Thanksgiving in Houston

The Saturday before Thanksgiving I woke up with fearful thoughts of my child screaming her way through our 2 1/2 hour flight to Texas. Even the idea of going through security made me a little nervous. Gone were our carefree days of skipping through the airport with empty arms and plenty of time to enjoy a coffee and look around the gift shop before boarding the plane. We now had a BABY with us -cue the dramatic music.

Getting out the door that morning went much more smoothly than I anticipated. Mostly thanks to my mom who had stayed over the night before to babysit for us and so she was there the following morning to take care of Belle while we got everything ready, and then drive us to the airport. Thanks mom! Once at the airport we were pleasantly surprised to find that everything went quickly and easily. Anabelle was in a good mood, and right on schedule to take a nap during the flight. We were able to get through security without any issues (I wasn't worried about being frisked or anything it was more just the hassle of unloading and reloading everything while everyone around you wants you to hurry along) So we finally got on the plane and I gave Anabelle a bottle as we were going up, she drank the whole thing without a peep and promptly fell asleep. She slept for the whole flight waking up when we touched down and the captain said "Welcome to Houston" She was looking around and checking it all out, and I was relieved. We had made it and managed to not drive everyone around us crazy. We even got several comments on how good our baby was. Duh... I knew that ;) Here is Anabelle on her 1st plane ride.

Our time in Houston went by quickly with Anabelle getting to meet lots of new people, and see exciting things. It turns out our baby travels pretty well, and she did a good job of staying on somewhat of a normal schedule and sleeping well. John's parents live on a golf course which combined with some beautiful weather makes for a great walk. Here Anabelle and I went out to enjoy the sunshine.

Anabelle met her Grandpa Ken for the first time, they spent lots of quality time together.

Here Anabelle's Aunt Mary (his brother Mike's wife) who has had a lot of experience with babies (they have 4 wonderful children) rocks Belle to sleep after a long day of visiting with family.

Anabelle's cousin Taylor holds her while she's sleeping.
Here John's Uncle Kenny hangs out with Belle. He first met her when she was just a few days old, she is much bigger now.
Of course we played lots of poker while down in Houston, and Belle wanted to get in on the action. Referred to as "Chicago Belle" she was quickly realized to be part of an elaborate scheme where she would give a sign as to what her Daddy's cards were by the number of bubbles she blew. Many benefitted from this tell.
While on our visit, we also enjoyed some time on the golf course. I was happy to sit out and watch (I'm not very good at golf), Anabelle and I rode along in the cart. We had a lot of fun watching Daddy, Uncle Kenny, Grandma and Grandpa play. Here John concentrates on his swing.
Uh-oh... I knew this might happen. Most of you know John as a pretty mild manner guy, but put him on the golf course and he goes crazy. Here he is on a rampage after his ball hit a goose on the fairway. Ok not really, but John assures me that this actually happened to him one time at the Village Links in Glen Ellyn.

Anabelle was quite comfy in her Baby Bjorn, while we rode along in the golf cart.
Here Anabelle is sleeping in her pack and play, she did great sleeping in a new place, and really seemed quite comfy. John and I both think this position is funny, and it's how she ends up sleeping most nights.
Anabelle was sure to spend lots of time cuddling with Grandma!
Thanksgiving morning arrived and Anabelle was ready to eat, too bad no teeth yet. She had a lot of fun hanging out with everyone. She was even too excited to take a nap, who would want to miss all of that fun?

Yumm....turkey! Can't wait till next year when I can try some.
Anabelle has 2 Uncle Mike's (my brother and John's brother) Here she is giving her Uncle Mike a big smile. Everyone joked she was thinking "Hey I like this guy, he is bald like me!"
Before Uncle Kenny went back to Chicago we went to lunch at a restaurant on Lake Houston, Anabelle liked looking at the reflection on the water.
After a very full week of visiting with friends and family, and spending time with Grandma and Grandpa it was time to head back to Chicago. Of course I was wondering can our flight home go as smoothly as our flight into Houston? We got through security and to our gate with about 5 minutes to spare, which was okay because the flight was pretty early (7am) so we didn't want to spend any more time at the airport than necessary. We boarded the plane and Belle started to get fussy, uh-oh. She continued to whine and fuss for about 5 minutes while everyone else boarded the plane. It wasn't a full flight, so it was kinda good that she fussed b/c no one sat by us. Then she quieted down and of course someone sat in our empty seat. Oh well. Again Anabelle drank her bottle on the way up and slept all the way till we touched down in Chicago. Yeah we made it without any complications! While in baggage claim, a news reporter interviewed us on holiday travel. Anabelle has already been on tv at only 2 months old. I put the video on my last post if you want to check it out. Thanks Sue and Ken we had a great trip and really enjoyed our time in Houston! It was great to see friends and family that we don't get to see often enough. Here Anabelle relaxes in her Christmas pj's back at home.