Made it to MI

Leyton is adorable! I was in Auntie-heaven last night, holding and soothing him for a bit. Cora is in cousin-heaven, too. She is very interested in Leyton and curious about all things baby. She's been very gentle around him so far and observant as to how to care for him. We caught Cora trying to rock Leyton's carseat with her foot like she saw Grandpa do! We definitely need to keep an eye on her even more when Leyton is around - she doesn't understand that he wouldn't appreciate a big clunky toddler toy dumped on top of him, even in the good spirit of sharing.

Our flights both went so well yesterday. Thank you for your prayers and encouraging words! The flights were on-time, smooth and not too full, so I was able to get an empty seat next to me on both flights and that was very helpful. Cora was pretty entranced on the first flight to Denver looking out the window at trees and trucks and water and clouds. We actually were able to see a herd of either deer or elk on the Mesa, too.

Some things that were helpful for us and will maybe be good ideas for someone else: I waited until the very last minute to board the plane even though they offer early boarding for children; ask a flight attendant (if they don't offer) to switch next to an empty seat; raisins in a box were the best snack to keep her busy for a while; books and the Skymall Magazine kept her interest for quite a while; the window shade, reading lights and seat belt were fascinating toys that I didn't have to bring with me!; I wrapped a couple new toys and books for her to open on the plane and we actually only needed to open one (a magnadoodle - the joy of coloring without the hassle of falling and rolling crayons) so I'll save the rest for the flights home; and I borrowed a mini-dvd player and we watched one Baby Einstein video. It was extra gear to carry on the plane, but it bought me 20 or 30 minutes of Cora sitting contentedly on my lap at the end of the last flight when she was tired and just about frustrated.

Cora didn't sleep a wink on the plane but as soon as she was buckled in the car she fell asleep - even before we were out of the airport parking lot!

Thanks for all your prayers, again, for safe and smooth flights!

Something that was cute: in GJ we watched the truck filling up the plane with gas and talked about it. Well, on the plane we were seated right next to wing and since it's a puddle jumper we could see under the wing and the wheel. So I think because she could see the wheel, Cora kept saying "kuck" (truck). Then we could see the propellers start up and she would say "round, round, round". Then the more I reminded her we were in an airplane she started saying "air-pane" with great enthusiasm!