As you can see in the first photo, Lautje began his trip to see to Texas and his grandparents in a rather relaxed state. While his Daddy fidgeted and generally tried not to panic (he's not a happy flier...), Lautje slept blissfully through all of the various security checks (even when they frisked him - yes, they frisked him; it's a long story...).
Once on the plane and in the air, Lautje had his own little bed that attached to the wall, as can be seen above. Surprisingly enough, he actually took the opportunity to sleep rather extensively. His Mommy joked that we should buy a plane, since he enjoyed sleeping so much on it. The Daddy (otherwise known as 'the unhappy flier') vetoed that proposal in no uncertain terms (not that the Mommy ever really listens to that sort of thing).
All in all, as the photo of Lautje and his Mommy above shows, Lautje was a perfect angel on the flight. He played quietly, smiled often, and slept more than he usually does. He made a slew of friends amongst the other passengers, especially when he took off crawling down the aisle leaving the Daddy chasing helplessly after him. Out of the 10 hours in the air, only for 5 or so minutes on the landing (when the combination of sleepiness, being strapped in, and the changing cabin pressure worked against him) was he a grump. Can't ask for much more than that.
Fresh off the plane, Lautje got to meet Grandpa for the first time. But what really got his attention was that funny thing sitting on top of the Grandpa's head, as can be seen above.
Of course, as the Texas sunshine streamed through the truck windows and made him unhappy, Lautje came to appreciate the practical uses of such a hat. In fact, for a substantial part of the drive home, Lautje was both entertained by (and protected from the sun by) his Grandpa's cowboy hat.
