Engineered Upbringing: Izzie's First Flight

For the last week in February, Lynnell and Izzie flew to Elko to see Shasta and family. It was Izzie's first trip that involved flying on a plane, and the longest trip away from dad yet. I was fairly excited to have a week to my selfish self to do whatever I wanted and to catch up on things, but as the week wore on, it became less and less enjoyable.

It started out on Monday the 25th. I came home from lunch for an extra long lunch to spend some time with my family before they left. Here's Lynnell and Izzie sorting out the packing issues. Turns out the Moby in one of the greatest ways to carry a baby through an airport. Here they are trying it on for size before they get to the airport.

We ate some lunch, and then we headed to the airport. Here's Nell and Izzie saying goodbye to dad.

Here they are sitting at the gate waiting to board the plane.

Lynnell said that Izzie was a little angel on the way down there; no fussing and no whining. Not too far into the flight she fell asleep, so obviously she was a little board staring at the bottom of the tray in the seat back in front of her. Here they are on the plane (before and after sleep).

They flew to Salt Lake where Lynnell's sister and family picked them up. Lynnell said that Izzie was still tired when they put her in the car, and she slept most of the way back to Elko.

Here's Izzie's cousin Austin:

Here's Izzie's cousin Devon (note the wangsta sign):

Last but not least is Cousin Bailee who, I must say, is getting big, but not line backer big like my Izzie:

After a three hour car ride, they finally arrived at Joe & Shasta's house. Here is Izzie acclimating to Aunt Shasta and Bailee.

Here is Izzie and Bailee making sure that everyone in the house was up in time for breakfast. Izzie was starting to get a fever that Tuesday morning (who knows why...), Bailee didn't like Izzie screaming in her ear and they were both hungry, growing girls.

Here they are after breakfast full and happy. Notice Izzie is looking a little under the weather. Some of the somber look may have been leftovers from the morning throat clearing though.

Bailee is three weeks older than Izzie, and thanks to her compact size she's pulling herself up on stuff and trying to walk. Lynnell said that Izzie didn't like that at all, but they found out that if Izzie was up on the couch where Bailee couldn't get her (but Izzie could get Bailee) that she was happy. Here's an example:

After the first day and a half, Izzie started getting used to the new people and the new house. Lynnell tells me that she was very happy on Wednesday, and that she had a lot of fun playing with her cousins.

The last picture is my favorite because it shows how big Izzie is compared to Bailee.

Here are the four cousins slowing down for a picture before the boys leave for the weekend.

I don't have to explain to you how much Izzie lovers her baths because you've seen the pictures and the videos, so you know how she loves to splash and play. What no body knew was how bad she hated to share her bath. While she was in Elko, she shared a bath with her cousin Bailee, and it turns out that although the idea was good, the event was not. Izzie hated it. She screamed bloody murder nearly the whole time she was in the tub. Bailee was at the other end of the spectrum though. She thought it was the greatest. Lynnell tells me that the louder Izzie screamed in protest, the louder Bailee screamed with joy. So, there they were screaming their heads off for opposite reasons and just feeding the others frenzy.

The other ongoing battle that raged while they were there was the binky war. It's funny how men check out women and women check out men, but what you don't always notice is that women are constantly checking out other women. It's as if they have know where they compare just to make sure they are better. Maybe it's one of those "survival of the fittest" instincts in everyone, but it is true. I witness it with my own eyes all of the time. With that said, here's an example: Izzie has a binky, and Bailee has a binky. Same exact binky (although it's hard to tell from the picture), and as if it isn't good enough to have just one binky to go in your own mouth you have to have the other one too. Here's Bailee stealing Izzie's binky while hers sits idle in her lap. I think it's hilarious because nobody taught her this. No one sat her down and said "if you have more than your neighbor, you are better." Call me foolish, but I think it's just human nature. In the end, I think they both kept their own binky thanks to the binky strap, but when Izzie gets the itch to start snatching Bailee's stuff, Bailee better watch out because Izzie will use her size to make it happen. :)

Nell and Izzie were gone for a week. They flew down on a monday, and then they came home the following Sunday. They had an early morning flight out of Salt Lake on Sunday morning, so they drove down from Elko on Saturday night and stayed at a hotel. Here's Izzie hanging out and relaxing after a week of cousin acclimation: