....continued
We boarded the plane around 9:30, and were delighted to find that the plane was less than half full. This meant that we would be able to take up seats around us, so that we could "stretch" out a bit more, and hopefully sleep.
We took off, and Hilary made the comment a number of times, just how smooth that take off was. The staff was very friendly, and even though Eli started off quite agitated by the prospect of being buckled in (this was really his first seat belt experience), the staff gave him a couple of toys/games that would keep him busy for a bit. When it came time for takeoff, we made sure that he was ready to eat, and we fed him cheerios and puffs. He kept on eating these as the plane took off, and we had no issues with his ears. He was happy, and didn't seem to realize that we were moving. What an answer to prayer. We tried to put Eli to bed, and he again cried, and was a bit upset at the prospect of sleeping on these uncomfortable seats, but he was willing to sleep on Hilary, and after a while he was fast asleep. We transferred him to the seats,and he was out almost until our first little gassing up stop in Rome. Hilary was also able to catch some shuteye.
He woke up in Rome, and we entertained him in the plane on the ground in Rome. Eli and I walked up and down the aisles a few times, and just generally stretched our legs. Once we were ready for takeoff, Eli was getting tired again, so it did not take much to get him falling back asleep after that. I was also able to take a bit of a nap, and Hilary made sure that Eli didn't fall off the seats :).
Finally around 7:50 AM EST, we arrived in Toronto We were in Canada. This was a great feeling to be back in our home and native land. We were all a little bit cranky, and we were not sure exactly what we would do as we had a 14 hour layover in Toronto. Thankfully, a friend had recommended that we should go to the Sheraton and pay a day rate, and unwind there. We had a little bit of trouble getting there, but after a quick breakfast at Swiss Chalet (mmmm bacon), we were ready and had a ride. We got to the Sheraton, and checked into our room. Eli and Hilary went right to sleep, while I worked on the computer a little bit. After about a 2 hour nap, we decided that we would enjoy a swim. We went to the pool, and enjoyed the water. Eli wasn't quite as impressed with the water here, as he had been in Addis, but we think it was because a) the water was generally a bit deeper, and b) there was much more chlorine in the water here.
After the swim, we leisurely began packing everything back up again, and making sure that we had everything we would need on the plane in our carry-on's. We checked out around 5:00, and shuttled back to the airport. We were quite early, so we went back to Swiss Chalet for supper. We then dropped our bags off, and went through security. We were early enough that we didn't know exactly which gate we would be boarding at, so we just picked a gate, and Hilary and Eli slept on the floor, while I watched the bags, and made sure that no one stepped on them. They were both able to sleep for almost 2 hours here, and it helped them feel a bit more rested as we traveled on.
At 10:50 PM EST, we departed Toronto, and Eli fell asleep almost right away on the plane. He slept for the entire flight, while I dozed in and out of sleep on this flight. We arrived in Winnipeg at 12:30 AM CST Friday morning, and were greeted by our parents, my sister and her family, my brother, and 4 or 5 of our close friends. It wasn't a huge welcoming party, but it was a great welcoming party for us as we had missed these friends and family. It was nice that the welcoming party wasn't too hige and overwhelming to Eli. he warmed up a bit because his vousins brought some toys. We were absolutely exhausted, so our parents brought us and our luggage home. Once home, we fell asleep almost right away.
We were ecstatic. Our little family of 3 was home. We had finally completed this part of the journey. Now we would need to adjust to the time differences, which is apparently not that easy to do. BUT... WE ARE HOME!!!
We boarded the plane around 9:30, and were delighted to find that the plane was less than half full. This meant that we would be able to take up seats around us, so that we could "stretch" out a bit more, and hopefully sleep.
We took off, and Hilary made the comment a number of times, just how smooth that take off was. The staff was very friendly, and even though Eli started off quite agitated by the prospect of being buckled in (this was really his first seat belt experience), the staff gave him a couple of toys/games that would keep him busy for a bit. When it came time for takeoff, we made sure that he was ready to eat, and we fed him cheerios and puffs. He kept on eating these as the plane took off, and we had no issues with his ears. He was happy, and didn't seem to realize that we were moving. What an answer to prayer. We tried to put Eli to bed, and he again cried, and was a bit upset at the prospect of sleeping on these uncomfortable seats, but he was willing to sleep on Hilary, and after a while he was fast asleep. We transferred him to the seats,and he was out almost until our first little gassing up stop in Rome. Hilary was also able to catch some shuteye.
He woke up in Rome, and we entertained him in the plane on the ground in Rome. Eli and I walked up and down the aisles a few times, and just generally stretched our legs. Once we were ready for takeoff, Eli was getting tired again, so it did not take much to get him falling back asleep after that. I was also able to take a bit of a nap, and Hilary made sure that Eli didn't fall off the seats :).
Finally around 7:50 AM EST, we arrived in Toronto We were in Canada. This was a great feeling to be back in our home and native land. We were all a little bit cranky, and we were not sure exactly what we would do as we had a 14 hour layover in Toronto. Thankfully, a friend had recommended that we should go to the Sheraton and pay a day rate, and unwind there. We had a little bit of trouble getting there, but after a quick breakfast at Swiss Chalet (mmmm bacon), we were ready and had a ride. We got to the Sheraton, and checked into our room. Eli and Hilary went right to sleep, while I worked on the computer a little bit. After about a 2 hour nap, we decided that we would enjoy a swim. We went to the pool, and enjoyed the water. Eli wasn't quite as impressed with the water here, as he had been in Addis, but we think it was because a) the water was generally a bit deeper, and b) there was much more chlorine in the water here.
After the swim, we leisurely began packing everything back up again, and making sure that we had everything we would need on the plane in our carry-on's. We checked out around 5:00, and shuttled back to the airport. We were quite early, so we went back to Swiss Chalet for supper. We then dropped our bags off, and went through security. We were early enough that we didn't know exactly which gate we would be boarding at, so we just picked a gate, and Hilary and Eli slept on the floor, while I watched the bags, and made sure that no one stepped on them. They were both able to sleep for almost 2 hours here, and it helped them feel a bit more rested as we traveled on.
At 10:50 PM EST, we departed Toronto, and Eli fell asleep almost right away on the plane. He slept for the entire flight, while I dozed in and out of sleep on this flight. We arrived in Winnipeg at 12:30 AM CST Friday morning, and were greeted by our parents, my sister and her family, my brother, and 4 or 5 of our close friends. It wasn't a huge welcoming party, but it was a great welcoming party for us as we had missed these friends and family. It was nice that the welcoming party wasn't too hige and overwhelming to Eli. he warmed up a bit because his vousins brought some toys. We were absolutely exhausted, so our parents brought us and our luggage home. Once home, we fell asleep almost right away.
We were ecstatic. Our little family of 3 was home. We had finally completed this part of the journey. Now we would need to adjust to the time differences, which is apparently not that easy to do. BUT... WE ARE HOME!!!
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| Checking out the clouds somewhere over the Atlantic with Mommy |
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| Sleeping with Mommy on the plane. Good thing we could stretch out! |
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| Eli, checking out his new bed, BUT... |
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| ...Night #1 was spent in Mommy and Daddy's bed! |
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