Destination Chicago!

Back in July I was so frustrated with the rental situation that when I saw a decent deal roll in on Southwest, I decided to book a nice long trip for Caiden and me. Plenty of time to see friends and family without feeling rushed - woo hoo!!

Of course I spent plenty of time procrastinating about packing (haaaate), but eventually I got my butt in gear and got us all set to go! I was SO nervous about this trip as I opted to chance getting an open seat for Caiden without having to buy a ticket (gotta milk this whole fly free until 2 years old as long as I can!). I was super worried about having to entertain him while keeping him in my lap for the long 3.5 hour flight to Chicago. I've flown solo with him before, but it's been on shorter flights to AZ and also when he was less mobile. I made sure to pack plenty of activities to keep him occupied/distracted and just left the rest up to fate. :P

B dropped us at the airport and after many hugs and kisses, Caiden and I were on our way. Once we got to the gate, I asked if there was space for me to bring his car seat on board. I was dismayed to learn that the flight was in fact completely full and that I would have to gate check the seat. Ug - time to tire him out as much as possible! I freed him from his car seat confines and let him run around for as long as possible. Before long, it was time to board. I got around to chatting with the woman in line just ahead of me, and she graciously offered to save me a seat and help me with Caiden while I got settled.

Once we made it on board, I found her and started getting organized while she played with Caiden. For the time being, we had an open seat between us, so I plopped him there for a little bit. After I got everything set, I pulled him into my lap and continued to listen to the overhead announcements telling passengers to grab the first seat they see as the flight is completely full. Well, people kept passing by and the throng started getting thinner and thinner. A flight attendant came by and asked if Caiden was a ticketed passenger or a lap child. I confirmed he was on my lap, and she moved on. Well, next thing I knew, they were closing the door and the seat next to me remained EMPTY! We very luckily wound up next to the ONLY empty seat on the whole plane! WOO HOO!! Can you feel my relief?

Overall, the flight went very well, and Caiden did wonderfully. Even tho he didn't sleep at all, I didn't have to use many of the distractions I'd packed. The time went by pretty quickly, and before I knew it, it was time to land! I got us packed up and off the plane pretty well, but I was just carrying too much stuff. Not far from the gate, I spied my saving grace - the luggage cart. I swear, it was THE BEST $3 I ever spent. I pushed the cart with one hand and pulled C along in his car seat (with the specially attached wheels and handle) with the other.

I navigated down to baggage claim, got our rental car and was on the road to G-Ma & G-Dad's house in Plainfield within an hour. Within minutes, Caiden was completely passed out. Poor guy was so tired! As soon as we pulled into G-Ma and G-Dad's driveway, his eyes popped open. G-Dad wasted no time greeting the little guy and getting him out of his seat. :D We got all of our gear hauled into the house and enjoyed some much needed winding down from our travels.

Caiden wasted no time investigating and promptly made friends with B's old rocking horse (handmade by C's great-gramps!).


After a little fun and some dinner, I got C into bath and then bed. He had a really hard time falling asleep and after my 5th visit in, I gave him a bit of a stern talking too and could hardly believe that it worked! I didn't hear a peep out of him the rest of the night!