Busy making memories…

Hello everyone!  I hope you guys have been having an awesome summer.  Sorry for the delay in writing but we have been busy making memories.  Seriously this child has had me on the go, go, go, in a good way of course.  We survived our biggest trip without daddy so far, considering we had never left him overnight at this point, any trip was a big trip.  The kid and I went to Beantown to visit family and friends.  What I’ll let you know is we were there in the middle of a heatwave.  The average temperature during our stay was in the 90’s plus humidity.  Needless to say those days that the temps hit 103 and 107 respectively made me rethink my decision in locations (just kidding), but seriously I don’t recall ever in my life the temps getting so high.  Maybe it is because I’m getting older, maybe it is because I had to keep a toddler entertained but it was even too hot to go to the beach.

Of course the best times were the impromptu times of cupcake baking with Theia, dance party jamming with cousin Peter and snuggling one minute and then jumping on Theio.  The unsuccessful trip to the aquarium that turned into an awesome afternoon of ring around the rosey and hide and seek.  And of course we can’t forget the time spent with yiayia and pappou and all of the delicious ice cream that now she thinks is one of the food groups!  But then on the other hand there were the tears every night when she would ask for daddy to come read to her before bed, or when she’d want him to meet us at the park after work.  A bit tough to explain to your toddler, but regardless of all of that the huge smile and screaming of “BABA” that she showed when we arrived back was something that brought tears to my eyes.  They say that a mother’s love is like nothing else in this world.  Well let me tell you, a little girl’s love for her daddy, is in that same category, at least in my house.

I know I wrote about this back in February when we took a family trip but I was able to survive a flight cancellation, three delays and two gate changes because of my gear.  The Go-Go Babyz Mini Travelmate saved me in the airport.  All I traveled with was our travel car seat and the mini travelmate.  No stroller, no chasing a toddler around the airport through the crowds or lines.  I am in no part affiliated with them but just a lover of their products.  I do want to say that their customer service is also top notch.  I had an issue with my travelmate due to human error (read as I screwed it up).  I entered the tether into the wrong opening making it impossible to get out.  When I called and explained my situation they were able to troubleshoot and sent me out a new piece at a discounted rate and in two days.

In the coming weeks you’ll read  more about some more local adventures we’ve gone on and how you too can join in on the fun.

trip

 

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Roula

A little ditty about Jack and Diane...no really in all seriousness I'm a daughter, sister, wife and mother. I'm a Greek-American, who has transplanted in Canada. As a first time mom I'm sharing some things as I go along.

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Up, up and away!!

Well it is official. We’ve taken off on our first airplane ride. Now let me tell you flying with a toddler is 100% different than flying solo in case you didn’t know.  It is the little things I think that I took most for granted, like going to the bathroom before the plane took off.

So the biggest difference is the stuff.  Now as a fairly frequent flyer before having my child I had perfected the carry-on bag.  One carry-on approved size rolling suitcase and off I went.  With a child one rolling suitcase is just the beginning.  You have to start with the diaper bag.  My diaper bag was a mishmash of things.  From extra clothes in case of who knows what, to toys to keep her entertained in the airport, to of course diapers, wipes, creme and trash bags, we also had snacks.  Now the strawberries and breakfast bar were eaten in the 40 minutes we we’re waiting to check in.  The downside to having a crazy long name is usually a letter is misplaced or doesn’t fit which throws everything off.  Now there was the issue of the child having to be attached to a parent, based on FAA regulations which was fine until boarding when we realized my husband and child were assigned the same seat.  The good thing is we were flying a Canadian Regional carrier and everyone was amazing.  A big thank you to the man whose seat we took, thanks for switching one window seat for another!  I hope your 16 month old son, who I got to hear all about during the flight, realizes one day what an awesome dad he has and thanks for going with the flow.

Now once we got on the plane we had to install the car seat (we got the kid her own seat even though she was under 2).  There were three other little ones who were lap babies and quite honestly I’m not sure how they did it.  Two women were flying alone alone with their little ones and one toddler was with both parents.  I think being a toddler changes the game.  They were chatty, yelling and wanting up.  There was a couple directly behind my husband and the child, she wanted daddy and not mommy to sit next to her,  who you know we’re judging our every move.  The rolling of the eyes, the dirty looks when the kid yelled out, etc.  I’m not sorry that my kid was being a kid.  I’m sorry you were stuck behind us but it is the luck of the draw.  You probably would have been giving me nasty looks even if you were no where near us.  For the most part I think the kid did well.  The iPad was our saviour, as was the short flight.

Now must haves for flying:
1) The Go-Go Babyz Travelmate car seat carrier.  The kid just sat in this and we rolled her around the airport. It was perfect for my curious child who wants to be part of the action and see everything going on around her.  If you want to see what it looks like you can check out their website here.

2) The iPad, iPod, something electronic.  Now I admit my child knows her way around a phone as most curious creatures her age.  Being able to hand this to her as we were waiting to get through security or for the suitcases was huge.

3) Food.  Even though the carrier we were on served snacks and drinks, we still brought our own.   Our favourite freeze dried yogurt bites and cheerios saved us a couple of times.  Also something to drink during take off and landing.  We had a fairly easy take off as it was all new and quite honestly she was too busy yelling trying to talk louder than the sounds coming out of the plane.  On the descent though she didn’t want to drink anything and I know it hurt her a bit.  It was the one and only time I was begging my child to take a pacifier (which she threw away on her own around four months).  Just something to help relieve the pressure.  But even though she didn’t, we survived.

4) Stickers, books and a blanket.  Things to keep her entertained and keep her comfortable.  She ended up wanting her shoes and socks off so having the blanket helped.

5) Going with the flow.  Seriously it was a pretty easy flight looking back.  Obviously as a first time mom and this being the first time flying with the kid you come up with all of these scenarios in your head but at the end of the day being able to just go with it and enjoy it!

Now the flight back was a whole different can of worms.  More to come on that later in the week.  Up, up and away!!

 

Avatar photo

Roula

A little ditty about Jack and Diane...no really in all seriousness I'm a daughter, sister, wife and mother. I'm a Greek-American, who has transplanted in Canada. As a first time mom I'm sharing some things as I go along.

More Posts