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. 

16 months & georgia aquarium

Life as a young parent isn't easy. Going out to dinner is pretty much out of the question for now. She only lasts 10 minutes in strollers and carts before she starts kicking and wants to walk. She is adamant about doing everything herself and "Emmy, no ma'am!" doesn't mean as much to her as it used to. 

Just this afternoon I spent 20 minutes fixing a special dinner just for Emmy only to watch her toss the whole bowl to the floor without a single bite. I wanted to yell but I knew that she didn't mean it as a personal blow. It turned out that her tummy hurt, she refused all dinner and went to bed early. We think it might be the 5 teeth she is working out all at once. Drool galore. 

Most of the time, though, she's really awesome. She is paying attention to us and understands our simple commands and questions. She has such a great sense of humor and sometimes laughs at the jokes in her own mind or just because everybody else is laughing.  

Joe and I decided to take a mini vacation and spend the day in Atlanta. We left the house at 8am and arrived at 11:30. The aquarium was already pretty packed but there were so many kids and Emmy loves to watch other kids so she was excited from the start.

 Hmm.. come to think of it, it may have been easier and cheaper to take her to the park. 

You might notice a little bear in many of these pictures.

I picked out several great "lovies" for her. Most were bunnies, all pretty much the jellycat brand with soft fur and adorable dangly arms and legs. She picked up this bear at Barnes and Noble a few months ago. We almost let Rufus have it because he kept stealing it and tossing it around but suddenly about a week ago she just... got attached. It's fine, it's cute, it's also discontinued and irreplaceable. Awesome. 

It was great having it at the aquarium though. 

"Mr. Beary" quickly comforted her and it made her a little more relaxed when in the stroller. 

The aquarium was fun. It was. But, it was also a lot of work for a kid who was probably still a little too young to appreciate it. In the picture above, she was being entertained by a sweet asian lady dancing in front of the glass. Her favorites were the large aquariums with lots of bright fish swimming around but mostly because there were other kids squealing and running around. 
So she was squealing too. 

The aquarium was really, really crowded. I think we picked a bad day - a Friday in the beginning of the summer. There were probably hundreds of kids in camp t-shirts and when I see crowds like that I go into survival mode. I caught myself running and squeezing between kids, skipping tanks to find one that had an empty space in front of it. I used Emmy to get close to the glass and stay there without feeling guilty. 

Joe had to remind me that we weren't in a hurry or on a schedule. He helped and I tried to but I still can't help it, it's hard to relax when you feel like you are going to get run over if you stand still. Oh, and I think the big stroller was a bad idea. I ran over an old lady... twice... and she glared at me something serious (she really should have moved to the side though at her pace) Ha! Obviously, we aren't ready for Disney yet. 

The dolphin show was amazing. We weren't allowed to take any pictures at all during the show but I managed to snap a few of the dolphins after the show on the backside of the stage. 

The show had maybe 5 performing dolphins doing jumps, backwards tail swimming (think Michael Jackson moonwalk, hugging and dancing with their handlers, etc. They had great music and lighting and sound effects to make the whole thing very dramatic. 

There was a story line with a fairly cheesy guy singing but it didn't matter, Emmy loved it and her clapping and laughing made me cry. Seriously. I choked up over the beauty of the dolphins and the joy I saw in my kid's eyes. 

I'm telling you, you only understand if you have kids.

By the time the dolphin show ended, Emmy was pretty much done. 

All she wanted to do was ride in our arms with her bear clutched in her hands. 

The photos came out pretty grainy. I'm not sure what was up with my trusty iphone but I'm guessing it's the low light. Next time, I'm bringing a real camera.

easter

I was really excited about Easter this year. I knew the bunny would come for Emmy and I had a hard time sleeping trying to guess what the bunny would bring and how he would get it out before Emmy went downstairs. Just like parents waiting for Santa, it can be just as exciting as it is for the kids. 

Early in the morning we woke to hear Emmy coughing. I dug up the humidifier out of the closet and set it back up to help her out. Emmy is getting tubes for her constant ear infections in a few weeks  and the doctor specifically mentioned that her lungs need to be strong so I'm keeping a close eye on her coughing. I will definitely do a post about her tubes since that seems to be a really common procedure for kids these days.

But first... the Easter bunny came for Emmy!

The Easter bunny brought Toms shoes, a sweet Jellycat bunny, an Easter bunny cereal bowl and Alice in Wonderland by Jennifer Adams. We didn't buy any candy this year since I knew I would eat it all. 

Emmy with her bunny ears!
Photo Credz: Courtney Truss

I was really excited about her easter bunny breakfast. I made cinnamon toast and cut out bunny ears and let Emmy have some goldfish in the carrot cookie cutter. I'm not going to lie, I was hopeful for a bigger production and Emmy took one look at the toast and tossed it to the dog. So yogurt for breakfast as usual.

After breakfast and a morning nap, we packed up and headed to see Joe's family in Centre...

 I was so excited to start up a movie for Emmy in the car. This was her first trip in the forward-facing carseat so I grabbed "Bambi", hopped in the back with her and started it up. She was more into the remote than the movie so I climbed back into the front seat for a nap. 

When we got to Joe's grandparent's house, I immediately felt cold and tired. I told Joe I didn't feel well and he said that he didn't either. We had a huge lunch with fried chicken, scalloped potatoes, deviled eggs, baked beans, and fried okra. Could you get much more southern than that!? 

Emmy was a little shy at first but then she discovered that there was one step between their living room and covered patio. She has mastered the stairs so up and down she went, exploring every corner and laughing at all the attention she got. 

Joe and I decided not to mention we were sick. We are so over it and just wanted to have a good time and let everyone else enjoy themselves too. On the way home, Joe woke me up as he pulled onto the side of the road to throw up. I hopped to the driver side and took over the rest of the drive. Luckily, Emmy was exhausted and slept the whole way home. When we got back to the house, Joe unloaded the goods and I took Emmy upstairs for a bath. I got her undressed but she started screaming and crying, refusing to get in the bath. She had done this the last 2 baths and even though I couldn't figure out why she was upset, I knew I had to get her comfortable with it again. 

As soon as I touched the water though, I had to pee. I got her to hold on the tub while I went but then she started trying to climb up my legs in fear of abandonment... then she just starting peeing all over me. She looked down with as surprised an expression as me and I just started laughing so she laughed too. I decided to just get in the bath with her, to make her more comfortable and to get myself clean too. Getting in with her worked! We were giggling and playing with toys and I quickly realized I am too big to share a tub.

Then I smelled something funky and decided to get out of the tub. 

As I started to stand up, the moving water exposed the stink: Emmy had pooped in the tub. It was like brown explosion. I yelled out of instinct and she immediately started crying. I scooped her up and yelled for Joe. He couldn't believe she had managed to pee and poop on me in a 10 minute period. I took her into our shower to get cleaned up and Joe was left with the terrifying tub. We were both so achey and he was nauseated but somehow we managed to get everyone and everything clean for another short nap at 5:30. 

By 6:00 we all felt a little better and went downstairs for dinner. I'm not sure that this was the best Easter I have ever had but it sure is a memorable one. Maybe by next year we will all feel a little better and everyone can keep their bowels to themselves. 

As for Joe and I, we decided not to get antibiotics this time. If we get bacterial infections and sore lungs every month then maybe our bodies need to figure out how to fight for themselves. I don't know anything about medicine though so I may just be making myself miserable for nothing!

random story from england

So, this strange thing happened to Joe and I while we were in England on our honeymoon. There were so many fun things that happened on that trip that I'm not sure we ever told anyone about the "strange thing". 

This was maybe the 4th or 5th day of the trip. We had just left London, I think it was maybe our 2nd night in Oxford. We were strolling around and I was looking for an ice cream shoppe I had remembered being particularly good and I kept telling Joe he just HAD to try it. A short walk later, we found ourselves in a Ben & Jerry's (I said it was good, I didn't say it was original). 

We started to walk back towards the College and our hotel, on St. Giles Street and decided to stop and sit on a bench to eat our ice cream and talk. I have, below, a picture of this exact bench:

copyright: wikipedia

As we were sitting there, a car pulls right in front of us (see that little street cutting around the memorial?) and a black guy gets out and runs towards us, his car parked but still running. 

Now, do not think I am a racist because I was scared and immediately gripped my purse. Who wouldn't be scared of a man running towards you in a foreign country?! 

He stopped in front of us and said, "I have to tell you, you are so blessed. I can see it. You are blessed ones. I just, I see it and I had to tell you" and like that he turned around back to his car. I sort of mumbled thank-you as he started to drive off. Joe and I looked at each other and laughed about halos and glowing orbs around our bodies but I'm not going to lie, I was flattered. 

The thing is, the guy didn't seem that crazy. He didn't want anything from us, he didn't give us a religious pamphlet to study and he didn't even reference who his God was. 

When I found out I was pregnant a month later, I thought about this moment and how it had been 2 nights after we conceived. So... maybe he knew we were blessed with a baby? Maybe he knew that we were going to have the best baby in the world and that she would make our lives full. 

I'll never know if that guy was someone special, if he was in touch with God, if he believed in telling people that they were special, or if he was just bat-shit crazy. But I'll tell Emmy this story when she gets older, about how a man found us in a foreign country and saw how she would make our lives special and how important she is to God.