It's good to be home...

We had a wonderful time in Florida and despite my worries, Sophia did amazing during the flights to Florida and back, and slept great in the hotel. I couldn't believe how happy and content she was on the flight to Florida, especially since we had to fly two hours from Portland to L.A., and then another four hours from L.A. to Miami. I made sure to pack plenty of snacks and books to keep her busy. On the flight from L.A. to Miami, we were lucky enough to have T.V.'s on the back of each seat and could choose from various movies and T.V. shows. We put on Kung Fu Panda for Sophia and when she got bored of her books, we would point to the screen and she would just stare in awe. The people around us even commented on how quiet and well behaved she was. I have a hard time sitting still, so when I saw Sophia sit still for six hours of flying, I just couldn't believe it!
We stayed at an amazing resort in Miami called Doral. This is where they hold the National Golf Championships, with golfers such as Tiger Woods. They still had the grand stands up and some big billboards for the tournament, because they had just held it there the week before we arrived. Jeff was really excited about playing the same course that Tiger Woods had played the week before.
Though the weather didn't turn out being as hot as I had anticipated, it was still pretty warm, the highs being in the low 70's. The nice thing about it being partially cloudy, was that I didn't have to slather Sophia in 50 spf every second to keep her from burning. We were able to take her on walks around the resort and see all of the beautiful surroundings. While we were there, Sophia really got into walking, and wanted to go for walks everywhere! She also started this thing, where she would hold out her hand to grab some one's finger, and then reach out the other hand, so that she had someone on both sides of her. She started off doing this to Jeff, Nelson, Barbara, and I. But by the end, if she saw a maid or even just a person walking by, she would reach out her hand, as if to say. "come on, lets go for a walk."
I was really nervous about her body adjusting to the 3 hour time difference, but because Florida is 3 hours ahead, it was nice because Sophia could stay up to go to the convention dinners, and I didn't have to worry about her being over tired. She especially enjoyed the last dinner that was a Hawaiian theme. They had coconut bowling, live music and dancing. Barbara took Sophia over to the musicians so she could enjoy the music, while Jeff and I were finishing up our meals. After we had finished, we went to go find Sophia and Barbara. When we got closer to the dance floor, we saw Sophia running around with another little girl that was 17 months, and three little boys, around age four. I guess before we had gotten there, Sophia had gone up to one of the boys and put her arms around him and put her head on his shoulder, and it looked like they were slow dancing, lol. And the only night I didn't bring my camera:( Sophia and all the little kids were so entertaining to watch dance and interact with each other. They looked like they were having a ball!
We caught a few sun breaks during the week. So we took advantage of it, and took Sophia in the pool. It was really cool because they had a huge water fall that splashed into the pool and it started off really shallow, to where Sophia could gradually walk in, and then it got deeper. She absolutely LOVED the pool! Barbara got her a little life jacket that was perfect for her and it helped me to feel more comfortable with her being in and around the water. She was quite the little fish and at times we had to hold onto her, to keep her from trying to wiggle out of our arms to go off on her own. Jeff would throw her up in the air, while they were in the pool, and then catch her. Sophia would just squeal and laugh! She loved splashing with her hands and feet and having us twirl her around in the water. I can't wait to get her swimming lessons!
On the flight home, from L.A. to Portland, Barbara and I ran into Keri Russel, with her husband, nanny, and son, River. At first I didn't realize that it was the actress, Keri Russel. We had seen two boys playing with a ball, and we thought, why not take Sophia over to play with them and run off some of her energy before she had to sit on the plane for a few hours. So we took her over there and they started playing, and then I looked up and did a double take. I couldn't believe she was standing right in front of me, and the little boy Sophia was playing ball with, was her 21 month old son, River. He was so cute and shared the ball with Sophia. Barbara and I thought it was so cool to have her on our flight. Then, when were were seated on the plane, Barbara looks up in to first class and asks me, "who's that guy up in first class, isn't that Brendan Fraser?" I looked up and said, "yep, that's Brendan Fraser." We couldn't believe we had two celebrities on our flight! Turns out they are making a movie together. Its a medical drama, based on a true story about a wife and husband that have a dying child, and they are trying to find a cure for their son. Now, I have to see this movie!
Our 7 day trip seemed like 3 and flew by way too fast, but it is so nice to be back at home. Nothing beats the feeling of your own bed. I think Sophia was happy, too, to be sleeping in her own crib with the familiar surroundings of her own room. It was so nice to take a break away from the busyness of our everyday lives. But it is good to be back, and especially comforting to be back with our family and friends.