Motherhood Mayhem

I have managed to survive (somewhat!) one of the true tests of motherhood--flying on an airplane with two small children! We went to Texas for a week to introduce Brody to his extended family (and some very proud great-grandparents). Billy was in Ft. McCoy, so the kids and I made the trip alone. The flight out was uneventful, but the return flight to South Carolina was an adventure, to say the least! The plus side of this story is that the flight was fairly empty, therefore eliminating the chance that anyone witnessed my peril! We boarded the flight on time, taking our seats in the last row of the plane, however, there was an extremely long line of planes waiting to take off, so we sat on the runway, waiting our turn, for 45 minutes. It was probably after about 35 minutes that Brody decided to have the largest diaper blow-out of his entire life--the diaper never stood a chance. I watched helplessly as contents spilled out both leg holes and then felt the tell-tale warmth upon my hand as it crept up his back, soaking the onesie and the blanket. The pilot was continuously saying "we'll be departing soon...please remain in your seats." I thought perhaps we would be able to hold out until we took off, but Brody had other plans as he then decided to relieve himself, and as his diaper was already saturated, he proceeded to soak the front of his onesie and in the process, my shirt! I couldn't leave Brody in that predicament for an undetermined length of time, nor could I get up to change him, so with Alexa's help, we grabbed the diaper bag and began to clean him up. It would be while my son was sitting in my lap wearing nothing but the skin he arrived in that the plane was able to take off! When we arrive in Columbia, finally, Alexa informed me that she needed to potty. We quickly hit the bathroom and much to my dismay, I realize this bathroom does not have a changing table inside any of the stalls, so, I create a pallet on the bathroom FLOOR to lay my baby down. I then help Alexa get on the potty, but we weren't quite in time, so as I turn to grab a fresh set of pants for her, I hear her start crying, "Mommy I fall in the potty!" I turn around to see that Alexa, in her attempt to grab the toilet paper, lost her balance and dunked her entire hind end (and half of her back) into the toilet! As I surveyed my surroundings, my toddler in the toilet and my baby on the floor, I really wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry...needless to say, we all had baths as soon as we finally made it home that evening!

Other exciting news over the past month (oops! I haven't updated this in a while):

• Alexa turned three on August 2nd (see photos below of her b-day party in SC and TX)
  
• Brody had his two month checkup and now weighs 11 pounds! (a whopping 4 pounds more than his birth weight!)
• Billy was promoted to Captain
  
• He had a week home from Ft. McCoy so we got to hang out as a family
• While in town, Billy got Brody to laugh for the very first time on August 16th!

At the end of the month, we will be making yet another unaccompanied plane trip-this time to Utah. If anyone has any travel tips to make for a smoother journey, be sure to share! :)