Sadie's second trip to Oregon

We made it safely to Oregon, but it wasn't easy. After today I had to pray for forgiveness for any rude things I've ever said about (or to) someone flying alone with a small child...it is NOT easy! Brian came into the airport with me because Sadie was car screaming on the way there, so I pushed the stroller with the diaper bag while daddy held the baby. I was very thankful for his help. Once we got checked in (Sadie even got her very own boarding pass!), Brian walked us to security and said goodbye...and we were on our own. TSA ushered me straight to the front of the line (probably out of sympathy) and we were all good until it was time to walk through the beeper. I even got my shoes off, the computer out, and the medicines in a baggie all with one hand (while holding Sadie with the other)! Then the lady told me I had to fold up the stroller and put it through the scanner, I looked at her like she's crazy, I think I even said something like, "ok, right, let me grow a third arm!" Luckily the guy behind me was nice, he looked like a college kid, he folded up my stroller for me (by this time Sadie is starting to cry), then when I didn't realize my phone was in my pocket, he held out one of those little bowls for me to put it in, then when i beeped again and they said I had to take off my belt, he gave me another bowl...I'm sure every person behind me was cursing me (I would have been!) We made it through finally with no beeps and I got the stroller and put Screamy Sadie in it while I got everything packed back up...and we screamed our way to gate C14.

Funny side note: Brian called just as I was putting my belt back on to ask if I remembered where we parked the car. I told him what I thought, he agreed with me, then told me the car wasn't there. What?! Okay, I love Brian, but he has such a hard time remembering where he parked. So I wasn't that worried, I just figured he was in the wrong spot. I quizzed him for a minute, "did you come out the elevators and turn right? Did you go all the way to the end of the aisle? Did you check the next aisle over to make sure?" He said yes, and our car wasn't there. So he decided to call security and I told him to call me again when he figures out what to do. We talked again when I got to my gate and he said security was coming and if they couldn't find it, we'd have to report it stolen. And we talked a minute about why someone would want to steal OUR car...seriously, it's old and there's nothing valuable in there! And we locked it! Anyway, so he called me one more time and opens with, "you'll appreciate this..." Apparently there are east and west sides to the parking structure, and the look exactly the same...and he was on the wrong side! Ha ha ha!

With the knowledge that our car wasn't stolen, Sadie and I continued to wait to board the plane. She had stopped crying, and she was happily laying on my lap being cute and kicking her legs, and I had great optimism (like I usually do). We boarded after the A group with 16 other families with small children (I felt better at least knowing that if my baby cried she probably wouldn't be the only one!), and this time when I needed to fold up the stroller, I handed Sadie to the lady behind me who asked if she could help. Because the flight was full of families, everybody was super nice and very understanding of us.

We got a great seat, third row, against the window, and it didn't look like anyone was going to be in the middle seat. It was all working out nicely! I started nursing Sadie knowing she was tired and hoping she'd just fall asleep and we'd be good, but it didn't quite happen like that... she took 3 sucks and started crying (I'm sure her teeth hurt, I think I finally feel something coming through!). And she wouldn't stop. There was this young couple and they boarded late and couldn't find seats together so he was going to sit by me and the girl right behind us, but the lady in the row behind us offered to sit by me so the couple could sit together. She sat down and said, "I figured I should at least see who's making all this noise!" I apologized in advance, but she was really nice and when Sadie screamed and whined for the next hour, she didn't say a word. She and the guy on the aisle both had headphones (which I was glad for them) and neither of them seemed bothered. And the lady in front of my kept turning around, but not because she was annoyed, because she's a mom and felt bad for me and wanted to help. When Sadie finally gave up and fell asleep, the lady in front of me turned around and I gave her a thumbs up and she just laughed, the lady next to me said, "She's way cuter when she's quiet." It was embarrassing, but what can you do? She's a baby!

Luckily she was out the rest of the flight and I was able to sleep a little, read a little, eat a little, but you have no idea how excited I was when the captain said we had 15 more minutes until we land! The lady next to me said, "the hard part is over now!" I told her, with a frown on my face, we still had to drive to Eugene.

My mom met us at baggage claim, Sadie was sound asleep in the stroller, and I was once again glad we brought it. We got her in the car(after a diaper change, of course) and got on the road. We decided first, though, to stop at the fabric store...I was looking for something specific and I thought a store in Oregon might have it. Nope. Then Sadie was hungry (she actually put her hand in her mouth and started sucking! This is the second time she's done this in about 24 hours, it's kind of exciting!!), so we nursed in the parking lot while my mom ate the lunch she brought and we made it almost an hour before the crying started!

We had decided ahead of time that we would stop at the Starbucks in Woodburn (which is about half way and a good place to stop and rest anyway), so we did, and Sadie sat and was cute and everybody oohed and ahhed over her. Then we nursed some more and she pooped her pants, so we took care of that...but then she cried for the next hour before we got home. Actually, we decided to stop to see Anna first because she lives a little north of Eugene. It was so sad, not car screaming, but it went in waves...she would fade out and just barely be crying and we thought she'd fall asleep, and then she'd get herself worked up again and scream and then she'd fade back down and do it all over again. She was so tired, but falling asleep in the car was obviously NOT on her agenda!

We had a good visit with Anna and Sadie got a little nap, she took a longer one at my mom's house, then we went to the Johnson's for dinner and Sadie was out cold by 9:00. She didn't even wake up when we put her in the car. Poor little baby was T-I-R-E-D! Goodnight sweet Sadie, i hope you have a better day tomorrow and a less "exciting" flight back home on Saturday.