An Adventure to the UK

Ceci had her first airplane adventure, and visited her third country - not too shabby for a five month old.      

We were a bit wary of how Ceci would fare on the plane, especially given she hates being confined, but she actually did really well! On the plane ride to London (about a 3 hour flight) she ate during takeoff, played for a little, then finally feel asleep for an hour (way overdue - she was so intrigued by everything around her in the airport and then on the plane that Jay finally had to put her in the sling and walk her around the galley area!), then played a bit more before eating again on the landing. 

Nervous but excited for our first plane ride!

So relieved when she finally fell asleep!

We had a lovely time in the UK visiting with lots of friends and family!  We started off in Marlborough, where we stayed with our friends Danielle and Ben, and their adorable son Archie, who is just 2 weeks older than Ceci. Ceci had a great time playing with (or at least near) Archie and all of his fun toys.  And Jay and I so appreciated our first night away from home being in a house fully equipped for a baby!

While in Marlborough we also enjoyed visiting with lots of friends (and several more new babies!), having football Sunday at Jen's, going to a Mommy & Me sing-a-long, and visiting the Math Department.  It was a very busy few days!

After Marlborough we headed up to Leicester where we had our first hotel adventure.  We were quite impressed with the Premier Inn in Braunstone - the staff was SO helpful and friendly and the room was bigger than anticipated!  It was a great experience and Ceci actually slept surprisingly well for being in a travel cot (Pack n Play) and in the same room as us.

 

Staying in a hotel also meant we ate several meals out at restaurants, something we haven't done much recently.  Ceci even got to have her first experiences in restaurants high chairs!

And, of course, while in Leicester we were able to visit with lots of Jay's extended family which was really special.  Here are some highlights.

With Uncle Dale

Hanging with Auntie Diane

Walking to pick up dinner

Meeting cousin Darryl

Ceci and her Great-Nanna

Ceci loved meeting her Great-Great-Uncle George

After a few days in Leicester we headed to Milton Keynes to stay with Jay's immediate family.  Most of them had already met Ceci, but hadn't seen her since she was really tiny!  So it was really lovely to introduce them to our much bigger, much more alert little girl.

Ceci and her Grandad

Taking a walk in Milton Keynes

The only real downside to the trip, was we discovered that Ceci really does hate her car seat. The 2.5 hour drive from Marlborough to Leicester was particularly rough. She had four meltdowns in the first hour (with real tears and everything from both me and her) before finally passing out for an hour.

Like...really, really hates the car seat

So exhausted!

On our ride from Leicester to Milton Keynes (an hour) and then from there to the airport (just over an hour) we did discover how to get Ceci to sleep in the car:

1. Let her play until she realises she's in her car seat and starts screaming and arching her back, trying to get out. Anywhere from 5-20min into the journey.
2. Play 'In the Middle' and 'Cecilia' on repeat on mom's phone. Hold the phone by Ceci's feet so she can stare at the design on the back of the phone.
3. When she starts to get upset, sing along until she calms down.
4. Once calm and zoned out, wait silently until she drifts off, usually about 45 min into the journey.
5. Arrive at destination to have her wake as soon as the car stops. Usually after a 10-20min nap. Ugh.

Honestly, though, it was nice to know that she is capable of sleeping in the car!

The plane ride home was even better - Ceci seemed like a old pro!  She ate on take-off and landing, played a little bit, and slept 2 hours!  And this time, Jay didn't even have to get our of his seat - he just put her in the sling and she passed out.  Not bad considering she started cutting her first tooth while we were in the UK!

Hanging out in the Ergo waiting to check-in at the airport

We bought Sophie the Giraffe while in the UK and it was a big hit!

Passed out

Loving the view

One of my favorite things about visiting Jay's family was that we finally were able to get our hands on some of Jay's baby pictures!  I didn't see either of us in Ceci, and my mom had suggested a few months back to look at baby pictures of myself, and this is what I found:

I was so surprised that I could see so many similarities between us and was so curious if we'd find the same with Jay's baby pictures.  Here's what we found:

And here's a comparison of the three of us!

Turns out she looks more like us than we realized!

After such a fun and successful trip, I'm now even more excited for our visit to America in November!!