It was with a lot of excitement and
trepidation that we brought Eko on his first airplane trip to visit
his great-grandparents in Ormond Beach, Florida. Though they keep up
with his changes online, it was important to us that they finally
meet their great-grandson in person.
We have earned many parent merit-badges
this year, but the thought of confining our wiggly little new walker
to a seat on a plane, popping his ears, disrupting all naps and
routines, felt like madness. In preparation, we grilled well-traveled
parents and read through pages of FAA regulations. Our fears soothed,
we arrived at Bradley International Airport with Jade's father, Gary,
and an already under-napped toddler.
Despite concerns of having "that
baby" on every flight, we knew Eko would love being around new
people and cruising around the wide spaces in the airports, full of
new noises and shiny objects. He drummed on the enormous windows and
waved at the giant airplanes. We were grateful we'd chosen to get him
his own seat, strapped in his car seat for each 2-hour flight. The
car seat was familiar and it made it easier to keep him entertained
with spoons, little cardboard boxes, and especially his seat's
personal light.
Takeoff was fun—the big woosh seemed fascinating to Eko. Unfortunately, he drank the entire day's bottle of breast milk on that single takeoff, which was great for his ear-popping, but meant we had to get creative on the descent..and next takeoff..and next descent... After fighting a nap for the first hour of the flight,
he finally gave in, which meant he was asleep for
the descent. He woke crying and pulling at his ears. We tried all of
our tricks to try to help him—nursing (in very contorted
positions), a sippy cup, food to encourage swallowing—but Eko
refused it all. Finally, a little breastfeeding after we landed
soothed him. On the next flight, we had him sipping a thick airport
smoothie through a straw to help his ears pop.
It was wonderful for Jade to give her
grandparents hugs after so many years and to see their faces light up
as they met her son. The poor little guy was exhausted when we
arrived and smiled dazedly at us through dinner from his comfy rented
high chair. But bright and early the next morning, Eko was excited to
wake up in a new room and begin to explore his GG-Pa and GG-Ma's
house. We drove a short distance to the beach where pelicans flew
right above the waves and sea foam blew past in the strong ocean
winds. 
Though the waves were long and gentle, an occasional wave was
a little stronger than expected and pushed him right over, soaking
the well-intentioned jacket we'd put over his wet suit. Mommy held
him above the waves while he kickie-kickied in mid-air with glee.Eko explored the entire house over and over, making his rounds from the kitchen (where he discovered a fascinating whisk), to GGMa's office (he'd wave and say 'hiii' each time he passed the door), through the living room (picking off blossoms of a fake flowering bush before mommy put a stop to it), and into the sunny sitting room where GGPa and GGMa hang out most of the time. He'd then explore GGPa's feet and tables, try to high-5 the TV, and get wrestled into hugs and tickles before taking off once more.
Once he discovered the soft carpeted stairs, we had to keep a close
eye on him—he quickly figured out how to slide down those on his
belly! Gary lovingly and patiently followed him during his rambles.
Eko became so quickly accustomed to his grandpa's presence that he'd
cry whenever Grandpa got up from a chair to leave the room. Of
course, Grandpa would comfort him and take him along for the walk.
Surprised with how cool and windy
Florida could be in mid-November, we took a stroll around the private
community. Eko pointed at the waving fronds of palm trees with
wonder. Big trees were dripping with Spanish moss. Dragonflies zipped
right up to our faces. Though the cooler weather made the tiny
lizards shy, we spotted some in the bushes during a warm afternoon.
Eko was intrigued! Suddenly it began to rain, and a giant rainbow
stretched across the highway as we drove home into the little storm.
It was a short visit. Soon we were
taking one last 'four generation' photo and saying goodbye to our
dear GGs who had been so sweet and loving to all of us, especially
Eko! The first flight home was uneventful, but at Charlotte, we had
to RUN across the giant airport, all of our bags bumping and the baby
bouncing in his carrier, to catch our next flight. There was no time
to get the All-Important-Smoothie or let the baby burn off energy!
Eko was bundled right into his next seat and made it very clear that
he did not approve. Overtired and done with travel, Eko finally blew
his top.
You always hear about how cranky people
are on flights with crying babies, but we were lucky to be surrounded
by sympathetic parents ("Oh we've all been there, he's really
not that loud.") and just truly compassionate people. When all
our tricks failed and even being out of the car seat and in daddy's
arms didn't work, the man directly behind us drew little happy faces
on his thumbs and performed a puppet show for Eko! Jade tried to
nurse him into a nap in the bathroom, but Eko just wanted to do play
with the faucet. Giving up on the nap, 
a frazzled mama passed the
baby to daddy, who saved the day, somehow, with a steady stream of
ice chips, crackers, songs and toys that got us through the flight.
We hadn't been back in the car for five
minutes, headed gratefully home, before our sleepy, worldly traveler
conked out. After this adventure, it's pretty safe to say that we all
earned our wings!
Eko Song 11.
