Three Men and a Mommy: leavin' on a jet plane

A couple of weeks ago, I headed to DC to help my sister shop for wedding dresses. My dad was nice enough to come to Dressapalooza along with my mom, so I brought P along and we flew instead of driving. Mom, Tiff, and I were able to shop during the day while P and Poppa Fred had some grandpa/grandson time, and we had some family time in the evenings. Then Daddy A and C met up with us in Fredericksburg on Tuesday the week of Thanksgiving.

P was very excited about the chance to fly on a plane. We had a great conversation in the airport.

P: Mommy, look at that plane! It's a GIANT one!

Me: That plane looks very big because you're close to it... it's the plane we are going to ride on.

P: This BUILDING is going to go up in the air?

Me: No, not the building, just the plane.

P: But the plane is attached this building with a tube!

Me: The tube is like a tunnel people use to get onto the plane. Then they'll pull the tube away.

P was incredibly excited about his impending ride! He kept asking when it would be time to get on the plane. When we began to board, our conversation continued.

Me: (as we boarded the plane) P, do you remember the tube we were talking about?

P: (eyes lighting up) THIS is the tube!

He had lots of fun on the journey - in particular he liked looking at the clouds and enjoying a Sprite.

When he sees a plane now, P likes to proclaim, "I flied in that plane!" or, as he begins to understand that there are many planes in the sky, he likes to ask, "Is that the plane I flied in?"

Our first night at the Gaylord National, we took in their ICE! show. This year there was a Grinch theme to the show, which P really enjoyed, since that's one of his favorite books.

These heavy coats were provided - you've got to keep it pretty cold to have a building full of ice.

The entire event was spectacular. The artistry involved in designing and carving literally rooms of ice was phenomenal. P's favorite part though, hands down, was the gigantic ice slide. He even talked the staff into letting him ride the larger slide that was supposed to be for ages four and up!

As we were exiting the ICE! show, P had a chance for some "face time" with the Grinch.

The hotel had a neat light show and they made it snow in the lobby at various points throughout the day. For my train-loving boy's heart, you just couldn't beat the miniature train in the lobby. I have no idea how many times he rode it!