Nana's Birthday Trip to L.A.

Last weekend we celebrated Nana's big birthday in Los Angeles. Happy Birthday, Nana!

Although many pictures were taken, none were done with our camera. There were, however, many videos taken with my new Flip. Here is an overview of our trip with visual accompaniments...

Max began the trip by finding a way to entertain himself in almost any location - provided that location has movable chairs. He showed mastery over chairs while waiting for our flight to board at Austin-Bergstrom Airport, while the rest of us finished eating our breakfast the first morning... and then a few moments later, when he found a different type of chair in the same room. Max is an equal opportunity chair pusher.

Next, Max discovered that something as simple as the hotel dresser could provide new challenges and attention (as though he wasn't getting attention already!)

Max, Mama, Dada and Aunt Becca went to the Santa Monica Peer to see the Pacific Ocean and see what the amusement rides looked like. Max enjoyed hanging out with Aunt Becca, watching the waves below the peer.

It only seemed appropriate that we ate Mexican food for lunch that day, given it was Cinco de Mayo. While tickling Max in his highchair, a pigeon came to help clean up the scraps of food Max had used to demonstrate a newfound force: gravity.

After seeing what the peer had to offer, we made our way to the water's edge and Max got to feel the Pacific Ocean for the first time.

There were some sad times, like when Max grew tired of being in his car seat and we couldn't get back to the hotel fast enough for a proper nap (thanks, traffic on Santa Monica Blvd...). Fortunately, a container of Puffs made things better.

Finally, it was time to come home. Max did great on both flights, going and coming. He nursed and fell asleep as the plane took off, and then slept for at least 2 hours. The last hour of our return flight was especially fun, with reading a book and learning how to manipulate the window shade.