Parker's first time flying

Yesterday was Parker's first time ever flying. The day started out bright and early for the adults, 4 a.m. to be exact. Okay, we'll Jason woke up at that time, and I pressed snooze. Did you expect any different?

 We had to leave the house for 7:00, and our "taxi", Beau, got us their in plenty time.Without him, I have no clue how we would have gotten all of our baggage and equipment inside. But, with his help we did, and we got through security and to our terminal with plenty of time to spare.

It did help that Parker was with us. Apparently, being adorable and charming gets you through the line quicker. When we got to the line at security it was backed up for quite a ways. I thought for sure that we would be there forever, but an employee opened the rope and let us cut the line like we were VIP. Security was my biggest anxiety and we didn't even have a blip. They tested all the bottles of medicine and formula in a machine, ran an x-ray of the dialysis machine and laptop, and sent us on our way. When it was time to board the plane, the employees all let us pre-board with him and the equipment, so we were some of the first people to get on the plane. We got all of the good seats!

The first flight was quite rough. As soon as we boarded the plane, Parker started in fits. He was screaming and wailing. At this point we had no clue what was going on and chocked it up to him being overly tired. He only got a few hours of sleep in the last two days, so it had to be taking a toll on him. The screaming lasted for about 20 minutes before Jason finally got him to sleep.

I was hopeful that he would sleep through the flight, but I was wrong. Thirty minutes later he was awake and screaming again. This is when I realized that if my poor baby's ears hurt as bad as mine did, he was definitely in pain. He screamed for a while and then all of a sudden it was like someone flipped a switch. He was fine. He was looking out the window and playing with the his toys.

 Windmills!

We landed in Chicago 10 minutes early, got some calzones for lunch, and waited for our next flight. He was so silly during the layover. We played peek-a-boo, zoomed his trucks, and read a book.

The flight from Chicago to Philadelphia went much smoother. He was a happy baby. We watched Mickey, played with toys, and took another short nap. Dad actually took a nap, too. Parker was so well behaved that the passenger sitting next to us gave Parker lots of compliments on his behavior. 

We landed a little later than expected, around 5:30-6:00. I was so nervous about how we were going to manage carrying all of the stuff we had. To give you an idea of what it takes to leave the house with Parker: 11 boxes shipped, a carry on, diaper bag, purse, and dialysis machine on the plane, and two large suitcases, and one medium suitcase checked. Oh, and of course Parker and his stroller. It's a lot for two people to handle. When we got to the airport in Philadelphia, we were on the search for a cart to help us with all of this, when an airport employee approached us. He took one look at Parker and said that he would personally take care of our luggage. He did, too. He got all of our luggage on a cart and escorted us to the rental car terminal. We got on a large hertz bus and headed to pick up our transportation for the week. Ironically, here you can get a luxury SUV for less than a full sized car. We soon learned why, too. It's a big city, with small streets and small parking garages. We needed the space for luggage, though, and its not so bad. 

We didn't get settled into the apartment until after 7:00 last night. We needed to go to the store for a few necessities, and order dinner quick. Parker had to start dialysis no later than 9:00 to be at our appointment on time. We headed out to find a store, and to our surprise, the city literally shuts down at like 7:00. It seemed like nothing was open. Finally, we found a CVS that was open for only a few more minutes. We hurried, got home, set up for the night, and ordered Chinese. The Chinese was so good! Some of the best I've had. Chinatown is only a few blocks from here, so I imagine that's where it came from.

The weather here is absolutely amazing! When we walked out of the airport doors, we both immediately sighed in relief. Imagine fall in south Louisiana, with no humidity and cool breezes. We could definitely get used to this! 

Thank you to everyone for the thoughts, prayers, comments, and texts! We love y'all and appreciate everything!