5 Months

What an adventure Brooklynn had leading up to her 5 month birthday.  Nancy and I made plans to visit some close friends of hers that she knew while she lived in Charleston, SC.  Nancy hadn't been back to Charleston since a few months prior to our wedding and I had never been at all.  This would be Brooklynn's first airplane ride and we had no idea what to expect.

The route we ended up with was not what we would have chosen, but due to the rising airline costs, there was a big price savings if we flew to Indianapolis first, then to Detroit before finally heading down to Charleston.  3 takeoffs and 3 landings for Brooklynn's first flight was going to be a test by fire.  Brooklynn took it all in stride.  For those of you that spend a lot of time with her, this probably doesn't come to much of a surprise.  She often just goes with the flow and quickly adapts to her changing environment.  Plus, she's a complete ham to anyone that shows her attention, so the more new faces on the planes and airports there were, the better.

We left Austin at 2:00 p.m. CDT on Tuesday for our first leg of the trip.  Once we were in Indianapolis, we were able to visit with my Mom for about a half an hour or so. 

Our next leg was a very short flight which left us with an hour and a half layover in Detroit. After having some dinner, we left Detroit around 9:40 p.m. EDT and made it into Charleston just  a little before midnight.  Brooklynn slept most of the way on the third leg since this was around her normal bedtime.  Once we finally landed in Charleston, we felt so relieved that we weren't that family with the screaming baby on the flights.  Of course, I guess there's always a chance on the way back!

Today, we went to the beach and Brooklynn got to see and feel the ocean and sand for the first time.  I always think it's messy to go to the beach and you get sand everywhere.  Well, my experiences are nothing compared to bringing a baby to the beach.  Talk about sand everywhere!  And it's not as easy to clean her up as it is yourself.  Fortunately, the pictures make it look like it was no trouble at all and it did capture the enjoyment of watching Brooklynn see everything for the first time.  It makes you wonder what she must be thinking..."This is the biggest bath tub I've ever seen!"

By the end of the day, the sun and activities wiped everyone out.  Brooklynn was the first to go.

But on the ride back, she was quick to tell us that she gives Charleston two feet up!