toddler travel

Except for a few beach trips, Joe and I haven't been on a vacation since our honeymoon. We decided to make our next vacation a trip to see his sister who moved to Los Angeles a few years ago. There aren't any direct flights from Birmingham so we had a short layover in Las Vegas with a plane change both ways. Total air travel time ranged from 6-7 hours.  Meaning, we had to pack light, plan for 2 takeoffs/landings each way, pack meals and figure out how to entertain a 19-month old toddler in the square footage of a shoebox. 

We packed two backpacks and two suitcases- one with clothes and one with all the other essentials. We ditched the stroller and the pack n' play and opted for co-sleeping and walking/carrying. The suitcases were checked and the backpacks had all the diapering/snack/entertainment necessities. I had been tempted to buy a better diaper bag but I'm glad I didn't. We pretty much accepted the tourist look throughout the trip. Backpacks are so much more comfortable than shoulder bags and I was thankful for it on the plane and in Disneyland. 

I bought an adorable little backpack from Pottery Barn and loaded it with toys, snacks and food packs for Emmy. It got a little heavy so we had to stuff the whole thing into Joe's backpack. In the end, we only needed two toys: a magnadoodle and a plane that lights up with a fan. Those entertained her the whole entire plane ride there and back (12 hours of entertainment)! Oh, and she shredded some magazines but we got permission first. 

We laughed every time we picked a seat because we didn't buy Emmy her own seat so both of our long flights were packed and some unfortunate soul would get stuck next to us. That's part of why we decided to board as soon as possible: so other people would know what they were signing up for. We flew Southwest and got "A" for all except one flight. Turns out, if you have young kids, you can go at the end of the "A" section even if you have a "C". So, I could have saved $25 on the early bird fees. 

We also took the window/middle seat despite advice to take the aisle. I didn't want to trap someone in if Emmy fell asleep and I knew the window could be entertaining. That really worked well for us, if our seat mate went to the bathroom, so did we. We would make small talk and introduce Emmy then do our best to keep her content. The take off was exciting to her, she would give us her "surprise face" and giggle. The landing didn't face her much at all. I packed her sippy cup with water to help her swallow to keep her ears from popping but her habit of sucking her fingers took care of that. 

The loud "wind" sound in an airplane is similar to her sound machine so I shouldn't have been surprised that it would sooth her. She slept on most of the flights, about an hour at a time. She even slept through a landing!

When we did land, everyone would perk up around us and brag about how good and sweet she was. We gave her plenty of attention and entertained her with everything we could find but we didn't allow her to scream and kick or do anything to make someone else's trip uncomfortable. 

I was so thankful that she is a good kid (most of the time) and I was glad not to lug around anything. Checking bags always makes me nervous but when we were running from one flight to another, I was happy to only need my backpack and kid to go. Oh, but if you can afford to buy your toddler a seat- DO IT. When she had her own seat, Joe and I could breathe so much easier and she was happy to have her own space too. And yeah... so this guy was actually really nice but totally photobombed my picture!

The only issue we had after all 4 flights happened when we got home. Somebody took our big suitcase home with them and we had to wait 2 days for them to return it. I was so thankful that it wasn't our bag full of "essentials" and the one they took only had dirty clothes. Southwest had nothing to do with that mistake but they gave us $50 off our next flight. So, where to go next!?

malibu beach

Part 1:
 The travel should be part 1. Chronologically, that would make sense. But I didn't use my fancy camera while traveling. And that post is going to be useful and well thought out. This post is just about Malibu Beach. It's also mostly just pictures. 

Malibu was my favorite part of our trip (yes, even better than Disneyland!). Ashlyn told us the temperature drops when you get over the mountain and close to the beach. I believed her but it wasn't until I felt it that I truly understood the difference. It's like going from summer to fall instantly. As soon as we could see the Pacific, I mentally made a check on my bucket list.  Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic Ocean, North Sea and now the Pacific Ocean and it did not disappoint.

After we climbed down the particularly steep and slightly dangerous terrain, we were greeted with heavy waves crashing on rocks. The beach reminded me of the beach in Scotland. This sand is not soft and fine like on the gulf coast. The water is cold and the sound of waves crashing sounded like thunder. I loved it. I love to be around the beach but I hate the Florida heat and humidity. I could live in Malibu forever. Except, of course, it's apparently very expensive. 

18 months

I've said it before, I know... but I'll say it again: I cannot believe how fast Emmy is growing. Emmy is one and a half!

She is walking, talking, and expressing her thoughts in many ways. Sometimes she is sweet, sharing her toys and giving us kisses and hugs. Other times she is frustrated, stomping her feet or running to a corner to cry. She is always an entertainer though. She is making silly faces, sounds and dancing all the time to get Joe and I to watch her and laugh. It is so much fun to be around her most of the time. 

Emmy's favorites are so personal that I decided to just take a picture of all of them to capture not only what she likes but the actual items. The current condition of those things are important since some may get "well loved" in the future years. 

She loves her white fluffy pottery barn chair. It is her spot to read her books, eat a little snack and draw on her magnadoodle. It was a little pricy for a child's toy but still totally worth it. Once she gets settled, she'll hold up her blanket for me to cover her legs only to kick it off moments later. She gets hot like all the Bascom women before her!

She still loves "Beary" but her bunnies have moved in to her heart. She isn't attached to any one particular animal but these three are her top picks.  

The little hard books are great. There aren't too many words and she is able to flip the pages without causing damage. Occasionally we will pull out a big book but getting her to sit for a full story is tough. 

Her biggest love, though, is her shoes. 

"Shoes" might as well have been her first word. She is never found without at least one on and we have to hide the ones that don't fit because she will have a complete meltdown if we can't squish her foot in a shoe. She tried to bring me one of my own shoes while I was in the shower. She stood there, my shoe pressed against the glass, and cried because I wouldn't put it on. 

>>><<<

Another big milestone for her this week is that she moved up at daycare again. The adjustment has been a little rough. I really loved her teacher and Emmy did too. I don't know why they moved her up exactly, but they thought she was capable of handling the more mature classroom. Instead of free play all day, she is expected to sit for reading time and to sit around a table for learning. In her old classroom, those were options and she was not required to participate if she got bored. 

Don't get me wrong, I think that's great. I want her to learn, it's why I picked her daycare. They focus on teaching kids as early as possible and if they challenge Emmy, I know she will be better for it. The only problem is that she started biting every other kid in her class. I can just imagine her getting frustrated with her inability to communicate or her struggle to adjust and just literally biting a kid. 

I am so thankful that her teacher is understanding and hasn't asked me to do something about the biting. I have offered to help but I never see her or catch her in action so I'm not sure what to do. Today was the first day she didn't have an incident.

I braved Target with her again and she only had a few minor meltdowns. I was able to break them by telling her a joke about Rufus. The joke, in case you are curious, is to tell her that Rufus (Rooroo) says "meow". Gets her every time. 
 Joe said that she had a meltdown last night and just walked herself to a wall and cried. When she is acting out at school, they send her to a corner to calm down so she is carrying that over to home (yay!). 

The other day Joe told me that he could see why people only have one kid. Not because she is difficult but because she is awesome. Being part of her life is a treat that I don't intend to take for-granted so I'll treasure these moments and I'll find a way to laugh through the tantrums. 

toddler tantrums are normal, right?

I had to run a few errands today after work. I thought it would be fun to take Emmy with me. (Why do I continue to think that!?)

She had a long day at daycare and because her lame mother forgot to pack another spare outfit, her teachers had to dig up her old spare which happened to be a 9-month size. She's in 18 months now. It was a bit tight. She was hot and tired but I dragged her to the car wash and then Staples for a few supplies. 

Ever since Emmy learned to walk, holding her has been pretty impossible. I let her walk the aisle while I shopped pens (I have a pen problem) and tracked her down just before she attempted to walk up one of those tall, "employee only" stock ladders of death. One point for mom. 

Every time I picked her up, she fought and wiggled until I let her down and she would jet off towards the back of the store. All the pens, the perfectly smooth paper, bright post-its and clitchy office decor kept distracting me so I would let her just barely out of sight. The store was mostly empty but I would jog after her, pick her up and well... repeat. 

After maybe 10 minutes, I decided to check out. As I was waiting in line, she managed to pull down crackers, pens and gum so I was back to holding my wiggly child, purse, and loot. As we checked out she started making weird growling noises and tried to press all the buttons on the card payment thing. If I told her "No" she'd withdraw her hands and growl again. I looked up to the cashier to apologize and she was making a disapproving face to the cashier behind me. Like, "this kid is bad and this mother is negligent". I smiled and said, "she's had a long day and she's wearing 2 sizes too small to boot! ha ha" and... nothing.

As we walked out, Emmy waived goodbye to the cashier who didn't waive back. This was the first time someone wasn't adoring her, telling me how sweet and pretty she is, and interacting with her directly. I don't blame the cashier, she clearly doesn't have kids and she doesn't understand how their moods change without having learned social discipline to hide it. 

What this made me think about was how many times I saw kids behaving badly and quickly decided that the parents were too lenient. Sometimes, I'm sure they were but parenting is harder than I thought it would be. 

I haven't spanked Emmy yet. Honestly, I'm afraid to. 

I can't bare the look of hurt in her eyes. I don't want her to fear me yet. Maybe that's selfish. I know how important it is to teach her how to behave. My parents spanked me and I know there were many times the fear of their discipline reinforced my choice to do right over wrong. Does Emmy know right and wrong yet? I think she knows more than we give her credit for. 

When she acts out, hits us, screams, or throws something we tell her NO. Sometimes she cries, sometimes she laughs and occasionally she just walks away. We tried "time out" after she attempted to bite Joe and she laughed and played in her chair. We felt dooped. It was also a little scary seeing our perfect, sweet little girl doing something mean. 

I know that this is normal, I know that we can teach her to behave when she is frustrated or bored. It's just.. I guess we are really parents now. My babysitting days are over.