Saturday, December 27, 2008

Canada Trip Day 1: Traveling

Today is the day we headed up to Canada! We have been planning and planning for this day and left the house feeling pretty optimistic that we would successfully navigate our first major trip with our new addition. The night before we made sure we had everything, got the car packed and also sat down and talked through the day and what each person's roles would be and what our expectations would be. I HIGHLY suggest talking through the day with each other! It was great to know who was responsible for what and how we would handle things before we got in the situation.

Anyways, we feed Peyton and headed out to the airport around 7:00 AM or so. Our original plan was to park in short term parking, go in and check everything in and then have John go and park the car in one of the economy lots. Well, as we were driving in we realized that the majority of those lots were already full! So, we looked at how much parking would be at the airport and when we looked at the cost we deemed it worth it to just park at the airport and pay the premium. It really wasn't too much of a difference and the convience factor and rain made it a smart move. Peyton was asleep when we arrived so we just put her in the stroller and she continued to nap. We headed into the airport, got checked in, and went through security and everything went great! Peyton woke up as we went through security and proceeded to talk to everyone around her which was pretty cute. We then headed to the gate where we got settled and played with Peyton. She was talking away, playing with her toys and we were all having a blast. I then decided to feed her before we could board and then we were off to get on the plan. It worked out well feeding her when I did because as soon as we boarded and got settled, she was out and slept the entire flight which meant she went an extra hour between feedings! She had a little bit of an uncomfortable face taking off and landing but took the pacifier and never woke up.

Once we landed we waited until everyone left the plane so we had room to bundle Peyton up (when you land in Toronto since you are on a small plane you have to get off and go down the stairs and walk outside to the terminal) and then we headed into the terminal. It wasn't too cold when we arrived but it was not Texas weather! Since Peyton was overdue for a feeding we found a chair, feed her and changed her and then headed to customs. We went got through customs fine, got our bags and then headed into the airport. We had decided a couple of weeks ago that we would stay at the airport hotel that night so we could rest and regroup prior to making the three hour drive to my grandparents. We figured that we would all be tired and it might be too much to continue and since it would be dark when we left the airport we didn't want to drive in the dark especially since it might have been snowing. Staying the night was one of the best things we could have done and we highly suggest to break up your trip so you aren't going all day.

When we got to the hotel Peyton sat up on the bed and started talking away. It was adorable! We continued to play until she had to eat and then we went into the airport to get some lunch/dinner. Afterwards we all hung out in our room, watched a movied, played, had bath time and really just had a great time as a family. Also, today we realized that Peyton has been playing with her hands more. She has been bringing them together and playing with her fingers. It is pretty cool!
As we were playing with Peyton I was thinking how that day was one of the best ones we have had as a family and it was on our first trip! How funny! But the more I thought about it, I realized that sitting in that hotel room we were able to just relax and be parents, not think about what needed to get done around the house or what we needed to do the next day etc. but instead sit down and enjoy our little girl. I hope that now we continue to be in the moment even when we are at home.
Overall a wonderful day and we couldn't have asked for better!

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