21 weeks old: first MAX ride, first airplane ride, and first Thanksgiving

First MAX ride

Eloise rode on the MAX train for the first time last week. We walked from our house to the nearest stop and then boarded the train with the stroller. She did great with the motion, starts and stops, and jerking around curves. 

First plane ride

We rode the MAX train again to the airport to catch Eloise's first flight to Phoenix for Thanksgiving. That's us just after boarding the plane. The flight took off right in the middle of her nap time so she was pretty cranky by the time we boarded. After this photo was taken she started crying and didn't stop until we were at cruising altitude. That was stressful to be locked in with a crying baby and no idea if/when she would stop, but then she fell asleep and slept all the way until we landed. Success! We apologized to some of the passengers around us for the initial crying. The man in our row was very kind and said he has children, too, and he doesn't mind at all, that it is stressful for us and not him. As we were waiting to deplane a man behind us also told us that he thought she did very well and that he has 17 grandchildren (!). It sure makes me feel more at ease when people go out of their way to say kind things like that.

Eloise's Grandma Zuber picked us up from the airport and we stayed at her house. Grandma knows how to walk and talk to Eloise with a very gentle and soothing voice. She got lots of smiles out of Eloise.

We spent Thanksgiving at Eloise's oldest cousin Emily's house. And forgot to snap a single picture that day! Darn, because Eloise had a special dress that was purchased just for Thanksgiving months ago. She also met her Aunt Teresa for the first time and her other older cousins Drew and Cory. Teresa held Eloise and soothed her when she was fussy for a LOT of the time we were there, which was so nice to have a break! She is a true baby whisperer. The whole day was a wonderful time with family.