abby and charlie

Last month, we all traveled to Oklahoma for a visit. Jon was supposed to be in Seattle for work so Charlie and I had planned to travel to OK by ourselves. I must have been feeling particularly brave the day I booked a ticket to travel solo with baby. Ironically, the day after I booked my travel, Jon's court date got moved. Since he's been away or busy at the office so much over the last couple of months, he opted to meet us out there over the weekend rather than stay home.

Charlie did great on all the flights, but that first three-hour flight to Dallas that was just me and him felt like an eternity. [Btw, did you know a straw sippy cup will spray everywhere when opened on a pressurized plane? Yeah, me neither.] Not only did we survive the flights (turns out Charlie will sleep on a plane - if I nurse him to sleep and keep the milk buffet open the entire time), but he was great while we were in Oklahoma. He went down for naps and bedtime like it was nothing, and even spent some time with a babysitter without issue. He's been hit or miss on trips sleep-wise before so it was a pleasant surprise that he traveled so well this time.

Abby taught Charlie lots of things. She showed us how to spot airplanes and wave and say "hi". She shared her swing, and enjoyed pushing Charlie around on her little fire truck. I think she was quite smitten with Charlie, and her new favorite word might be "baby." I tried to teach her how to say Aunt Kitty, but with little success. She said kitty once or twice, but usually the conversation went something like this:

Me: "Abby, can you say Kitty?"

Abby: "Baby!"

She still does that even now when we FaceTime. It's ok, Abby, I'm used to people ignoring me in favor of baby Charlie.

And now, here are some adorable baby cousins for your viewing pleasure:

Do you mind if I stand on your seat, Mom?

Lunch on the go. A short connection + long way to walk means baby gets to eat a pretzel for lunch.

That hair. That face. Love this kid.

Sleeping like a champ in Meg & Aaron's office.

When you eat lasagne and your face turns the same color as your hair.

Hey, Charlie, look at that!

Wow!

This is my happy face.

Mad chillin' babies.

Nailed It.

Nothing to see here. Just eating cheerios off the floor.

Airport flow.

Are we there yet?