A Big Adventure

On April 22, Sadie, my mom, and I flew to Tampa, Florida to visit family and friends in the Sunshine State. Brian took us to the airport so that he could savor every last second with his daughter before we left. Here he is glaring at me for taking Sadie away from him for so long.
It was such a momentous occasion, that I had to be a big dork and document every minute of it. I'm sure the line of people waiting to get on the plane were thrilled when I asked the man behind us to take a picture as we boarded the plane. Sadie was great on the plane. She didn't sleep the whole time like everyone said she would, but she was quiet and alert and happy almost the entire time. She definitely didn't like going into the lavatory to get her diaper changed (I didn't like it so much either), and she became hysterical when I would lay her down on the changing table. Then I'd be afraid to go back out to the cabin with a screaming baby, so I ended up hanging out in the lavatory nursing her. Needless to say, the germophobe and claustrophobe in me were not at all thrilled with the situation....

But we recovered well, doused ourselves and everyone around us in antibacterial gel, and enjoyed the rest of the flight.When we got to Tampa, Sadie got to meet all sorts of people who had been anxiously awaiting her arrival.

Her cousin Casey....her Great-aunt Cathy....her Great-uncle Ray....her Great-uncle Chet and great-aunt Barbara....her cousin Ava and friend Madison....her cousin T.C.....dear friends of my grandparents the Haubenstocks, Goulds, and Mrs. Hodes....Cousins Stacey and Daniel....Cousin Roberta (my grandfather's first cousin...what does that make her to Sadie? Anyone??)And Ray's aunt Eva (does that make her Sadie's great-great aunt by marriage? wow...this is getting complicated!) I swear Sadie was happy to meet her, despite her appearance in this picture. :)After a night at Cathy and Ray's we headed to Tavares, FL to Chet and Barbara's house. Chet took us all out for an evening boat ride on their lake. At this point, Sadie had been on air, land, and water within the course of 2 days. Whew!The lake we were on connected to other lakes in the area via these beautiful canals. They were full of exotic wildlife and plants....and even ALLIGATORS!!!We returned to Chet and Barb's to watch a gorgeous sunset from their back porch. Nothing compares to Florida sunsets....On Saturday we took Sadie to her first tailgate party! She'll be doing plenty of this with her mom and dad as she gets older, so I figured, why not get her used to it early? Casey and T.C., along with T.C.'s family, were going to the Jimmy Buffet concert later that evening, so we decided we'd drop by for some of the pre-concert revelry. Mom got right into the spirit with a parrot-head and a margarita...and like a true Florida baby, Sadie ended up in nothing but her pants.Mom and I also went to Indian Rocks to our family's condo on the Gulf of Mexico. It was a nice quiet day. We ate lunch at our favorite beach restaurant, Crabby Bills. After naps for all three of us, we took Sadie for a nice long walk on the beach.

Overall, it was a great trip. It was a learning experience for both of us (more me than Sadie). It was tough for me to be away from Brian for so long. After having your husband by your side every day as you navigate the challenges of parenthood together, it was somewhat scary to be the solo parent on such a long trip. But my mom was such a big help with Sadie, and once we arrived in Florida, Sadie was always in the arms of someone who loved her. It was truly an amazing experience to introduce Sadie to my extended family.