Based on the comments from my last post, I’ll start with our plane trip home to the US (even though it was over a month ago) and how Gabriela (my tot) did on the long flight!
Just to start with, this was Gabriela’s 3rd trip on a plane…the last 2 times were to the US and back to the UK when she was 1 year old, so of course she doesn’t remember them. This past year she has become fascinated by planes. She spots them in the sky and shouts, “O-plane, o-plane!” She likes Isaac’s toy planes, and she has enjoyed playing with the Fisher Price airport and plane set I found her at a church rummage sale.
When we arrived at the airport, she enjoyed watching planes outside the window. Then it was time to board. I wish I could have captured this moment with video and photo, but I was waiting in line with arms full of hand luggage. We were in that tunnel thing you walk through to board (what is that thing called?), and as we approached the door to the plane, you could see the whole plane by looking through the gaps. It was at this moment I glanced down at Gabriela next to me, and she was all astonishment (I think I got that phrase from a Jane Austen film). Her eyes were huge as she looked at the plane, and her hand was covering her mouth for a really long time—it was like she was frozen in awe and wonder at the thought that she was actually getting on a real airplane! I can’t describe it any better than that, but we enjoyed watching her, and the pilot at the door was getting a kick out her reaction too!
Gabriela did great on the flight, which was about 8 hours in duration. Before we left I posted a blog about what I was taking along for her entertainment. You can read about that HERE.
The items I had for Gabriela included a Winnie-the-Pooh sticker storybook, a small baby doll, a small drawing pad with pencils, soft-chew candy, and a wallet with laminated family photos, old train tickets, and an old gift card—all packed in her very own, tot-sized, Winnie-the-Pooh backpack. I took out one item at a time and let her use each one until she was tired of it. All the items were a huge hit, and she really loved the wallet! She did some drawing in the pad, but she really wanted me to draw things for her. She mostly requested cats. We also brought her blankie on board, so that helped when she finally did take a nap. The hardest part was when we’d have snacks and drinks or our food tray. She was sooooo tired of sitting in a seat, that her little legs were just plain antsy! She was constantly kicking her tray and mine, so it was a bit frustrating trying to keep food and drink from bouncing off.
NOW THEN, I’ll tell you the #1 thing that kept Gabriela occupied on the trip! It’s something I had on board to use on her…but not something I packed in her bag for her to play with. However, it worked wonderfully well! A BABY WIPE! Yes, a simple baby wipe ended up being the most entertaining to Gabriela! I don’t remember how I ended up thinking of it, but after she had gotten tired of everything else in her bag, I gave her a wipe and her baby doll and told her to clean her baby’s face. After carefully washing her baby for some time, she proceeded to wash her own face and hands and arms. Then she started in cleaning the tray in front of her. She continued using the wipe even after it dried out. I don’t know how long this occupied her, but it was a long while!
Other than the wiggles, she really did well on the trip. The older two were fine as well—they enjoyed everything in their bags.
Now we’ve just taken our first long car journey (with more to follow). We bought a portable DVD player…very handy thing to have, really. Isaac sits in the middle and holds it in his lap so the girls can see. However, he’s now experiencing Gabriela’s antsy legs—she kicked him and the DVD player all the way to Iowa!
Just a final note I have to share about our trip. We’ve made numerous flights between England and the US. The trips from England to the US are always during the day, and for the first time ever, our pilot took us directly over the south coast of Greenland! We had seen the coastline from a distance on one previous trip, but this was the first time directly over land, and it was clear skies. It was SO amazing…I couldn’t stop taking pictures out the window! We saw tall, snowy mountains, lakes, glaciers, and fiords. Talk about a spectacular view!
Okay, well that’s enough photos I guess. LOL!
