Harper and I embarked on a solo trip to San Francisco today. The day started off bumpy to say the least: we forgot the car seat adapter for the stroller (thereby making airport transit MUCH more difficult), we cut it so close on our arrival time that I had to beg an agent to check my bag past the minute mark when I was considered "late," and we were greeted by a flight attendant who was waiving his arms in the middle of the aisle next to our gate shouting, "San Francisco?!" and subsequently - to fellow flight attendants - "She's coming!" when we scurried up to Gate D23 be shooed onto the plane as the gates closed behind us.

Then in we sat down and won the travel passenger jackpot: a teenager and her lovely father, who decided to dote on Harper, give us extra space, and generally make our lives a thousand times easier for the rest of the flight.

In general, she rocked the trip. With the exceptions of the two times when she was either hungry or needed a number 2, this little one showed off her happy, cooing, babbling, standing self to everyone.

We're settling in now for a few days of bonding time with Ash and Area and their growing team of girls. Here's just a small snapshot of what the rest of the day brought us. So worth it.