Michigan Round One

This was our third trip to Michigan and the third season we have been there! I think fall has been my favorite so far! There were beautiful fall colors; crisp, cool weather; blue skies for days; and only a little rain. Since we went right before Halloween there were also tons of fun activities!

We got into detroit at 1:30 AM on Wednesday morning. A nice airport worker put our bags on a cart and delivered us to the shuttle area where our hotel shuttle was waiting for us (so much smoother than our last trip). We got to the hotel, got ready for bed and got to sleep before 3:00 AM. We got up around 10:30 AM (Clara woke up first and Dada woke up to find her playing on the floor - I was still sleeping) and Dada picked up the rental car (they super upgraded us to a minivan because apparently we can't get enough of them). Then we headed to Burton with a stop for lunch on the way. Clarita was tired and almost fell asleep in the car before lunch. Once she ate she was full of energy and kept asking when we would get to Grandpa Bill's house. Once we got there she was shy for a little while, but warmed up much more quickly this time! Emmett was content to let everyone hold him and he smiled and cooed away! We enjoyed a relaxing afternoon and evening with Great Grandpa Bill, Grandpa Bill (or Grandpa Bills as Clara refers to them), Grandma Peggy, and Aunt Lori (or New Tia Lori as Clarita said). We picked raspberries, played, and caught up.

Who doesn't put their baby on the floor to sleep?

Baby carrier!

Minivan, Minivan! 

Real cozy!

Listening to Great Grandpa's stories

Picking raspberries

Loquita!

On Thursday we headed to a local apple orchard. Clarita was in heaven because there was a giant slide and a bunch of outdoor toys. We didn't realize that the hayride and corn maze were only open on weekends, but it turned out the toys were more than enough to keep Clara happy. She wasn't even interested in the petting zoo. Emmett was content to swing in a little swing, nurse, and sleep in the carrier. We ate some apple cider doughnuts (super yummy) and an apple cider slushy and got lots of goodies to take home. We spent the rest of the day relaxing and Baby Emmett even got to take a bath in the sink.

Sink bath!

Friday we headed to For-Mar Nature Preserve. We walked around the trails enjoying the beautiful fall foliage. Although it was not at its peak, it was still much more colorful than home and absolutely beautiful. Emmett spent most of the walk sleeping in the carrier. While he nursed Clara decided that she had to go potty. Dada helped her go in the "outside potty" (aka the ground), but he wasn't well versed in females peeing outdoors and she peed all over her pants and panties. I had a spare pair of panties but not pants. We tried to get Clarita to wear Baby Emmett's leg warmers, an idea she thought was great until she realized that they would not reach all the way up to her panties and threw a fit. She ended up going pants-less even though it was cold. She wrapped up in blankets in the stroller for most of the walk so it was ok. We checked out the visitors center where Clara was obsessed with all of the stuffed real animals. She was very concerned that they were real and were going to get her and asked about each one, "It's not real? It's not gonna get me?" The Little Guy nursed while Clarita, Dada, and Grandpa Bill explored.

Tiny apples!

She's obsessed with Port-A-Potties

When we got back, Grandma Peggy said that she had seen on Facebook that For-Mar was having a Halloween celebration that night. We decided to check it out and Aunt Lori found some costumes for us to wear. Reese came over and we all chose costumes. Clarita was not too excited about costumes and kept saying that she wanted to be a Care Bear despite the fact that I told her numerous times her Care Bear costume was in California. She finally agreed to be a princess (aka wear a tiara) when I told her that only kids dressed up could get lollipops. Clara still thinks that candy is only for big kids, but says that lollipops are for little kids. Unfortunately, almost all of the candy that night was lollipops! For-Mar was very festive. There was a trail lit with Jack-O-Lanterns and eight stations with an interactive activity to learn about a nocturnal animal as well as candy. It was pretty fun and Clara and Reese loved it. Emmett slept through the entire trail and woke up to nurse at the end! Clarita had two lollipops and was in absolute heaven!

It was impossible to get her to stand still

Baby Emmett dressed as a ghost!

Emmett's First Flight

We decided to brave the trip to Michigan with two kids when Emmett was not quite three months old. I figured now was a good time since I am still on maternity leave and this way everyone could see Emmett while he was still a baby. I was a little nervous about flying with two kids and wasn't sure how the Little Guy would do. I would never have even considered flying with Clara when she was so small. I am the opposite of a germaphobe, but Dada had me paranoid to take her around large groups of strangers and I would have been sure she would have caught a disease on a plane. I am much less concerned this time around. Perhaps in part because it's my second child, perhaps because he seems so much sturdier and less fragile than she did. It turned out to be no problem.

Airports are fun!

In order to avoid 12 plus hours of travel we flew into Detroit again. We had one layover in Phoenix and had just enough time to grab something to eat before we boarded, This trip was smooth butter and nothing like the last one (we decided that Tia is bad luck since she's had problems on both of her trips to Michigan). The Snuggle Buggle did great! He made lots of new friends, ate, and slept. He got a little fussy once when he was super tired and I nursed him for a second and he was out for a couple of hours! He actually took his chuponcito both times we took off and didn't have any trouble with his ears. It was better than I could ever have imagined.

"We're flying to Michigan!"

Looks uncomfortable

Clara was super excited about going to Michigan again since she remembers when we went in June. On the flight she told anyone who would listen that she was flying to Michigan! She played during the first fight and slept at least an hour on the second flight. Clarita even went potty on the plane! She also managed to spill all of her cups of water all over, once entirely down my boot! Flying itself is pretty entertaining for Clara and she doesn't even need many toys to occupy her. I always bring a ton, but she doesn't use most of them. She likes turbulence and says the plane is bouncing!

Although flying with two kids was definitely more difficult than flying with one, it was definitely doable and will be easy once Emmett is a little older. Let's hope our flights home are as smooth.

At one point we were all asleep!