To Chicago and back

Lexi and I flew out to Chicago to spend the weekend with Anne for her birthday...and to attend the surprise party Anne's husband had been planning since before the holidays. I was a bit nervous flying with a baby, but Lexi was a really great traveler on both flights. I'm a little too tired to write out all that happened, partly from the lack of sleep we got all weekend and partly from staying home with a sick and clingy Stasa all day today (more on that later). So instead here are pictures from our trip.

Brrr...it's cold!

NEW TOYS!

Extensions

A real mullet

Ready to head home

So sleepy

HOME!

Today, on the Stasa Channel...

Our trip to L.A.

I was definitely nervous about flying with Stasa since she hates sitting still and doesn't nap very long when in someone's arms, but I was pleasantly surprised by how easy our plane ride to California (and back) was. We flew Virgin America and had the good fortune of getting our own row, so Stas had a little more room to run around and play. We packed lots of snacks, milk, toys, books and Sesame Street DVDs and of course she was most interested in playing with the TVs on the back of the chairs and the tethered remote/game controllers in our armrests.

This hotel stay was almost a 180 from our trip to VA Beach for Kurt's wedding. Stasa had no problems sleeping in the same room with us and didn't whine at all when we put her in the crib. I'm not sure if it's because we used an actual crib instead of the pack-n-play or if the time difference just made it easier for her to go to sleep. Whatever the reason, we were definitely grateful.

The wedding itself was great and Stasa was ridiculously cute in her flower girl dress and Jennifer was a beautiful bride. There were a lot of fun surprises during the wedding: nacho cheese fountain, mariachi band, schoolbuses for shuttles and jointly written vows. Stasa's becoming an expert wedding attendee.

And some photos taken by other guests.

We're back!

I still need to download the pictures from my camera and set aside some time to write about our plane ride with the monster, but for now, here's a link to some of the pictures so far.