Rylee in 'Big D'

As most of you already know, Erin was named the GM of the Year for our area (Yeeaaahh!) but that meant four days of meetings in Dallas (Boooooo!). To save her sanity, an ongoing battle, (kidding, honey) we decided to pack up our little family and make an adventure out of it.

Drawing on my inner Bill Simmons, I will compose a diary of our trip.

Monday

6:00am-The family wakes up to finish our last minute preparations for the 7:40am flight to Dallas. Hair and makeup for the girls. Warm-up pants and a hoodie for dad. Load up the truck and we are out the door by 7. Our thought is to keep Rylee awake so she will sleep on the plane.

7:50am-We are in the air, 3 1/2 hour flight to Dallas-Fort Worth airport. Rylee is 'wheels up' for the first time! We are on a express jet with two seats on one side and a single seat on the other. Mommy and baby are in the single.

8:30am-Plan works like a champ. After looking out the window for a minute, Princess lays down and is out. She sleeps for 45 minutes, wakes up and plays for about 45 minutes and goes back down for the duration of the flight. Perfect angel. It is foreshadowing for the rest of the trip.

1:15pm-After a safe landing, getting the luggage and taking a taxi to our motel in Plano, it is time for Mommy to leave for day one of meetings. RC and I play for a few minutes in the room and we decide that there is no time like the present to start our exploration of Dallas. In my research, I found out that Dallas has a rapid train and a station is within walking distance of the motel. Rylee bundles up (cause it was f-ing freezing in Dallas) and we head out to find said train station.

2:06pm-Found it and caught the 2:06 downtown. Was originally just going to ride the train there and come back. But then decided that I couldn't wait to see what I have always wanted to see, Dealey Plaza and the Texas School Book Depository. The site of the assassination of JFK. Erin makes fun of me cause I have five books about this subject and will watch any TV special about it.

3:00pm-Off the train, Rylee started sleeping before we got on the train and woke just before we got off, at the West End stop (looks like the Warehouse District in Cleveland) and ask a native for directions. He points out the Old Red Courthouse and we start the couple block walk to it. I find out later that there is a quicker route to the plaza but this way is cooler. We get to the courthouse and as we are walking past it, I see Houston street coming up. I realize that this is the exact route that the motorcade took. We reach the intersection, turn right on Houston St and there it is, one of the most famous buildings in America, the Texas School Book Depository (now called the Dallas County Administrative Building). I count up six stories and there is the 'snipers nest' where Lee Harvey Oswald allegedly acted alone in killing the president.
3:30pm-Rylee and I walk around Dealey Plaza taking it all in. There are roughly forty or fifty people in the plaza doing exactly what we are. It is 3:30 on a Monday in the middle of February and it is about 35 degrees, I'm not the only one that finds this fascinating. I am way more interested in it than she is but she seems to be enjoying herself. In the picture on the left, the 'X' is where the fatal head shot happened, the 'Grassy Knoll' is just to the right of where the picture was taken. The picture on the right is looking up at the Depository from Elm St.

We go into the Six Floor Museum, which is located inside the Depository. It is really interesting and I recommend it to anyone that is in Dallas. They have re-created the area in the corner of the sixth floor where Oswald took the shots. The boxes are laid out exactly as they were 37 years ago. The entire corner is behind glass so you can't get the exact view he would have had but from the next window over you will ask yourself why would Oswald have waited until the motorcade turned on to Elm? He had a much better shot coming up Houston not to mention how slow the limo was going when it was turning.

4:30pm-Back on the train. Kind of hurried through the museum because I didn't know for how long Rylee would have tolerated being in there. I know now that I could have stayed in there hours but Mommy is due back at the motel anyhow so we head back. We have been out for 3 hours and Rylee hasn't made an angry sound; no crying, no fussing, no nothing. Occasional talking but that is all.

5:15pm-Back at the motel, we arrive at the same time as Erin. She has to get ready for her awards dinner but Rylee is happy to see her if even for a brief time.

6:00pm-Mom has left and we are at Cheddar's to get some dinner, Rylee is starting to get fussy. We order, I make it through half my dinner but it is evident that we have to get back to the room.

7:00pm-Bath time! Rylee is back to being her happy self once I get her in the tub. The tub is super slippery so RC can't stand up like she likes. Once she is out, she starts crying. This is the first time she has been away from Mommy at bath and bed time.

8:00pm-Approaching an hour of crying and carrying on. I'm trying to figure out what she wants, I know she is tired but won't calm down.

8:15pm-Found the position! Her sitting on my lap, straddling my leg with her head on my chest bouncing on the edge of the bed. When she is ready, she leans over and lays down. We stay like this for a while until she spits out her paci. Put her in bed, lay next to her and watch NCIS. It is a victory of sorts, Rylee has never slept anywhere at night but our bed and I got her to do it! I, unknowingly, have stumbled upon the position that gets us through the week. Mom returns a little later and we all settle in for a good nights sleep.

Tuesday

7:15am-Mom is out the door. This is going to be the first true test, the SAT's if you will. After meeting, Erin has a dinner with no break between.

8:15am-RC is rubbing her face, tugging her ear and is a little fussy, we assume the position and boom!, nap time. I text Erin about the accomplishment and she says, 'can't you two pretend you need me' she is kidding of course but it really meant a lot to me.

9:00am-Play time, killing time until the Dallas World Aquarium opens. It is very cold and is supposed to snow today. Have to find something to do inside.

10:30am-Train ride to the aquarium, RC naps on the way to the station and for a bit on the train but then gets up to look around on the ride. It is another couple block walk from the station. The Dallas public transportation system is awesome, we spent $16 for the week and got every where we wanted to go. As soon as we get to the aquarium, I can see it is time for another nap. I find a display of jellyfish and she looks at them and drifts off. I scout out the good stuff and wait for her to get up.

11:30am-Lunch time at Cafe Maya overlooking the rain forest. Rylee has a chicken & cheese quesadilla, Dad has chicken & spinach chimichanga.

12:30pm-Back to the exhibits. We see turtles, ducks, stingrays, millions of fish, monkeys, birds, otters and snakes but we head to the star of any aquarium, the shark tank! She loves it! She is calling them 'pup-pups' and her head is on a swivel. We are in a tunnel that runs through the tank and one swims six inches from her.


1:30pm-Done with looking at the sharks, or puppies, we continue our tour by coming the leopard's area. Luckily, for us, the leopard is awake and in the corner of her domicile. Rylee wasn't scared.

3:00pm-After a little more looking around it is time to head back.

4:00pm-Rylee is napping again so I walk through Kohl's and Buy Buy Baby to let her sleep. At Buy Buy Baby, I get a bathmat so little one can have a more enjoyable time in the tub tonight. We get back to the room, play a little and have some snacks. I figure we will go to dinner in a hour and a half or so. Bad call. Princess started to get angry about 30 minutes before I was planning on getting dinner. She was fine for food, Mommy had packed plenty for her; Dad was screwed.

7:00pm-Holding off the storm that is rolling in. Lots of playing, we took a bath and that was good but very upset after. This is the longest, by far, that she has ever gone without Mommy and I think it is making her sad. After an hour of being upset, we finally settle into a modified version of 'the position'. I am sitting up in bed with her on my chest, she settles and slides to the side to lay down on me. The little angel falls asleep on me. What a great feeling but damn I have to pee really bad. I finally move her to the bed but have to lay with her. If I get up, she wakes up so more NCIS. Mom gets back around 9 from her horrible dinner and the person driving getting lost on the way back. I get up, pee and head out to get us something to eat. Eat and then sleep for the family.

I guess I really am channeling my inner Bill Simmons because this entry is reaching epic proportions. I will dispense with the diary style writing and try and wrap this up. Wednesday the weather was a little nicer and we walked around downtown Plano, had some lunch there and then went to the Dallas Museum of Art. Rylee liked how her voiced echoed in the galleries. Their art museum isn't very good. We walked around downtown for quite a while before heading back to the room. Learning my lesson from the day before, we went to dinner earlier. We had sushi, Rylee didn't care for her cucumber roll but loved the ice cream. Back to the room, baby girl was very tired. Sponge bath and to bed. She slept really well, I could get up and everything! Mom was at the Mavericks basketball game, in a suite, while we watched the game on TV.

Here she is with her serious face on the train, goofy face in the room and napping.




Thursday, last day, Mom to meetings and Dad and Rylee back on the train. We went to a mall around 10:30 had some lunch and did some window shopping, it was a very fancy mall but there is only so much time you can kill in a mall. Back on the train to Dealey Plaza again. It was warmer so I took the opportunity to go onto the 'Grassy Knoll' and walk the plaza one more time. By the time we got back it was time to pack up and head to company headquarters to meet Mom and get the heck out of Dallas. We landed in a snow storm and finally made it home a little past midnight.

All in all, Rylee and I had a great trip. I wouldn't trade that time spent with her for anything in the world. I learned so much about her and I hope that she learned that she can come to me when she has needs. We fell into a rhythm with one another, she always let me know what she wanted. If it was time to lay down, she would crawl over, pull herself up on my legs and lift her arms. Up she came, into the position and nap time would commence. The only tough part was the first night and it was only because I didn't know what she wanted or how to calm her but that only lasted an hour or so and I learned. She is a remarkable baby and I am so proud of her.