By all accounts, Baby’s 1st Flight was a success.
Sure, there were a few bouts of excessive wiggling accompanied by the occasional ear-splitting devilish squeal. And there were also a few crankypants cries when Miss Cheeks was trying to nap and not able to get as comfy (e.g. flat on her face) as she would have liked.
But those goodie bags did the trick with garnering the goodwill of nearly all of our airborne neighbors, excluding the sourpuss elderly couple who clearly were too good to be sitting back with all us riffraff in coach.
They certainly charmed the 3 teenage boys who sat behind us on the flight home. They received their bags o’ sugar with exclamations of: “No way!” “For real?!” “Awesome.” And my personal favorite, “Dude. I’m totally tweeting this!”
When we landed at O’Hare, I had a few bags left and passed them out to the flight attendants and pilot on our way off the plane.
Turns out that was an excellent decision, because the day after we arrived home, a special FedEx package arrived for Lucette. 
The letter reads:
“Dear Lucette,
I received a phone call from the crew on your recent flight from San Francisco to Chicago. They were all so impressed with your grace and gentle spirit on your first flight.
On behalf of American Airlines, it is an honor to include you among our loyal customers.
We wish you a lifetime of safe travel and joy discovering the world.”
The package included a “My First Flight” certificate complete with AA wings and a gold pendant for a necklace.
I admit, I got a little verklempt over that one. Such a nice gesture, and completely unexpected.
Lu’s first trip to her Mimi and Papa’s farm in Illinois was quite eventful.
First, though, we had to stop at Lou Malnati’s and introduce her to real Chicago pizza.
Safe to say she’s a fan. (And she made her daddy proud with the amount of pie she put away.)
The week that followed was full of hot July weather, lots of swimming, lap chickens, meeting horses,
mooing at guernsey cows and winning over a black lab named Charlie, who became Lucette’s devoted servant after noticing the copious amounts of food that were tossed over the side of her high chair.
Even though she’s too little to remember, I showed her the house I grew up in out on Palmyra Road and introduced her to many of the places that were the landmarks of my childhood.
We’ll do it again when she’s older, I’m sure. But this time, her first time, will stick in my mind.
And yes, in case you’re wondering, a business idea for Public Relations Plane Kits for Babies is in the works, thanks to my entrepreneurial sister. I’ll keep you posted.
-Lo, who says that a lap chicken is a chicken who sits in your lap, of course.
LaDonnaWitmer 