back on homebase

bevan in seattle

Well, that was a fun 12 days in Seattle. And I love going home to Seattle cause it's like a mini-vacation. Free babysitting, good meals, and family and friends. It was just too bad we only had one day of really good NW weather. Yeah, it gets rainny and cold in Seatown, but when there's good weather it's GREAT weather. I think Evan had a good time cause he still ask about his grandparents every so often, and then he'll say "no Ah Kung" (no grandpa). Tonight as I was putting him to bed he asked about daddy and then he said "daddy sleeping, Ah Kung sleeping" I guess he remembers my dad sleeping. When I showed him pictures of our trip he actually remember's Amy, Mark's cousin's daughter. Amy is about 6 months older, maybe more... but he'll point her out of the picture everytime. I guess that amazes me cause I'm so used to him not remembering anyone, and not even calling me mummy. And now he'll ask about people and even me when I'm not around.

About our flight back to DC... I really don't like flights going East, cause you lose SO much time in a day. I just happened to talk to Jason on the phone the morning I was leaving and he mentioned about a huge NE windstorm in our area. Great. I always seem to find the best days to travel too! :( So, I packed extra motion sickness pills for myself, and extra snacks and things to distract Evan if we end up circling DC for an hour in rough winds... which has happened before.
I have to give high praise to Northwest Airlines for this trip. I don't usually take NW Air, but after this trip, maybe I will more often. Evan isn't 2 yet so he is a lap passanger, which is nice that we don't have to pay for him yet. But, he is getting a bit big and too active to handle sitting hours in my lap in those cramped seats. The first leg of the flight was great. They upgraded our plane to a larger newer one. So Evan had his own seat and all the space he'd ever want, and all the new finagled buttons he could press. The next leg I knew was on a smaller plane and that it was full so the odds weren't in my favor for an empty seat next to me.
Evan was wired and was off the walls at the airport. I don't blame him. We just got off a 4 hour flight and still had another 2 hours to go, I had to let him burn off steam. They called people with disabilities or those traveling with children to board first, but Evan was jumping out of his stroller was I was pushing it. He's become a real daredevil with his stroller lately. There was such a huge crowd of people all waiting to board, I got tired of trying to push my way to the front of the line. I don't understand why people don't just get out of the way! It really is like everyone thinks if they get on first, that they'll some how get to their destination faster. And don't even get me started on people deboarding the plane!
So, anyway, I grabbed Evan and dropped him back in the stroller and dragged our stuff off to the side to wait to be last to board. If you can't be first, be last to board. Besides, you feel like some VIP when everyone is seated and watches you walk on and take your seat. I think Evan liked it too cause he was waving to EVERYONE we walked passed to get to 22D.
So here's what puzzles me. Maybe the NW Air staff saw my frustration and are really intuned. or maybe someone in the crowd? Or divine intervention? But when I finally went up to the gate, they knew who I was and they handed me a new ticket. "Ms. Chang, we've assigned you a new seat so you'd have an empty seat next to yours, just to make travel with a little one easier." WOW!! Did she read my mind?! No where on MY reservation did it say I was traveling with a lap passanger. None of the staff asked me to put him on my ticket. How did they know? Well, however they knew, they gave me the last empty seat left on the plane. There were plenty of little kids on that flight, too. And that whole flight, Evan was an angel. He sat in his seat happily looking at books, playing with toys, eatting his snacks, and watching Nemo. The flight attendents all came by and told him what a well behaved boy he was, and that for a 21 month old he was like a little man. I was in my own "shock & awe" moment too! For his final trick, he climbed into my lap and fell asleep right before the half hour of turbulance till landing. The winds had not died down in DC and the plane was swinging left and right and making sudden drops that made you feel like your stomach was at your neck. The guy next to me grabed his air sickness bag just incase, and I was SO glad to have taken my motion sickness pill before the flight. People applauded when the plane finally touched down. I'm so glad Evan slept through that. But I think he was still effected by the turbulance, cause while he was running circles around me at baggage claim, he threw up all over himself. That's my boy!

Other than that, our last few days home have been laid back. Both Mark and Evan are adjusting back to DC time. Mark pretty much slept all day Saturday to get back to normal. And I'm glad to report that after a few 2am bedtimes with Evan, he's finally back to 9-10 bedtimes. I guess I'm the last one standing. It's 2am and I'm blogging... *sigh*.