Day 1: Sunday 12/14
Early in the morning before the sun even came up, Aaron, Connor and I drove to Malpensa Airport in Milan. Aaron and I decided it would be best for Connor and me to leave a few days early because the flights were starting to fill up. Our chances of getting on a flight as a standby passenger would be much better on 12/14 then 12/18 {when Aaron got off for winter break and was planning on flying}.
My wonderful father-in-law offered to fly to Milan to help me with Connor on the long flight. Our plan was to meet him at the airport and he would help me check my bags and go through security. Well, that sort of changed when his flight to Milan was delayed by 5 hours! Aaron helped me get all of our bags to the ticket counter, but I had to wait in the line for the next 2 hours to get checked in and put on a different flight. Our original flight was going to JFK and there were several unsold seats and we were pretty much guaranteed a seat on that plane, but we weren't going to be able to make it since Pappy wasn't going to land in Milan on time. Our only other option {since there are only 2 flights to the US out of Milan a day} was to fly to Miami. The flight was delayed 2 hours, and we were told we probably wouldn't make it because it was so full. I had them take our luggage anyways and as I was on my way to security, here comes pappy to the rescue! He saw just how much work it is to go through security with a baby! We walked what seemed like 5 miles to the gate, and waited for them to call our names.
Finally, they called our names and handed us our boarding passes! Yay, we were headed to Miami! Our seats weren't together, by pappy talked the guy sitting next to Connor into switching with him. I'm sure he didn't mind getting away from a baby ;) The flight was 10 hours and seemed like it was never going to end. Connor only slept an hour and it was before the plane even took off. Here's what Connor did for 10 hours....
Ate a PB&J sandwich, slept, listened to music, bowled...
...painted, ate gelato, watched a movie, and got a puppet show {yes, that's a barf bag}. Not shown is Connor walking up and down the aisles over and over.
After trying multiple times to get him to take a nap, we gave up once we knew we were about to land. I told pappy he was going to fall asleep as soon as we got off the plane. Guess I was right...
Once we got through customs, rechecked our bags, re-listed me for a flight to DFW {the lady in Milan forgot to list me for the flight when we changed our flight itinerary in Milan}, got through security, and to the next gate I was exhausted. Then we found out the flight was delayed {surprise, surprise!} and they were oversold {there goes our chance of trying to get on this flight!}. So we went to get something to eat, but it was taking them forever to cook it, so we asked for them to pack it to go. We went to the gate where the next flight was leaving from and were surprised when we got there and found out everyone was already on the plane. We thought we were never going to get on it because of all the people from the earlier flight trying to get on a later flight, but the man at the ticket counter gave us two tickets! One for pappy and one for me. Connor was going to have to be a lap child, but at this point I didn't care. He slept for the first 45 minutes, then woke up and looked out the window. That only kept him happy for a little while before we had to bring out the tablet and a movie. The flight was a long 2 hours and 45 minutes. We landed in DFW around 10:30 and when I went to get our bags, they weren't on the carousel. The man told me they were on the earlier flight out of Miami that was delayed and wouldn't get in until 11:30. Good thing I packed us extra clothes because our luggage was spending the night at the airport tonight.
We got to pappy's house at about 11:30 and visited for a little while. I got a tour of their brand new home, which was beautiful by the way, and then everyone was ready for bed. Connor and I took a shower and then layed down. It was a long day and I was so happy to finally be in Texas, but I was ready to get much needed sleep!
Day 2: Monday 12/15
Connor woke up at 4 am and was ready to go :( I tried to get him to go back to sleep, but he didn't want to. We got dressed, ate breakfast, and waited for pappy to wake up and take us to the airport again. Today we were going to San Antonio so I could spend the week with my family! When we got to the airport, we picked up our luggage the arrived the night before, and then rechecked it for our San Antonio flight. Pappy walked with us through security and got us some coffee. I only had to wait an hour by myself before we got on the plane. I skipped taking the car seat on the plane because I knew I couldn't hold Connor, the car seat, and all our bags. He had a window seat, but ended up on my lap for most of the flight. He was pretty good for me, but I was relieved when we landed! My mom met me at baggage claim and I was so happy to see her!
As soon as I found out I was coming early, I told my mom to keep it a secret from my dad because I wanted to surprise him. Our first stop was to surprise my him at work. When we got there, he was in his office working on the computer. When he looked up, there we were. He was so surprised to see us. Connor went with him right away and started playing with his calculator on his desk.
Grandpa put him to work!
We went to a Chinese buffet near his work for a late lunch. It was so good and just what I needed! Connor was so lovey with both my mom and dad. He kept giving hugs and kisses to each of us. After lunch, my dad went back to work and we went to surprise my aunt at her house. She was so happy to see us. We played at her house for a little while before finally going to my moms. We stayed there and relaxed the rest of the day.
Eating tamales with grandpa.
Day 3: Tuesday 12/16
Connor woke up early in the morning and wanted to play. Thank you jet lag! My mom heard us, so she came to play with us. I went back to sleep and she rocked Connor until he also fell back to sleep. She brought him into bed with me, and we all got a little more sleep. My mom made us breakfast and then we got ready for a day of shopping.
I love my momma!
Connor took a nap while we got ready.
Hugs for grandma!
We picked my aunt up on our way to the mall. It was already lunch time, so we had lunch at the food court. Of course I chose my favorite, Chick-fil-A! It was just as good as I remembered :) Connor, on the other hand, wasn't a fan of their chicken. He's crazy!
Cheese.
I still wish they would have taken the picture of just Connor and Santa.
Shopping is fun when they let you run around!
After a long day of shopping, we went back to my mom and dads house. Connor played in the living room while I rested on the couch. 
Gambling with grandma.
Playing on cousin Timmy's dino.
I was filing my nails in my moms bathroom when I heard the doorbell ring at about 4:45. We weren't expecting anybody, so my mom wasn't sure who it was. When she opened the door, we saw my aunt Maggie standing there. We talked to her the day before and she said there was no way she would be able to see us before the party on Saturday, so I never thought it would be her. Connor ran up to her and gave her a big hug!
Look at those big smiles!
I'm her favorite ;)
My dad already knew she was coming, so we met him at a Mexican restaurant down the road for dinner a few minutes later. We had to take turns walking around the restaurant with Connor because he was starting to get cranky. He was tired and still not used to the time change, so I couldn't blame him. After dinner, we went to Sonic for dessert and Connor fell asleep on the way home. He stayed asleep until about 3 in the morning. Then it was playtime again...
**Thank you so much pappy for all you have done!**
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