Adventures of Mr. Mom

Last weekend, Justin, Tanya and I went home to New Jersey to see my family.  Our flight out on Saturday was pretty uneventful, other than Justin's coughing fits.  (Yes, of course, Justin got a cold before we left.)  While at home, I went to a Phillies game with Dad, had the family over for dinner on Sunday, and went to the Children's Discovery Museum on Monday.  Tanya took the train to D.C. on Sunday afternoon for a conference so it was just the boys flying home on Tuesday.  With Justin not feeling well, I decided to take him to the doctor before we left.  The doc didn't find too much wrong with him but suggested we not fly home that day if at all possible.  He sent us home with an antibiotic and told us a couple of extra days at home would be do us some good.  And this is where the adventure begins...

After we left the doctor I called American Airlines to see if they would let me switch our flight to Thursday.  The doctor had given me a note so I thought they might let me change flights at no charge.  I was wrong.  The cost was going to be $459, which I decided was too much.  So after a quick trip to the pharmacy to load up on drugs for Justin, my Dad dropped us off at the airport.  Our flight was scheduled to leave Philly at 4:30 PM and land in Dallas around 7:00 PM.  Now, I was already nervous about flying alone with Justin so his sickness only added to my consternation.  After an easy check-in, we waited in the security line for about 30 minutes.  Justin was great, sitting in his stroller.  Occasionally he would turn around and look at me with a look of, "Are we there yet?"  We finally got through security and made our way to the gate just before 4:00 PM.  I figured we would be boarding shortly and be on our way.  It was not to be.  4:30 came and went and we still hadn't started boarding, despite the plane being there.  They finally made an announcement saying there was a mechanical issue and we would be taking off at 6:00 PM.  Being a somewhat frequent flyer, I was doubtful that we would really leave at 6 so I called American again to see if they would let us switch flights.  Again, no luck.  So, Justin and I did some laps around the terminal and he was in a pretty good mood.  Finally, around 6:30 they started to board and I waited until the very end to get on the plane.  I was assigned to an aisle seat with one other person in my row but when I got on the plane I noticed empty seats in the exit row.  I asked a flight attendant if I could sit there but she said no.  However, she did move the woman next to me to that row so I could have two seats to myself.  Our first break!

We finally pulled away from the gate around 7 and headed out to take off.  We were about 8th in line, which for Philly at that time of day isn't bad.  After about 15 minutes, the captain comes on and says another plane had to make an emergency landing on the runway we were supposed to take off from so we would have to turn around and go to a different runway.  The good news (HA!) was that we were in the back of the line so by turning around we would be at the front.  So we go to a different runway but once there he tell us there are eight international flights that get preference over us.  So we wait again.  All this time, Justin had dinner and played with his cups.  We finally took off at 7:45 PM Eastern.

Justin fell asleep around 8:30, which made me very happy, despite the fact he was sprawled across my lap and I really couldn't do much.  As we made our way closer to Dallas, the captain let us know there were bad storms in DFW and we might have to go around, which would make us even later.  Thinking nothing of it I went back to staring at Justin.  About 20 minutes later, the captain came on again and gave us the bad news...we were being diverted to Austin.  My heart sank.  Again, knowing what I know about the travel industry, I figured once we were in Austin we weren't leaving again that night so when we landed in Austin at 10 I immediately called Tanya so she could start looking at rental car options.  I decided there was no way I wanted to spend the night in a hotel with Justin and then have to get back on the plane again.  We sat on the plane in Austin until 11:30 before they finally made it official and said the flight was canceled and we wouldn't be leaving until morning.  The other good news...we couldn't get our bags; they were staying on the plane.  They also weren't going to give us our strollers but a couple of us made a big fuss and they finally relented.  With Justin strapped in, I bolted for the rental car counter.  That process was relatively easy, even at 12:30 in the morning, and we got on the road around 12:45 AM.  Needless to say, the drive was brutal.  Justin woke up after we got off the plane but fell asleep about 30 minutes into the drive.  With him asleep, I really couldn't turn the radio up or put the windows down.  The first 90 minutes weren't bad but I hit a wall around 2:15 AM.  I pulled into a hotel and thought about getting a room but decided that was dumb.  Instead, I found a gas station and grabbed a Mountain Dew and something  to eat (I never really ate dinner).  Hopped up on caffeine and Chex Mix, the last 90 minutes weren't too bad and we pulled in the driveway at 4:00 AM.

Justin was nice enough to sleep until 8:15 so I managed to get about 4 hours of sleep.  After dropping him at daycare around 9, I came back home and laid down but couldn't fall asleep.  Before heading to work, I drove out to DFW Airport to return the rental car and find my suitcase.  After a few heated conversations, I managed to find out that our flight from Austin landed at 1:10 PM.  It was now 1:30 PM so I headed to the correct baggage claim and found my bag still on the carousel. 

With Tanya not scheduled to return from D.C. until Thursday afternoon, I still had a couple of days of Daddy duty.  Justin did fine at daycare on Wednesday but that night he threw up everything he ate that day.  I felt so bad for him because he still couldn't breathe through his nose and he was in pain from new teeth coming in.  I took him to our pediatrician on Thursday night and his oxygen level was dangerously low so they gave him a breathing treatment and some steroids, which helped.  They also sent me home with the nebulizer so I could give him breathing treatments every 3-4 hours.  (Awesome...another night of interrupted sleep.)  He also told me to keep him home from daycare on Friday.  Tanya finally got home Friday afternoon, which was a huge relief for Justin and I.  This weekend has been pretty calm with Dad even getting to go out with friends Saturday night and play some golf today.  Tanya and I also went out last night to dinner and a movie.

I apologize for the long post but Tanya and I both thought we should have a record of our crazy adventures.  As I told my Aunt Carol in an email, I have traveled enough to know things rarely go as planned and something is bound to happen.  But to have so many things happen in one trip was truly amazing.  Especially when you add in having a sick one-year old traveling with you.  While Justin will have no recollection of our trip, I will always remember it and be forever grateful for how well he behaved.  Thanks buddy.

Weekend Videos

Fun with Grandma and Hayden!

We had such a great time with Grandma and Hayden this weekend. We packed a lot of activity in to a few days! We managed to hit up a park each day too!

I hear Hayden was great on the plane- and knew what color car everyone drove by the end of the flight. On Friday we went to the Science Museum and wandered around the exhibits. According to Hayden the best part was the elevator (which was not fancy - in fact it was a dingy old elevator and only hit 3 floors). Oh the little things!

Saturday we got up early and went to the zoo. We took the train - which was a first for Hayden. He seemed to enjoy the ride. At the zoo Justin took a big spill on the cement. You can see the mark in some of the pictures/videos from that day. Hayden and I took a ride on a camel and he also took a ride on the carousel!

Sunday we hung around the house - took a quick little shopping trip with Hayden in the morning and hit up the park after we got home. Justin loved riding the slide with Hayden.

Today Hayden and Mom took a taxi to my office- so he got to ride the elevator up 14 floors. I walked them down to the trolley stop and they rode the trolley around uptown once before they came back to the office and we headed towards the airport.

Overall it was a great weekend. Hayden is such a sweet little boy - and so smart! I was asked "why" more times in three days than I have been in 3 years. He's got quite the imagination and it was fun to listen to him talk to himself while playing. I'm so happy mom brought him down and we're looking forward to seeing him (and everyone else!) again in a few weeks when we go to Iowa.

My new favorite thing

My new favorite thing about Justin is how he has been greeting me at daycare. After he toddles over to me and I pick him up- he takes my face between his hands - pats my cheeks all excited while smiling and laughing - then either gives me Eskimo kisses or just opens his mouth and slobbers all over my face. It's awesome - I absolutely love this new greeting. It makes my day every time. If I'm lucky I get it again when I get him out of the carseat when we get home. :)

In other news- Justin has learned (mostly) how to fall without wacking his head on the floor so is walking a lot more. I'd say he's walking more than he's crawling at home now. He hasn't been sleeping great though...not sure what the deal is but he's been up at least once almost every night for the past week. Hoping he'll get over that soon!

We're getting ready for some visitors this weekend- Grandma Riggan is coming to town with HAYDEN! We are so excited to see them both!

Here are some recent pictures!

Walk, Walk, Walk

Justin and I were on our own this weekend because Dave was at a tournament. We did the following all weekend long:
Justin - Walk, Walk, Walk
Mommy - Follow, Follow, Follow, Catch

Justin is pretty unsteady but he is walking all over. When he falls backwards he gets stiff as a board trying to stop the fall and therefore goes STRAIGHT back. So- therefore I have followed him around all weekend- trying to stop his head from hitting the slate floor. Even if he takes off with the push-toy I follow because he'll let go of it and shoot off on his own. I love that he's so determined to walk- but I hope all this practice means his balance will be better sooner rather than later!

We were able to be outside yesterday- but today it's cold and rainy so we hung around home this morning and ran up to visit Brendan, Meredith and Declan this afternoon for a bit.

Here are some videos from the weekend.

Playing with the water table Aunt Carol and Uncle Ed sent for his birthday:

Practicing walking on the deck:

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Practicing with the spoon:

Nevermind the spoon:

Hanging with Declan: