First Flight

We're back from our first plane trip with Jillian in tow! I am pleased to announce that we all survived. We flew to Las Vegas and drove to Kingman, AZ to investigate a job opportunity for Matt. I'll spare you the long story of the job, how it came about, the tough decision making process, etc, and just say that we decided it was not the right fit for our family. We are at peace with the decision and look forward to investigating future opportunities for post residency and fellowship employment. We did enjoy our short trip and found the landscape of the Hualapai Mountains absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately, I didn't take a single picture of them! Go figure. I did snap a few shots of the Hoover Dam (and massive construction project) on our way back to Vegas Sunday morning. Jillian was asleep and could not marvel at the sights.



What you are really interested in, I bet, is how Jillian behaved on the flight. I am pleased to say she did relatively well overall. Thanks to the advice of my travel savvy mommy friends, we were well-prepared for security and all the nuances of managing a busy baby in a tight space. Unfortunately, we were given a window and middle seat for the flight out there and that was a recipe for trouble (for the poor guy in the aisle, of course!) Jillian soundly slept through the take off, but woke when the pilot announced we had reached our cruising altitude. I then spent almost an hour walking up and down the aisle with a very heavy baby in the bjorn. After another short doze, she was up and screamed the last 20 minutes of the flight. I can only venture to guess that her ears bothered her. Here is a shot of her enjoying some puffs on Daddy's lap in flight (before the crying drama)

Our return flight was much better, and she essentially slept on me most of the flight. Whew!
This was also Jillian's first time in a hotel. I was floored by how well she did. She was amazing, sleeping 10, 12, and 11 consecutive hours (respectively) for the 3 nights we were there. She tolerated Mommy's creative bathing ideas, as we had only a shower in the hotel--no tub--and someone was a little too big for the sink! After initially trying to rig a bath-like situation on a towel in the shower that ended with a soggy Mommy and soaked bathroom, she enjoyed a relaxing shower in my arms (it put her to sleep!). I think we effectively wore her out with all of our driving, real estate investigating ,etc. She seriously was incredible through it all. Matt and I learned an important lesson during this experience--we haven't taken her out enough. Jillian LOVES dining out. She enjoyed sitting like a big girl in the high chair and making friends in restaurants at every single meal we had. Outside of trying to eat the high chair straps and put her mouth on the table (Ew, ew ew!! Yes, I wiped everything down as best I could), she was the model patron. Who knew?! We truly underestimated her.
I also should share about one last "first" of this trip....Jillian's first time swimming! She wasn't thrilled, and showed a rare glimpse at her cautious side (let's be real, I didn't know she had a cautious side!), but she eventually warmed up to the idea with a little coaxing from Daddy.
Here she is pre-swim...waiting on Dad to get ready to go


In the pool...where did my Daddy go??

"Jumping" to Daddy already! (kidding, kidding). But she does take time to wave to the other kids in the pool in a gesture of true Jillian friendliness.

She finally decides this swimming thing just might be fun...or at least splashing is!