On the Plane

We were pretty nervous about taking Ava on the plane since she didn't want anything to do with the mini-train or hay rides. She also doesn't like loud noises and is now easily scared. We got to the airport early to let her run around and also check out the plane before we got on it. To our surprise she was excited and enjoyed looking at the plane while we waited. We didn't even need to resort to bribing Ava with the Cinnabon we bought. She was more interested in the planes than the treat.

Once on the plane she did good too. During the dreaded take-off Ava fell fast asleep. I think she was asleep before we even left the ground. She stayed asleep for a while and then woke up in a pretty good mood. We kept her occupied with food, books, and a couple new toys. We waited to use our secret weapon, Toy Story 2, until the end of the flight. Ava did really well and only lost it at the very end when she bonked her head. We were able to comfort her and she then fell asleep again during the landing.

On the way home Ava did great too. She was exhausted from the week and slept for a little over 2 hours. This time we used food and coloring to entertain her. Toward the end of the flight we put on our secret weapon and Ava snuggled with her daddy. She didn't fuss much until the way down because her ears started to bother her (we can't blame her). We were able to soothe her easily and received compliments from the couple in front of us on how well we all handled the flight.

We were grateful everything went well. Ava really is a good girl and did better than we expected. We didn't enjoy being squished on the plane for over 5 hours, but we were glad Ava made it tolerable.