Mac did great on the trip to Louisiana. We drove 4 hours to Shreveport with no stops and only one mini 15 minute meltdown. Way to go Mac!
We stayed with my cousins, Jason and Tammy, their little girl Jasey, and probably most important to Mac, their Boston Terrier, Cinch. Mac's eyes lit up as Cinch ran to the car to welcome us. It was so nice for Mac to have someone to play with while we were there (Jasey will be 3 in November). However, I did learn that kids that age do not typically enjoy sharing. This revelation led to Mac and Jasey having a few knock-down fights! Jasey took a few toys away from Mac while he was playing, but he just moved onto something else until he found some blocks. Jasey came over and took them away and I saw my child morph into a maniac. He started stomping his feet, turned red, let out a banshee-like scream and charged her! He grabbed her by the hair and was not planning to let go. To retaliate (and rightfully so), Jasey grabbed a blocked and knocked him upside the head. After we pulled them apart, I noticed that Mac had a Lego block imprint on his head. That's right, my boy got beat up by a girl. Other than that they got along pretty well. Having a little bouncy house to play in didn't hurt.
The first night of the rodeo Mac got to walk around and pet all the horses. He even got to play with some ducks. We ended up leaving early because he was so sleepy and getting extremely cranky, but we knew we'd be going back the next night.
After a good nights sleep we spent most of the day hanging out a Jason and Tammy's. We took Mac up to their barn to go and see some of the horses. Of course Mac was more excited to see the dogs. We made our way over to see my brother Kevin at his house in the afternoon to ride the four wheeler and Eric found a new toy for himself; a zero-turn lawn mower. I was told only a man could truly appreciate it.
We also got to see our old friend Snowball (a calf that we bottle fed last time we were up there). Mac liked him until we tried to make him ride it.
That night we headed back up to the rodeo and Mac had the best time! He got to ride a Watusi and a horse and play with his cousin Paxton. Mac also decided it would be a good idea to take some of that good old Louisiana dirt home with him. He kept sticking his hands through the fence and playing with the dirt in the middle of the arena. The next thing I know he is covered, head to toe, and sticking a big fist full of it in his mouth. He was filthy...but very happy!
On Sunday we went to church with Grandmama, Aunt Ruth, and Kevin. While Kevin took I nap..I mean while he was deep in prayer, Mac thought that it would be a good time to play with Mommy's bracelets. Once he got bored with that he decided to get his shiny new ball out and chunk it about 5 pews in front of us. We are definitely not ready for big boy church. We said our good-byes and hit the road for Little Rock to visit Eric's grandmother. Mac was once again a great little traveler. When we got to the house Mac was very excited to see this big black and white toy called a Grand Piano! Eric's grandmother is quite the pianist and gave him a quick lesson. The rest of the trip we would hear Mac's little fingers plunking out his version of a song. We spent the next day playing with Eric's dad and Aunt Robin, and visiting some of Deedie's(Eric's grandmother) friends.
Tuesday morning we just hung around the house, had a little lunch and a short nap and headed to the airport. I was a tad bit nervous to be going solo on Mac's first aerial adventure, but it sounded better than sitting in the car for 7 hours. When we got to security, monkey leash in tow, I told Eric to sneak away before Mac got upset and realized Daddy would not be joining us. All seemed to be fine until Mac's eyes met with those of an all to familiar friend...a dog. A drug dog to be exact. At that point Mac was on a mission. He was going to pet that dog! Of course they sort of frown upon petting drug dogs so I had to tell him "No." The news was not well received and Mac proceeded to hurl himself to the ground. The man with the dog apologized and I just shook my head and said I was sorry. I picked up my now hysterical son and stood in the security line with what seemed like a million eyes watching me. It didn't take long for a man a few people ahead of me to say "I think we would all appreciate it if you went ahead of me." I know he was being rude, but I really didn't care at that point. Once we got through the scanner Mac calmed down. I put his monkey leash back on, you could see the shame on his face, and we walked to the gate. And wouldn't you know it, our flight was delayed. Not what I wanted to hear, but it was okay. Mac was busy flirting with some lady, who would end up sitting next to us on the flight, so at least he was occupied for the time being.
Now just for your information, if you fly Southwest, you do not get to board early just because you have a kid. If you do not have an "A" boarding pass they will let you get on before the "B"'s, but that's after 60 people have already gotten on. We were "A31" so I figured we would at least get a window seat. To my great shock and surprise, the front aisle was empty when we got on! Mac and I snagged the window seat. I was thrilled! Soon after, Mac's 40 something girlfriend came and took the aisle seat. I told her she must be a brave woman to sit next to us. Laughing, she said she had 6 children and had had done this many times. To make this trip even better, the plane was not full and no one sat in the middle seat so Mac got to sit all by himself!
Then it happened...they closed the door. I thought, oh no, there's no way out. No matter what he does I'm stuck. As we we got ready for take off I grabbed his pacifier and shoved it in his mouth to hopefully stave off any ear popping. We got up in the air with no problems and I immediately turned on the Yo Gabba Gabba DVD. I kept telling myself that it was only a 1 hour flight so we just needed to get through 4 episodes and we were int he clear. Then I heard the pilot's voice informing us that due to the weather we were being diverted to Dallas where we would circle the city, then onto San Antonio to do the same, and then would could get into Houston. He estimated that the entire flight would be 2 hours. After watching the entire DVD, Mac was bored. I popped M&Ms in his mouth in return for showing his tricks (making animal sounds and showing me where his ears were). I figured that the sugar crash wouldn't happen until after we landed so who cared. Then my biggest fear became a reality. I smelt something horrible coming out of my son...yep, he pooped. I asked the flight attendant where I should change him and she informed me that there was a changing table in the bathroom. What?!? I'm not a big person and it's a tight squeeze for me to get in there alone! I got his bag and headed up front. Let me tell you, that changing table was ridiculous. Mac was probably too big for it at 9 months, so at 17 1/2 months, he was spilling off in every direction. The poor guys knees were pulled up to his chest and his head and neck were bent in a very awkward looking position. Just as I got him stripped down and cleaned the worst possible thing that could happen did...turbulence. I'm not talking a little rattle, it was really shaking. Mac, who was still half naked, thought it was great! He started pulling tissue paper off the wall, and throwing it in the air. He grabbed his shoe, chunked it at my head, and let out the biggest belly laugh ever. When I reached down to pick up the shoe I banged my head on the table, which he also found to be very entertaining. I was laughing so hard at this point I could barley speak. Mac then tried to stand up, again still naked, on the table and I was hysterically laughing and yelling "No Mac, No! Sit down!!" Apparently we were making quite a racket because as I exited the bathroom, I noticed that the entire plane is looking right at us and laughing; laughing hard! This whole episode lasted for about 10 minutes or so. It may have been one of the funniest experiences of my life. And if you need a visual, just think Chris Farley, changing clothes in "Tommy Boy."
Here are a few more pictures from our trip:
