Took us seven months, but we finally took our first “family trip”. As the weather is starting to change in Chicago, we decided now was as good of a time as any to go to a warmer climate…little did we know when booking our trip that Hurricane Sandy had other plans. ;)
It was the first time flying with Eden, so we really had no idea what to expect. With that in mind, she far exceeded our expectations for flights. Although she got a little cranky having to travel around eating/sleeping times, overall she was an all-star. We fed her during take-off/landing, and she pretty much slept for most of the flight (and was in a pretty good mood when she was awake). The true sign was when a fellow passenger came up to me as we were getting of the plane and said “You’re daughter was very good, your wife did an amazing job.” I call that a successful flight!
Upon arrival in Florida, I spent about 30 minutes listening to a Budget Rental agent try to upsell me on my car before finally driving off in style in a Prius. :) Since Eden is a bit young for a true Disney experience, we decided to get a townhouse in Kissimmee that had pretty much everything we needed: multiple rooms, kitchen, and a pool.
Sandy brought scattered showers when we first got there, so we spent much of our time indoors, but when the skies cleared we ventured about with Eden. We’ve been a bit scared to take her out in Chicago, as we attempted to do Panera a few times and ended up leaving early because of a crying Eden. But she seems to have grown so much since then, as we were able to do a Bahama Breeze dinner, a couple trips to downtown Disney, and also a rousing game of mini-golf!
All in all, it was a great trip away, and some added encouragement that just because we have a child, we’re not tied down to our house. ;) (Even better is that if Eden ever asks to go to Disney in the future, we can tell her that she already went and had a great time…and we have pictures to prove it!)
