Arizona Vacation, September 4-11th, 2011

In the air... somewhere over the Grand Canyon.

For the last week, we have been on our first family vacation since Grant was born. Thanks to some awesome airline deals and a direct flight, we got to let Grant experience his very first airplane ride. We took off to visit Kyle's parents in Mesa, Arizona. Kyle and I have been to visit them several times since they have lived there, but we had not been since well before Grant was born. My stomach was in knots when we arrived at the local airport (a mere 6 minutes away from our house! NICE!), but armed with clorox wipes, Grant's own car seat (to keep him from touching anything on the plane), the iPad with some videos, and lots of snacks, we made it! We were crazy and attempted to do only carryon luggage which was SO difficult just trying to board (imagine two parents, one stroller, one car seat, three rolling suitcases, one back pack, one large purse, and one camera bag, plus a 30 lb toddler). We somehow managed and the flight was great! We checked Grant's oxygen levels at home before we left (92!!!), in the air (holding steady at 88!), and in Arizona (93-94!!). Nice. It is incredible to have him so stable from a cardiac standpoint that we could take this little adventure. With a lot of hand washing and common sense, we kept Grant totally healthy while still letting him experience a LOT of new things.

We spent Sunday evening visiting and catching up. Luckily Grandpa Bruce was willing to play legos with Grant and they ended up creating quite the bridge (sorry for blurry photos... I was tired!)

I will probably have to break this week into several posts, so I will end this one with one of our favorite pastimes... SWIMMING!

Grant doesn't get to swim much because public swimming pools (especially for the two year old crowd) are notorious for being full of harmful to Grant bacteria, so it was AWESOME to let him have free rein of Grandma and Grandpa's pool. Bruce takes meticulous care of his pool and the chlorination levels are spot on which was so nice. The other great thing about swimming in Arizona is that the water was WARM! We pretty much only swam in the early mornings or later at night because it was SO hot outside (think 115 degrees) that it was unbearable. It was great to see him in water without his signature blue lips and fingers.

We call this position Grant's "chilling" pose. When he gets his diaper changed, he will frequently lay back and put his hands up behind his head like this. It CRACKS me up. Doesn't he look like he just needs a pina colada with a fancy umbrella?

 I have lots more pictures to add , but they will have to wait for another post since my time is about up for today. Stay tuned for pictures from the Phoenix zoo, the aquarium, a scenery cruise, and more fun in Arizona!