Ahhh, vacations are always wonderful but I always feel the need to get home by the end of it. By the way, when I say home sweet home, I do not mean NJ but simply my home where my husband was and all our things. We left for Canada last Thursday and arrived home at 2 am Tuesday morning... oh yea that is a story!
Here it was Jacks first real vacation and his first flight. If you have been reading my blog then you know I was quite nervous about the whole process. Thankfully Jack proved me totally wrong! He did amazing!!! Granted the actual airport part isn't easy because he wanted to run around but the flights themselves could not have gone any better! Both flights he was pretty content just hanging out on my lap, flipping through the sky mall to find pictures of kitties. He didn't make a single cry of pain or frustration, there were however a few screams of excitement. He even clapped at the end of the flight when we arrived in CA. I was so nervous that the pressure in his ears would make for a miserable trip but he didn't seem to be bothered at all. Certainly the quietest baby on a plane ever, I'm sure!
Our first day was just a hang out day with the family. Jack and I finally got to meet cousin Nolan! Him and Jack had lots of fun together though Jack was a bit rough with him... and yea Nolan is 3 but Jack didn't seem to mind the size difference! We had a lovely lunch, spent the afternoon hanging out in the yard, Jack played in the kiddie pool with Nolan and then we had a wonderful dinner. I have no idea how he did it but Jack was up at 520 am on Thursday to leave the house, he napped in the airport for about 25 minutes and then didn't sleep again until 830 that night... he was out cold by then! I guess there were too many new people and there was too much to do to give into sleep. He was a trooper! No surprise though that a playpen didn't work... just like home he screamed his head off when I put him in so instead I took out the mattress and put it on the floor.... I could lay with him until he fell asleep and then leave him. It worked out prefect and he adjusted to it quickly!
Day 2... Hung out at the house, did some grocery shopping and waited for some more canadian family to arrive. It was so great to see everyone! And yea Jack spent most of the day in and out of the pool again. That night my moms cousin had made reservations for the family (40 of us) to go have dinner at a massive chinese buffet while they went to the rehearsal dinner. This buffet was not like they have here... this place was massive and packed! Jack, though I fed him dinner before since we weren't going until 7....well he ate like a little piggie... he had his first taste of noodles and chicken dumplings. I have no idea where my little guy fits all the food but he definitely loves to eat! It was a late night but he did great again! While he has his moments he is so good and easy going!
Day 3... My cousin Alex's wedding day!!! Ok so I must say with like 15 family members in one house, full blown Italians... the morning was not a peaceful one... there is always a bit of drama... who doesn't like their hair... me I brought 2 black dress shoes from different pairs... any how we all managed to get ourselves together after there were a few screaming matches between a couple of aunts..... The wedding was at the Toronto Botanical Gardens... a beautiful setting.. perfect for the outdoor ceremony. Its funny because the receptions there are so different then here... a lot more causal and not nearly as foo foo.... Jack took a liking to the DJ, perhaps he liked his long red curly hair??? It was adorable to watch Jack run around with the other kids even if he had no idea what was going on. It was great to see everyone! My the end of the night Jack was pooped so we cut out a little early otherwise he would have been a very unhappy camper... I must say thank goodness for GPS! I got drove us all over Toronto no problems!
Day 4... Breakfast with the family then we headed over to the Toronto Zoo with my mom, uncle, cousin Vin, his wife and daughter and my moms cousin. What a massive place! We got some more use out of the harness! He fights it a little but once he's distracted he doesn't seem to mind as long as he gets to run around. It was a hot day which made it rough, maybe more so for me then Jack, I am not a heat person! Makes me a bit cranky actually. I think the only thing that Jack really got into were the big "kitties" and the seagulls flying around... yup good ol seagulls, but hey the kid likes birds! Jack and I shared lunch, chicken fingers and fries... Jack had his first taste of ketchup and just like his mommy, he loved it, even tried to stick the whole little cup in his mouth. He just kept on dipping the same fry into it, so cute! He was pooped from all the excitement and totally conked out in the car!
Thats it last day.... Spent a little while at this cute place, Spring Ridge Farm... they had an adorable store, a enormous sand box, a little maze (with no turns) which Jack enjoyed running through, an area with giant hay stacks that Jack enjoyed running through and getting on top of, a little tractor ride (which we skipped) and a area you could feed goats and chickens. Jack had fun! We grabbed some lunch there, Jacks came in a sand pail, really cute!
WOW I missed Steve and couldn't wait to go home but it did go by fast and I am so glad that I went. We don't get to see each other often enough! Actually the flight home is the best part of the story... Its amazing that always when your trip is at its end and you are super ready to get home... thats when all the crap begins! So our flight was supposed to depart at 540 pm. Before leaving for the airport I checked the flight and it was listed as on time. Yippie! We get there to check in and are told there is a 2 hour delay already. FANTASTIC... who knew it was going to just keep getting worse... The customs line was ridiculous and took an hour to get through... Jack was not very happy so yea that was a bit of a struggle... we get through there, breeze through security and start making our way to the gate.... still the flight is listed as being delayed 2 hours... we go to grab dinner and surprise surprise the restaurant doesn't have high chairs... can't catch a break! We go back to the little stand and get a pre wrapped sandwich, yuck! Go back down to the gate, which I might add was in a corner downstairs all by itself... at this point Jack is getting fussy, he hadn't had an afternoon nap and is being very stubborn. Me and my mom try for a while to get him to sleep but he keeps fighting... finally he fell asleep around 730 pm. Oh and did I mention that at this point they have made an announcement that all flights going in and out of Newark were grounded due to bad storms.... great further delays or who knew at that point if we were even getting out of there that night... I was determined to stick it out especially since we finally got Jack to sleep. The flights were back on and then off again and then finally some good news.... the plane we were getting on had finally left Newark at 930 pm! YAY we were going to get home, I didn't care how late at this point... just wanted to get home! Jack, thankfully slept until 10.. he ran around for a while and then finally around 11 we boarded the plane.... The flight itself was perfect. Jack did amazing again! Finally made it home a little after 2am Tuesday morning, ugh it was a long long day but so great to see Steve and be home
Overall a great first vacation experience with the peanut! Really looking forward to the cruise with the three of us!
Sounds like overall with the exception of your return flight fiasco was a good time! I am glad you were able to go and enjoy your family. Sounds like Jack was really good as well which always makes traveling that much easier.
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