Katherine, you have experienced your first plane ride (and yes, your second one too). I am so proud of you - we just got back from our trip to Las Vegas and you are a wonderful travel companion. We were traveling for a week - your dad, your grandma, you and me... what an experience. I have to admit, I was a bit worried about how you would enjoy the plane ride (after all, we have all been on flights where there has been a small child which was crying for much of the trip regardless of how hard the parents tried to calm them). I kept telling myself ahead of the trip, that no matter what happens it will be ok and that if you chose to cry for the duration of the flight, it would be simply our turn to get the looks and “polite” comments - and so we went to the aiport on the travel day, armed with lots of toys and extra food (somewhere I had read that it may help offering you a bottle during take-off). I began panicking a bit when there was no pre-boarding time allowed on this flight (oh, how should we do this with a baby and a senior??), but once at our seats, the flight attendants were amazing and giving us a few extra tips how to hold you during take off etc. Just before we were ready to take off, I looked at you and you were having a great time, looking out the little windows, fascinated with all that was going on outside the plane. I hugged you tight and felt your head heavy on my shoulders - you had closed your eyes and were sound asleep before we had even left the ground. The steady humming of the plane seemed to be very calming for you as you stayed asleep for most of the plane ride. The smile you had on your face when we got off the plane in Las Vegas reminded me that I should not worry so much about you; you love life and new experiences - they don't scare you, they make you smile.
During our stay in Las Vegas you had plenty of opportunties to experience things you have never seen before - the city is filled with lights, sounds and it’s full of life. We were ready to experience this trip "baby-friendly", keeping reasonable bed-times in mind for you, having brought kitchen tools with us to puree food for you, all so you would feel comfortable with your surroundings. Again, you reminded me that I should not worry so much about you - you were there to enjoy the vacation as well, turning into a bit of a night owl as we were staying out later in the evening, taking naps in your comfortable stroller as you felt like it. I was surprised how you slept so well in the middle of the noise and bright lights, but when you make up your mind to do something, not much holds you back. You enjoyed our trips to the white tigers, dolphins and on another day to the shark reef. You embraced the heat during the days, even when we took you on a short hike (ok, you had the luxury to be carried) in the Valley of Fire in the middle of a sunny, scorching day.
But most of all you surprised me with how much you changed when it came to food. Forget pureed food, buffets are your new favorite!! I quickly realized that you wanted to eat when we were eating (and yes, we were eating a lot - the buffets in this city are simply amazing and we enjoyed the times sitting down, relaxing a bit in between all the sightseeing , having great conversations). You are big enough now to sit in high chairs at the table with us and not offering you food while we were eating was cleary agitating you. So I began walking up and down the buffet lines looking for suitable food items for you - and I found a wide variety of items that seemed not too spicy and "mashable". As I got back to the table after my first stroll, I saw the excitement in your eyes and a big smile on your face. Instead of mashing up everything in your bowl, we began feeding you little bits of rice, broccoli, meat and fruit and you embraced the "finger food" - your transition to regular, solid food was made. Simple; change; just like that. For the remainder of the trip you ate buffet style when you weren't enjoying a bottle (of formula, just to clarify) and it was a lot of fun to learn about your likes and dislikes of food items (I love that you love green veggies and fresh fruit for now... but I'm sure you'll venture into trying ice cream and cake on another trip when you're big enough to choose food yourself).
You are teaching me that embracing change is propelling us forward in life. As adults we are sometimes challenged by change - it takes us out of our comfort zone. But for you change is happening in leaps and bounds every moment of every day. There is no fear that life will be different by the end of the day - it just happens; and you adapt with a smile on your face and look at me as if inviting me to come along for the ride. It's not up to me to say when you begin eating more solid food, it's not up to any baby development book to tell you when your next milestone moment happens - you are confidently making your own choices. I am proud of you and grateful for the time we have together.
