Riley's First Plane Ride

As many of you know Ben has begun his job search and has been traveling far and wide for the past couple of months to interview. Baylor was one of the first places he interviewed at and they invited him back for a second interview. They invited us to tag along to see Houston so Riley and I packed up and headed out with Ben. Here's what happened........warning this is a little long....

Day 1: Wednesday, April 23rd

We spent the morning relaxing and playing peek-a-boo before we left for the airport at 10 am. Riley had a blast going on the shuttle from the parking lot to the airport and loved looking at everyone at the airport. Takeoff was pretty uneventful - Riley had a bottle to help preventing his ears from popping and by the time he was done we were coasting along. However, that is when everything changed. 10 minutes later who decides it's a great time to take a poop? Riley of course. For the life of me I couldn't figure out how I was supposed to change a poopy diaper in the tiny airport bathroom....I ended up sitting him up on my lap and changing him that way...it was definately an experience. Once we got back to our seats, we played a little, had some juice and then conked out. He slept peacefully for about half an hour but then woke up screaming and crying uncontrollably. No matter what we did we couldn't get him to stop. I eventually had to get up to get him to stop crying. We took a walk to the galley and hung out with the stewardesses for awhile and then headed back to our seats. As soon as I sat down, he started fussing and crying again. We let him fuss for awhile but when it didn't look like there was an end in sight I got back up and made my way back to the same area. Eventually we got kicked out of there and had to go back to our seats. He fussed some more but I finally got him to go back to sleep and he slept for the rest of the flight and didn't wake up until we touched down. However, that wasn't the end of it. We got to our rental car and as soon as we buckled him into his carseat he went crazy. He was not a happy camper for our ride to the hotel. When we got to the hotel I left him with Ben so I could go to the grocery store to pick up some diapers and food for him and as I was walking down the hallway back to our room I could hear him screaming. He was not happy with his new surroundings and all the changes. Once I got to the hotel room he calmed down and fell soundly asleep. It seemed like he was having a rough night but he woke up well rested and happy. (Ben here, the one thing I learned from all this is the following: NEVER, EVER take your nine-month old on their first plane ride the day before an important two-day long interview) -- it really wasn't that bad!

Peek-a-boo

Riley and daddy at the airport

Day 2: Daddy woke up early and headed out for a fun filled day of meetings at Baylor. Riley and I took our time getting up and ready for our day at the Houston Zoo. We had a good time wandering the zoo but only lasted a couple of hours - it was in the high 80s and very humid. We went back to the hotel and played and waited for daddy to come back. We had dinner that night at the Raven (very yummy!) with the chair of the search committee and some of the other professors at Baylor. Riley was having one of those nights where he wouldn't stay still in his highchair. He ended up being passed around the table and being held by everyone. He had a blast!

Riley ready to go to the zoo

Watching the fish and turtles swim back and forth

Day 3: Once again Ben woke up early and headed out to Baylor. Riley and I got ready for a day at the Children's Museum. This museum was fantastic....it had a huge baby room that was made for kids 2 and younger. They had huge areas set up with mats and lots and lots of different toys that were perfect for this age group. We had so much fun going from area to area and back to some areas playing with all the different toys.

Arriving at the Children's Museum

Riley playing

playing with daddy before dinner

Day 4: We spent the morning with a real estate agent looking at homes in the Houston area. We got an idea of what was available and enjoyed seeing some of the city. Since we were in Texas we had to go and find some bbq so we went to Goode Company BBQ on a recommendation from one of the professors. The food was delicious. After that we headed over to Rice Village to walk around. Lot 8 Boutique - for those of you who watch Project Runway this is the store that Season 2 winner, Chloe, owns with her sisters - and looked around. I found a gorgeous purse and had to buy it! After Rice Village we drove to Chinatown to see what it was like.

Having lunch at Goode Company

Getting ready for bed

Day 5: Back to Alhambra. The plane ride was uneventful. We think that Riley knew what to expect so there was no fussing on this ride. He loves that feeling of having your stomach drop and couldn't help giggling during our descent everytime we hit a little air bump. It was too cute! We are so glad to be home!