying, “HA-HA!” This forced laugh combined with her flailing and splashing made for quite the hilarious scene as we made our way down the Lazy River.

Of course, the trip wasn’t all swimming pools and sun. Okay, it was MOSTLY swimming pools and sun. But, when she wasn’t splashing herself like crazy, Miss Finley was practicing her standing skills as often as possible. And by practice, I mean she was pulling her self up to any and every ledge she could get her little fingers on to. But it wasn’t just standing, it was also a few falls, but her new thing is to make her way around a ledge or table with little side steps. Yep, she’s figuring out this walking thing.

I’m not sure if I should be glad she’s figuring out or not. The tough part, right now, is that as she’s literally taking baby steps, she’s also taking baby falls. For the most part, I think the crying is more about the frustration than it is the pain, but every once in a while, she takes a pretty good tumble and winds up with a bump or bruise on her noggin.

It’s tougher on the Momma than it is on me, but a crying baby is never any fun. I’m from the school that she has to take these tumbles to learn how to fall properly or catch herself or just be more careful. It all drives Heather nuts, and every time gravity asserts itself, she’s either gasping or lunging to save the day. But Momma and drama kind of go together.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want her to get hurt, either… I’ve had a couple of diving saves myself… But, as long as there’s a safe place to land, I think she can handle a drop to the ground a few times. She’s a tough kid and pretty much made of rubber at this point. But like I said, a crying baby is never any fun, so I find myself inching a bit closer to the babe as she does her acrobatics.

That being said, one of the best parts of our trip home from Mexico was seeing Finley standing up on our laps, gripping the back of the seat in front of us and beaming her cute little smile at all the passengers boarding our flight. She made quite a few friends on the way home, and actually managed to stay in a good mood and keep awake on the first of the two flights.

After a hurried but smooth trip through customs and baggage re-check in Dallas, we boarded our final flight for a four-hour ride home, not knowing if she would keep her good mood streak alive or flip out in baby rage. Luckily for us, she decided to sleep… the ENTIRE flight!

We found our seats and prepped for whichever mood she decided on. Momma gave her a bottle as we left the ground, and she was out. Simple as that. We were lucky enough to have an extra seat in our row, which happened to be the perfect size for our sleepy traveler. Two time zones later, we landed in Seattle with a happy baby and memories of a great first family vacation.

So, now that rain clouds and wind have replaced the sun and sand, we can look back at a very successful trip with the baby. Heather and I are hoping to get her used to traveling so that she can grow up as a responsible and wise traveler. The way we look at it, Finley just had her first trip in a great big world that is hers to travel whenever and wherever she wants.