Chad Said:

We walked by the Panda Express in the Denver airport before catching our series of flights to China . I resisted the urge. Who the hell is General Tso anyway? Is this some mythical culinary commander like Colonel Sanders? If they both led armies, who would win? I'm determined to find out.

When we got to our gate, the flight to L.A. was delayed. Sebastian walked around and immediately made friends with his first travel buddy – a teenage girl who was traveling the States for three weeks. She shared her cherries with him, and as it turned out, she was from Shanghai. More specific, she was from the Pudong neighborhood where we will be staying.

He did great on the flight to L.A. We looked out the window and took pictures of the canyons below. And when we arrived, they rushed all the Shanghai passengers off so we would make our connection. They had a special bus waiting to take us to the international terminal.

As we made the final right-hand turn toward our plane, Alli and I were both looking out the window when we saw a familiar piece of luggage in the road . It was ours. Right in the middle of the LAX tarmac was our Pack 'n Play, otherwise known as Sebastian's bed for the next 15 days. 

We told the bus driver who told someone at the gate who told someone else who went to pick it up who told a flight attendant who told us right before the doors of the plane shut that it had actually made it on to the plane, thus saving us 12.5 hours of suspense.

The flight to Shanghai was long. Very long. Little man did great. Aside from 10 minutes of a body-snatcher meltdown, he was a fun companion. Maybe we underestimate our kids sometimes. Maybe they can do it. Instead of giving them a chance, we decide for them that they're too young or incapable. Maybe that shouldn't be our decision, or at least it should be made with greater consideration. Of course, now that I say that the flight home will probably be a disaster...

We slept a little, watched Finding Nemo a few times, and got off the plane at roughly 7 p .m. China time. Sebastian had finally fallen asleep and was out cold. We took a picture at the Welcome to Shanghai sign as we entered customs, and were promptly told "no photos." After getting our passports stamped, we walked through the gates and into The People’s Republic. 

(I would post the picture, but it mysteriously disappeared from my camera.)

Alli Said:

I always knew we would get back to traveling, I just didn't know when. There never seems to be a good time or enough money. However, after our honeymoon, we vowed to make travel a central part of our life, with or without kids. Enter China.

When talk of Chads 40th birthday came up, old faithful Europe was on the table. I have been whining about wanting to see another continent; and all of a sudden, it seems someone heard me. Good friends of ours moved to Shanghai for the summer, and this opportunity was one we couldn't pass up . We went from joking about it, to talking seriously, to booking it pretty quickly. Holy shit.

I had from April to July to prepare for bringing myself and a 2-year-old the farthest away either of us has ever been. Packing could have been a disaster and had the makings of a pre-trip fight with Chad's famous mantra of "you pack it you carry it". Kristin, my sista from another mista, saved me. She came over, arbitrated a stroller disagreement in Babies R Us, and promptly packed me and Seb in one suitcase two days prior to departure (thank you mama).

Come Monday morning, July 21, we were on our way. Grandma dropped us at the airport with lots of well wishes and "good luck on your 14 hour flight with a 2 year old you crazy people" statements. While we waited for a delayed plane to LAX, Sebastian sat himself right next to a girl from Shanghai, and asked her for some of her cherries. It's like he knew where we were going.

The first two-hour flight to LA he was a dream . We sang songs, colored, snacked, took a lap through the plane, and he was very happy overall saying hi to anyone and everyone. Chad said "we should keep him up" despite the fact he was sleeping himself, so I did. Mistake number one. We landed at LAX with no time to spare, and while I was quickly packing up, Seb decided to close his eyes. I quickly woke him, and they rushed us to a private bus to get to the Shanghai plane. While on the bus, Chad and I both spotted something in the road that the bus driver so nicely veered in order not to hit. We looked at each other and both realized at the same time, "That was our Pack 'n Play." On the road. Left for dead. We informed anyone that would listen and were verbally reassured that they went back to pick up our road kill and loaded it up. Awesome.

Seb was excited for the big plane, but after an hour or so began to circle the drain and proceded to have a 5-7 minute meltdown - including but not limited to jumping on the seat and saying "hi lady" to the woman in front of him while touching her head . We quickly employed lavender oil, digestive oils, and good old fashioned Benedryl. Following this scene, we quickly moved into "poopy" mode. Team Challi got him changed in the tiny bathroom with my little informant stating the obvious, "Bubba too big." Finally, after having snacked, pooped, taken Benadryl, played, sniffed and rubbed in some oils, and melted down, our prince fell asleep. Actually both of my kids did.Only 9:33 to go! 

Unfortunately, he only slept a few hours so, we had another seven plus to entertain him. Enter Finding Nemo. He has never shown the interest or attention for watching movies before, but for some reason, that little orange fish reeled him in and helped us for 2-3 hours intermittently. Once again, he fell asleep just as the plane touched down in Shanghai. He stayed asleep from the plane, to the stoller, to baggage claim, to the car, all the way to JP and Carolina's place. He woke up just as we pulled in and said "China." We introduced him to Victoria ("Wicky") and Thomas and all had our first Chinese dinner together (which included bull frog, scallops, and pork shoulder - enter digestive enzymes) .
 
We held our breath when opening the Pack 'n Play, which despte the tire marks opened fine, and settled into our new digs for the next few weeks. We left the house at 9 am Boulder time on Monday and finally fell asleep at 11:30 pm Tuesday night Shanghai time. With only 4 total hours of sleep under his belt, Seb promptly said, "Nite nite in China mommy" and fell asleep... until 3:30 am.  

Sebastian Said:

Airplane. Go high. Go to China. Go see Great Wall. Buddha.