OMG!!! That pretty much sums up this trip home! I was nervous about the trip before it started, simply because a 30 hour trip with an 8 month old is just scary in itself but I was not prepared for what could happen once we got there. OMG!!
So, the part that I was afraid of the most was the flights. We had a 10 hour flight to Dubai and then a 16 hour flight to Houston where we would stop for a few days to do some much needed shopping and visit with some friends. 26 hours of flying plus a 4 hour layover equals ONE LONG TRIP! Silly me, I got all worried for nothing. Kylie was perfect and did really well, not counting the 2 issues she had where she woke up and didn't know where she was. This caused her to freak out a bit but after completely waking her up and letting her know that we were there she was okay. Turns out that the part of the trip I should have been stressing over was the first week we were there!
Photos from the long flight - Dubai to Houston
To make a long story short, Kylie got sick with a cold in Houston only to make adjusting to the time difference even more impossible than it already was. It was a LONG 4 days!! We weren't able to get out as much as we would have liked, but we were able to catch up with a few people and had a pretty good visit. When we got to Pensacola we thought things were getting back to normal but we were completely wrong. Kylie then got a stomach virus on top of her cold which just made things even worse. For 2 days she couldn't keep anything down. She had a hard time sleeping and was waking up 1-2 times a night. She wouldn't eat and when she did it came right back up. It was a nightmare! By Wednesday she was feeling better but that night Jamie started to feel bad. Thursday he was sick all day and didn't start feeling better until that night. Friday morning, Christmas Eve, it was my turn along with Jamie's mom. Thank god, Christmas morning came around and everyone seemed to be back to normal. From there the trip got much better, but we had already lost more than a week of it.
Despite having the Christmas celebration cut in half from 2 days to 1 I think Kylie's first Christmas was a pretty good one. She got loads of gifts and got to meet lots of people including 2 of her 4 great grandmothers as well as her only living great grandfather. It was also the first time my dad got to meet her since she had been sick all week.
Our first Christmas!
Kylie's first American Girl doll
Not only did I rock in this chair when I was a girl, but so did my dad and my grandmother.
Now it's Kylie's turn, she seemed to like it.
Kylie and paw paw (aka my dad). Doesn't Kylie look like she's pissed that Buttercup is in the photo?
Kylie with my grandmothers. Grandma Hunter and Grandma Gipson
Enjoying her gifts (and Daddy's watch) with Daddy and her cousins
Sunday we drove over to Baton Rouge for a small McMillan reunion. We thought it would be good for Kylie to meet Mama Ruth, Jamie's grandmother while we were in the states so Mama Connie organized it. We had aunts and uncles as well as cousins meet up. It was a good time and really good to see everyone!
Four generations of McMillan's. Jamie, Kylie, Mama Ruth and Pops
For New Years Eve Kylie got to spend the night with Nanna (my mom) while we went out to the NYE party at the Pensacola Beach Hilton Garden Inn. I am very proud to say that I didn't cry when I dropped her off and I only called 4 times that night! 4 times isn't bad, right? I mean, it was my first time away from her for that long. A whole night!! My plan was to take full advantage of my first night away from Kylie and get loaded! I bought this hot little red and black dress from Cache to wear and planned to wear my new earrings that Jamie got me for Christmas. Then the McMillan travel curse decided to join us. First off, when we were packing up to head out (we get a room out there so we don't have to drive back) Jamie realized that he didn't have his dress pants. He swore he packed them, but they were nowhere to be found. This meant that he would have to wear some chinos with a button up shirt and I would be seriously over dressed compared to him. Next, we get out to the hotel and get all checked in. Jamie started watching the football game and I was about to get in the shower when I realized I left my dress and Jamie's shirt hanging on the closet door at this parents house. Nice!! We had 2 hours until the party started and it was a 30-40 minute drive back each way. Not to mention it was raining. By the time we got back to the hotel we had 20 minutes until the party started so needless to say we were late. By this point we were so exhausted we were happy when midnight came around so we could go up to the room and go to bed. What a way to ring in the New Year right? We did have a good time so all was not lost and I was able to talk with the psychic that was there last year. She had some interesting things to say but we'll see if any of them happen this year.
These 2 are 2 peas in a pod!! Would you guess they were father and son?
Happy New Year!!!
The beautiful view we woke up to. Nice right...yeah, not so much!
After New Year's our trip was basically over : ( We pretty much spent New Year's Day packing up and running to the stores to pick up a few last minute purchases. Some of which included 2 new suit cases because we had so much stuff to take back we needed the extra luggage! This was in addition to the two extra bags we packed inside of another bag on the way over! The trip back to Perth was going to be even longer than our trip over. First, we had an extra flight from Pensacola to Houston that was spilt on the way over since we stayed in Houston for a few days. That came with a 4 hour layover before heading to Dubai. Once in Dubai we had a 6 hour layover before the flight back to Perth. So in total that equals 38 hours of traveling not including the time spent at the Pensacola airport. We were able to spend the layover in Houston relaxing in the Presidents Club, giving Kylie some time to roll around on the floor before being stuck in a small seat though, which was nice. In Dubai, we made reservations to stay in the Dubai International Hotel, which is located in the airport so we didn't have to leave and go through customs. BTW...if you ever travel through Dubai and have a long layover you must check it out!! The price is ridiculous, but the room was pretty sweet. It was set up like a luxury hotel room with a full tub and separate shower, mini bar, 42 inch LCD, room service and a massage chair which I took full advantage of. It was so much better than sitting out in the airport and trying to relax out there. They even had a full crib in the room for Kylie. I highly recommend it to anyone traveling through there!!
Kylie and Daddy hanging out before our flight to Dubai
The flights back were pretty uneventful and once again Kylie did well. She got a little antsy on the Dubai - Perth flight and didn't sleep much, but it actually helped to get her back on schedule once we got home. We arrived on Tuesday around 5:30 pm and by Thursday she slept through the night. Best of all, she didn't get sick!! YAY!
Since then it's been life as usual. Jamie has returned to work and Kylie and I have resumed our day to day routine. We did have a "mini" Christmas of our own since we returned. We decided that Kylie would probably get plenty of gifts back home so we would hold off on our gifts to her until we got back. She must have been a good girl the past few months, because Santa had a gift waiting for her as well!
Accepting the delivery via Daddy
She's still a little young for it, but I'm sure she'll figure it out soon enough.
Until then, Daddy's available to push!
It's amazing how fast little one's grow up! She's picking up on things so quickly now. Everyday she becomes more and more grown. So much has changed even since we've been back in Perth. She's completely over the whole baby food thing (which started on our trip) and aside from the breakfast cereal/fruit mix and some mixed fruit packs she will have no more of it. Since my last "real" post she has discovered how to wave and and knows how to do it just by hearing "hi" and "bye". I've had to move her bed to the lowest position since she can get into the sitting position on her own now and has begun to pull up on things. She's talking heaps more (as if that were possible), and with much more meaning now. Before she would babble and you really didn't think much of it. She would talk and then smile, you would say something back and she would smile but now, she's actually "talking" with a purpose. Sometimes she even goes into a rant and then looks at me like there should be no reason for me to not know what she wants. Aside from hi and bye, she also recognizes bite and drink and when you say them she will open her mouth or turn her head away. She's also starting to like cuddling with her stuffed animals with her favorites being a tiger that Daddy bought for her in Singapore and a frog that plays music and lights up. She's still not crawling but manages to scoot and pull herself all over the place. I think the trip home set her back a little since she didn't get any floor time for the first 2 weeks of it due to traveling and being sick. Best part is the fun is just beginning!!
2011 will be a busy year for us! Crawling, walking, going back to work, more trips home as well as other vacations, first birthdays, 30th birthdays and everything else I can't think of right now will occur. I just hope that it doesn't go by as fast as 2010 did so I can relax and enjoy it. Lots of these things will only happen once, so I plan to take every moment in! I don't really "do" New Year's resolutions but I do have one goal for this year that I hope to be able to start once things get settled. I am way behind on my scrapbook so my goal for this year is to complete 1 page a day until I am caught up. Jamie's resolution was to start watching his mouth, especially around Kylie. That should be one for me as well!!
Hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas and a very happy New Year as well!! It was great to see those of you that we could and we were so excited to introduce you to our sweet little girl! Hopefully you all thought she was a sweet as we do ; )
